Mike Looks Back – The WWE European Title – Part Eight: The Bulldog Bites Back

Michael Fitzgerald reviews the European Title's state during late 1999 and the surrounding careers of D'Lo Brown and Davey Boy Smith (British Bulldog). The chapter focuses on how booking, match placement, and real-life injuries shaped the belt's visibility and the wrestlers tied to it.

D'Lo Brown's fourth European Title run

Brown regained the European Title by beating Mark Henry at Unforgiven 1999. During this fourth reign he defended the belt frequently for about a month, mostly on Sunday Night HEAT and in quick matches on Raw and SmackDown. These defenses were often under five minutes or ended without clean finishes, which limited the title's perceived importance.

The run is described as less compelling than Brown's earlier feuds, such as his 1998 series with X-Pac, and took place during a period when many divisions were under-prioritized on television.

Davey Boy Smith's decline and partial recovery

Davey Boy Smith's difficulties dated back earlier. After leaving WWF following the Montreal screw-up in November 1997, he returned to WCW where his second run was disappointing. He suffered a serious back injury at Fall Brawl 1998 when he landed on a trapdoor used for a later segment. In a later interview, another wrestler noted the trapdoors felt like concrete and claimed performers weren't warned they existed.

Smith then developed a spinal infection that required months in hospital and nearly cost him his life. WCW released him while he was still recovering. On top of his medical crisis, Smith dealt with the death of his brother-in-law Owen Hart and its effects on the extended family.

Despite these setbacks, WWF showed willingness to re-sign Smith once his physical condition improved. Fitzgerald notes some contemporaries felt WWF's interest had a cynical element, but the article presents WWF's bringing Smith back as a notable bright spot amid his difficult period.

Fitzgerald frames late-1999 as a time when the European Title struggled for standing amid Attitude Era booking. Brown's defenses and the placement of those matches on HEAT and short TV slots illustrate the belt's secondary status. Real-world injuries—most dramatically the Drozdov accident and Smith's back infection—had tangible career consequences that altered how each man was booked and perceived.

The chapter connects in-ring booking choices and real-life events to explain why the European Title and its holders failed to regain sustained prominence in 1999. Brown's active but low-profile defenses, the traumatic Drozdov injury, and Davey Boy Smith's long recovery together shaped the title's late-1999 narrative.