10 Things You Didn't Know About The Dynamite Kid

10. His First Wrestling Test Was To "Hold These Lads Down"

Before he started wrestling, Dynamite was a keen boxer in his youth. When his trainer retired and left a hole that needed filling, fate conspired to point him in a new direction; whilst driving a dumper truck for the same plant hire company his dad worked for, Kid met ex-wrestler Ted Betley, and that steered him towards the industry he'd come to change.

Betley's first test was simple: "hold these lads down".

He ran a training school, was in the process of imparting knowledge to some other youngsters and wanted to see how tough the skinny Dynamite was. So, Betley asked Kid's father if he could find out the hard way, and put him in the ring with other trainees who were further down the line.

Dynamite, sturdy despite his small stature, passed the test with flying colours, and embarked on a journey that'd eventually take him far beyond the old-timey traditions of British wrestling institutions like Big Daddy. Nobody could've known at the time just how much of a star he'd become.