Davey Boy Smith Jr. Opens Up About Short-Lived WWE Return

Davey Boy Smith Jr.'s return to WWE in 2021 was a classic case of now-you-see-him-now-you-don't. In July of that year, he was around for two dark matches after signing a deal but never appeared on television; he'd be released from the company within four months of his arrival.

What went wrong? In an interview with "The Total BeezSheez Show," Smith professed to be just as clueless over what may have transpired as we are. "Your guess is as good as mine," he said. "Honestly, I wish I could tell you more. I have no idea."

Smith recalled doing the first live event "SmackDown" staged before a live audience after the Covid-19 pandemic forced the cancellation of in-person events, teaming up with Austin Theory for a short bout. That was followed up one week later with another match minus the live audience. After receiving a great deal of positive feedback backstage, he was told that his next wrestling match would be televised. That never happened, as no further matches were ever lined up for him. 

"I was kind of wondering where the run was going to because they were paying me," he said about his inactivity. "I was getting the most amount of money I've ever made my whole career to do nothing, so I wasn't sure." Smith felt frustrated because he "showed up in the best shape of my life – I got up to 280 with six-pack abs and was training very hard." Still, he speculated that the spirits of his wrestling dynasty were playing guardian angel for him. "I'm totally spiritual also, so maybe my father and Owen and Dynamite and Stu were just kind of looking out for me," he said.

Following his departure from WWE, Smith joined the National Wrestling Alliance last March and paired with Doug Williams to win the NWA World Tag Team Championship. He recently signed with Major League Wrestling and will be appearing at Fightland '22 in Philadelphia on October 30.