Donnie watches Smoky Mountain Wrestling 1992- "Professional wrestling the way it used to be, and the way you like it."

[BigVanDonnie]

It's time to jump into the first of many territory of the reviews for me to have as a buffer in between TNA being TNA, and when i eventually get back to WWF. It helps that given i've been stuck with him in TNA driving me bonkers, i thought it only fitting to watch James E Corentte's brief foray into running an old school wrestling company starting smack dab in the middle of a wrestling recession, and then running it and eventually ending it smack dab in the middle of the most famous TV Wrestling war in history. We've got TV (that doesn't have a name) and Supercards and fan cams out there, along with major future names debuting. Plus, the ill fated partnerships with WCW and WWF that bring us insane matches and promos like New Jack cutting a promo on the Undertaker. Like, i must see this.

It's also a major blind spot for me and i'm trying to broaden my horizons in all aspects of my life, so not to get too deep but it's got some other meaning behind it. So lets hold hand and jump into the water together. Also, thank you to everyone who reads and supports this, it means more to me than i can explain.

SMW TV #1
February 1st, 1992
Greeneville, SC

Bob Caudle and Dirty Dutch Mantel are our hosts for the evening. Bob hits the above header line that sums up this is going to be rasslin and none of that cartoon baloney. He says tonight we will see the likes of Tim Horner (more on him later) Bobby Fulton, Primetime Brian Lee. Black Scorpion. We will hear from Ron Wright and Cornette as they're both managers. Commissioner Bob Armstrong will speak as well. Our main event is Ivan Koloff vs Bobby Fulton. Dutch says he's here to see people lock horns, and he's also interested in this "Primetime" and see what he has to offer.

Match#1 Robert Gibson vs Killer Kyle
Kyle was a jobber in WCW for a few years, and here he's wearing a full piece suit carrying a violin case. Robert is one half of some rock n roll band, so he's probably not important. Kyle isn't much at all as he's doing boring headlocks and lame heel work, but Gibson is awesome enough to get a decent showcase out of him. Nice bumps and sells and his office is still as solid as it gets. Gibson wins with a Sunset Flip out of the corner in a true old school "anything can end a match" mentality.
*1/4

in the back, Bobby Fulton and his little brother Jackie are in the most 90's get up possible of mullets and ugly shirts and sweaters. They've battled far and across America, and this will be the hardest and roughest matches he's had. He knows Ivan can get nasty, but he's proven he can get tough and keep on TICKING.

Bob is now with Bob Armstrong in an even uglier fit than the Fantastics

He knows all the tricks in the book after 30 years in wrestling. He's so proud of his profession and all it's provided for him, but having seen how wrestling has gone in the last couple of years, quite frankly he doesn't agree with it. SMW called him and gave him the job, so he's here to bring wrestling back as it should be and what what it will be with affordable prices for all of the family. Wrestling will be treated as a sport as long he's here and fines will be given out for anyone who throws someone over a top rope, uses a weapon or touches a little referee. He still wrestlers and can push some people around if he needs. He wants the fans to write letters and tell him how it should be. SMW will be great.

Match#2 Brian Lee vs Barry Horowitz
Fuck yeah, Barry is here. Lee is the infamous fake Undertaker, member of DOA and a future great wrestler for 6 months as a member of New Church. He's as green as it gets as a big man having no clue what he's doing, but Corny sees him as the future because he loves giant losers that will never reach any true form of sustained potential. Dutch covers the wrestling bios of both in an amazing, amazing little thing as he talks about Barry being a wrestler in college, while Lee played baseball and football at college. Barry is a wrestler in the true sense of the sport. Barry uses basics and guides Lee through them to make him look fine, and yeah it works because Barry gets how to do his job better than maybe any wrestler in his spot. Lee really adds nothing as he's seemingly unsure of himself, but i'm keeping an open mind that he will get better. Lee comesback with basics of his own and lets out a woo as he pumps his fist, and the crowd doesn't react. OOF. He beats Barry with a sitout shoulder backbreaker called "Cancellation"
*

Ron Wright is sitting by in a wheelchair. He explains that his career has taken a toll on him as he needs new hips and knees, so he's scouting wrestlers to make money off so he can pay for them AMAZING. He wants all the wrestlers to show him what they've got so he can get that contract signed and take them to the top of the wrestling empire once he's healthy. One of the greatest heel grifts i've seen.

Before the next match, we must dive into Tim Horner. He's a famous mid-card wrestler from WCW/JCP who teamed with Brad Armstrong as the Lighting Express. He's a classic "very good hand, but never anything more" as he can speak or be someone that could be considered a top star. He's here because he told Cornette that he had a backer for a promotion in Morris Town, TN (where Tim is from) and wanted to know if Jim and the MX would do shows for him. Jim had a backer of his own in music producer Rick Rubin and didn't want Horner to fuck it up, so he gave him a job here. It ends incredibly badly as Horner is a piece of shit that stole money, a fax machine, fucked the boys over and pushed himself as a top guy who sang on tv "WHY THE FUCK IS TIM HORNER SINGING ON MY TV". It's a proper shambles and leads to one of the most brutal Corny rants of them all.



Match#3 Tim Horner vs Joe Cazana
Tim is a very fine hand and a very fine showcase for 4 minutes. Far too long as we've covered in the WWF, but it's old school and i get it. Tim does all his offence as tight and nice looking as you'd expect from him, and there's nothing bad or boring to be seen here. It's just two minutes too long as stated. Tim wins with a bridging pin out of back takedown.
*1/2

Bob is now with Jim Cornette. Jim says everyone out in TV land must be asking what a famous star like him is doing in a nothing happening town like this. He's here to show hillbillies a famous person, and he's heard that pro wrestling is BACK. Major promotions have turned it in a circus where it no longer matters if you can wrestle, but if you can wear a funny costume. Be able to fight has taken the backseat to selling toys, and it means more to take steroids more than it means to have guts. THEY TURNED PROFESSIONAL WRESTLING INTO A JOKE, SO HE TURNED HIS BACK ON THEM. He's taken the best team in wrestling that could fight and hold their own, and they never got any help or do favours for others, and that's why they got thrown to the side. He's got a new team that will revolutionise tag team wrestling just like MX did. This is the real deal with no cartoon wrestling. THIS IS THE REAL DEAL. He's scum, but goddamn it can he talk.

Match#4The Black Scorpion vs Paul Miller
BS is is Doug Stahl from early ECW fame as a Super Destroyer. Miller tries his heart out as Dutch says its dumb to put him in the ring with BS when he's not tough or skilled enough to ever win. BS does fine basics in the theme of the show because old school is king and if you fly, you die. Miller is a good punching bag as he splats off the mat and gets his ass kicked, and it's a great thing with Dutch talking more and more about how he's a bum. MILLER GETS A SMALL PACKAGE FOR THE UPSET. YEAH, MILLER.
*

Bob is with Primetime. He thanks the fans as he's planning on winning the Heavyweight title in an upcoming tournament with all these great people behind him. Very little cheers again. Maybe, go with someone else. Anyway, Dutch walks on and says he made some mistakes in the ring that Dutch would never make as he would do things different. He needs to learn that or he's going to flounder on the bottom. Lee says Dutch would have lost the match, and he's not ready for Primetime. He walks off, and Dutch says some people can't take constructive criticism.

Match#5 Bobby Fulton vs Ivan Koloff
Ivan was washed back in the late 80's, so he's even more cooked and done in 92. Bobby is still incredible as he's working all over the world and is one half of one of the coolest teams ever. Ivan has a cut in with the classics old man promo about breaking bones and humiliating America. Bobby does all he can as Ivan moves at a snails pace and all his office is garbage, so it's up to Bobby to sell and bump around for him. Dutch says he's wrestling next week to show Lee how its really done. Ron Wright wheels down to watch the match so he can scout the fellas. Bobby and Ivan trade arm work and lay an egg in a boring match that has killed the crowd, so we can already see that maybe Cornette doesn't get it as well as he thinks he does. They fight on the outside where Wright offers his hand to Fulton but gets ignored, so Ivan hits him with the Sickle and throws him into the post. He even hits him across the back with a chair. Bobby is thrown back in but no sells it, and we see Wright shaking Ivan's hand to give him something. Ivan knocks Bobby out cold with it to win.
1/2*

Jackie comes down to tell the ref what happened. He fights Ivan who drops the thing, and the ref reverses the call. A new Koloff called Valdmir comes out and attacks the Fulton's with his chain. They hang Jackie until Bobby makes the save and runs them off.

We come back to Bob Armstrong with the Fultons. He said he wasn't going to allow this to happen, so he's fining Ivan $500. Also, he's making a tag match for next week between the four of them. Bobby says he agrees with Jim Cornette that this is wrestling as it's meant to be, and he's going to fight these commies. They jacked his jaw, so he's fighting fire with fire.He's going to push that wheelchair over and kick that guy right in the BOOTY. No hangings next week, and he can't wait for it.

Pro Wrestling is BACK

 

[BigVanDonnie]

SMW TV#2
February 8th, 1992
Greeneville, SC

Bob and Jim are hosting this week. Hollywood Bob Holly and Rip Rodgers debuts this week. Dutch vs Scott Armstong. Koloffs vs Fantastics. Jim says he can't wait to see everyone in action, and he thinks the Russians are out for blood and will get some. i really adore the simple set up to open the shows and it's something that's sadly dead and gone in the current era as people wouldn't like because they suck.

Match#1 Hollywood Bob Holly vs Tim Fry
Bob is in a sweet pink Bret Hart type attire, and it's a hell of a look for our beloved BobCore. He's got a snap and foot work with all his stuff as it has that sound as he hits everything where it makes a crack, so it's pretty work. Wright wheels down to watch, and now Cornette talks about the injures and the money he needs to make sure it sound even dirtier and worse than it already was. Bob breaks out a wicked forearm to the face and then another one to the back of the skull, so he's already a mean son of a bitch. Bob doesn't end it, so the jobber comes back and works his arm for a bit and throws Holly around. Bob cuts him off with another elbow and then hits a flying kneedrop off the top to win.
**

In the back, The Russians talk and i have to post this as i've amazed at how good of a ripoff of Nikita they found

Like, yeah if he got sick and lost the muscle, i could see this being him. Kudos for Jim on that one. Uncle Ivan says Vlad is more fantastic and amazing than Nikita ever was, and they're going to rip the Fantastics apart.

Write a letter to SMW to get them to come to town for local charity events.

In a pre-tape, Robert Gibson speaks. He says he was out for 9 months after hurting his knee and he's ready to come back for the people. Rock N Roll will never die.

Match#2 Rip Rodgers vs Paul Orndroff
Oh shit, old man Paul is here. Haven't seen him since in a year or so, but i'm sad to say his arm is already getting smaller and smaller from his injures and he's lost a dozen steps. Rip fucking rules though as he's got SO much movement to him as he sprints around the ring getting his ass handed to him by Paul. He goes from pillar to post and then on the outside getting thrown around, and it's a fantastic performance. Paul is ok with basics, but he's also grabbing the arm and not going wild as he can't do it anymore. Rip screams a lot and rules at fighting like a madman to get out, so he keeps interesting for the entire time. Rip comes back and batters the old man with elbows and knees, and he should be the pushed one here. They have a good back and forth thanks to Rip, and Paul drops down out of a sunset flip and grabs the legs for a pin to win. Ugh, awful finish.
**

Bob has Nitro Danny Davis with him to promote some live shows. Nothing is better than live wrestling so come to the shows and see wrestling how it's done. Armstrong walks on and repeats his promo about making wrestling a family affair at fair prices.

Coming back, Bob is with Primetime. Lee says he's not hiding from anyone as he's too big, and anyone can get it. He stops talking so Bob finishes his promo by saying how big he is and how he'll have an impact on wrestling.

Match#3 Dutch Mantel vs Scott Armstrong
RAWHIDE THEME FOR DUTCH. Scott is Bob's son, so this is nepotism at its finest, which in wrestling has never happened. He's the lesser of the brothers and became a ref down the line in a more fitting role. Fine (sorry) basics to start from him with arm work, and then Dutch takes over and attacks the neck with fun heel work and cheating like a dirty dog. Jim rules as he says it's not cheating and the ref is a punk for asking any questions to Dutch. In fact he should kiss his feet for being allowed to be near a great wrestler. Scott comes back with a series of punches and puts him on the back foot, so Dutch gets a bull ship and hits him in the throat for the DQ
*3/4

He keeps attacking until Lee makes the save with a pole. Dutch gets a mic and says the whip can stop a 2,000 pound bull and he's going to take all 75 pounds of Lee down with it if keeps messing with him.

Bob C is with a high school principal who thanks SMW for hosting a show at his school.

Bob C is with Bob A to talk about Dutch's actions. Bob says the whip can be bought down if it's only part of the paraphernalia, but he's getting fined $500 every time he uses it. Dutch has a problem with Lee, so he can face him next week in a singles match.

Corny walks on and says he would pay the fine to see Lee get his butt whipped. Everyone is asking who his new team is, well no one will know until he's ready and they have some gold around here to fight for. In other wrestling companies it's all about money and contracts when trying to make it over there. It's about people wanting to be on TV and protecting themselves from ever wrestling. SMW is about winning matches and have guts in your bellies. The titles will be won by being bigger and tougher, and his men are winning them by doing just that. The rednecks can love them or hate them, he could't care less.

Bob C is with Wally Yamaguchi aka the man who chopped Val Venis' penis off. He's pleased to be here for a partnership and a possible talent exchange down the line. He shows off his companies logo and he says he's proud to be here in SMW. I'm not actually sure what company he means, so it might be a kayfabe one.

Recap of last weeks ending.

Ron Wright is sitting by as he complains about the Fantastics attacking a crippled man. He's never harmed the hair on the body of anyone in his life, and he's nothing but a poor crippled man. He's just looking for a man or team to get signed and help pay for his hip surgery.

Match#4 The Fantastics vs The Koloffs
Big brawl of bad blood to start with punches and hate being thrown as Jim gushes over old school wrestling on display. This implies no other company in the US allows anything they do, so even in kayfabe he's out of touch and insane. Also
Bob C "By the way, what is 215 kilos? I have no idea"
Jim "I think that's about 15 to 20 years in prison"
They have a semi ok back and forth as Vlad is ok enough to hang, and Ivan is old and shot to shit. So, it's pretty damn ugly. The brothers work on Ivan's arm with high flying and double teams, but Ivan doesn't bother to sell because he's bad at every aspect now. Vlad hits bobby from behind to take him out, and the Russians have a bad control seg with only Fulton's bumping to save it. Jim does it again when he says wrestling like this hasn't been allowed to happen in the last few years. Like, 30 seconds of research prove he's full of crap. Also, if you see this as the high-mark then we're all in serious trouble. It goes on and on and loses any steam it once had, and Bob says it's been nothing but non stop action. Jackie has a good hot tag on his end but the other ending is on fire and dying as we watch this. Things break down and Jackie beats Ivan with a crossbody
3/4*

Bob C is with Jim in the back. Jim calls all the town a gross redneck albrotross and he's telling Bob he doesn't want to work there

TERRY GORDY WALK ON AND SAYS HE'S BEEN ON FREEBIRD MT AND HE'S HERE FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER. HE WANTS TO TAKE THE FIGHT TO EVERYONE AS THE BOMBERS FALL AND DROP BECAUSE HE'S GOING TO DROP THE BIGGEST THE BOMB OF THEM ALL. ALL THE TOWN WILL BE ELIMINATEDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD

Bob C is with Tim Horner. He talks about seeing mountains and thinking about SMW. A place that lets them compete at the level they're at, and this company is not, uh, uh a body competition and it's not a rock show. They're not trying HAMMER something in the people's heads, if you catch his drift. He's happy to be here. Terrible promo and i can't wait for more of Timmy Horner.

 

[BigVanDonnie]

SMW TV#3
February 15th, 1992
Morristown, TN

This is taking place in EAST HIGH SCHOOL. A shit ton of wrestling has been reviewed, but i don't think we've ever had East High School take the front runner as the best venue name ever

Tonight; Dutch vs Lee. Ivan announces a new partner as Vlad is gone???? White Lighting in action.

Match#1 Hollywood Bob Holly vs Pat Rose
The jobber a big burly guy that punches Bob in the kisser right away and refuses to take any guff. Very good bumping from Bob as he shows what he can do, and it's a nice showing as the guy throws around like a piece of meat. Holly comes back and puts in the work with elbows and slams and shows that mean side again, and i'm a big fan of Bobcore. Just a guy doing good ass pro wrestling. He kills the kid with the brutal Knee Drop
**

Bob C is with Horner and the Fantastics to promote some live events. Tim is TICKLED TO DEATH TO WRESTLE IN HIS BACKYARD. HE'S REAL EXCITED. The Fantastics love the fans and want to shake hands and hug those pretty young ladies.

in a pre-tape, Bobby Fulton says a new partner is coming because Vlad was called away on important business . They don't care who the partner is because they've proven in the past they're winners and they always will be.

Bob C is with Ivan and ihs new partner. Ivan says everyone has a lot of questions and it's no ones business, but he'll tell you anyway. Vlad was called away by Russia for important matters, and he hasn't been ran out of wrestling. They want them out of wrestling and it's not happening nor will it ever be true. Ivan has found some with class from America, which is very hard to find. He introduces Jimmy Golden aka Bunkhouse Bunk!!!! Jimmy says a second coup is staring with Vlad making sure it's ran right. He sees some tag belts are coming and they might as well give them over because they're the best, and the Fantastics ain't beat anyone. He's going to the back to make a match to seperate the men from the boys.

Match#2 Joey Maggs vs Rip Rodgers
No intro for either which doesn't look good. Maggs is a famous WCW job guy and a nothing, so it's up to Rip to be a one man band again. He pulls hair and cheats up a storm, and then flings himself around like a pinball for Maggs. RIP THROWS MAGGS TO THE FLOOR AND COMES OFF THE TOP WITH AN AXE HANDLE. FUCK YEAH BREAK THOSE RULES AND GET THE BIGGEST POP IN THE COMPANY THUS FAR. Rip keeps beating ass and being fantastic, and he's already my new favourite dude. Maggs come back for more killer Rip bumps, and he even gets tied in the ropes and beaten on. Rip has his face beaten in and knocked off the buckles. He stumbles back as Maggs tries to climb the top, and he accidentally crotches Joey!! Rip goes up and hits a Superplex called the Ripperplex to win
**1/4

Match#3 Robert Gibson vs Mighty Yankee
A jobber named that in the south is genius and amazing. Another good showcase for Robert as it's all so well done and easy to digest. but just missing a real hook for him sadly. Robert wins with his Bulldog
*3/4

Bob C is with Jim in the back. Jim says the fans look like a genetic experiment gone wrong. We can't take people at their word any more like Magic who took more passes off the course than on it. Pee Wee Herman is an idol to all the little kids, and we come to find out he likes to play solitaire in private theatres. The state of Louisiana elected a convicted criminal to their highest seat, and he was the best choice. All the TV preachers stealing money and the women for themselves make it hard to believe in anyone. You can believe in Jim Corentte. If he tells you the sun isnt rising, you better buy a torch. They're coming for the tag titles and they'll take them no matter how these hillbillies feel.

Recap of the happenings between Lee and Dutch.

Dutch is sitting down with Ron Wright in the back. Dutch says his plight has saddened him to the bottom of his heart, and he would want someone to help him if he was in the same spot. He knows he wants help and he's not offering himself, but he would love it if he came down to the ring with him to back him up. He might see something he likes out there. Ron says tears have been bought to an old man's eyes that's been down on his luck. Brian Lee hasn't show him nothing, and medicare won't pay his bill. Maybe he'll see something out there.

Match#4 Tim Horner vs Barry Horowitz
Bob does the hard sell about Tim being a hero to all the little kids in his home town, and you can hear Jim cut it off as quick as he can. Barry bumps big times for Timmy to give him a hook, which seems to be something he might need given how much of a dork he is. Barry throws sick uppercuts and other sweet things, and he makes Timmy look great. Barry gets an actual control seg with neckbreakers and back work and looks fantastic and a real damn star. Horner comes back to send him flying, and then kicks him right in the jaw. Horner gets his bridging german setup into a rollup called "Natural Bridge" to win. Stupid name, but man what a match for Barry.
**1/2

Bob C is with Horner for more promo time! Thank you, i'm happy to be in Morris Town. I'm happy to be in SMW. I, uh, i appreciate everyone.

Buddy Landel is coming to SMW. He doesn't need some stinking intro because all the fans have seen him in other organisations. He hasn't stayed because he doesn't kiss can and do promoters favours. He can be himself in SMW and rip eye balls out and tear lips off and make them talk funny. Buddy says there are tough guys here because they don't kiss butt, and some people need to put stop signs on their face and break their noses. He's here because he's a GOD. He's got a bad ego and he's going to stick the figure four on everyone. SMW is where it's at.

Match#5 Dutch Mantel vs Brian Lee
Dutch guides the kid through some stuff to start and shows he can still bump around for an old guy on the tail end of his career. Lee looks more confident this go round as he's moving and hitter better, so that's nice. Ron Wright wheels down to the ring to watch as promised. Jim says he's kind and gentle old man that deserves respect and his new hip. Dutch has his arm worked and can't get anything going for a while, and Lee does well working said limb. Dutch finally comes back with punches to the face and starts cheating like last time. We get a shot of an angry old woman in the crowd, and Jim asks if an undertaker knows she got up out of the casket. Dutch throws a GROSS short arm lariat to the face and beats the hell out of Lee's head. Brian comes back and does more good looking basics, but he gets too amped up and has the ref pull him back. Wright hands Dutch something, but Lee blocks it and steals it and he knocks Dutch out cold. The ref counts 1 and 2, but then stops at 3 when he sees the knucks on Lee's hand because he didn't take it off because he's dumb. AMAZING. The ref DQ's him for it
**

Wright wheels himself off right away in a perfect moment as the camera sees him going as fast as he can. Dutch is very happy to have won.

Bob is with Ron in the back. Ron says he's the best manager ever and he's a living legend. He just wants a team or a man to help him get a new hip
-Hollywood walks in and says he can't stay for long as he's got a date with Julia Roberts waiting for him. Corny walks on and sings his praises as a man who can knock people out cold with a single right hand. You've seen nothing like SMW.

Bob C is with Brian Lee. He's very mad at those boys for messing with him. He's going to put Dutch in a wheelchair right next to Ron. He was ripped off and he wants a rematch because he deserves it. Both of them are going down because they aren't ready for Primetime.

 

[BigVanDonnie]

SMW TV#4
February 22nd, 1992
Morristown, TN

Dutch and Bob are back on the call and within 10 seconds, Bob calls Hector Guerrero "Hector Gomez". All time terrible announcer. He then says the main event will be Fantastics vs Golden/Koloff. Dutch says tonight we will see the tape of that psychotic freak trying to kill him. HE SHOULD BE LOCKED IN LEG IRONS.

Match#1 Hector Guerrero vs Tommy Angel
Jumping from old man Hector to the young one is a great thing to finally see him in his prime. Dutch gives Bob crap for his mess up. Really fun showcase for Hector as he's got a snap and smoothness to it all given his lineage, so he's already a guy we can love. Hector has some wild takedowns with his legs and jumps all over the place, and Bob is amazed and has no idea how. to call it. HECTOR HITS A PLANCHA TO THE FLOOR, AND BOB SHOUTS YOU COULD GET HURT FROM DOING THAT. Hector gets him back in and locks in a cradle where he rolls and rolls until he stops and gets the 3.
**

Bob is with Ivan and Golden. Ivan says Vlad is fixing the motherland and will be soon enough. Those foolish Fantastics have accepted a match with them, so that's history for them. Jimmy wonders how they got that name when they haven't shown him anything. They'll never beat them as they're the next champions, and all these idiots in the crowd need to respect Russia.

Dutch and Bob are about to recap the footage of last week, and Dutch doesn't think it needs to be seen. They show the ending of the match, and then we come back to the booth as Dutch is very upset about this crazy person. We then see Lee's threats last week to Dutch and Wright. We come back to Dutch saying he's not afraid of anyone, and a fear of getting hurt is simply good sense. He brings on a guy he met recently called Carl Styles, a big fan of his. He wants to be a wrestler and help Dutch. He begged him for the chance, so Dutch will now have him by his side. Lee has to go through him, so smoke that. The best part is Styles looks like he's been found from a prison and has no clue what he's getting involved in.

In a pre-tape, Tim Horner says everyone what's to know what's going on in SMW, well this is what's going on. He points to the banner and says Japan is calling and wants to be part of SMW. God, i love him. Lee and Gibson promote some live events, but they aren't Tim so whatever.

We come back to Styles standing behind Dutch and Bob at the booth, and he moves his head a lot and looks really scared to be on TV. I just learnt he has a glass eye and that's why Cornette hired him as a cool angle he could run, but he bombs out before that ever occurs.

We go to Ron Wright. He says his heart was broken last week when Lee tried to maim Dufch. He's sitting in a chair as a crippled man because of people like Lee. He's had his hips and knees attacked by people like Lee. He just wants some wrestlers to help him as flu season is coming and he needs help before winter.

Match#2 Killer Kyle vs Ricky Nelson
Wright comes out to watch again. Kyle does a lot of rough work and looks bad again, sadly. The jobber is pretty bad as he misstimes things and looks like a goober, so this is a bad match on both sides. Wright props Kyle's violin case in the corner to ram Nelson's head into it for the big goof to win. Needing help to beat a jobber is not a good look.
1/4*

We go to the ring where Bob is standing by with Tim Horner and a man who represents HAWK a group that works with juvenile prisoners. He gives Tim a plaque to thank him for being involved. Horner says he appreciates them as he can give back to those who made him. There a different roads for kids and he hopes he stir them in the right direction. Tim wants you to be good and not be a bad person.

We go back to the booth where Styles is now wearing Dutch's hat!

We go to a pre-tape with Bob Holly. People have been asking why he's hanging out with hillbillies, and he's showing them what a real movie star looks like. He ran into Jack Nicholson, who called him Hollywood. Yeah, he knows who i am. He asked him what you doing in wrestling when you could be making movies and doing whatever he wants. He knows he can do that, but he loves to beat people up and show them what a real star looks like. People aren't used to someone as good looking as him on TV, but they'll need to get used to it. He's a future champion.

Match#3 Brian Lee vs Brad Anderson
Dutch calls Brian a potential serial killer that will bust into a cafeteria and shoot people with an AK47. HOLY SHIT. Lee gets nearly 4 minutes in a showcase that's again far too long for someone this green. I swear that Cornette just never understood why WWF and WCW normally ran shorter ones as a way to protect people before they were ready. He's doing a massive disservice to the kid. So, yeah this is pretty terrible as his offence looks bad again and he's struggling to fill time with cool stuff, so he works a headlock for a while. Styles comes down to watch as Lee keeps being a bum and sucking at wrestling, and i don't like hating people this early. He finally wins with Cancellation.
1/7*

Styles goes nose to nose with Lee and shoves him. They shove each other and then throw some punches, and it's a proper ugly but sort of fun fight between them. Dutch comes down to cheer Styles on as he kicks Lee's ass. Brian fights back and sends them into each other and holds the ring.

Match#4 Jimmy Golden & Ivan Koloff vs The Fantastics
Ivan is again cooked and awful, so of course the opening minutes are him and the Fantastics going back and forth in boring and awful fashion. Really show how selfish and dumb some of the old heads are they can't leave the spotlight, so it leaves them in the end. Golden gets in and doesn't do much to change this into a better match as he grabs a headlock and gets super lazy right away. Damn it, man. He gets out and then Ivan is back in and sucks as he tries to turn it to a brawl, and gets thrown into the post to get busted open. Golden knees Bobby in the back to tale over and shows something as he attacks him with solid offence and cheating. Can't wait for him to get away from the old man and flourish. Jackie has a sweet hot tag of punches and slams and brings some much needed life to it as he bounces them around. Things break down as they tend to with everyone brawling. Vlad runs out and hits the faces with a boot, and we get a shot of the angry granny again. Golden pins Jackie to steal one.
*3/4


They repeat the Corny/Holly promo from a couple of weeks ago. Odd.

Bob is with The heels. Golden says Vlad made it back just in time from Russia. Bobby rushes the set and fights all three on them, and gets Ivan back to the ring to punch him. Jackie joins in and they brawl with the trio in a far better fight than it was a match. The numbers take over as they get the boots put to them, BUT OUR HERO TIIM HORNER MAKES THE SAVE AND JOINS THE FIGHT. YEAH. They fight on the outside with chair shots and brawling around the shcool, and it's fantastic as the credits roll over the top with fighting like crazy.

 

[BigVanDonnie]

SMW TV#5
February 29th, 1992
Knoxville, TN

We start off with Bob, Dutch and Carl. Tonight. Danny Davis debuts. Wonderful returns. Dutch is wrestling once more. Mantel says it a big treat for the fans to see him wrestle, and all the boys will turn out to see a real pro in action. Also, Golden vs Gibson in the main event.

Match#1 Danny Davis vs Barry Horowitz
Thankfully not that Davis. Its another guy who will go on to work for OVW with Cornette, and is spoken highly of by the famed class of 2000/01. He's a smallish guy who grabs tight holds and looks ok with basics, but he has no proper fire to him. Easy to see why he became a trainer to people who had never done it before. Barry is the real star as he's throwing those uppercuts and doing fun mat work, and he again looks like the star in this. Barry gets a cradle, but Davis rolls through and grabs one of his own to win. Ugh.
*1/4

We go to Golden in the back. He says he's got quite a rep here, sonny boy. He hears Gibson likes Rock N Roll, well he hopes he can fight because he's going to chop him down to size. See you in the ring.

They recap the ending of last week.

We now go to The Fantastics. They won't cry about this but they aren't happy. They have some work in Japan right now, but they'll be back with a partner for some 6 man's.

We go to the return of Bullet Bob. He says that fight was very interesting but he can't have that going on as it could lead to cameras being damaged, or fans getting hurt. Everyone involved will be fined $500. We see the granny again and she's PLEASED to hear it. Bob says he will grant them a 6 man when they return. He moves onto Dutch about the issues with Lee. He has told Brian that he can't be messing with Dutch when he's calling the show, but brother you are on your own in that ring if Lee finds him. I adore how simple this all is.

SMW is coming to a town near you. Just find a high school and they'll be there.

Ron Wright reads a letter from a fan. The person is a fan who always loved how he showed sportsmanship against those who crippled and maimed him, The fan is enclosing $5 to help pay for his new hip. Ron is a kind old man and he hopes others will send money until Wright finds a good Christian wrestler to manage. Ron is nearly in tears as this makes him feel good to see the fans recognise him as a good clean Christian athlete.

Match#2 Bob Holly vs Tommy Angel
Bob is wearing pink and black this week, and Bob is at a complete loss for words. Bob now gets 5 minutes to work in a massive choice given Angel is a bum. It works as Hollywood is moving even better than before and hitting like a infamous bully in the ring. Wright wheels down to watch a good Christian movie star in the ring. Bob claws at the face and does some other heel antics, and he's really good at that as well. Never really realised how solid Bobcore was, but yeah he's a guy i'll enjoy for a long time. Bob uses a big boot to crush Angel's face. Tommy comes back and bumps Bob around, but Wright grabs his foot to stop him. Bob hits him in the head and brings him down with a suplex. He hits a gorgeous top rope Dropkick to win.
**

Bob C is with Mr Wonderful in the back. Bob says there will be an upcoming tournament for the SMW World title and he thinks Wonderful is here for that. Paul starts by saying he used to live here and he knows all the fans here, and he's happy to be back among them. He's held titles all over the world and he never felt more gratification than when he beat a great wrestler. SMW is a hotbed of talent and everyone wants that title,. and he's ready for a fight. He's not happy about the Piledriver being banned, so he's going to look into that. Bob runs down the rules for SMW that Bullet covered in the first episode, and that ends this. Odd way to do to this.

In a pre-tape, Lee says Dutch has been running from since day one. He's going to get him in that ring and break him in half. He might be good, but he's not ready for Primetime.

At the booth. Dutch coughs a lot and says he's got the Chinese Flu, so he makes Styles wrestle for him. God yes.

Match#3 Carl Styles vs Reno Riggins
In a fantastic moment, the title card still says Dutch on it when Carl is introduced. Reno is a jobber whose shown up in the WWF reviews, and he's a great warm body out there. Styles shows he can bump around for some dropkicks and armdrags as he looks competent. He comes back with some power stuff and hurls the kid around, and he's at least better than some other muscle heads of the era. He wins with a Powerslam.
*1/2

Lee gets in the ring and says he has no problems with Styles, and he thinks he's being played for a fool by Dutch. He turns to Dutch to challenge him to fight, but Styles hits him from behind and they have a fun fight on the mat. We come back to Dutch saying he has a fever and can't help. I love this angle.

We come back to Dutch all of a sudden being better as go to Jim Cornette.
-Jim says Bullet Bob is running the gutless parade. Everyone is scared of his new team and what they might do. Bob says they can't be entered as team without a name as it's not fair. Jim says he will not name them until they debut because all the other teams will abandon ship as soon as they see them. He's doing them a favour by keeping the tournament alive by not naming them.

Match#4 Robert Gibson vs Jimmy Golden
Dutch says Lee and Styles fought to the back and the cops were called by Bullet Bob. Gibson won't take any guff as he fights the big man with all the heart of rock and roll. Golden looks good again as he can bump and sell for a giant dude, and he makes it so Gibson's battle feels really tough as his arm is chopped down. Jimmy catches him with a boot to cross his eyes some more and goes to work with some sweet rough housing offence. SMW has some issues for sure, but the ideas and themes are working really well thus far. Uncle Ivan comes down to cheer his American pal. Golden kicks the crap out of Ricky, and we get some wonderful selling from Robert. Gibson comes back and manages to hit the Bulldog, but the heels jump him for the DQ
**1/4

They try to jump him more, but Horner and Hector rush to make the save.

We go to the back with Bullet Bob, Gibson and Lee. Bob says he's trying to keep order but there will always be guys getting away with things, but they've got fire power on this side of the fence. If Lee and Gibson can find some, he might look the other way. Gibson says revenge is coming. Lee shouts he's coming for Styles next week We close with an image of Lee vs Styles being booked for next week.

 

[BigVanDonnie]

SMW TV #6
March 7th, 1992
Knoxville, TN

Dutch and Bob are joined by Styles and Rip this week to kick us off. Tonight. Bam Bam Gordy, Hollywood, and Wonderful all in action. Styles vs Lee in the main event. Dutch says he's a little under the weather but he'll be in Styles corner to put an end to the Primetime. Rip says unlike these fat out of shape mountain folk, he's the best athlete in the world. He can out jump Jordan, hit more home runs than Bobby Bonilla, and tonight he's going to do squats for the entire hour of the show.

Match#1 Bob Holly vs Joey Maggs
Rip is counting in the background like TMTN 2, so i doubt he's actually doing them until he gets caught. Maggs is given some token offence to start and he's not awful like some others, he's just a burly dude without a hook to him. Bob at least sells and bumps well again for all of it, but i wish Cornette would find better low card guys outside of Barry and Rip. Bob comes back and beats ass to pick it back up, so hell yeah. Dutch is bothered as to why a guy who never jumps is called jumping, and yeah it's a very good point. Bob keeps doing good work and showing off and he wins with his Kneedrop this week.
*3/4

Bob C is with Timmy Horner. Sadly, Rip is counting in the background to stop the promo. He keeps telling Tim to shut up so he can count, also no one wants to hear from a hillbilly. Horner asks if they have a problem, and Rip keeps squatting as he says he doesn't think a hillbilly like him could even do 3 squats. He's not even tired like those fat hillbillies out there. Tim asks if he's doing it the full hour, and Rip says of course he will. Tim offers him $500 to keep doing it, and Rip says he could do this for 3 weeks so the bet is on.

FREEBIRD HITS. YESSSSSSSSSS.

Match#2 Bam Bam Terry Gordy vs Tommy Angel
Gordy falls for the same SMW trap of giving away too much as he gets dominated with a headlock for a little bit, and then grabs one of his own to fight back. Feels like he's in not give a shit mode as he's got AJPW money on the line. It's a fair call, but fuck it makes for a super disappointing match. He finally bashes him and it's good enough for a point, but i wish the entire match had been this. He wins with his powerbomb
*

Bob C is with Bam Bam backstage. Gordy says he's speaking truthfully when he thinks there isn't a man alive who can beat him. No one today can do it, and the bombs are already falling. If SMW has a title it belongs to him. Bob Armstrong has money on him because he's had his head busted by him, and he knows what he can do. He has no friends, and he wants the title.

Rip is still doing his squats as Bob C talks to Bullet Bob about the upcoming tournament. Bob says in two weeks we will start the TAG TEAM TOURNAMENT TO CROWN THE FIRST CHAMPIONS. He's got some bad news with Ron Wright. He shows footage of his alleged cheating, but he's a poor Christian crippled man and would never do that.

We come back to Bob C saying this is correct as he's been doing this for weeks and weeks. Bob says he has a manger license to be at ringside, however as he's not managing any of these men, he's now banned from ringside. BOOOO. He says it's not fair to the wrestlers to have him out there, or for the fans to look at him. Ron wheels on and is shocked at being mistreated like this. He's been an upstanding gentlemen wrestler his entire life, and he would never do anything wrong. Bob snatches the mic and says he forgets he's know him for 20 years and he's seen what's he's done to young men trying to get a start in this profession by crippling them until they couldn't walk right. HE HAS A KNOT AND A SCAR ON HIS HEAD THAT HE WILL HAVE FOR THE REST OF HIS LIFE THAT HE PUT THERE, AND HE'S NOT FOOLING HIM. HE'S THE MOST LOW DOWN WRESTLER EVER, AND UNTIL HE'S MANAGING SOMEONE HE'S BANNED. KEEP YOUR BUTT AWAY FROM THE RING. RON TRIES TO TALK, BUT BOB GRABS HIS CHAIR AND WHEELS HIM AWAY. Goddamn it this is so fucking perfect.

Bob C is with Mr Wonderful. He's very upset that he can't use his piledriver when every other wrestler can use whatever they want to. C tries to cover by saying it's dangerous, and Wonderful says ALL moves are dangerous. Yeah. He says he heard Gordy say he wants a title, well he wants it as well. He's got other moves he can use, and he's going to show that.

Match#3 Paul Orndorff vs Barry Horowitz
This gets 7 minutes and it's a real match as a result. Nice back and forth to start as Barry uses his speed to stay alive from Wonderful's fading powers. Dutch says Rip just did one thousand and sixty seven squats. Barry punches Wonderful in the face and hits a stunning knee drop to send him to the hardwood and kicks his ass on the outside. He throws him back in and we get a fun control seg working the neck and arm as Barry is like a little animal attacking, and it's really fun. Wonderful throws a lariat to knock him down and kicks his butt on the outside with the rails. He beats on him and teases going for the Piledriver, but the ref stops him from doing it. Barry is able to come back again and takes it to him, but he can't put him away. Wonderful counters a neckbreaker into a backslide to get the win.
**

Rip is still doing squats against a chair.

Jim Corentte walks on the stage to talk some smack to the ugly redneck fans booing him. Bob stuck his nose into things and assaulted a cripple, and then he tells him he can't have a team no one knows the identy of. If he names them it will kill this entire area and put it into disrepair. All the wrestlers will run away and kill SMW for good. He will say that his team is sexier than Madonna, built better than a bomb shelter, and are more dangerous than a dinner party as Jeffery Dahmer's house. They will become the next tag champions. He wishes Rip good luck.

Recap of Lee and Styles fighting.

We come back to Dutch saying a coward is in the form of Brian Lee. He's going to drag his egg sucking carcass down to the ring against his man. in just under two minutes he's getting taken out.

Jim joins commentary.

Lee rushes down and attacks Dutch until Carl makes the save and beats him down and throws him in for the match.

Match#4 Brian Lee vs Carl Styles w/Dutch Mantel
Lee fights back and drops him like a bag of shit, but he keeps going after poor Dutch and getting his butt kicked as a result. Good little fight as it's verging on ugly and bad, but it goes back to fun and real feeling as a result. Dutch finally attacks Lee on the floor to give Styles the chance to take over, and now it falls apart as he's really boring and only doing bearhugs and chinlocks. Lee is sort of selling and bumping, but he's still really bad at it so it hurts it more than it helps. You'd think this would change Jim's mind, but he's never been wrong about anything. Just ask him. Lee comes back and hits Cancellation, but Dutch attacks for the DQ.
3/4*

The heels attack, but Lee fights them and drives them away. Please don't do this push.

They replay Gordy's debut promo.

They then replay one of Jim's promos from a few weeks ago.

Rip is doing his squats with Horner watching on. Rip screams he's going to spend all that money and there's nothing Tim will do about it. Horner gets Bob to check the stop watch, AND HE KICKS RIP'S LEGS OUT FROM UNDER HIM. SON OF A BITCH. Rip tries to get back to it, but Bob says he didn't make it. Tim laughs and says he'll see them next week. Rip keeps doing his squats to close us out.

 

[BigVanDonnie]

SMW TV #7
March 14th, 1992
Knoxville, TN

Tonight. Golden & Koloffs in 6 man action. Ron Wright has a surprise tonight. Rip Rodgers will face Tim Horner in a $500 challenge. Hell yeah.

Match#1 Hector Guerrero vs TJ Travis
The jobber is pasty white and looks like he's woken from a 3 day bender and woke up in a ring. Hector gets 4 minutes to do his fancy lucha work as best he can, and it's a blast again but too long in that old issue hitting again. Hector breaks out a Bow and Arrow and a Surfboard and it's mind blowing stuff for SMW. Sadly, the fans suck and don't react to things. Foley once described them as old-time fans...who still believed in good guys and bad guys, and to whom cheating was still reason to get upset. Man it's a damning and true statement. Hector wins with his fancy cradle roll.
*3/4

Nitro Danny Davis says he's not the biggest or toughest, but he's going to explode like Nitro. He likes to be exciting because that's good for him, and bad for you.

Bob C says next week it will be Fantastics and a partner vs Koloffs & Golden.

We go to a pre-tape with Fantastics. They're happy the contracts have been signed so they can get a second chance. Things are falling in line with what they want. The partner is a man who will scare the living daylights out of them. You will find out next week.

Match#2 Jimmy Golden & The Koloffs vs Ben Jordan, Reno Riggins, & Rocky Patterson
Really bad as it's 90% of lame and old shitty Koloff offence, and Golden is forced to take a backseat to all of this. It helps no one but Ivan stay in the spotlight, but that is dead and about to fall on his old head. Golden at least gets to do some cool stuff like a Butterfly Suplex of all things, while the others are doing lazy stomps and chinlocks. Ivan wins with his Sickle.
1/2*

in the back, Ivan plays with his chain as Golden hypes up his trio as unbeatable. It will be bad days for Fantastics as they turn them into mud next week.

Recap of Bullet wheeling Ron out last week.

Mr Wright wheels himself out as he says he thought Bob was a better man than one to pick on a cripple. He's the smartest man in wrestling as he has someone under contract that will do the wrestling for him. You'll see them tonight.

Ron's new man is THE DIRTY WHITE BOY. FUCK YEAH.

Match#3 The Dirty White Boy w/Ron Wright vs Roy Nelson
DWB is tough looking biker dude that beats the living shit out of people with great stiff punches and kicks. Just a bad ugly dude, and i love him. He beats the holy crap out of the kid and wrestles a true and proper squash match for once. He has body blows and throws the poor kid on his head a few times in an actual old school match that Corny can lay his hat on. HE KILLS NELSON WITH A NASTY LARIAT TO THE BACK OF THE SKULL TO WIN. JESUS CHRIST.
**

Ron says this man is singed on the dotted line and he has made it possible to get his hip fixed, and he might even get open heart surgery now. DWB says as long as Ron is happy, he is happy. He's the only DWB in the world no matter what anyone calls themselves. He's in shock that no one would step up to help this great man after all he's done. With Ron in his corner there's no way he doesn't kick some butt. Wright says they're about to turn the wrestling world upside down.

In a pre-tape, Bob Holly is reading a magazine about Julia Roberts being pregnant. He did not break up her marriage and he's not running off with her in Hawaii. They're just good friends. Don't believe all you read.

Match#4 Killer Kyle vs Jerry Lynn
Son of a bitch, Jerry is here. He's a proper jobber here, but he's got a name in hardcore circles after the series with Lighting Kid aka X-Pac. Here he can show off his fantastic bumping and selling for Kyle's terrible work. Lynn throws himself around off the ropes and splatters himself on each bump in different ways, and i can't even big a dick as he's awesome here. Kyle beats him with a Spinebuster Slam that Dutch calls "Bubba Slam". Sir, that was in no way a Bubba Slam, so what the fuck.
*3/4

Bob is with Gordy in the back. He says Bob has been around for a long while and he wants to know who he has his money on. Bob says he wouldn't bet against him. Terry can't be beat by any man and he's going to back that up. Bombs will be dropped as he's the big bomber of them all. Gordy is a bad promo.

Recap of Horner humiliating Rip.

We go to an interview with Rip. Horner is a backwards tobacco chewing hillbilly that owes him $500. You own me one thousand rolled up pennies. He did what he said he would do as the marathon man for one complete hour. To make up for it he's going to take 5 hundred from his dirty redneck hide.

Match#5 Rip Rodgers vs Tim Horner ($500 Challenge)
Awesome mat work to start as it's a battle for control with Rip showing he can hang hold for hold, and Tim shows he can dirty with some knees if he needs. Horner goes for the arm and dominates for a bit, and then punches Rip right in the nose with a sick straight right. THE GRANNY IS BACK TO CHEER HORNER ON AS HE DOES IT AGAIN. Rip finally takes him down with his legs and goes after the neck, and then he moves on to a great little beating. He hits his Ax Handle off the top to the floor to wake the people back up, and then hits another on the inside when they get back in. Horner is batters as Rip gets violent, so Horner fires back with a punch, AND THEN HIS DOES A TOPE SUICDA. HOLY SHIT YEAH. Rip gets back up and tires a piledriver, but Horner backdrops him on the ground for a nasty thud. They get back in and do a double down when they crack heads. Tim is on the apron and fights to get back in and he shoots over for a sunset flip and manages to drag Rip down for the 3.
**3/4

In the back, Bob A is spitting mad that Corny thinks he can dare to enter a team without actually naming them. Jim walks on to yell at Mr stick his nose in everyone's business, and he told him it would destroy the tournament if he names them. However, he's wiling to show a video next week just to shut him up.

Next week The 6 Man.

 

[BigVanDonnie]

SMW TV #8
March 21st, 1992
Knoxville, TN

Tonight; The 6 Man. We see the video of Cornette's team. The Tag Tournament begins.

Match#1 Robert Gibson vs Joe Cazana
Gibson gets 4 minutes again and drags his damn heels doing boring arm work and other stuff that's fine, but never actually exciting or interesting. It's just too fucking long and you can call this the moment i wanted to murder Cornette in this review. Robert finally wins with his Bulldog.
Cornette's Spa Bath

Bob is with Bullet to talk about the tournament that will be held over TV and the finals will take place in an arena near you. The brackets are as following
-Maulers (Rip Morgan & Jack Victory) vs Johnny & Davey Rich.
-Fantastics vs Wild Bunch (Joel Deaton & Bill Black)
-Koloffs vs Danny Davis & Joey Maggs
-Cornette's Team vs B & B Batten

Bob says he's still getting to the bottom of who Jim has as his team, so there's time like the present. He walks off to find out.

Born to be Wild hype video for Wild Bunch. They look really good and solid as hell, so considered me sold.

Match#2 Hector Guerrero vs. Keith Hart
Bob compares Hector to a thug as he never stop moving in the ring. Given he's got a real awful rep in real life that came out after he died, i suspect that comment is rooted in some ugly shit. Super fast contest to start as they're bouncing off the ropes and trying to take each other down, and they do a RVD/Lynn type of standoff into a handshake deal. Hector proves to be faster as he gets him down and cuts Hart's counters off, and this is a real sick back and forth battle. Hector ground him again and wraps his feet around his neck and puts himself in a push up position to drive his legs down onto his head. Hart gets out again and tries to fight, but Hector dodges hm and hits the Plancha on the floor. Hart fights back again and drops him with body slams and then another and he tries a Lionsualt, but Hector gets his knees up for it. He gets his cradle roll to win.
**1/2

Horner, Fantastics and Lee hype some upcoming live events.

Cornette walks on to show the video.

He's in a limo with a man named Phill Rainey, who explains we will finally meet Jim's team. Corny says they're the greatest team in the universe and he's going to take you to their secret training location where they're getting ready to beat everyone. He shows it's actually a HOOTER, and Phill is in shock. They go in where Jim says he's booked the entire place out and he wants a nice quiet meeting. A bunch of ladies walk past super excited to see the team, and Jim is very mad. We see that they have circled the team so we can't see them, and Phill refuses to go anywhere near them. AMAZING

Jim blames it on the women never seeing men like this as it got their hormones crazy and going south, and they ruined it. He will have footage of them next week without any women to ruin the moment.

Match#3 Bob Holly vs Paul Miller
Good showcase for Bob as he gives Miller a bit and bumps around before shutting him down and beats his ass. Simple stuff done well by Bobcore. He wins with his top rope Dropkick now called Stardrop.
*3/4

Bob is with Ron and DWB. Ron says he's down because none of the fans are sending money to this broken down old man get the help he needs. DWB says it makes him sick to see him like this, so he's going to win a tournament to get him out of the chair. If he and the Dr's can't get him out, he'll buy him a new golden wheelchair.

Match#4 The Maulers vs Johnny Rich & Davey Rich (SMW Tag Team Tournament First Round)
HIGH SPOT. Dutch says the Queen disowned Maulers, so they burnt her house down in revenge. Good babyface shine from the brothers with dropkicks and take downs, and it's another case of good but with no hook to draw you in. It's the story of 90% of pushed Cornette guys after the famed OVW class. Maulers are in the same boat as heels doing some cheating and whatnot, but never making us actually care that they're doing it. One of the Riches is isolated and beaten on for a while, and then the brother gets in there as it all breaks down. One of the Maulers hits a brother in the back with a boot to steal the win
*

Bob C is with the Fantastics. Bobby says he's got a partner for this fight and here he is, and Tommy Rodgers walks on. Yeah, they're back together. He says he got the call for a fight and he's here for some sweet revenge.

Golden walks on and says he got a call that both of the Koloff's wives are in labour, so the match can't happen. Bob is very mad about it, but Jimmy says there's nothing he can do. Rodgers walks over and asks if he really flew thousands of miles to not wrestle tonight. He punches Golden in the face and throws him in the ring and has a sick fight with, AND THE WILD BUNCH JUMP THE BROTHERS AT RINGSIDE WITH ROPES AND CHOKE THEM AND BEAT THEIR ASSES. It spills in the ring for a wild brawl and it's so damn good. The faces get the best of it, and a match breaks out from that.

Match#5 The Fantastics & Jackie Fulton vs Jimmy Golden & The Wild Bunch
The hate and violence keeps up as Rodgers punches at Golden's face with amazing rights and lefts to floor the big man. The brothers join in to kick his ass with big dropkicks and funny moments as they stooge with him. Wild Bunch join in and they're really good as i hoped as mean dudes with matching offence. Jackie eats a headbutt and gets dropped with a backdrop and is swarmed on, but he fires back and knocks Black to the floor with a wicked lariat over the ropes. BOBBY DROPKICKS HIM DOWN TO THE FLOOR AND SMACKS HIS HEAD OFF IT, AND THEN JACKIE COMES OUT OF NOWHERE WITH A PLANCHA. HELL YEAH MAN. Black Lariats Bobby in the head back in the ring to isolate him, and we get a 60 second amazing control seg of violence and meanness. Rodgers can't get in off a tag, so he sneaks in as it breaks down and dropkicks his partner on top of Golden to steal the win. Fuck it, that rocked and its our best match thus far.
***
The Heels attack and knock them to the floor and beat the crap out of them. Black breaks out a Moonsault as Deaton is clubbing people with nasty punches to the face. Bob shouts for help before they kill someone. Horner runs down to make the save and chase them away.

In the back, Bullet fines the Koloffs $500 for missing the match, and they won't compete until they pay it.

Next week. Fantastics vs Wild Bunch.

 

[BigVanDonnie]

SMW TV #9
March 28th, 1992
Knoxville, TN

Tonight; Lee in action. Bob Armstrong speaks on the heavyweight title tournament. Fantastics vs Wild Bunch in the tag tournament

Match#1 The Dirty White Boy w/Ron Wright vs Joey Maggs
Wright joins commentary to complain about the fans not be able to read or write and can't send him money, so he wants it posted on screen for everyone to see. AMAZING. Really awesome extended squash as DWB has become the best wrestler here as he hits like a truck and beats the faces off people, so he's our new dude. A real brutal beating happens and it's a blast. DWB cracks him with the lariat in the back of the head, but Maggs kicks out and comes back with some fine jobber offence. DWB cuts him off and beats him with a Sitout Sidesuplex
**

Bullet joins Bob to talk about the HW Tournament. He speaks about cities making bids along with all the wrestlers wanting to be in it. It will take place on May 15th at an event called Volunteer Slam in Knoxville. He says 12 wrestlers are entered in. He reads off the top 5 seeds; DWB, Lee, Horner, Gibson & Golden. He then says there will 6 wildcard matches on tv with 3 winners gaining entry. Dutch, Wonderful, Landell, Guerrero, Dixie & Scott Anthony. May the best man win.

IT'S NOW TIME FOR TIM HORNER TO SING. THE GREATEST SEGMENT EVER.


We go to a pre-tape with Bob Holly. He had Julia Roberts real close to him as she asked if was going to be in the HW fight, and he said no because he doesn't need to beat 3 men when he can just beat the winner when it's over.

Match#2 Jimmy Golden vs Tommy Angel
Dutch is mad that he's a wildcard and not just in it from the start, and Bob rightly points out he hasn't won enough matches. This is a real bad back and forth as Golden gives this mulletted shit FAR too much and it dies a death as a result. Golden mercifully ends it with a Dropkick.
1/3*

Golden beats on the jobber until Gibson runs down and makes the save. Gibson walks over to the booth and says he hopes he faces Golden so he can put something on him that Ajax can't take off.

Cornette walks on and says the fans look like they survived a nuclear test blast. He throws to a new video this week as we find Rainy standing by. He says this is discreet and we learn who the team is once Jim gets there as they've been waiting all day. Jim walks on and hushes him as to not cause another stir like last week. Madonna and MJ can't walk down the street without chaos, and his team is causing the same. A limo pulls up as Jim says he paid to make sure one knows they're here, but a mob of women come running on and ruin it again.

We come back to Corny blaming Rainy for stooging it off so he could get the off casts. You can't have a team with hillbillies like this around. Next week he'll take the camera to the team and show the world who they are.

in the booth. Dutch says he's never lied and has been treated like a dog with this wild card spot. He's going to sue SMW for it.

Match#3 Brian Lee vs Joe Cazana
Short nothing squash from the big lug. Dutch making fun of him for being a crazy person is the highlight of this as he won't let up on him. Lee wins with Cancellation.
1/6*

Lee walks over to the booth to confront Dutch about running his mouth for weeks and weeks. He says he can wrestle him next week on TV and he can be in this. Dutch asks what happens if he beats him, and Lee offers his spot in the tournament in return. Dutch says if he wins gets it all, and Lee confirms he must beat Dutch. Ok, that's proper messy. Cornette.

Match#4 The Wild Bunch vs The Fantastics (Tag Tournament-First Round)
"Dutch, it's going to be a LULU"-Bob
Fun feeling out to start as Bobby works great with both and brings that constant fight for an inch that more pro wrestling needs. Jackie is fine, but he's probably out of his depth here, but Rodgers isn't signed so we're stuck. More nice back and forth as neither side can get ahead thus far, that is until Black kills Jackie with a lariat to the head and the Bunch takes over and kicks his ass. They work the body and grind him down with dirty cheating and it's solid and fun, but also feels held back until they get longer matches down the line. Still it's really good work, and well worth TV time. Deaton is outstanding however as he's hitting running elbows and big kicks, and i like him a lot. Bobby has a sweet hot tag before it all breaks down as always. Lots of chaos and fighting throughout, and Deaton breaks out a Moonsault of all things. More fighting and then Jackie rolls Black up to advance
**3/4

In the back, Maulers try to talk, but Bob cuts them off to close the show.

 

[BigVanDonnie]

SMW TV #10
April 4th, 1992
Knoxville, TN

YT video is only 37 minutes, so something might be missing.

Tonight; Dixie Dynamite debuts. Lee vs Dutch. Cornette's team is named.

Match#1 Dixie Dynamite vs Barry Horowitz
Scott Armstrong is under a Confederate mask and cape as Corny finally makes a gimmick wrestler for the redneck fans. He's still not very good as he's the lesser wrestler in his family and has no real snap of flair to him. Least we don't have to look at his blank stare anymore, so we can call that a win. Barry does what he can by being amazing and awesome and keeps it in the good books as a result. Armstrong tries to be fancy and backflip off the ropes only to fall on his ass, and Dutch breaks out in laughter and has to cover for himself by saying it's high risk for a reason. Barry attacks the legs and does fun work for a few minutes, and Scott sort of sells it as best he can. He comes back and wins with a Superkick super abruptly
*1/4

In a pre-tape, Bullet hosts a PSA about drugs being bad and how SMW will never partake in such things like steroids. Some promoters want their wrestlers to look like man mountain rocks, but in SMW its about skill and talent above all else. You will get a chance no matter how you look. God gives you a choice as it's your body, but you need to say NO. We're going to fight the problems and fight drugs throughout the country. Hard work is the best work and you'll be proud when you get there.

Match#2 Tim Horner vs TJ Travis
Our amazing singer and wrestler gets 4 minutes to work in another classic far too long one. The work is fine and he's quite good throughout, but that doesn't help when it's a proper squash for 4 minutes. Horner finally wins with the Natural Bridge
*

In the back, Horner, Lee and Gibson hype VS, and Horner spoils which 3 wildcards are going to be in it like a big dope. Wonder how mad that made Corny and co.

Jim walks on and points out a fan whose the reason why inter marriage does have a humours side. Jim shows us a new video this week. Rainy is at a hotel where Jim has promised to show them, but Jim freaks out as he's too loud and he's going to ruin it. They go inside where Jim says it's too dangerous to have them out in public, so he's taken them away for their own safety. He opens the door where women throw clothes at him and kick him out. Jim blames Rainy for it.

Jim says he can't bring them out here because there are problems connected with superstardom. They will be here next week because they're scheduled and he's going to show them off. The fans need seatbelts so they don't choke and drool all over the place and destroy the cameras.

In the back, Bob tries to talk to Killer Kyle about why he's not in the tournament. He refuses to speak and answer any questions.

Match#3 Killer Kyle vs Keith Hart
Bob now dubs Kyle weird because he wouldn't speak to him. Makes him cool in my view. Good squash from the big man as he seems more at ease now hitting and moving around well, and the jobber is up for a beating to make it work on his end. KK gorilla presses the kid from the floor to the ring in a killer show of strength. He wins with his Spinebuster that everyone is still calling a Bubba Slam.
*1/2

In the back, Bob is with Wonderful. He's still spitting mad about not being able to use the piledriver when everyone can do what they want. He wants to know why he's not allowed to do it. What's the deal. Bob says because it's a deadly move, and Wonderful shuts him by saying he's here to win. YEAH. He keeps yelling about how it's a load of trash.

Match#4 The Dirty White Boy w/Ron Wright vs Paul Miller
Another cool one for DWB. He batters the kid for two minutes and gives him nothing but a proper ass beating. DWB is using running leg drops and claws to the face as he's a throwback and also a wrestler who gets what's needed in this day and age. He wins with his Slam now called the Buck snort Slammer
**

Mr Wright is very mad at the backwards rednecks for not sending him any money. DWB calms him down and says he's going to beat everyone in it and win the title from Gibson to THAT HORSE HEAD BRIAN LEE. HE'S GOING TO BEAT HIM DOWN BECAUSE HE'S THE MEANEST MAN IN WRESTLING. Lee walks on and goes nose to nose and says only one man can beat him, and it's not DWB. DWB laughs and says they'll see.

So, hey after weeks of build it turns out the main event is cut out of the tape. No footage is online and it doesn't seem like anyone has found it all these years later, so it's lost and not found. See you next week.

 

[BigVanDonnie]

SMW TV #11
April 11th, 1992
Sneedville, TN

Tonight; Two Tag Tournament matches, and we learn who Corny's team is.

Match#1 Bob Holly vs Ben Jordan
Nice showcase for Bobcore as he's getting better at this goes on for his short SMW run. Superkicks and suplexes all smooth and good looking, and he really wreaks the kid. It sucks he's gone in two weeks because Bobcore is the best. He wins with Stardrop
**

In the back, Bob is with the Russians making their return. Uncle Ivan says they paid the $500 and they're going to win this all.

In the back, Bullet says VS has been moved to the 22nd because of "their Japanese promotion" wants to be involved. The tag titles will be decided on the same night. Bob refuses to tell why Wonderful why the Piledriver is not legal as he's the boss and he doesn't need to say why. Well, yeah you actually do.

Match#1 The Koloffs vs Danny Davis & Joey Maggs (Tag Tournament-First Round)
Speed vs old man power is an interesting battle, so lets see how this goes. Russians try to bully the small boys and get bounced back by them as they refuse to eat any shit from Uncle Ivan. Good babyface work as they thrown the old man and force him to bump around for the first time in a real long time. Vlad gets in turns the tide with power stuff and he's not actually awful, and might have had a career if not for this dead gimmick. Maggs is thrown to the floor as he trips over and tumbles in a funny moment. The Russians beat him down and do more decent work, and Maggs is an ok punching bag of meat. Davis has a good hot tag as he shows all his great ass basics for 30 seconds or so. The Fantastics come out and helps the faces as they pull Davis out of the way of a charging Vlad who smashes into the buckles. Danny rolls on top to win.
**

At the booth, Styles is back and Dutch refuses to talk about where he's been

We see Lee and DWB going back and forth last week. We then see DWB attacked Lee with a chair during the match and nearly hit Bullet when he tried to stop him. So, there is footage out there!!

We come back to Dutch and Ron with Bob C. Wright is upset about fined $500 for DWB's action as now he can only buy the cheap drugs for his heart issues. AMAZING. He says they're making it hard it on, but he's got DWB in training kicking dogs so he's ready for VS.

Bob C is with Dixie, Wonderful and Hector to talk about the Wildcard spots. Dixie legit says he's happy to be here and he hopes one of his friends or himself can go all the way. Hector is proud to represent his people in this and he hopes he can do really well. Wonderful is pissed as the other keep talking in lame platitudes, and he eventaully calls it gaga that's an insult to him. He's been all around the world and he's beaten everyone whose anyone in wrestling, and he shouldn't be a wildcard. Bob C says that might be true but he doesn't have the winning record in SMW to earn a spot. Paul calls him a dumb redneck and says he shouldn't have to prove himself to anyone. He would beat these two right now with no struggle. Hector takes exception as they both grew up in wrestling and he's got to calm down. Paul shoves him and needs to be held back, and Bob asks if he wants to settle it in the ring. Wonderful says Bullet banned the piledriver because he's scared he would hurt someone, well now he's REALLY going to hurt someone. Hector storms off to the ring and i guess it's time for our first SHIT IS ON in SMW.

Match#3 Hector Guerrero vs Paul Orndorff
Bob again says the Piledriver is deadly and should be banned, and it's so lame and bad that it actually takes away from the infamous kayfabe around it. Hector uses his speed to put Wonderful on the backfoot and pisses him off, and Paul starts making mistakes and getting it worse. Paul punches him in the head and keeps attacking the face and body as he gets violent and bashes poor little Hector. Wonderful display of old man violence as he's still got that mean streak despite his body being shot to hell. Hector works really hard to give him a lot to beat and smash as he dies big time. Hector comes back with a series of uppercuts and dropkicks. He hits a crossbody but Wonderful rolls through and grabs the tights to steal it.
**1/4

Hector argues with the ref, BUT PAUL CHEAPSHOTS HIM AND HITS THE PILDRIVER. HE HITS ANOTHER ONE ON A JOBBER WHO TRIES TO SAVE, AND THEN ANOTHER ON RENO RIGGINS. JOEY MAGGS FIGHTS HIM NOW BUT PAUL FIGHTS HIM OFF AND LAYS HIM OUT WITH ONE AS WELL. HOLY SHIT YEAH WONDERFUL. He gets a chair and kills Hector with another one on it. Dixie comes down to check on all his dead friends, and Paul leaves because fuck it. Fantastic angle.

The Batten twins come out for the main event and they're two mulleted twins that look like true jobber fodder. Cornette comes out alone and tells the fans to shut up so they can learn. He manged the greatest team in the country, but that wasn't enough. He then managed the greatest team in the world but that was enough. He's now managing the greatest team in the universe. The Heavenly Bodies. The Gangster of love, Stan Lane. The Doctor of Desire, Tom Pritchard

Match#4 The Heavenly Bodies w/Jim Cornette vs The BattenTwins (Tag Tournament-First Round)
Beautiful showcase for the fellas they're a pair of perfect tag wrestlers who compliment each other SO well. Stan fucking rules and is a guy who should have gotten a true singles run in WWF/WCW as he's got all the tools. Dr Tom is sick as well for a creepy looking troll doll as he bumps and moves with fluid motion. Yeah, big fans of them as you can tell. They give the jobbers a bit so they show off more cool bumps and then they shut them down with a shotgun blast of offence. They hit a double team clean as fuck backdrop into a supelx to win.
**1/2

In the back, Corny is with the boys. He says they've beaten everybody worth beating and had every woman worth having. They've conquered the world and know all the words to the long version of American Pie. Tom says they weather stinks here and the women aren't worth having. They aren't here for their health because they're in perfect health. They're here for titles and money, and anyone who thinks they can be bad enough will get the same fate.