One half the famous tag team group the “British Bulldogs,” Thomas Billington, better known as Dynamite Kid, has passed away.

One of the true greats of professional wrestling, Dynamite Kid was a pioneer in the industry and one of the most important wrestlers in the history of the WWE.

After passing away on his 60th birthday, an outpouring of love and gratitude swept across the interwebs as fans and wrestlers both paid tribute to the fallen legend.

 

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Saddened to hear of the passing of Dynamite Kid, one of the greatest professional wrestlers to ever lace up a pair of wrestling boots. My dad said Dynamite Kid was his favorite person to wrestle, hands down. Dynamite was a wrestler who truly gave it his all. Whether he was competing in England, Japan, WWE or in Stampede Wrestling for my grandpa, he poured his heart and soul into his matches. He sacrificed so much to be the very best. Bret Hart described Dynamite Kid as being pound for pound one of the greatest wrestlers who ever lived. My thoughts and prayers go out to his family.

A post shared by natbynature (@natbynature) on Dec 5, 2018 at 7:13am PST

 

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There are people in life that have a ripple effect both professionally and personally. Tom “Dynamite Kid” Billington was one of those people. The second professional wrestling match of my career was against Dynamite. I benefited 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 he is finally at peace. My thoughts are with his children Browyne, Marek, and Amaris, and the entire Billington family.

A post shared by Bret (@brethitmanhart) on Dec 5, 2018 at 4:39pm PST

With that said, Dynamite Kid was a controversial figure in the industry and had his fair share of demons. While his in ring performances garnered him the respect of his peers, the Dynamite Kid did have a great deal of controversial altercations back stage with fellow wrestlers and staff.

Nevertheless, Dynamite Kid will always be remembered as the man who changed the face of professional wrestling performances. Bret Hart discussed the importance of Dynamite Kid when he appeared on Stone Cold Steve Austin’s podcast.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KOlcHErOIW0

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