Bryan Danielson thinks every smaller wrestler has to thank Dynamite Kid for his contributions to pro wrestling.
The AEW star’s style is heavily influenced by the legendary English star. The Wigan-born Dynamite Kid, whose real name was Tom Billington, inspired a generation of wrestlers with his hard-hitting, fast-paced style of wrestling.
His matches with Tiger Mask in Japan were the blueprint of the modern wrestling style. Despite his incredible influence, Dynamite Kid is not honoured as an all-time great by most wrestlers and promotions.
Following Dynamite Kid’s death in 2018, Bryan Danielson (then the WWE Champion) was asked by Sky Sports if he owes a debt of gratitude to Dynamite Kid.
Danielson responded by saying he did, as did everybody who wrestles the modern-day style. He claimed that Dynamite Kid “changed the landscape for what it means to be a small man in professional wrestling”.
“I certainly do. I think everybody does. The modern WWE style, the modern style of professional wrestling, is very largely based on what Dynamite Kid did. I was a huge student of watching Dynamite Kid tapes, not just the stuff with Tiger Mask—which is the stuff that everybody kind of gravitates towards—but even his early stuff in England, his stuff in Stampede, all that kind of stuff.”
“He changed the landscape for what it means to be a small man in professional wrestling and showed a way of not just being… he wasn’t necessarily a super high flyer even in that era. Sayama, who was the Tiger Mask, he was doing more high-flying stuff. He was just so intense and aggressive, and that’s something that I try to transfer over to my wrestling all the time.”
Sadly, it seems unlikely that Dynamite Kid will be given his flowers with a WWE Hall Of Fame Induction, due to the list of controversial moments throughout his life.
Learn more about why Dynamite Kid isn’t in the WWE Hall of Fame.
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