ESTEVAN — Davey Boy Smith Jr. is part of Western Canadian professional wrestling royalty, but he has also carved out his own successful path in the industry.
Smith is the featured performer for Canadian Wrestling Elite’s 17th Anniversary Tour, which was at the Wylie-Mitchell Building in Estevan on Feb. 16. He teamed with Robby (The Pissed Off Pitbull) Royce to defeat The Double D's (Derek and Danny Diggler) to win the CWE tag team titles.
Smith, who was born in Calgary, is the son of famed British wrestler Davey Boy Smith. Much like his father, the younger Smith wrestles with the nickname of The British Bulldog and enters the ring to Hail Britannia.
He’s also the grandson of Stampede Wrestling patriarch Stu Hart, the nephew of Bret (Hitman) Hart and (The King of Harts) Owen Hart, and a relative of Jim (The Anvil) Neidhart, The Dynamite Kid and current WWE star Natalya Neidhart. Calgary-based Stampede Wrestling was a top wrestling territory in Western Canada at one time, and even had shows in Estevan.
“There’s a rich history in Western Canada with the Hart family, so I’m glad that the fans have fond memories of Bret, Owen, my father, Stu, Jim (The Anvil) Neidhart and The Dynamite Kid," Smith told SaskToday. "I’m excited to see all fans tonight [Feb. 16] and sometimes they bring me surprise gifts, like an old trading card I hadn’t seen for years or an old picture that I didn’t know existed.”
Smith was in Estevan for the first time and was glad to be back in Western Canada. The tour with CWE has gone well, he said, and CWE had 13 shows scheduled after Estevan, including a homecoming stop in Calgary on Feb. 20.
Working for CWE has been great, he said.
“I think going 16 days in a row is great for a lot of the young talent to get exposure and experience on the job training, get used to the travelling, get to that many shows in a row so they can really augment their wrestling skills in the ring, and get a good experience in the ring,” he said.
Performing on an independent circuit like CWE allows him to work in front of his fan base in Western Canada. He previously toured with CWE last September in Ontario and Manitoba.
Smith wrestled for several years in WWE, included a stint in The Hart Dynasty faction with Natalya and her real-life husband Tyson Kidd. Most recently he has wrestled with Major League Wrestling in the U.S. and All Japan Pro Wrestling, where he was their Triple Crown Heavyweight Champion in 2024 – a feat he called his greatest accomplishment.
“Japanese wrestling is always my number 1 passion, and that’s why I keep going over there and being successful as of late.”
If the opportunity came up to return to WWE or wrestle for All-Elite Wrestling, he would consider it. He noted he has won virtually all of the major tag-team titles possible, except for All Japan and AEW. Tag-team wrestling remains a passion.
“When you find the right partner, you can make magic happen in there," he said.
He first went to Japan 20 years ago, before working for WWE, and has returned multiple times.
“The Japanese fans have always stayed true to me, and are very supportive, and I’m very appreciate to All-Japan Pro Wrestling for giving me the opportunity to shine as much as I have over there, and I hope that I can go back for at least one more year, and keep learning the Japanese language, because I’ve been learning that the last two years very steadily," he said.
Other matches on the card in Estevan were:
*(The Zombie Killer) Mentallo pinned Ronnie Attitude;
*CWE junior heavyweight champion (The Star) Bryce Bentley pinned General Jeff;
*(Crude Oil) Cody Mac and (Hotshot) Danny Duggan wrestled to a double disqualification in a grudge match. After the bout, Mac challenged Duggan to a steel cage match when CWE returns to Estevan in May.
*In the main event, CWE champion (Chizzled) Chad Daniels defeated (The Crazy MoFo) Cam!!ikaze by disqualification. Cam!!ikaze appeared to win the match and title, but the referee reversed his decision after finding a foreign object in Cam!!ikaze’s trunks planted by Daniels.
