British Vet Doug Williams Leaves Boots In Ring, Indicates Retirement
After nearly 30 years of in-ring action, it appears England's own Doug Williams (Douglas Clayton Durdle) has laced up his boots for the last time. On Saturday, June 17, the wrestler tweeted a photo of his boots in the ring with no caption. His only tweet since was a retweet of Warhorse, who posted a photo of the two of them with the caption "THANK YOU DOUG."
— Doug Williams (@DougWilliamsUK) June 17, 2023
Williams has wrestled just about everywhere over the past 30 years, including memorable stints in both ROH and TNA/Impact, where he became ROH Pure Champion and TNA X Division Champion, respectively. Remembered for his time with The British Invasion, a faction that included Nick Aldis (as Brutus Magnus) and Rob Terry, he captured Tag Team Championship gold alongside Magnus in both NJPW and TNA.
Fellow wrestlers including Christopher Daniels, Frankie Kazarian, AJ Styles, and many others weighed in to sound their appreciation for the veteran, with Styles saying, "@DougWilliamsUK absolutely one of the best. Always enjoyed sharing the ring with you. What a journey my friend."
Williams' last recorded match took place on May 20, where he failed to win the Irish Junior Heavyweight Championship in a Triple Threat match with Martin Steers and Omari in Belgium. That was just another stop along the way for a man who journeyed all over the world. And while he became a staple of professional wrestling in the United Kingdom, he also ventured to Japan and Germany, even becoming a Hall of Famer for the German-based promotion Westside Xtreme Wrestling in 2018.