Davey Boy Smith vs Kody Light

Date: July 25, 1993
Location: Back Alley nightclub in Calgary, Alberta, Canda
Source: Wrestling Observer Newsletter

Davey Boy Smith was out with his wife Diana Hart at the Back Alley night club in Calgary. Kody Light, just 20 years old, approached Diana and asked her to dance. He also may have made a rude sexual comment to her.

Diana asked Smith to get Light to back off. Rather than aggressively push him off, Smith attempted to befriend him by first shaking his hand. Light replied with “You’ve got a nice f*ckin’ wife,” and wouldn’t let go of the grip. He then attempted to outmuscle Smith, which made no sense given how huge Smith was at the time.

What happened next varies based on who was giving the story. It went to trial, and about a dozen witnesses testified. Three of the witnesses said Smith attacked Light, picking him up and powerbombing him through a wall. Among those three witnesses, even versions of that assault varied, with a couple saying he punched Light as well.

All the other witnesses denied that version was true, saying it was Light who started the fight and that Smith put him in a guillotine front face lock to subdue him. This story makes more sense given Smith’s reactions to altercations in the past, including when he came to Shawn Michaels’ rescue a couple years later. These witnesses also all said he brought Light over to the bouncers for them to take over.

After that, stories again vary. Some said Light was passed out by the time Smith let go of the guillotine, causing him to fall and hit his head. Others said Light broke free and went to attack Smith, but was woozy from the choke and slipped on the wet floor, hitting his head. One bouncer testified that Light had been harassing women all night, and had already been given a warning about it.

The incident made headlines in Canada a few years later when it went to trial. Smith testified that pro wrestling was fake, and that it would’ve been impossible to powerbomb Light without his cooperation in lifting him up. At the time, Smith’s admission of wrestling being fake was deemed newsworthy.

Two witnesses testified that Smith did in fact possess the strength to use a powerbomb without cooperation. One was Karl Moffat, who had heat with the Hart family based on a previous lawsuit. The other was officer Sydney Sutherland, who witnessed an altercation between Smith and a fellow police officer in 1983 that almost got him deported.

Light suffered permanent injuries, including a skull fracture, deafness in one ear, and slurred speech. Luckily for Smith, there was testimony in his favor that may have decided the case for him. Dr. John Butt was the former chief medical examiner in Alberta, and he testified that Light’s injuries were consistent with someone who had fallen in the manner described by the witnesses who said Smith never attacked Light.

Judge Jack Waite ended up acquitting Smith, saying he felt bad for Light but that he believed his injuries weren’t caused by Smith. He also believed Smith was acting in self defense in whatever he did physically.

The case was a nuisance for Smith, but neither the brawl nor the court case got any media play in the US and never affected his career here (he was working for WCW at the time of the incident and getting a huge push).