Retirement Age: 38 Few wrestlers win the level of admiration from their peers that Tom "Dynamite Kid" Billington managed to gain, but then again, few wrestlers are as talented as he was. After breaking out in his native England, then competing for Stampede Wrestling in Calgary, Dynamite Kid traveled to New Japan Pro Wrestling, competing with Tiger Mask in the fledgling Junior Heavyweight division. The bouts between the two men helped to define a more athletic style of wrestling, influencing the sport to this day. Dynamite Kid is better known for his WWE tag team run with Davey Boy Smith as The British Bulldogs, but unfortunately, he's best known for the sheer amount of damage he did to his body. Abuse of steroids, painkillers, and recreational drugs - as well as an intense in-ring style - ruined Dynamite Kid's health, forcing him to announce his retirement in 1991. Though he returned for a handful of matches afterward, his final bout came in 1996 at the age of 38, where the frail junior heavyweight's tights no longer clung to his legs. In 1997, Dynamite Kid lost the use of his left leg. He has since been confined to a wheelchair.
Scott Fried is a Slammy Award-winning* writer living and working in New York City. He has been following/writing about professional wrestling for many years and is a graduate of Lance Storm's Storm Wrestling Academy. Follow him on Twitter at https://twitter.com/scottfried.
*Best Crowd of the Year, 2013