The UK Pitbulls

The UK Pitbulls
Tag team
Members Big Dave
Bulk
Heights 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) - Big Dave
6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) - Bulk
Combined
weight		 884 lb (401 kg)
Billed from Norwich, England, United Kingdom
Debut 1998
Disbanded 2008
Promotions Independent circuit

The UK Pitbulls[1] were a professional wrestling tag team that consisted of brothers Bulk (Mike Waters, born 1978) and Big Dave (Dave Waters, born 1971). Their motto was "if we don't beat you, we eat you!". They held a number of titles in the United Kingdom, as well 11 countries worldwide and some minorUnited States promotions also. Their career as a tag team ended when Dave Waters sustained a crippling injury in a strongman contest which left him in a wheelchair. They are 20 time Tag team champions.

Individual professional wrestling careers

Bulk

Bulk (Mike Waters) is part of the Rock band "Spot", which formed in 1996, playing the drums as Big Mike with Chris (guitar), Ollie (bass), and Bub (guitar and vocals). Bulk left the band for a short time to feature in another band "OVER–BORED".

Most of 2007 has been taken up recording with his band SPOT, who have signed to HellCat records and recorded songs for a successful movie franchise.

SPOT have now disbanded and Mike is busy with his other band projects and is due to be married to Sheena on Halloween 2009.

Mike has formed a new band called The Pocket Godzillas and they can be found on Myspace.

Mike is now married to sheena and still wrestling for select promoters. He is due to start filming for French TV. Mike is now retired – he had his last match at Heacham for Falling Star Promotions Sept 2011. He is now concentrating on family, band and work. Mike has done various TV and film appearances with his latest being an appearance in 'Malice in Wonderland' alongside Danny Dyer

Big Dave

Big Dave competed heavily in strongman competitions from 1990 to 2000 and has reached the UK finals three years running, gaining second place in 1995. In 1996, he was ranked #1 in the UK and Europe, he competed in the universally recognized competitions, such as the "Britain's Strongest Man" and "UK's Strongest Man" events, that were shown regularly on mainstream British television as well as SKY TV and shown in the USA and Europe. However as of August 2003, Dave retired from strongman competition to pursue a full–time career in professional wrestling. However, Dave occasionally returns to run strongman competitions, and has spent most of 2007 coaching Richard "Bomber" Hudson for the Worlds Strongest man events. It was at a recent strongman event that he suffered his career-ending injury.

Dave used to own and run the "Pitbull Powerhouse Gym" in Cromer, Norfolk, which was open to the public and also has a pro-wrestling training facility as part of the setup. Dave and Mike were directly involved in the wrestling training as well as having regular guest trainers. The gym is now closed due to Dave's career-ending injury in the Britain's most powerful man competition on 29 June 2008 in Kent.[The video is here], 7m23 in. Dave dislocated his left knee, fully ruptured the left patella tendon, fully ruptured his right quad tendon and ruptured his right quad muscle. He was in hospital for 3 weeks, in double leg casts – groin to foot – for 8 weeks, he then suffered a deep vein thrombosis and was on warfarin for 4 months. The right leg is now ok but his left knee operation failed; he recently had an MRI (12 February 2009) scan and he was waiting for a date for another operation. He was on crutches and had to use a wheelchair quite a bit. Dave is now officially disabled indefinitely and will have to use crutches all the time, no more operations are planned – 3 operations on the left leg have left it with restricted circulation and severe swelling. Dave married Wendy in July 2011 but he and his wife have now separated.

UK Pitbulls

Dave was trained originally by Andre Baker at NWA UK Hammerlock. However, Dave and Mike completed their training in late 1997 at WAW of Norwich under Sweet Saraya.

The UK Pitbulls name is actually a play on the World Wrestling Federation's British Bulldogs tag team name; Bulk and Big Dave were asked to wrestle as the British Bulldogs on a holiday camp but declined and suggested the name UK Pitbulls instead. The UK Pitbulls gimmick is not similar to that of the Extreme Championship Wrestling tag team The Pitbulls.

In 2000, they held 7 different tag team titles in minor UK promotions such as WAW as well as overseas.

The UK Pitbulls opened a wrestling and powerlifting gym "Pitbull Powerhouse" in Cromer, Norfolk. Here they ran a wrestling training school and concentrated on the heavier side of weightlifting, strongman training, fitness weight loss, and any routine to personal requirements. They also ran their own promotion, DAM Promotions (Dave and Mike Promotions), holding several shows in Holt, Norfolk. They were known for constantly getting over as firm fan favourites despite being hated in other parts of the country. The shows raised over £8000 for various charities. The UK Pitbulls also helped out at other charity events all over the country.

In 2007, the pair were working mainly abroad and with each other on non-wrestling projects, but maintained a busy schedule nonetheless.

As of mid-2008, the UK Pitbulls are no more due to Dave's career-ending injuries. Mike is still wrestling occasionally for some UK companies. Both are now happily enjoying retirement.

Other media

The UK Pitbulls have appeared on local TV, Trisha, Documentaries on Five and ITV2, in an independent film called "Slumber Party" and the BBC 6 o'clock news. The UK Pitbulls also appeared on Channel 4's The Big Breakfast, and in 2003 they filmed several segments for MTV's "Dirty Sanchez" and ITV's Celebrity Wrestling.

Mike recently filmed a speaking part in Danny Dyer's forthcoming film "Malice in Wonderland"

In wrestling

Championships and accomplishments

  • DAM Tag Team Championship (1 time)[2]
  • ICWA World Tag Team Championship (2 times)[4]
  • K-Star Tag Team Championship (1 time)
  • PWF Tag Team Championship (1 time)
  • RDW Tag Team Championship (1 time)
  • WAW British Heavyweight Championship (1 time) – Bulk
  • WAW Open Championship (1 time) – Big Dave
  • WAW Tag Team Championship (4 times)
  • WAW Youth Championship (1 time) – Bulk
  • King of the Ring (1998) – Bulk
  • Wrestler of the Year (2001) – Big Dave
  • AIWF-GB Tag Team Championship (1 time)
  • AIWF World Hardcore Tag Team Championship (3 times)
  • BRAWL Tag Team Championship (1 time)
  • British Wrestling Website's British Tag Team of the Year (2004, 2005)
  • EWC Tag Team Championship (1 time)
  • SCW Commonwealth Championship (1 time) – Bulk
  • UCW Tag Team Championship (1 time)
  • UKWW's UK Tag Team of the Year (2005)
  • UWA Tag Team Championship (1 time)

References

  1. ↑ "OWOW profile". onlineworldofwrestling.com.
  2. ↑ "Independent Wrestling Results – May 2004". onlineworldofwrestling.com. Retrieved 2008-07-05.
  3. ↑ "X Wrestling Alliance Title Histories". titlehistories.com. Retrieved 2008-07-11.
  4. ↑ "International Catch Wrestling Association Title Histories". titlehistories.com. Retrieved 2008-07-11.

External links