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Bret Hart recently reflected on the passing of his brother-in-law, Davey Boy Smith (a.k.a. The British Bulldog), at the age of just 39.
Smith, who worked for WWE for a combined 10 years between 1984 and 2000, struggled with drug addiction during his wrestling career. He passed away on May 18, 2002, after suffering a heart attack while on holiday.
Speaking to Tom Power, Hart admitted it was sad to see his relative struggle toward the end of his life:
“What happened with my brother-in-law, The British Bulldog, was really sad to see him go down the way he did. Some people were more vulnerable than others, and he was just one of those guys that was very vulnerable to that [drugs] and it brought him down and he could never get off, and it proved to be his demise.”
The British Bulldog defeated Bret Hart at WWE SummerSlam 1992 in London, England, to win the Intercontinental Championship. Hart wrote in his book, Hitman, that his opponent had been “up all night smoking crack” with Jim Neidhart before the event.
Reason why Bret Hart did not take drugs
Drug use was common among some wrestlers in the 1980s and 1990s. However, Bret Hart stayed away from that lifestyle and dedicated himself to professional wrestling.
The five-time WWE Champion felt he would have let his family down if he had ruined his career by taking drugs.
“I don’t think of myself as better than them, just that I was more careful. I think probably the biggest factor would be my father. I became the light in his life, made him so proud, made my mom and my dad so happy with all the successes I had, and how I brought so much pride to the family. I could never let them down,” Hart added.
Davey Boy Smith was posthumously inducted into the 2020 WWE Hall of Fame. His SummerSlam 1992 victory over Bret Hart is widely regarded as the best moment of his 22-year wrestling career.
Please credit ‘q with Tom Power’ and give a H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription if you use quotes from this article.
