Son of wrestling legend Davey Boy is '˜coming home'

And with the Latics currently flying high in League One and mounting an early title tilt, there might be no better time for self-professed Wigan Athletic fan Davey Boy Smith Junior to visit his dad’s old stomping ground next May.

An international wrestling star in his own right, the 32-year-old is making an appearance at Robin Park at the next gathering on May 26.

His famed father grew up in Golborne and was trained in nearby Winwick by Ted Betley.

Davey Junior, who has also wrestled in the WWE as Harry Smith, was born Canada and was part of a wrestling family which included world champions Bret and Owen Hart.

His cousin Nettie Neidhart is another WWE performer.

Promoter Paul Prescott said their star guest “had strong ties” to the Wigan area, as it was his father’s home town.

He added: “He is the son of ‘The British Bulldog’ Davey Boy Smith, the grandson of Stu Hart and nephew of Bret Hart.”

Davey Boy Smith was partnering British wrestling icon Big Daddy in tag-team matches when he was still a 15-year-old student at Golborne High.

He first came to prominence Stateside with partner Tommy ‘Dynamite Kid’ Billington in the early ’80s with the WWF. Their British Bulldogs pairing earned them the promotion’s tag-team titles.

Davey Boy later forged a stellar solo career, a highlight being his 1992 Summerslam victory over brother-in-law Bret Hart at Wembley Stadium.

But a serious back injury, sustained during a botched stunt at a show, severely hampered his abilities.

He died aged 39 in British Columbia and was buried alongside his mother Joyce and sister Tracy at All Saints in Golborne.

Before his passing his son, then aged 15, who had just decided to become a wrestler had joined his father in the ring as a tag team partner for the first and only time.

The Wigan-based Comic Con promoters are also behind Leigh Comic Con, which will take place on November 25 at Leigh Leisure Centre and feature John Leeson, the voice of K9 in Dr Who, along with the Tardis and K9 itself, and Rosie Jane, who played companion Bill Potts’s mum in the most recent series with Peter Capaldi and also appeared as a Time Lord in the epic 50th anniversary show The Day of the Doctor.