During the latest recording of his own Grilling JR, podcast host Conrad Thompson and WWE Hall Of Fame Jim Ross reflected on the British Bulldog's final match in WWE. Check out the highlights below.
On forcing Davey to go to rehab:
“There was no margin for error on this. We had a plan. Vince wanted his potential recurring star to be healthy. So that’s why when Davey said “I’ll go after this tour is over,” well no. You’re going to separate from your drugs. You’re not going to take them with you, you’re not going to have them with you. You don’t need to get high for another two or three days, THEN go to rehab. This is it. You’re going tonight or you’re not going. And I think Davey’s sense of family responsibilities became abundantly clear. He knew that now [his] back was against the wall. “I can’t negotiate out of this deal.” I was a little skeptical. I’m not so sure I believed that he was going to say okay. Denial is such a huge part of addiction.”
On Davey's last match in WWE:
“[Jack] Lanza called me. “Davey’s messed up, he’s screwed up, slurring his speech, et cetera.” Well, we can’t put him in the ring, and I don’t want him to hang around the locker room all day. Send him home. Davey’s personal life was unraveling. I didn’t remember that he had a girlfriend; and by the bye she was the former wife of Bruce Hart!”
On releasing Smith from WWE:
“[Davey] doesn’t need to stay in the locker room impaired, period. And much less get in the ring with somebody and have their life in his hands while he’s impaired. Makes no sense. So I think I made the only decision I could make that made sense."
On Davey Boy Smith as a performer:
“It’s just a sad thing because we tried to elbow in how great a talent Davey Boy Smith was. Athletically speaking, he was an absolutely tremendous talent. But he couldn’t beat that one opponent, and finally that one opponent beat his ass and killed him.”
