Chip Kessler and Les Thatcher call the action, which is still from the Jellico High School tapings.
Opening Contest: Terry Gordy (w/Jim Cornette & the Punisher) (2-0) pins Jason Arndt with a powerbomb at 1:55:
Arndt is billed from “Extreme, Pennsylvania,” possibly as a rib on ECW. Gordy moves awkwardly through the squash, at times unsure of what to do with Arndt. A weak kick to the gut and powerbomb gives Gordy his third straight win.
Footage of Tommy Rich beating Boo Bradley at Summer Blast ’95 in Knoxville, Tennessee is shown, along with Rich and Gordy beating up Bradley after the match.
Bradley does a taped promo, saying that the tag team match between he and the Stomper and Rich and Gordy at Fire on the Mountain will be falls count anywhere. He vows that he and the Stomper will come out on top.
Thatcher narrates highlights of the Mongolian Stomper’s career.
Jim Cornette, Terry Gordy, Tommy Rich, and the Punisher do a taped promo. Gordy tells the Stomper that he is stupid three or four times, while Rich reiterates his “blind leading the blind” argument.
After showing how the THUGS won the SMW Tag Team Championship last week, Thatcher talks with the Rock N’ Roll Express. Ricky Morton expresses his unhappiness about how SMW was too impatient last week in giving the THUGS their title shot. The THUGS interrupt the segment, and the Dirty White Boy makes a good argument that just because the THUGS beat the Dynamic Duo does not mean that the Express would have done it. As the two sides continue to argue, Commissioner Bob Armstrong comes out and signs a match between the two teams for The Super Bowl of Wrestling. The crowd hates that because they wanted to see the match later in the taping.
The Headbangers say they do not like any of the tag teams in SMW. They say they look forward to facing the Steiner Brothers at The Super Bowl of Wrestling.
The Headbangers (2-1) defeat the Hardy Boys when Thrasher pins Matt after the Stage Dive at 2:32:
The Headbangers gimmick evolution continues as they wear skirts to the ring along with more face paint. That causes them to be on the receiving end of some gay slurs from the crowd. The Headbangers also carry a boombox to the ring with them. The only thing that has to go is their hair and baseball caps. Jeff takes a nasty bump on his head from a double inverted suplex and then takes a hard bump to the gym floor when Thrasher knocks him off the top rope. But it is Matt that eats the pin after taking the Stage Dive, which is easily the best finisher in the promotion.
The card for Fire in the Mountain in Johnson City, Tennessee on August 12 revolves around a tribute to Ron Wright and it is also billed as “Dream Match Night” where every wrestler has to participate in someone else’s match and failure to participate leads to an automatic suspension. SMW’s babyface wrestlers congregate in the ring for the drawing, where each of them has a large envelope and if it has a piece of paper then they get a chance to have their dream match. Winners include Ricky Morton, Brad Armstrong, Boo Bradley, the Dirty White Boy, and the Wolfman. The heel winners include Buddy Landel, Tommy Rich, Al Snow, the Punisher, and Thrasher. Landel seizes the chance to cut a promo, putting over how he is going to be the WWF’s Intercontinental Champion by Fire in the Mountain. As Cornette echoes Landel’s words, the Wolfman enters the ring and says that his dream is to win a match in SMW. So he challenges Cornette, who is overconfident and accepts. When the Wolfman leaves to get a contract together, Cornette moves on to putting over Unabom as better than the Undertaker.
The Undertaker and Paul Bearer do a taped promo, arguing that Unabom’s time is running out.
A video package puts over the Undertaker. It is the same one that was used to put him over before The Bluegrass Brawl several months ago.
USWA Southern Heavyweight Champion Billy Jack Haynes cuts a taped promo that puts over the USWA. He says that he is not going to let a punk from SMW beat him for his title.
Thatcher interviews Brad Armstrong. He compares himself to a freight train that is going to run over Haynes and take his title. Armstrong says that his dream match is to face Buddy Landel in a match with no outside interference, so he calls for a lumberjack-style match where all of the lumberjacks will carry tennis racquets.
The Dynamic Duo talk about how they want their SMW Tag Team Championship back. Snow says he wants to use his dream match at Fire on the Mountain to get the Duo the titles back. This will be helped by using Jim Cornette as the special guest referee.
The Rock N’ Roll Express (6-3) defeat Killer Kyle & D’Lo Brown (0-1) when Robert Gibson pins Brown after a double dropkick at 4:00:
PG-13 do guest commentary during the match, putting over a future match against the Express in Barbourville, Kentucky. As noted previously, a problem of putting Brown in main events is that he is squashed in other matches, so it is hard to think any team he is on has a fighting chance. After Kyle works through some token offense, the Express rally, knock Kyle out of the ring, and finish Brown with a double dropkick. Rating: *
After seeing highlights of the Punisher defeating Steve Armstrong at Summer Blast ’95, Thatcher interviews Commissioner Bob Armstrong. Bob puts over how dangerous the Punisher is since he beat Steve cleanly at Summer Blast. He vows to find out why the Punisher is so bad.
Tune in next week to see Boo Bradley face Tommy Rich! Also, the THUGS face the Headbangers!
The Last Word: Whether by design or necessity, it seems like SMW is trying to make the crowds more attentive for its television tapings by doing more pre-recorded promos so that they can run through more matches before the crowd leaves. The Fire on the Mountain “dream match” concept is novel, allowing the promotion to freshen up feuds. Its use with the Wolfman also makes for good television. And the build for The Super Bowl of Wrestling remains strong and it should draw the best gate of the year for the promotion.
During this week in its history, SMW did a few shows in Tennessee, as well as an appearance at the fairgrounds of my hometown in Kentucky. Here were the results of those shows, courtesy of prowrestlinghistory.com:
Danville, Kentucky – Boyle County Fairgrounds – July 18, 1995 (600): The Wolfman pinned Killer Kyle…The Dirty White Boy beat Unabom…Bobby Blayze & Boo Bradley beat the Headbangers…Brad Armstrong defeated Buddy Landel via disqualification in a match for the held-up SMW Championship.
Morristown, Tennessee – Talley Ward Recreational Center – July 22, 1995 (400): Robert Gibson pinned Mosh…Boo Bradley wrestled Terry Gordy to a double disqualification…Buddy Landel pinned Brad Armstrong…SMW Tag Team Champions the THUGS beat the Dynamic Duo…Brad Armstrong won a “pole battle royal.”
Backstage News*: There is legit heat backstage between Tracy Smothers and Ricky Morton stemming from a fight between their significant others. This caused Morton to not participate on the USWA Mid-South Coliseum show and SMW’s house show in Morristown.
*Backstage news is provided courtesy of Dave Meltzer’s Wrestling Observer for July 31.
Up Next: Smoky Mountain TV for July 29!