SMOKY MOUNTAIN WRESTLING TV – April 18th, 1992
– Last week on SMW TV… Jim Cornette FINALLY introduced the world to his new tag team, the greatest team in the universe, The Heavenly Bodies, Stan Lane and Tom Prichard… The Semi-Finals of the Tag Team Title Tournament are set, with the Heavenly Bodies and make-shift team of Joey Maggs and Danny Davis advancing, along with the Fantastics and the Maulers… Paul Orndorff frustration over the piledriver ban boiled over, and left half the enhancement talent roster laying with piledrivers, including dropping Hector Guerrero on a steel chair…
– Taped on April 9th from the Hancock County High School in “the Heartland of East Tennessee” (Sneedville, TN, to be exact, but that doesn’t sound good. See, Vince McMahon isn’t the only one who shies away from a city that he deems beneath him. Bob Caudle and “Dirty” Dutch Mantel are calling the action, unless otherwise noted. Advertised for today is a Wild Card Match between Dixie Dy-No-Mite and Carl Stiles, Paul Orndorff takes on Davey Rich, Robert Gibson will be in action, and the debut of Buddy Landel!
– “Rock & Roll” Robert Gibson vs. “Hustler” Rip Rogers:
Robert Gibson is looking to build momentum for the Volunteer Slam, having been named one of the top seeds for the Heavyweight Championship Tournament. Lockup and a clean break. They trade wrist-locks. Gibson with a side headlock and shoulder tackle. They’re pushing a rivalry between Gibson and Jimmy Golden. Gibson comes off the ropes with more shoulder tackles and grabs another headlock. Rogers counters with a head scissors, but Gibson easily escapes and reapplies the headlock. Crisscross and Gibson with a hip toss for only a one count. Gibson reverses a whip to the corner and takes Rogers over with a back drop. Rogers gets the boot up to counter a charge and lays Gibson out with a running clothesline. Gibson regains control, ramming Rogers into the turnbuckle pad 10-times. Rogers surprises Gibson with a boot and DDT for a near fall. He argues the count, allowing Gibson to come from behind with a bulldog for three at 5:09. ** Fine wrestling, but too short to build to much more than that.
– Recap of last week’s angle where Paul Orndorff went crazy (turning heel) and left Hector Guerrero a broken mess, courtesy of a piledriver onto a steel chair. We cut to comments from Guerrero, sporting a neck brace. He’s got a family to feed, and what you plant, you’re going to reap. When he comes back, he’s coming after him. We cut to an interview with Paul Orndorff. He says if you can’t handle the heat, then get out of the kitchen. Bob Armstrong interrupts, and informs he’s fining Orndorff $500 for every piledriver last week, totaling a $2,500 fine. Orndorff laughs it off, saying he makes that in about a minute, so Armstrong retorts that he better have his checkbook ready, because every piledriver will cost him $2,500 from now on.
– “Mr. Wonderful” Paul Orndorff vs. Davey Rich:
With his tainted victory over Hector Guerrero last week, Orndorff has qualified for the Volunteer Slam Championship Tournament. The timekeeper doesn’t seem to understand what the referee signal is to ring the bell. Whip to the ropes and Rich with a shoulder tackle. The crowd heckles Orndorff with “Paula” chants. Lockup to the corner and Orndorff lays into Rich with forearms and stomps. Rich reverses a whip to the corner, takes Orndorff over with a hip toss, and sends him out of the ring following a dropkick. Orndorff with a drop toe hold into a headlock, but Rich slips free and hooks a hammer-lock. Rich with a slam, arm drag, and back to working the arm. Whip to the ropes and a diving body press gets a one count. Whip to the ropes and Orndorff dumps Rich out of the ring. Dutch name drops Hogan, Jumbo Tsuruta and Otto Wanz as people that Orndorff has defeated in his career. Rich catches Orndorff coming off the top with a fist to the midsection. Orndorff hangs onto the ropes to block a roll-up and turns Rich inside out with a clothesline. He signals for the piledriver, but casually covers Rich for three at 6:30. *1/2 Technically fine, just boring. Rich took too much offense against a man scheduled to compete in the Heavyweight Tournament.
– Bob Caudle is standing by with Mr. Ron Wright, speaking on behalf of the Dirty White Boy. He’s training, running up and down the alleys in this dirty, redneck town. They tried to sick some police dogs on him, but he bit one of them and gave the dog rabies. We throw it to highlights of a match from a few weeks ago against Paul Miller. Wright says the fans insulted him when they didn’t send in money for his knee replacement fundraiser. There’s no man that can defeat the Dirty White Boy, and he’s leaving the Volunteer Slam the Smoky Mountain Wrestling Heavyweight Champion.
– Joey Maggs and Danny Davis are standing by via videotape with comments on the Tag Team Tournament. Maggs’ neck might not be 100%, but nothing stopping them from becoming the Tag Team Champions. Bob Caudle is standing by with Jim Cornette and the Heavenly Bodies, their scheduled opponents in the Semi-Finals. Cornette says Maggs’ neck is going to look like a rubber band when they’re done stretching him out. “Gangster of Love” Stan Lane says these poor, deprived, fat, corn fed women, have been groping and pawing at them, and they’re sick of the sexual harassment. “You keep your nasty, greasy, sweaty fat palms off the Heavenly Bodies!”
– “Nature Boy” Buddy Landel vs. Reno Riggins:
Poor Mr. Riggins must compete, nowhere near 100% from the piledriver he took last week. Landel comes out to “I’m Too Sexy” by Right Said Fred. I’m surprised he didn’t no-show, seems like his calling card. Despite never having a match, he’s still a Wild Card entry, and received a Bye into the Tournament! Lockup to the ropes and Landel with a slap. Riggins fires back with rights and hits a sloppy hand-spring elbow in the corner for a one count. Lockup and Riggins with an arm drag. Landel block a roll-up, but gets clotheslined over the top rope, to the floor. Riggins follows and gets sent to the post for being too aggressive. Landel with a brutal chop and right hands to the back of the head. Back inside, Landel puts the boots to Riggins and applies a wrist-lock, pulling the hair to keep Riggins on the canvas. Riggins comes back with a hip toss, but Landel side-steps a dropkick. Landel goes to the top rope, only to get slammed down. Riggins with mounted corner punches, but Landel counters with an inverted atomic drop. Landel with a slam and corkscrew elbow drop. Figure-Four Leglock finishes at 5:08. *1/2 Decent debut. Not a lot of flash, but Landel is a more-than-competent worker in the ring.
– Post-match, Bob Caudle brings Landel over for an interview. Landel received a bye because nobody wanted a piece of him because he’s too good. He wants all the pig farmers to smarten up, and promises to walk out of the Volunteer Slam with the Championship.
– We break down the Wild Card Eliminations: Paul Orndorff and Buddy Landel have advanced, while Dutch Mantel and Hector Guerrero have been eliminated from contention.
– Wild Card Match: Dixie Dy-No-Mite vs. Carl Stiles:
Winner receives the final spot in the Championship Tournament brackets for the Volunteer Slam on May 22nd from Knoxville, TN. Lockup and Stiles quickly goes to work, pounding across the back. Whip to the ropes and Dixie comes back with a hip toss, followed by a slam, sending Stiles to the floor for a breather. They get into a shoving contest and Dixie plants him with a pair of slams for a two count. Dixie comes off the second turnbuckle with a double axe-handle and grabs a side headlock. Mantel has less-than-flattering comments for Stiles throughout the match. Dixie ducks under a clothesline and hits a diving body press for two. Stiles hangs back on the ropes to avoid a dropkick and connects with a back breaker. Whip to the corner and Dixie follows in with a clothesline. He unloads with mounted corner punches while Dutch comes to ringside for some coaching. Stiles catches Dixie coming off the ropes with a power-slam, but he’s distracted by Dutch yelling instructions from the apron. Dixie with the Confederate Kick, and that gets three at 4:13. * Dixie looked good, but Stiles is pretty bad. Post-match, Dutch chews into Carl Stiles, calling him the dumbest guy he’s ever met in his life.
– We get token comments from the Fantastics and Brian Lee, promoting the Volunteer Slam. Coming up next week: The Heavenly Bodies vs. Danny Davis and Joey Maggs!
Final Thoughts: With a break in the Tag Team Championship Tournament, we’re back to pushing the Heavyweight Championship Tournament taking place at the Volunteer Slam. The entire field of competitors is now set, with Brian Lee, Robert Gibson, Tim Horner, Dixie Dy-No-Mite, The Dirty White Boy, Jimmy Golden, Paul Orndorff, and Buddy Landel penciled in for the single-elimination tournament. The relationship between Dutch Mantel and Carl Stiles seems to be over, but we’ll see if that’s the case next week. They continued to push how deadly the Piledriver is, and Hector Guerrero promised revenge, but I don’t think that goes anywhere. Not the best episode, but there’s enough to build momentum towards next week.