The Name on the Marquee: Smoky Mountain Wrestling (10.31.1992)

The WWF 1986 e-book is here!

-Originally aired October 31, 1992.

-We’re still in Haysi, VA.

-Your hosts are Bob Caudle & Dutch Mantell. Bob Armstrong has handed down a ruling that going forward, no match between the Heavenly Bodies and the Rock & Roll Express can be a non-title match.

“The Wild-Eyed Southern Boy” TRACY SMOTHERS vs PAUL LEE

-Tracy has fundamentally the same character as Dixie Dy-no-mite, but with no mask. Personal story: I attended an indy show about ten years ago and Tracy was on the card. He realized he had come out to greet the fans without a magic marker and asked to borrow mine, promising he’d return it. Never saw that magic marker again. Smothers, if you’re reading this, I want my marker back.

-Smothers starts with a hammerlock and immediately turns it into a roll-up for two. Lee manages to back him into the corner, but Smothers evades him and connects with a second-rope bodypress. Smothers goes back to work on the arm with an armbar that he turns into a crucifix for another two. Flying forearm by Smothers while Bob Caudle buries WCW for making a man miserable and driving him out of his chosen profession.

-Lee gets desperate and goes to the top rope, but Smothers slams him off and goes upstairs himself, and connects with a jawjacker (elbow right in the kisser) for three.

-Bob Caudle talks to Tracy, who’s thrilled to be a member of SMW, “the wrestling of the future,” and he’s proud that the fans are willing to give him another chance to be who he really is.

-The Rock & Roll Express come out and Gibson publicly apologizes to his partner for showing up late and screwing up their chance to win the gold last week. Morton forgives him immediately and promises to take full advantage of Armstrong’s recent “no more non-title matches” ruling. Gibson points out that he now has a broken hand after last week’s melee, but he promises he’ll be back in action shortly.

“White Lightning” TIM HORNER vs MIKE SAMPSON

-Horner snapmares Sampson and shoulderblocks him as Dirty White Boy and Mr. Ron Wright come on. Mr. Wright is thankful for his high-dollar brand-name prescription drugs, made possible by managing a champion.

-Side headlock by Horner. Sampson tries to throw punches, but Horner manages to roll him up while still getting punched. Natural bridge gets three. Horner bolts over to the commentary table right after the match, but DWB and Mr. Wright manage to be gone before he makes it over there.

-Kentucky house show card gets promoted with a tremendous gimmick match: A “Hospital Elimination Match.” It’s like a Survivor Series, but the only way to get eliminated is to bleed. Jim Cornette warns that bad things are about to happen to the Rock & Roll Express when they roll into Kentucky. They’re gonna beg for mercy the way that stinkin’ Kentuckians beg for their welfare checks every week.

-Bob Armstrong is with SMW General Manager Sandy Scott, Commissioner Bob Armstrong, and senior referee Mark Curtis. The three of them debate whether or not The Master should be permitted to wrestle in Smoky Mountain Wrestling. Sandy Scott feels he has no right to wrestle in the company. Mark Curtis feels that since Brian Lee has willingly accepted the challenge of The Master, that trumps anything in the rules and regulations. Bob Armstrong just wants to end the horrific attacks, and if giving into The Master will do that, he’s willing to give it a shot. So, by a 2-1 vote, The Master will be allowed to wrestle in SMW.

“Prime Time” BRIAN LEE vs THE NIGHT STALKER

-If Lee wins, The Master agrees to show his face and wrestle.

-Lee clotheslines Stalker over the top rope immediately and rams him into the post. Back in, he cracks Stalker with a right hand and follows with a powerslam. Dropkick follows. This is kind of a good example of why Brian Lee didn’t work as a top babyface, there is no visible emotion on his face. He should be the angriest man in the Smoky Mountains right now, but instead, he’s wrestling slightly more aggressively than usual with the same facial expression that he always has.

-Stalker slams Lee, but misses an elbow. Another stalker, Malachi The Reaper, shows up and throws salt in Lee’s eyes in plain sight of the referee, but referee does nothing and we keep going.

-Stalker throws Lee out to the floor and posts him, then suplexes him back inside. Irish whip and a back suplex by Stalker, and he heads upstairs for a clothesline. Clothesline connects, but Lee collides with the referee on his way down. Stalker goes back up to the top, but Lee meets him up there and superplexes him off. Still no referee, so Malachi tries to offer some help from the outside. Stalker accidentally clotheslines him off the apron, and Lee rolls up the Stalker for three.

-Bob Caudle talks to Brian Lee. He promises to take out The Master, just like he took out those henchmen.

DOWN AND DIRTY WITH DUTCH
-Dutch welcomes Jim Cornette’s crew and recaps the tag team title drama from last week. Rock & Roll Express can have as many title shots as they want; it took Corny eight years to find an unbeatable tag team and he finally has one in the Heavenly Bodies. The Express isn’t ready for them because they’re so used to “comic book wrestling” for the past few years.

-We’re joined via telephone by “Nitro” Danny Davis, who’s lying in bed with a brace and six electric stimulators. He’s trying to regain feeling in his fingers and toes, stemming from the severity of Paul Orndorff’s piledriver. He asks Ronnie Garvin to avenge the injury with his own piledriver.

-Bob Caudle talks to Paul Orndorff. He warns Danny Davis not to show up at ringside for any of Ronnie Garvin’s matches in the future, and if Danny shows his face, Orndorff will finish the job he started. He also promises that he’s going to end careers until he gets his robe back. Also, do NOT yell “Paula.”

-Congratulations to Heather Norton of Gate City, VA, our first Dream Match contest winner.

“Hands of Stone” RONNIE GARVIN vs KILLER KYLE (with Jim Cornette)

-And here’s the match that Heather requested. Garvin comes to the ring wearing Orndorff’s robe and leads the crowd in a “Paula” chant.

-Orndorff’s stolen robe is red, so Garvin uses it to taunt Kyle, and Kyle falls for it, charging at Garvin and missing. Right hand by Garvin staggers Kyle unlike anything he’s ever felt before. Garvin sees it’s working better than expected, so he stings Kyle with another right hand. Garvin stays with stick-and-move tactics and Kyle can’t handle it, taking everything Garvin has but not able to return it.

-Garvin locks up and Kyle manages to whip him, but he misses a corner charge and Garvin rolls him up for two. Kyle manages to clamp on a headlock. Garvin slips out and turns it into a top wristlock, but Kyle reapplies the headlock and takes Garvin down. Now, see, this is a perfect time for Orndorff to tiptoe to the ring, grab the robe, tiptoe back to the locker room, and end this whole thing, but he doesn’t do it.

-Garvin fights back with chops. Boot to the face grounds Kyle, and Garvin goes to work with the Garvin stomp, my brother’s favorite move. And here’s Paul Orndorff actually taking my advice and trying to grab his robe while Garvin is occupied. Garvin catches him and forgets about Kyle. He lays a beating on Orndorff, but Kyle sneaks up from behind and attacks, and now it turns into a 2-on-1 attack on Garvin, getting Kyle DQed. And as they continue beating up on Garvin, Dixie Dy-no-mite sneaks out to ringside, grabs Orndorff’s robe, and takes off without being noticed. Orndorff turns around to re-claim his robe, but realizes it’s gone. He disappears to go looking for it, and Garvin recovers and lays out Kyle.

-Tim Horner is on his way to Paintsville, KY, and promises that Dirty White Boy is leaving on a stretcher.

-Bob Caudle announces that next week’s Dream Match is going to be Fulton vs. Fulton. The fans want a good clean match between The Fantastics, and The Fantastics are looking forward to showing the fans every scientific and technical hold they know. Stud Stable shows up to taunt them for no reason as the show draws to a close.

7.1

The final score: review Good

The 411

Decent in-ring action, plus I'm getting pretty excited to see the stuff they're building to. November is going to be a good month for SMW, I have a feeling.