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The Name on the Marquee: Smoky Mountain Wrestling (5.21.1994)

February 27, 2017 | Posted by Adam Nedeff
7.3
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The Name on the Marquee: Smoky Mountain Wrestling (5.21.1994)  

-Originally aired May 21, 1994.

-We’re in Harriman, TN.

-Your hosts are Bob Caudle & Les Thatcher. Brian Logan gets drawn for Beat the Champ.

-Rock & Roll Express comes in and Ricky Morton promises a piledriver for Chris Candido. The fine means nothing to him.

“Wild Eyed Southern Boy” TRACY SMOTHERS vs CHRIS HAMRICK
-Smothers does the very whitest dancing ever before the bell. Hamrick tries a shoving match and Smothers just lays into him with a backdrop and a dropkick. They trade arm wringers, but Hamrick catches him with a dropkick and it looks like Smothers is out. Hamrick comes off the top with a legdrop, only to find Smothers was playing possum and Hamrick crashes. Flying shoulder finishes.

-Tracy explains that he’s not doing the jawjacker for now because Bruiser Bedlam kicked out of it last time, and he took that as a sign that he needs to switch up his offense. His new finisher is called the Tennessee Torpedo.

BEAT THE CHAMP TV TITLE: BRUISER BEDLAM (Champion, with Jim Cornette) vs BRIAN LOGAN
-Bruiser attacks before the bell and doesn’t let up. Suplex by Bedlam. Right hands and inverted atomic drop as Bedlam is just dragging this out for the fun of it. Running powerslam by Bedlam, and the stomach claw gets the win by submission. That’s five straight wins, so Bruiser gets a $5,000 bonus and vacates the title.

-First announcement of Night of the Legends, coming August 5, 1994 in Knoxville. SMW was showing early signs of sinking (losing some of their production people, Brian Lee was getting called up by the WWF and it looked like a matter of time for Candido & Fytch too, the Thrillseekers aren’t setting the company on fire like they were expecting, etc.) so Jim Cornette is assembling a house show consisting of every gimmick, special guest, fan contests, and Hail Mary pass possible to revitalize the company.

-Jim Cornette throws out an open challenge to every wrestler, boxer, and truck driver tuning in. He dares. Bedlam says that Smothers is a hillbilly, and hillbillies are only famous for flying a white flag, so bring it on. Tracy Smothers takes offense to that and runs out for a confrontation, but PLOT TWIST, Bedlam absolutely kicks the shit out of him, and Smothers is a bloody mess.

-After the break, Bob Armstrong finds a set of brass knuckles on the floor and suspects that’s why Bedlam laid out Smothers so easily. Smothers can barely stand, but if Bedlam needed brass knuckles, that tells him Bedlam has a weakness and he’s worried about being caught, so Smothers is ready for another fight. Armstrong promises a Coal Miner match on a date of Smothers’ choosing.

-We recap the awesome events from last week’s show, leading to Jake Roberts winning the SMW Title. Dirty White Boy is here live and says he’s already talked to Bob Armstrong. There’s gonna be another match, and DWB vows to take the title back.

-Darryl Van Horne & Kendo the Samurai have pre-recorded home movie words. The SMW Title doesn’t matter. They’re offended that Dirty White Boy tried to attack Van Horne that they just want as much revenge as possible.

PERSONALITY PROFILE
-Jake Roberts is here and gets a pretty mixed reaction for somebody who worked as hard as he did last week to be a heel. He doesn’t have the belt because Jake The Snake has never needed a title belt to prove his worth to a white trash crowd. Jake says that when bulls don’t sire calves anymore, they’re put out to pasture. When a racehorse breaks his leg, he’s put down. When a woman can’t give birth anymore, she’s given a hysterectomy (N…no…) and maybe DWB needs to think of retirement as the human thing to do.

-The Thrillseekrs aren’t here this week, so we’re treated to a pre-taped squash match from a previous event. Well Dunn is here, completely pissed off amount the continuing pattern of disrespect from SMW. They left the Thrillseekers laying a few weeks ago and didn’t get star treatment.

-We go to the locker room for words from Tammy Fytch and her men. Candido is promising a piledriver for Ricky Morton.

RICKY MORTON (with Robert Gibson) vs “Suicide Blonde” CHRIS CANDIDO (with Brian Lee & Tammy Fytch)
-Gibson & Lee have to be handcuffed to the corners, although Tammy Fytch is free to move around as she pleases, which seems like an oversight from Bob Armstrong.

-Candido misses a corner charge and gets hiptossed. Morton goes for the piledriver right away, but he’s too close to the ropes and Candido gets the hell out of Dodge. Back in, Morton tries it again. Candido stops it with a good old fashioned shot to the nuts. Top rope splash attempted by Candido, but Morton rolls out of the way and suplexes him for two. Morton misses a corner charge. Candido hits a neckbreaker and tries for a powerbomb, but Morton turns it into a Frankensteiner.

-Morton goes for another piledriver, but Tammy Fytch picks the lock on Lee’s handcuffs and they destroy Morton until the referee is able to unlock Robert Gibson. Really unfortunate camera work too, as the commentators talk about how the referee is having trouble getting Gibson unlocked, and the camera gives us a perfect close-up to reveal that Gibson is completely unlocked and he’s just waiting for a cue.

-The Rock & Roll Express demand a piledriver match. Bob Armstrong says that the SMW bylaws explicitly forbid the piledriver, so he says they can have the match, but legally, it can’t be a title match. The Express agrees to that stipulation and Armstrong gets to work on the contract.

7.3
The final score: review Good
The 411
For a promotion battling setbacks behind the scenes, they're on a nice run of good TV right now, with Jake almost singlehandedly revitalizing the whole promotion as a main eventer and the tag team match-ups suddenly feel fresh again. And hey, Tracy Smothers has a new opponent who's a genuine threat. The entire company feels fresh again.
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