"I don't rib. I don't like to be ribbed."

David Smith was born on November 27, 1962, in Manchester, England, where he also grew up. He started wrestling at age 10 and turned pro in 1978 at age 15. His travels took him through Great Britain, Germany, and Japan, and training needs eventually led him to Canada, where he was taken under the wing of the legendary Stu Hart. It was during his days in "The Dungeon" when he met his future wife, Diana. In Calgary's Stampede Wrestling, Davey Boy (as he was now called) did quite a bit of damage, winning numerous titles. Somewhere in this timeframe was when he began teaming with fellow countryman Tom Billington, known as the Dynamite Kid. Known as "The British Bulldogs", they walked through the competition before being hired by the WWF in 1985 for manager Captain Lou Albano.
Rising through the ranks, the Bulldogs became one of the most dangerous tag teams in the WWF during the mid 1980's, eventually winning the WWF Tag Team title belts from Brutus Beefcake and Greg Valentine at Wrestlemania 2, managed by Lou Albano and rocker Ozzy Osbourne. Thus began one of the longest WWF Tag Team title reigns in history, holding onto the belts for nearly 10 months before losing the belts to Davey's brothers-in-law, the "Hart Foundation" (Bret Hart and Jim Neidhart) in late January 1987, after the Harts' manager Jimmy Hart (no relation) bribed the referee Danny Davis.
The Bulldogs had feuds into 1987 with the Harts and with the Islanders (who kidnapped their mascot, a bulldog named Matilda) before returning to Stampede Wrestling. A feud eventually split up the Bulldogs, and when Stampede Wrestling closed down in 1989, Davey ventured to wrestle in Europe and Japan. Returning to the WWF in 1990, Davey dubbed himself as simply "The British Bulldog", as the tag team was now nonexistent with the mid-1990 retirement of the Dynamite Kid. Showing a newfound strength and quickly racking up wins in the singles bracket, Davey returned home to England at Summerslam 1992, where he wrestled his brother-in-law Bret Hart in a sold-out Wembley Stadium in London. Battling it out in an epic 25:40 battle, Davey Boy captured the WWF Intercontinental Title when he caught Bret in a small package. This match won Pro Wrestling Illustrated's "Match of the Year" for 1992. Davey's I-C title feuds included Warlord and Shawn Michaels, who eventually won the title from him in late October 1992.
After losing the belt, Davey had brief stops in Japan and the newly formed ECW before stopping in WCW. The only memorable note from his year was teaming with Sting against Big Van Vader and his stable, but was never really given a chance to shine. WCW eventually dropped his contract after a dance hall squabble, and Davey returned to Britain.
The Bulldog returned to the WWF in 1994, aiding Bret in his feud with his brother Owen. Davey Boy eventually formed the "Allied Powers" with Lex Luger, but failed to capture the Tag titles. Becoming a heel, he joined Jim Cornette's "Camp Cornette" with his brother-in-law Owen Hart and Owen's tag partner Yokozuna (who would later leave the stable and be replaced by Big Van Vader). In 1996, Davey Boy nearly got the title he so coveted: the WWF World Title. Getting a shot against champ Shawn Michaels, Davey was caught in a pinning belly-to-back suplex when one referee counted his own shoulders to the mat, while another one simultaneously counted Michaels' shoulders. The dispute was settled in a rematch one month later, but Michaels retained the title.
Joining up with Owen, Davey Boy regained the Tag Team belts in September 1996 from the Smokin Gunns, and held onto the belts for a long while. During this time, Davey and Owen fought in the finals for the WWF's newest belt, the European title. In a well-fought match in late February 1997 in Berlin, Germany, the Bulldog defeated Owen and became the first European champion. A minor feud between the two was stopped by Bret Hart, who convinced the in-laws to quit fighting. Thus began the infamous stable known as "The New Hart Foundation", an anti-American, pro-Canadian team consisting of Bret, Owen, Bulldog, Jim Neidhart, and Brian Pillman.
Despite losing the Tag belts in May 1997 to Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels, the Bulldog continued to defend the European title against all comers. But a nagging knee injury finally forced Davey to lose the title at "One Night Only" in Birmingham, England, in September 1997 to Shawn Michaels. Michaels was awarded the title after taking Smith's injured knee and clamping on a Figure-4 leglock, to which Smith never submitted, but the referee stopped the match. Then, following the infamous "screwjob" of Bret at Survivor Series 1997, Davey Boy asked for, and was granted, his release from the WWF.
Showing up in WCW in January 1998, he immediately feuded with Steve McMichael (including "injuring" McMichael's arm during their match at Superbrawl 1998). Bulldog formed a tag-team with Jim Neidhart, and enjoyed feuds with Curt Hennig, Alex Wright, and Fit Finlay. But during one match in August 1998, he took a fall onto a steel trap door in the ring (designed for the entrance/exit of another wrestler), injuring his back. The injury caused a staph infection and Davey was hospitalized in life-threatening condition. He eventually recovered, but by that time he had already been released by WCW.
Following Owen's death in May 1999, Bulldog took time off to heal, physically and emotionally, before returning once more to the WWF in September 1999. In his first match back, he won the WWF Hardcore title from the Big Bossman, but immediately handed the belt to Al Snow. Bulldog was named a replacement for the injured Undertaker to take part in a "Six-Pack" match for the vacated WWF World title, which also included Triple-H (who won the match), The Rock, Kane, Mankind, and The Big Show. After feuding with Rock, Davey regained the European belt from D'Lo Brown, but lost the belt 6 weeks later at WWF Armageddon 1999 in a triple-threat match against Val Venis (who won the belt) and D'Lo.
Following the 2000 Royal Rumble, Davey Boy spent some time in a drug abuse center for addiction to painkillers. He rejoined the WWF in May 2000 during their tour of England. During this time, he won the Hardcore title from Crash Holly, losing it back 3 days later. After this, the Bulldog more or less dropped from sight, wrestling occasionally around lesser-known circuits here and there.
It was about this time when Davey Boy and Diana Smith divorced. Around late December 2000/early January 2001, Davey Boy was in a near-fatal motocycle crash. He made a return to the wrestling ring on May 10, 2002, some 16 months after the crash, in Brandon, Manitoba, Canada, tagging up with his 16-year old son Harry, and fulfilling a lifelong dream for both of them. Davey wrestled again the next night in Winnepeg. A meeting was scheduled with Vince McMahon about a contract for both him and Harry as a team. But it was not to be.
On May 18, 2002, while vacationing in Invermere, British Columbia, Canada, with his girlfriend Andrea Hart (the ex-wife of Bruce Hart) and her 5 kids, Davey Boy died of cardiac arrest. He was only 39. His body was cremated and the ashes divided between his father and his children. With his passing, the British Bulldog leaves his children Harry (then age 16) and Georgia (then age 14), and legions of fans everywhere. Whether it be his amazing physique (56-inch chest, 21-inch biceps, 19-inch neck, 5'11, 253 lbs), his claim as the "Strongest Man in the WWF" (from a 1996 feud with Ahmad Johnson), or his array of moves in the ring, David Smith certainly could be summed up in one word: LEGEND.

"I'm the British Bulldog, and you're going down!"

Official Obituary from the London Times:

DAVEY 'BOY' SMITH
Wrestler who took on The Rock and captivated America clad in the Union flad and red, white and blue tights Davey "Boy" Smith, who ha died aged 39, twice won the World Wrestling Federation's (WWF) Tag-Team Championships and European Heavyweight Championships, and was twice Hardcore Champion.
Standing at 5ft 11in, with a 56in chest, 21in biceps, a 19in neck and weighing 18 stone, Smith, sporting a red, white and blue tights and a bizarre haircut, dominated wrestling in the late 1980s and early 1990s. He usually entered the ring swathed in the Union flag, before dispatching opponents with his trademark "Running Powerslam". They included North American wrestlers such as Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson (who, after defeating Smith at the No Mercy bout, starred in the film "The Scorpion King"), "Stone Cold" Steve Austin and Shawn "Heartbreak Kid" Michaels, as well as Smith's brothers-in-law Owen and Bret "The Hitman" Hart.
David Smith was born on November 27 1962 in Manchester and educated at Golborne Comprehensive, where he was a keen rugby player. He worked with the trainer Ted Betley before taking part in bouts with Shirly "Big Daddy" Crabtree. But after "World of Sport" dropped wrestling (and Kent Walton's announcement "Greetings, grapple fans") Smith prospered oversease in New Japan Pro Wrestling, where he met Tom "Dynamite Kid" Billington. Smith and Billington moved to Canada, where they competed in the trainer Stu Hart's Calgary Stampede, where Smith won two international championships with Billington and two with Stu's son Bruce, along with solo titles as North American Heavyweight and British and Commonwealth mid-heavyweight champion.
The British Bulldogs, as Smith and Billington now styled themselves, moved into the WWF in late 1985. Soon they were tackling the likes of King Kong Bundy and Big John Studd, before---at their second attempt---taking the WWF tag-team championship from the "Dream Team" of Greg Valentine and Brutus Beefcake on April 2 1986.
They held the title for several months, defeating all comers and acquiring Matilda, a bulldog mascot, before losing to the Hart Foundation (Bret Hart and Jim "The Anvil" Neidhart) in January 1987---allegedly after the referee, Danny Davis, had been bribed. After unsuccessful attempts to regain the belts, and a feud with another tag-team, the Islanders (who kidnapped Matilda), the pair split up.
Smith returned to America in December 1990, sporting the beaded dreadlocks which won him the number five slot in the WWF Mullet Hall of Fame (after Michaels, Sid Justice, Hulk Hogan, and Hacksaw Jim Duggan) and accompanied by his new bulldog, Winston. But despite earning millions of dollars and solo successes, including defeating his brother-in-law Bret at Summerslam before 83,000 people at Wembley Stadium, Smith finally lost the Intercontinental title to Michaels, and---dogged by allegations of steroid abuse---left WWF for two years.
He returned in 1994, first with Lex Luger (as "The Allied Powers") and then Owen Hart, with whom he won the title, although the pair soon fell out. Smith joined up with the rest of the Hart clan, before a stint with World Championship Wrestling, during which he suffered a back injury when he fell on a trapdoor. Smith suffered a further blow when Owen Hart died while being lowered into the rin in May 1999, but made several unsuccessful attempts later that year to take the heavyweight title from The Rock. His last major win was against Crash Holly at Hardcore in May 2000. Smith married Diana Hart, who survives him with a sun and daughter. After the marriage was dissolved, his companion was Andrea Hart, the estranged wife of Bruce, brother of Diana, Owen, and Bret.