SMOKY MOUNTAIN WRESTLING TV – April 25th, 1992
– Last week on SMW TV… The Field of Eight for the Volunteer Slam’s Championship Tournament has been confirmed: Brian Lee, Tim Horner, Robert Gibson, Dixie Dy-No-Mite, Dirty White Boy, Jimmy Golden, Paul Orndorff, and Buddy Landel… The relationship between Dutch Mantel and Carl Stiles appears to be over… Bob Armstrong has fined Orndorff $2,500 for his piledriver parade, but that’s just a drop in the bucket for Mr. Wonderful… Buddy Landel made his in-ring debut and miraculously didn’t pull a no-show…
– Taped on April 9th from THE HEARTLAND of East Tennessee (otherwise known as Sneedville) at the Hancock County High School. Bob Caudle and “Dirty” Dutch Mantel are calling the action, unless otherwise noted, with Stiles still hanging around Mantel… for now. Advertised for today is a Semi-Finals Match between Joey Maggs & Danny Davis and The Heavenly Bodies. Bob Holly, Jimmy Golden, and Brian Lee will be in action, and we’ll also get comments from Mr. Wonderful, Paul Orndorff.
– Bart Batten vs. “Hollywood” Bob Holly:
We’ve got Bart, but no Brad? Holly is still undefeated. He attacks Batten from behind with forearms. Whip to the corner and Batten comes off the second turnbuckle with a flying clothesline. Batten with an atomic drop and hip toss, sending Holly to the floor for a breather. Once again, Holly is having a slow start. Back inside, Holly blocks a roll-up, but runs into another hip toss. Batten goes to the well too many times with flying head scissors and gets dropped across the top rope. Holly with a snap mare into the arm-bar. Whip to the ropes and Holly with a swinging neck breaker. Snap mare and leg drop for two. Batten battles back with rights. Whip to the corner and Holly greets him with a knee. Holly to the top rope, and the Star Drop finishes at 4:19. *1/2 Another fine quasi-squash for Hollywood. This would be the last in-ring appearance for Holly, who briefly left wrestling because he was making a better living doing a 9-to-5 job. Holly seemed destined for a steady push, but it wasn’t to be.
– Bob Caudle is standing by with Commissioner Bob Armstrong. He has some information for the Volunteer Slam. The following matches will take place in the 1st Round of the Championship Tournament: Jimmy Golden vs. Robert Gibson, Tim Horner vs. Paul Orndorff, Buddy Landel vs. Brian Lee, and Dixie Dy-No-Mite vs. The Dirty White Boy, with the Semi-Finals and Finals taking place later in the show. Also featured, the Finals of the SMW Tag Team Championship Tournament. He says if Paul Orndorff uses one piledriver, he won’t get close enough to smell the SMW Heavyweight Championship. They segue to Orndorff cutting a promo on Horner. Mr. Wonderful has beaten everyone in the world, and says he’ll drop Horner on his head for getting in his way to the Championship.
– Bob Caudle is standing by with promos from the Batten Twins, Fantastics and “Primetime” Brian Lee hyping up a show coming to Beckley, WV on May 17th. Looking at the results, it looks like the Fantastics did not appear as advertised.
– Jimmy Golden vs. Davey Rich:
Showcase match for one of the competitors in the Volunteer Slam Championship Tournament, with a lot of hype about his 1st round match being against Robert Gibson. Lockup, Golden with a side headlock into a hammer-lock. He sweeps the leg, but Rich kicks him off. They take turns doing the mule-kick routine until Rich surprises Golden by turning him over with a Boston Crab. Rich with an atomic drop, followed by a back suplex for a two count. Rich brings Golden back in from the apron with a slingshot and grabs a side headlock. They keep on this for a while as they continue to push Mantel’s lack of respect for Stiles’ intelligence. Golden finally counters, with an atomic drop to the knee. Golden slaps on a single-leg crab and uses the rope for extra leverage. Golden keeps working the leg and wraps it around the post. Rich kicks Golden into the corner to counter a spinning toe hold. Whip across the ring and Rich with mounted corner punches. Crisscross and Rich with a diving body press for two. They do another crisscross, but this time Golden nails him with a dropkick, and it’s good enough for three at 6:43. More competitive than I anticipated. ** Fine work, but nothing to get excited about.
– Post-match, Robert Gibson says his wish came true because he gets Jimmy Golden in the Tournament, and on May 22nd, he’s going down (end promo… I love Gibson promos. Short and sweet). Golden says he kicked Gibson’s brothers butt years ago, and he can do the same to him, too.
– “Primetime” Brian Lee vs. “Golden Boy” Joe Cazana:
Lee squashed Cazana on the March 28th episode in under 2-minutes, so let’s set the over/under for this one at 2 ½ minutes. Another showcase for a Tournament competitor. Cazana grabs a side headlock. Whip to the ropes, extended crisscross sequence, and Lee with a hip toss. He plants Cazana with a slam, sending him into the corner wanting a timeout. Lee with a side headlock and shoulder tackle. He blocks Cazana’s hip toss, countering with his own, and connects with a dropkick. Lee with an arm drag into the arm-bar. They’re pushing a potential Semi-Finals between Lee and the Dirty White Boy at the Volunteer Slam. Cazana escapes, but misses an elbow from the top rope. Lee lays him out with a clothesline and catches him off the ropes with a Power-Slam. The Cancelation finishes at 2:22. If you picked under, you just won some imaginary Nintendo Rewards points.
– Dutch Mantel ditches the announcer’s table as Lee approaches for a post-match interview. Buddy Landel quickly interrupts. He’s here to take some of Lee’s air-time, but Lee is having none of that, telling him to take his sister’s coat back home. Landel may be a good wrestler, but he’s not ready for primetime.
– Bob Caudle asks Carl Stiles where he’s been now that they have a moment alone together. He got a speeding ticket, and was under the impression that Dutch would help him out, but the ticket went unpaid and he spent a few weeks in jail. This might’ve been the worst promo I’ve heard in the short history of SMW. Dutch storms back on the set, denying the allegations.
– Killer Kyle vs. Reno Riggins:
What’s in the mysterious violin case? Like how many licks it takes to get to the center of a Tootsie Roll Pop, the world may never know. Riggins unloads with rights, but Kyle shrugs the offense off. Whip to the ropes, Riggins ducks under a clothesline and bounces back with a body press. Whip to the corner, Kyle misses a charge, and Riggins continues to unload with rights. Riggins gets sent chest-first to the corner and Kyle takes him down with a back suplex. Kyle press slams Riggins back into the ring while continue to push the Mantel/Stiles angle on commentary. Kyle climbs the ropes, but catches a boot on the chin on the way down. Riggins with a pair of dropkicks. He goes to the top rope, but Kyle catches him and finishes with the Rub-Out at 2:36. Kyle continues to get pushed as a monster who can withstand a lot of punishment, but he really needs to stop giving so much offense to scrubs. This would be the last we see of Mr. Riggins until much later in the year.
– Bob Caudle is standing by with Mr. Ron Wright. He’s still mad at the fans for not supporting him. He’s got a letter that says he’s had his discount card suspended by the AARP because of a sorry excuse for a human being. He’s never seen someone as mad as he’s seen the Dirty White Boy right now, and he’s out there beating up on old men and women to prepare for the Volunteer Slam. There’s going to be blood spilled for the harsh treatment bestowed on him.
– “Nitro” Danny Davis & Jumpin’ Joey Maggs vs. The Heavenly Bodies (w/ Jim Cornette):
Semi-Final Match of the Tag Team Championship Tournament. Maggs and Davis defeated Ivan & Vladimir Koloff (with a little help from The Fantastics) and The Heavenly Bodies defeated The Batten Twins to get here. Davis and Prichard start, exchanging wrist-locks (not to be confused with wrist-watches). Whip is reversed and Davis with a Frankensteiner. Lane comes in and gets sent back out with a dropkick. Davis counters a headlock with a head scissors. Lane and Davis have a shoving match, with Lane being knocked on his butt. Whip and Davis with a shoulder tackle. Maggs tags in for the first time and gets yanked down with a handful of hair. Remember, his neck is still hurting thanks to Paul Orndorff. Maggs catches Lane off the ropes with a hip toss. He sets for a back drop, but Lane counters with a swinging neck breaker.
Prichard with a slam and running knee drop. Lane with blows to the midsection and choking across the top rope. Lane springboards in from the apron and connects with a clothesline. Prichard with a suplex, but neither is attempting any covers. Whip and a double kick to the midsection. Maggs reverses a whip to the corner, but meets a boot, and Lane hits him from behind with a clothesline. Lane with a chin-lock as Dutch suggests they want him to quit rather than pin him. Whip and double team elbow. Maggs rallies with rights. He sends Lane into the corner, hanging him upside down. Davis with the hot tag, going crazy on both Heavenly Bodies. but the referee didn’t see the tag, forcing him out of the ring. Whip to the ropes and Prichard spikes Maggs face-first for the anti-climactic three count at 8:39. **1/2 Solid work, but the lack of a hot finish weakens the match, especially since it was basically a squash match as soon as Maggs tagged in.
– Bob Caudle is standing by with comments from Tim Horner. He says “Paula” has copped an attitude, having no regard for the rules, and intentionally hurting Hector Guerrero. He says Orndorff will know who he is at the Volunteer Slam. He doesn’t care if Orndorff has beaten Hulk Hogan or Ric Flair, he hasn’t beaten him.
– Next Week: The Fantastics vs. The Maulers in another Semi-Finals Match!
Final Thoughts: The Volunteer Slam is approaching fast, and we’ve got a full lineup of 1st Round Matches to build interest for. They continue to tease a match between Brian Lee and the Dirty White Boy, but you never know what direction they might take (ignores any spoilers) and as a Semi-Finals Match, it’s easier to get there without spoiling the entire card. The Heavenly Bodies predictably advance to the Finals, squashing Joey Maggs. Killer Kyle and Bob Holly continue to be protected, but only one of them will be around at the next set of tapings. Will we get the blow-off to the relationship between Dutch and Stiles? Just rehash the Tootsie Roll Pop comment from the Killer Kyle match.
Next week, we find out who will compete in the Finals of the Tag Team Championship Tournament, and in two weeks, we have the first super-card in Smoky Mountain Wrestling, The Volunteer Slam. The May 2nd and May 16th episodes are mostly recaps, just to give an advanced warning. Until then, you can check out other rasslin’ reviews by yours truly and other extraordinary gentlemen at http://ww.DaWrestlingSite.com