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Wrestling Legend “The Dynamite Kid†Tom Billington suffered a stroke this past week.
It is not known when it happened or how serious it is. However, his daughter Browyne Billington posted a positive sounding update on Twitter (posted below). He has been in hospital since.
<blockquote class='quote\\_blockquote'><dl><dt>Browyne Billington on Twitter</dt><dd> </dd></dl><div>
Great news of my dad watching John Wayne movies last night with my uncle. By the sounds of it he is on his way back to his normal self.
[/spoiler]
There was very serious concern for Billington. A stroke is very serious normally, but Billington has been wheelchair-bound for 15 years. He is partially paralysed and not able to walk unassisted. On top of this, he has a huge physique on a small frame. His previous condition made it difficult for Billington to get the regular exercise needed to keep his health from declining further. The stroke could have made this harder still, but he appears to be recovering.
Billington is most famous for being one half of the British Bulldogs tag team with his cousin “The British Bulldog†Davey Boy Smith. He is credited with popularising the light heavyweight division internationally. He originally used a high-flying style which was almost unused in North America. Being an avid-bodybuilder, he became physically much larger in his career. He would eventually develop a rare wrestling style which combined cruiserweight agility and powerhouse strength. His biggest fame came from wrestling internationally, particularly in Japan, after his tag team broke up.
Billington is a massive fan of “The King†Harley Race, and adopted his kamikaze headbutt finisher from him. Unfortunatly, performing the move repeatedly led to the spinal problems that he has today. He would lose the use of his left leg, and was forced to retire in 1997. Billington is still noted as the inspiration for a large number of cruiserweight and British wrestlers. He has been living in his native England since.
Despite being well-loved, Billington was said to have a terrible attitude when he was in the WWE. Even by his own admission, he was frequently in a lot of physical confrontations and fights with other wrestlers. He often claimed that he was blacklisted by the WWE for leaving, even though Vince McMahon would continually tell him that he could return at any time. He stopped talking to Smith after Smith accepted McMahon’s offer in 1993 moments after Billington had belittled McMahon.
Billington’s autobiography ‘Pure Dynamite’ is still considered one of the greatest and most honest wrestling related books ever written. Billington has led a near reclusive life since then.
We wish Billington a full recovery.
It is not known when it happened or how serious it is. However, his daughter Browyne Billington posted a positive sounding update on Twitter (posted below). He has been in hospital since.
<blockquote class='quote\\_blockquote'><dl><dt>Browyne Billington on Twitter</dt><dd> </dd></dl><div>
Great news of my dad watching John Wayne movies last night with my uncle. By the sounds of it he is on his way back to his normal self.
[/spoiler]
There was very serious concern for Billington. A stroke is very serious normally, but Billington has been wheelchair-bound for 15 years. He is partially paralysed and not able to walk unassisted. On top of this, he has a huge physique on a small frame. His previous condition made it difficult for Billington to get the regular exercise needed to keep his health from declining further. The stroke could have made this harder still, but he appears to be recovering.
Billington is most famous for being one half of the British Bulldogs tag team with his cousin “The British Bulldog†Davey Boy Smith. He is credited with popularising the light heavyweight division internationally. He originally used a high-flying style which was almost unused in North America. Being an avid-bodybuilder, he became physically much larger in his career. He would eventually develop a rare wrestling style which combined cruiserweight agility and powerhouse strength. His biggest fame came from wrestling internationally, particularly in Japan, after his tag team broke up.
Billington is a massive fan of “The King†Harley Race, and adopted his kamikaze headbutt finisher from him. Unfortunatly, performing the move repeatedly led to the spinal problems that he has today. He would lose the use of his left leg, and was forced to retire in 1997. Billington is still noted as the inspiration for a large number of cruiserweight and British wrestlers. He has been living in his native England since.
Despite being well-loved, Billington was said to have a terrible attitude when he was in the WWE. Even by his own admission, he was frequently in a lot of physical confrontations and fights with other wrestlers. He often claimed that he was blacklisted by the WWE for leaving, even though Vince McMahon would continually tell him that he could return at any time. He stopped talking to Smith after Smith accepted McMahon’s offer in 1993 moments after Billington had belittled McMahon.
Billington’s autobiography ‘Pure Dynamite’ is still considered one of the greatest and most honest wrestling related books ever written. Billington has led a near reclusive life since then.
We wish Billington a full recovery.