SMW TV (Re-Visited) Review – Morristown, TN Taping – 11.27.91

(If there’s any confusion, these are all fresh looks at each episode of TV, though I have recapped episodes into October 1992 that are in my archives if you want to compare any changes in my personality or tastes)

We’re continuing to play catch up by covering the full taping of Smoky Mountain Wrestling TV that would make up the episodes broadcast on February 15th and 22nd, 1992. Once we get through this taping, we’ll be more up-to-date when it comes to the gap between taping and broadcast. This was taped on Thanksgiving Day, and is a decent house (for what they were going for) considering it’s a start-up territory that wouldn’t make TV for another 3-months.

The first taping introduced us to names such as Paul Orndorff, Ivan Koloff, Bobby and Jackie Fulton, Tim Horner, and Prime Time Brian Lee. Commissioner Bob Armstrong is going to be the no-nonsense man in charge of the day-to-day operations, and we have Jim Cornette and Ron Wright as managers who will be involved in the top names in the territory once the dust settles and there’s a clear plan going forward.

February 15th, 1992:
Bob Caudle and Jim Cornette are handling the play-by-play and color commentary with Dutch Mantel scheduled for competition in the Main Event against Brian Lee. We’ll also see “Hollywood” Bob Holly, “Rock & Roll” Robert Gibson, and “White Lightnin” Tim Horner. There’s also the tease of Ivan Koloff having a new tag team partner.

“Hollywood” Bob Holly vs. Pat Rose – Holly has yet to put money into his gimmick and is still rocking the windbreaker with “Beautiful” Bob Holly on the back. I’m sure the robe will debut soon. Tell me if you’ve heard this to describe enhancement talent from the last taping… Pat Rose is a local worker that got enhancement work for WCW. Rose falls for the oldest trick in the book, the pre-match DOUBLE HIGH FIVE. WHAT A GOOF! Rose gets a little shine, but Holly dominates with a wide arsenal of maneuvers and finishes with the flying knee drop at 3:43. I mentioned this in the Greenville taping; Holly has the wrestling ability to be at least make it as a mid-card mainstay.

[There’s a bunch of bumpers hyping up “Smoky Mountain Wrestling coming to your town, or available for fundraiser appearances. We’re going to skip over them to cut back on the filler unless there’s specific area promos]

Bobby Fulton cuts a promo hyping a return match with Ivan Koloff, who will have a new partner with Vladimir away to take care of personal business back in Russia. We segue to Bob Caudle talking to Ivan Koloff, who introduces JIMMY GOLDEN as his new partner. Golden’s best work is probably his work in Southeastern Championship/Continental, though WCW fans know him as Stud Stable representative “Bunkhouse Buck” (and younger fans MIGHT know him as the kayfabe father of Jack Swagger).

Jumpin’ Joey Maggs vs. “Hustler” Rip Rogers – Considering Rogers had a fairly competitive match with Paul Orndorff in Greenville, I’d make him the money favorite on FanDuel. Fans of the WWF and WCW in the 90’s have probably watched Maggs here and there, regularly getting work as enhancement talent. Rogers works the first minute or so with his entrance vest on, and of course, Maggs uses it to benefit himself offensively. Rogers not only turns things around, but dives from the top rope to the hardwood floor with a double axe-handle! Big spot for a $60 payday! Rogers is an underrated choice for “loudest wrestler”. He’s not quite Iron Mike Sharpe, but he’s close. Maggs looks OK getting the bulk of the offense but Rogers is the wily veteran who hangs on and takes advantage of one mistake, straddling Maggs on the turnbuckle and hitting the Ripper-Plex (a super-plex) for three at 4:46. I don’t expect a big push for Rogers, but this win puts him in position to be someone a face on the rise can smack around.

Rock ‘n’ Roll Robert Gibson vs. THE MIGHTY YANKEE – At least it’s not “The Black Scorpion” or some other “Because WCW” spiteful booking. The Yankee is simply introduced from “up North.” Cagematch identifies the Yankee as Tony Anthony (a.k.a Dirty White Boy), but I have a hard time believing that. I think he did use the mask and gimmick at a later date, but this guy is almost as short, if not shorter, than the ring announcer. Gibson is a fine worker, but doing quasi-solo squashes is not his strength, and the Yankee is clunky himself. The Yankee gets a little too greedy on offense and the bulldog puts him down at 3:19. I don’t know what kind of legs solo Gibson has, but we can only hope Morton can get out of his WCW contract as soon as possible. At the same time, I can’t blame anyone for trying to get as many names they can that would get over in the area.

Jim Cornette promo time! He’s very topical, mentioning Magic Johnson’s retirement (though he doesn’t specify the HIV positive diagnosis) and Pee-Wee Herman being canceled for “playing solitaire in a public theater.” The point of the promo is hyping up his new team, who we haven’t seen and still don’t know the names of, as the first SMW Tag Team Champions.

Pre-tape from Dutch Mantel, requesting that Ron Wright accompany him to the ring for his match with that no-good-egg-sucking-dog brian Lee.

White Lightnin’ Tim Horner vs. Barry Horowitz – The hometown boy gets to shine! We see some fans holding the foam lightning bolts, and that just gives me flashbacks to Cornette ranting about Horner’s poor work in charge of merchandise. If you want a “WE WRESTLE!” match, then this is your jam. Horner isn’t anything too special (I like him better as a tag, personally), but everything is executed smoothly, and Horowitz is the definition of a good hand. It’s a solid back-and-forth with Horner stringing together a solid combo and putting Horowitz down with the Natural Bridge (O’Connor Roll) at 5:08. Post-match, Horner with a quick promo to thank the crowd for their support.

BREAKING NEWS: The Fantastics will meet Ivan Koloff and Jimmy Golden NEXT WEEK.

BUDDY LANDEL is in Smoky Mountain Wrestling, and he doesn’t pull any punches with his promo. He doesn’t kiss “can” or do favors, and he’s in Smoky Mountain Wrestling because he can be himself. He mentions “Stan Lane” who does not exist yet in the SMW TV timeline. SMW has a bunch of strong heel promos, but very few on the babyface side.

“Prime Time” Brian Lee vs. “Dirty” Dutch Mantel – TV Main Event. Despite the pre-tape, Wright isn’t at ringside. I guess Mantel needs to unlock that boost with a mid-match action. I can’t complain about using a vet like Dutch to boost Lee’s stock, but I don’t expect much from this one. Lee dominates early and Dutch begs off, bringing Wright to ringside. He’s got the blanket draped across his legs too! Simple, by-the-numbers work. Mantel uses the ropes for some leverage, upsetting an old lady in the front row. Wright passes a pair of brass knuckles to Mantel. Lee knocks them away and blasts Mantel with them himself, but the referee sees the evidence and calls for the DQ at 5:20, awarding the match to the Dirty Dutchman.

We come back from some generic pre-tapes with Brian Lee upset over what just took place. He promises to put Dutch in a wheelchair right beside Ron Wright. He demands a rematch and continues to push his catchphrase “You may be good, but you’re not ready for Prime Time.”

February 22nd, 1992:
Bob Caudle and Dutch Mantel at the table to call the action this week. Caudle hypes up the action today, including the debut of Hector Gomez… Sorry, that’s Hector GUERRERO. Silly Bob! Prime Time Brian Lee and Killer Kyle are here, and we have the Fantastics taking on Ivan Koloff and Jimmy Golden in the Main Event. Dutch is still mad at Brian Lee, demanding he be locked up.

Hector Guerrero vs. Tommy Angel – The son of Gory and brother to Chavo, Mondo and Eddie, poor Hector’s most notable national exposure is the masked Lazer-Tron in JCP or as the *sigh* Gobbledy Gooker at the 1990 Survivor Series. Hector is knocking on the door of 40 years old and the grey in his hair makes him look older than his body would suggest. Angel is yet another name we’ve seen as an enhancement talent for both the WWF and WCW. He also has one hell of a mullet. Angel isn’t showing much on offense, but he’s a solid bumper, so no surprise that he was getting the call often to look at the lights. Hector counters a suplex, transitions into an abdominal stretch and rolls Angel around the ring, keeping the legs trapped and shoulders down at 4:44. Dutch calls it the “Jalapeno Pepper Roll” and we all roll our eyes and move along. Hector’s work was alright, but I don’t know if this is anything more than a “pad the card” kind of deal.

Ivan Koloff tells us that Vladimir is still in Russia taking care of personal business. Jimmy Golden wants to know how they got their name, because he hasn’t seen nothin’ fantastic about them. Koloff and Jimmy Golden sure are a wacky, random tag team.

Dutch doesn’t seem keen on signing up for another match with Brian Lee and introduces us to Carl Stiles, who he sells to the audience like a bumpkin he found on the side of the road. Stiles stands there flexing and you immediately get the feeling he’s here to do a job or two to Brian Lee before finding work elsewhere.

Pretape from Mr. Ron Wright, who is disgusted by Brian Lee’s actions last week using brass knuckles. He’s still looking for someone to manage and make the money to cover costs for his hip and knee implant.

Killer Kyle vs. Rikki Nelson – I don’t believe I’ve watched Nelson work elsewhere. He got a few dates working as enhancement for WCW spread across 1991-93, but nothing consistent. Since the first taping is still fresh in my mind, I didn’t agree with having him lose so quickly to Robert Gibson, even if it was a “gotcha” style roll-up. Kyle isn’t that much bigger than Nelson, but they’re pushing him as a big, intimidating menace. Ron Wright wheels himself to ringside to get a look. Kyle gives Nelson way too much. I get the babyfaces doing it in their matches, but heels should be more decisive. Kyle finally cuts Nelson off, taking advantage of Wright distracting the referee and ramming Nelson into the violin case for three at 3:45. Hopefully they work-shop how Kyle handles his business so he doesn’t work like such a geek.

Pretape from “Hollywood” Bob Holly. Remember when I said his bell-to-bell work and execution was solid? Well, he’s going to need to lean on that, because his promo work is not very good on a deep roster of heels with the gift of gab.

“Prime Time” Brian Lee vs. Brad Anderson – I hope Lee got a double-payday for working two matches. Brad is the (shoot) son of Gene Anderson and is the kind of guy who bounced around getting work, but nothing significant on a national level. Dutch calls Lee a “potential serial killer.” I don’t know, but he might get in trouble for impersonating a dead man. Stiles wanders to ringside to get a closer look at the action. The distraction from Stiles allows Anderson to briefly take control of the match. Lee shrugs it off and ends it effortlessly with the Cancelation at 3:45. Post-match, Lee and Stiles brawl a bit, with heel miscommunication between Stiles and Dutch allowing Lee to stand tall. He already feels like a bust as a top babyface. Labors through promos and the work in the ring isn’t up to snuff.

The Fantastics vs. Ivan Koloff & Jimmy Golden – TV Main Event. For those keeping score through the first four weeks, the Fantastics/Koloffs (and now Golden) and Brian Lee/Dutch are the feuds doing the heavy lifting as we establish the roster and try to put the pieces in place. Bobby and Koloff test each other out in the opening moments with some chain wrestling. Jackie is a little sloppy in his execution. Golden with the cut-off by going to the eyes. It’s not much of a heat segment, as Jackie casually turns things around. Bobby is doing all the work for his team. Koloff is split open from being sent into the post. Bobby with a much better face-in-peril sequence, setting up Jackie for the hot tag. He runs wild with slams and dropkicks, then comes off the top with a body press on Golden. Heck breaks loose and here’s VLADIMIR KOLOFF! HE WASN’T IN MOSCOW! The referee doesn’t see the interference and Golden covers Jackie for the three-count at 9:14. Not much to say other than Bobby Fulton was earning his pay.

After a pre-tape of generic promos, Bob Caudle is standing by with the winners of the last match. Golden is ecstatic that Vladimir was able to catch the last flight out of Moscow. Bobby and Jackie don’t appreciate being hornswoggled and the fight is on! The Fantastics are quickly outnumbered by the Koloffs and Golden, but here’s hometown hero Tim Horner to even the odds! It’s a wild brawl, including Vladimir taking an unprotected chair shot to the dome.

Final Thoughts: With two tapings and four episodes of TV behind us, we have a better idea of who is hanging around and what we should expect from the next set of tapings. The saga of who Ron Wright might discover to be his cash cow and the identities of Jim Cornette’s new tag team should be resolved sooner than later. Tim Horner, The Fantastics, and Brian Lee are getting a bunch of time for the babyface side, while the heels side is a bit more muddled, as we’ve seen the likes of The Koloffs, Dutch Mantel, Jimmy Golden, and Hollywood Holly among others, and it doesn’t feel like any of them trump the faces in the tower of power. I’m also noticing I enjoy recapping the promos a bit more than I did before, as I try to cut down on over-detailed play-by-play of the matches (at least for quick 4-5 minute TV matches that all fall under the category of “fine” or “showcase for wrestler X.” When we come back, we’re taping from Knoxville and the turn-around time from taping to broadcast will be far more reasonable.