Observer Flashback: Death of Dynamite Kid

Tom Billington, better known to wrestling fans as Dynamite Kid, passed away five years ago on this date, which also happened to be his 60th birthday.

Inside the ring, he was one of the most influential wrestlers of all time. His legacy outside the ring is far more complicated, however.

Billington’s life and career were covered by Dave Meltzer in the December 10, 2018 edition of The Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Meltzer included in the issue a statement from Bret Hart about the influence Billington had on his career.

“There are people in life that have a ripple effect both professionally and personally,” said Bret Hart. “Tom `Dynamite Kid’ Billington was one of those people. The second professional wrestling match of my career was against Dynamite. I benefitted from his greatness and through our matches in Stampede, WWE and everywhere in between, I became a better wrestler because of him. Dynamite truly was the best wrestler ever, pound-for-pound. Tom was family, my brother-in-law, and we were very close. In many ways, I felt like one of the few people who truly knew him, both the good and the bad. I saw Tom one final time this past June in England, and I can only hope that he is finally at peace. My thoughts are with his children, Bronwyne, Marek, and Amaris, and the entire Billington family.”

Meltzer’s obituary also covered some of Billington’s most notable contributions to professional wrestling, such as his rivalry in Japan with Tiger Mask.

Meltzer wrote:

Tiger Mask and Dynamite Kid go together like Peanut Butter & Jelly, Magic and Bird, Ali and Frazier, Evert and Navratilova. You say one and it immediately brings up the thought of the other.

In a poll nearly 35 years after their heyday in Japan when TV Asahi did a network special asking the public who the greatest pro wrestler of all-time was, Tiger Mask was voted third, and the reason was his matches with Dynamite Kid.

Billington’s career and physical health declined considerably following a back injury he suffered when he was just 28 years old. At the time of his passing, he had been confined to a wheelchair for over 20 years.

Meltzer continued:

He was confined to a wheelchair before he was 40. From that point, while his matches stood the test of time, he was largely forgotten, a recluse in England, not wanting to see hardly anyone or be seen. Whatever news would come out about him was never good. It was mostly health problems, whether it be hospitalizations, seizures, part of his leg being amputated, a stroke in 2013 and heart problems.

Unfortunately, no history of Dynamite Kid’s career would be complete without also mentioning what Meltzer described as his “sadistic behavior” backstage.

He created a reign of terror in Stampede Wrestling and WWF when he was there, whether getting into fights himself, or setting up others to fight for his amusement, practical jokes that were sometimes amusing but often cruel.

Dave Meltzer’s full article on the passing of Tom “Dynamite Kid” Billington can be read here.

Next Generation Billington Family

Today, Dynamite Kid’s nephews (Mark & Thomas Billington) wrestle as the Billington Bulldogs. They’ve performed for promotions such as RevPro and Calgary’s Dungeon Wrestling, where they hold the promotion’s tag titles. They’ve also wrestled for DEFY and MLW.

Dynamite Kid’s daughter Bronwyne Billington has performed as a valet under the name Dynamite Doll. She also keeps an active social media profile and frequently posts news clippings and other media about her father.

The December 10, 2018, Observer Newsletter also covers Vince McMahon bringing back the XFL, Greg Hardy debuting in the UFC, and WWE scrambling to change plans after a broken nose and concussion took Becky Lynch off of Survivor Series the month before. The entire issue is available in our archives for subscribers.

Subscribers can click here to read the December 10, 2018, Wrestling Observer Newsletter.