SMW TV (Re-visited) – Knoxville, TN Taping – 02.01.1992

Now that we’re through the first two tapings that were in the can for 3-months each, it’s time for something a little closer to where we are in the broadcast timeline and should have a definitive look at our roster now that we’re taping consistently AND running live shows between tapings as well. This taping will cover the episodes broadcast on February 29th, March 7th, and March 14th, 1992. Now that we have three episodes to cover as we play catch-up, I’ll try to limit the long-winded details and will ignore all “SMW is coming to your town!” ads unless they are specific market promos.

February 29th, 1992:
Bob Caudle and the Dirty Dutchman, Dutch Mantel (with Carl Stiles hanging around behind him) are at the table to hype today’s action. We’ve got the debut of NITRO Danny Davis, appearances from “Mr. Wonderful” Paul Orndorff and “Hollywood” Bob Holly. We’ll take a look at last week’s show-closing wild brawl, and Dutch will be in action (card subject to change)!

“Nitro” Danny Davis vs. Barry Horowitz – The in-ring debut of Davis. Formerly Nightmare Danny, he ditched the face-paint as Cornette put a ban on the stuff because he felt it was over-done elsewhere. He’s using “TNT” by AC/DC for his entrance music and boy does the bleach blonde hair make everyone look old (in Davis’ defense, he’s one of the older members of the active roster). Horowitz is consistently used as a good-hand who has back-and-forth matches but ultimately loses. You need guys for all types of roles, but he’s someone I’d like to see get more of a push. Davis avoids a flying elbow and doesn’t have too exciting a comeback, winning by countering a small package at 4:15. Yikes, maybe the worst first impression on the babyface side.

Jimmy Golden with a pre-tape hyping today’s Main Event against Robert Gibson. He tells Gibson he better not come to the ring to dance, because he’s coming to fight.

We replay the last 3-4 minutes of last week’s episode and throw it to a promo from Bobby and Jackie Fulton. They were cheated and want another match. If not for prior commitments in Japan, they would be there this week and have been on the phone to find a partner for a six-man tag. This leads to Commissioner Bob showing up with several announcements; everyone involved in last week’s brawl is fined $500, the six-man tag has been signed, and Brian Lee has been told not to bring any physical aggression to the announcer’s table, but if Dutch is in the ring, there’s nothing he can do to help him.

Mr. Ron Wright reads a heartfelt letter from a fan who has donated $5 to the cause and wishes Wright luck in getting the finances he needs for the operation. OLD MAN GRIFT IS AWESOME.

“Hollywood” Bob Holly vs. Tommy Angel – MULLET MADNESS! Holly has a new black robe with pink frill, so he’s at least leaning into his nickname now (instead of rocking the “Beautiful” Bob windbreaker). He still looks like a knock-off Bret Hart with the pink singlet and tights with the black stripe down the side, but we’re making progress. Mr. Ron Wright appears at ringside as Angel controls the action. As I ready myself to type how everything looks good, Holly grabs a BEARHUG. Holly starts hitting moves for the sake of hitting moves and the match starts to suffer from it. Angel puts together a solid string of offense, but a distraction from Wright allows Holly to hit a suplex and missile dropkick for three at 5:39. Probably could have trimmed at least a minute from this.

“Mr. Wonderful” Paul Orndorff is here to casually pat himself on the back for his past accomplishments and hypes up the tournament to crown the first Heavyweight Champion. He’s also unsure why the piledriver is illegal and plans to look into that decision.

Dutch Mantel has come down with a cold and won’t leave the table and sends his new protege to fill in for him in the next match…

Carl Stiles vs. Reno Riggins – Looks like we know the obvious next chapter in this Brian Lee/Dutch Mantel feud. Stiles is a name most are probably unfamiliar with, but with a glass eye and the willingness to pluck it out for the sake of an angle, that’s all you need to know, as he’s an unremarkable worker otherwise. Riggins with the early control and Stiles has a cut on his cheek. Stiles takes advantage of Riggins missing a dive into the corner and connects with a shoulder breaker and gut-wrench suplex. Riggins with the comeback but Stiles cuts him off and finishes with a powerslam at 3:47. Post-match, Brian Lee comes out to call Dutch a coward and give Stiles a pass for being a bumpkin being taken advantage of. Lee and Stiles scrap as we throw it to a commercial break.

Jim Cornette pre-tape running down Bob Armstrong for being scared of the tag team he’s bringing to Smoky Mountain Wrestling.

“Rock ‘n’ Roll” Robert Gibson vs. Jimmy Golden – TV Main Event. Golden yanks the hair to control a headlock but gets caught off the ropes with a slam. They run it back, roles reversed (minus the hair pull) and Golden’s smug behavior leaves him vulnerable, allowing Gibson to control on the canvas. BREAKING NEWS: TERRY GORDY IN ACTION NEXT WEEK. An atomic drop sends Golden to the floor as Ivan and Vladimir Koloff make their way to ringside. Gibson gets tripped up, allowing Golden to take over. Gibson with the comeback, hitting an enzuigiri and running bulldog, but the Koloff Family runs in for the DQ at 6:09. It’s a three-on-one until Tim Horner and Hector Guerrero make the save (remember, the Fantastics are away on tour).

When we return from break, Commissioner Bob Armstrong is standing by with Brian Lee and Robert Gibson. Based on recent incidents with uneven numbers, Armstrong encourages Lee and Gibson to handle business however they need and he’ll look the other way, and Lee promises to go through Stiles next week in the Main Event.

March 7th, 1992:
Bob Caudle and the Dirty Dutchman (along with Carl Stiles) are here to welcome us to the show, and for whatever reason, Rip Rogers is there as well. He wants all the hillbillies to know that he’s the most fit man in professional wrestling, and will do squats for the entire hour. OK… Well, Terry Gordy, Hollywood Bob Holly and Mr. Wonderful will be here, and as we found out at the end of the last show, Brian Lee meets Carl Stiles in the Main Event.

“Hollywood” Bob Holly vs. Jumpin’ Joey Maggs – Wow, we’re running Holly out there again on this taping? I guess that’s a good sign for his value, or maybe they didn’t bring in enough talent and had to double-dip a bit more than usual. It’s a shame Hollywood Bob didn’t stick around with this character, it would have been a great heat seeker for the territory, this smug hick acting like a big shot from L.A. Another solid performance from Holly as he’s brought along slowly with semi-competitive matches without pushing him too hard, too soon. Just a smooth worker that can go both ways (heel or face, you sillinannies). Holly finishes with the flying elbow drop at 5:04 (I prefer the flying knee, personally).

Tim Horner joins Bob Caudle and is immediately interrupted by Rip Rogers who is more than 250 squats into his workout. Horner bets Rogers $500 that he can’t do the squats for the whole hour. Rogers calls him stupid and accepts.

Terry “Bamm Bamm” Gordy vs. Tommy Angel – The in-ring debut of Gordy (and yes, he comes out to Skynyrd’s “Free Bird”). Not to give it away immediately, but this is a one-and-done for Gordy, who wouldn’t become a regular for the territory until much later in the timeline (as in mid-1995, with a one-off in ‘94). Also, welcome back Tommy Angel, we just saw you on TV last week! They jockey for position for longer than I expected considering the difference in name value. BREAKING NEWS: Rip Rogers is at 467 squats. More back-and-forth prelim level stuff and Gordy finishes almost out of nowhere with a Powerbomb at 3:48. Huh. That was crap. Bob Caudle gets a word from Terry Gordy, who says there’s not a man alive that can beat him, and if there’s going to be a title, you can put your money on him winning it.

Commissioner Bob Armstrong makes an appearance to make more announcements. In two weeks, we will start the Tag Team Championship Tournament. He’s got some bad news, as well; Ron Wright is a consistent disturbance during the matches of Smoky Mountain Wrestling. Unless he has a wrestler under contract, he is BANNED FROM RINGSIDE. Wright comes out to dispute the call but Armstrong doesn’t want to hear it and wheels Wright away to the delight of everyone in attendance.

Paul Orndorff is still upset over his piledriver being banned, but Terry Gordy was allowed to use a Powerbomb, and guys can do dropkicks off the top rope! He wants to know why he’s being singled out for his move and everyone else can do whatever they want.

“Mr. Wonderful” Paul Orndorff vs. Barry Horowitz – More double-duty from guys we saw in action last week. Aggressive lock-up and Orndorff has to hold himself back from taking a cheap shot in the ropes. Orndorff clearly has a mean streak in him ready to burst through, and all the talk of his piledriver being on the banned list is a neon sign pointing at what’s to come sooner than later. Horowitz with plenty of shine in this match. Orndorff turns it up a notch, sending Horowitz to the floor and taking him on a tour around ringside. Orndorff has to stop himself from hitting the piledriver and misses a dropkick. Horowitz pulls down the pad and drops a knee across the chest for two. Orndorff blocks a snap mare and takes Barry over with a back-slide for three at 7:00. One of the better matches we’ve seen in the short history of SMW TV. Solid work from both men and the ongoing saga of Orndorff’s frustration playing by the rules.

Jim Cornette sounds off on Bob Armstrong letting the power get to his head. He promises that his team is sexier than Madonna’s latest video and deadlier than dinner at Jeffrey Dahmer’s place.

“Prime Time” Brian Lee vs. Carl Stiles (w/ Dutch Mantel) – TV Main Event. Lee vs. Dutch continues to be one of the most consistently featured buying-us-time feud, and we can only hope this turkey is as short as humanly possible. Lee makes a play for Dutch, but Carl saves. Lee with the early aggressive assault and another failed attempt getting at Dutch. At least they know not to make this a standard match and have all this gaga with Lee obsessing over Mantel to give it some flavor. This is our second match of Stiles at this taping and in both, there’s a long cut to some fans to cover an obvious botch. Stiles slows it down with a chin-lock and bearhug. Lee with the comeback and the Powerbomb finishes at 6:03. Post-match, Lee fights off a two-on-one and stands tall. Could have been worse, but Stiles has nothing to offer other than being a warm body to beat.

Rip Rogers is STILL doing his squats, and being a smug jerk about it, so babyface Tim Horner cheats the bet, kicking away Rogers’ chair, causing him to disrupt his workout. WHAT A HERO. Yes, Rogers is being obnoxious, but he performed what he said he would, and that’s an admirable trait.

March 14th, 1992:
3rd and final week of the taping period, with our usual introduction from Bob Caudle and the Dirty Dutchman (with Carl Stiles lurking). We can look forward to Hector Guerrero! The Koloffs and Jimmy Golden in Six-Man Action! Ron Wright has a surprise for everyone and in today’s Main Event, Rip Rogers looks to take $500 out of Tim Horner’s hide!

Hector Guerrero vs. T.J. Travis – Travis might be the most nondescript goober enhancement talent we’ve seen so far. The first of our unsung heroes without experience doing work for WCW (as of this date in time), so probably a local they pulled in to pad things. We’re getting our second look at Guerrero, who automatically feels like spot filler for the prelims. Hector shows off his athleticism and stretches Travis with a bow-and-arrow. Travis gets a short offensive burst, but he misses a diving fist drop. Guerrero with a pair of missile headbutts and the rolling abdominal stretch keeps Travis’ shoulders down for three at 4:47. I think Guerrero versus more legitimate conversation would work better; doing squash matches with his style doesn’t translate well.

Pre-tape from NITRO Danny Davis. Same schtick about being small but like a bottle of nitroglycerin, you won’t like the results if you mishandle him. We follow with a pre-tape from The Fantastics, who are back from the tour of Japan (Well, not really, but play along). We’ll find out their partner for Six-Man Tag Action NEXT WEEK.

Ivan & Vladimir Koloff and Jimmy Golden vs. Reno Riggins, Ben Jordan and Rocky Patterson – Cornette’s gonna need to bring in a few more bodies to tape three weeks at a time without using the same scrubs over and over again. Patterson shows off with an international and getting the better of Vladimir. Nice physique too, unfortunately he’s very short. Golden turns things around for his team, mopping the floor with Riggins. Why the hell did Vladimir give so much to Patterson? And then Ivan gets worked in the babyface corner! Golden is the only heel that understands the assignment. Jordan takes a good beating and a combo dropkick (from Golden) and lariat (from Ivan) finishes at 4:10. We get a post-match interview from the winners, who are not concerned with whatever partner the Fantastics could find.

Ron Wright’s banishment from ringside lasts all of one week as he reveals he has signed someone to make him money to pay for his many surgeries…

The Dirty White Boy (w/ Ron Wright) vs. Rikki Nelsen – Well, the heel side of the Smoky Mountain depth chart just got another strong talker and heat magnet. Right now for babyfaces, the #1 is easily the non-wrestling commissioner (for now) and then a wide gap until we get to the likes of Brian Lee and Tim Horner. The DWB a.k.a Tony Anthony was a staple of southern territories, more often than not holding gold, oftentimes the tag team as well as the top belts of a given promotion. To keep up with the licensed music used, Dirty White Boy comes out to Foreigner’s “Dirty White Boy.” Fitting. He’s introduced from Bucksnort, TN, and yes, it’s a real location. Anthony roughs Nelsen up, little of it pretty, but still very effective. Nelsen unloads with a flurry of rights and lefts and connects with a dropkick, but Anthony counters a whip, sending Nelson to the corner, and finishes with a clothesline to the back of the head at 3:38. We get post-match comments from the Dirty White Boy. He’s disgusted that nobody else would help out Ron Wright, and declares that he cannot be beat.

Hollywood Bob Holly with a pre-tape (holding an issue of National Enquirer) and he wants to clear up rumors about himself and Julia Roberts. They’re JUST FRIENDS.

Killer Kyle vs. Jerry Lynn – Wait a minute, you had Jerry Lynn ready to go and you only used him once?! Kyle’s Big Bubba look is fine, but he doesn’t have the size, and his first few appearances were less than impressive. For every spot or sequence where Kyle looks like he gets it, he does something poor that takes away those positive reactions. Lynn with the hit and run strategy until getting caught off the ropes with a spine-buster, and that’s enough for the fall at 2:38. They call the move the “Rub Out” after first calling it the Bubba Bomb.

Bob Caudle interviews Terry Gordy who doesn’t show up for another 2+ years.

White Lightnin’ Tim Horner vs. “The Hustler” Rip Rogers – TV Main Event to wrap up the taping. Last week, Horner was a sore loser and cheated on his bet with Rogers, so honestly, I should have listed Rogers first as the true babyface of the contest. They have a fine sequence of chain wrestling, with Horner getting the better of the deal each time. Rogers may have bragged about his conditioning, but Horner has controlled the first few minutes. Rogers claws the chest of Horner, dumps him out, and dives off the top with a double axe-handle! Horner blocks a suplex from the apron to the floor and hits Rogers with a tope suicida! They continue fighting on the floor, with Horner threatening a piledriver, but Horner counters with a back body-drop. Back inside, a double reversal leads to a collision in the center of the ring. Horner fights his way in from the apron and a sunset flip finishes at 7:20. Solid action here, right up there with the best we’ve seen on the handful of episodes of TV produced. I would have liked more with the finish, but that might be modern eyes still adjusting to the presentation of the era.

Bob Armstrong is back one more time and says that Cornette’s team needs to be identified before he puts them in the tournament. Cornette responds, promising he will have a video of his tag team NEXT WEEK.

Final Thoughts: I think there’s some more I can do to workshop catching up these episodes to where the reviews left off all those years ago, but for now… the growing pains of developing a roster and introducing enough people to build a promotion around made these episodes a bit hit and miss. The babyface side really needs some extra punch to it considering the strength of talkers on the other side of the coin. Next week, the Tag Team Championship Tournament begins (or so we’re told), which should make the next month of TV a bit more important. Paul Orndorff’s frustration of the piledriver will boil over sooner than later, and we finally paid off Ron Wright’s scouting for talent by introducing the Dirty White Boy. There’s almost a binge quality to watching Smoky Mountain, where even the stuff that doesn’t land doesn’t hurt the enjoyment much because episodes are only 45-50 minutes (and that includes a bunch of local promos for live shows or fundraisers).

Thank you to everyone who takes time out of their day to read these reviews, whether it’s Smoky Mountain, Team Challenge Series AWA, Fan-Cams, or whatever weird nonsense I can think of.