Say whatever you want about him, but you cannot deny the incredible longevity of Big Daddy.
Of course, Big Daddy has his critics. He has been accused of killing the wrestling business, with his incredible poor wrestling ability and showmanship in the ring.
He also literally killed a man. Big Daddy killed King Kong Kirk in a match in 1987. Even though he was absolved of all responsibility and nobody blamed him for the death, he took the guilt of having a hand in ending a man’s life to the grave with him.
Despite that, he was always Britain’s favourite wrestler. The matches Big Daddy and Giant Haystacks drew tens of millions of fans all across the country. He had his own TV show, his own comic strip and numerous fan clubs up and down Great Britain.
The end of his career was quite sad, though. World of Sport was cancelled in 1988, leaving the Welsh-language Reslo as the only televised wrestling show available to watch.
The money soon dwindled, as did Big Daddy’s mobility. He was a shell of his former self (who himself was a shell of his former self), and could move even less than in the peak of his popularity.
The legend still wrestled up and down the country into his sixties. Wrestlers didn’t love him personally, nor his wrestling style, but appreciated his drawing power. Everyone knew that if Big Daddy was wrestling, they’d draw a good crowd and get paid more money.
They rode his coattails until he wrestled one last match over thirty years ago.
Big Daddy’s Last Match Took Place In 1993
The last recorded match of Big Daddy’s career took place at the end of 1993. World of Sport had been off our screens for more than five years, and British wrestling was hitting a low point.
The American WWE was the most popular wrestling company in the country. British stars like Dynamite Kid and Davey Boy Smith, as well as legends like Bret Hart and Hulk Hogan, made the company a force to be reckoned with.
Summerslam 1992 proved that, as they drew nearly 80,000 fans to Wembley Stadium for one of their biggest shows ever.
Things were much different for the local wrestlers. Big Daddy competed for the last time in the Winter Gardens in Margate. This concert hall held approximately 1,400 fans. Even if fans battled for tickets to see Big Daddy wrestling, they still would have attracted around 5% of the fans who went to Wembley the year prior.
It was a sad indictment of where the business had gone, but not on Big Daddy. He was still a huge draw, and was forced to work over 200 days a year just to help keep British wrestling afloat.
A flair up of Bell’s Palsy three years prior showed his health was in decline, but the legend struggled to let go. It took him until 1993, 46 years after starting his career, to finally retire from wrestling.
He spent four years in retirement, before suffering a stroke. He died soon after, passing away
