Eddie Gilbert

ECW Champion Shane Douglas puts over the company and says that he has survived in ECW over the last eighteen months because he has evolved.  In a segment that lasts more than twenty-five minutes, he calls out Ric Flair and Hulk Hogan as old and that they no longer compare to “the Franchise” of ECW.  Douglas recaps his career in ECW, with video showing his feud with Terry Funk, his first ECW title win, and his decision to refuse the NWA World Championship.  He complains about Flair holding him down in WCW and how he is having to save professional wrestling by himself.  Douglas warns Tully Blanchard that he will beat some respect into him.  And then he suddenly pivots at the end to warn Marty Jannetty that he is not going to win the ECW title at this Saturday’s ECW Arena show.  There is nothing wrong with a promotion trying to play up its champion, but this was not a good way to make the audience stick around for the rest of the broadcast.  It was a meandering promo that went back-and-forth between Douglas’ personal grudges and his career and then went into hyping a random ECW Arena bout.

Jim Ross and Les Thatcher do commentary and they are at a new taping location in Lenoir, North Carolina.  According to prowrestlinghistory.com, the taping at the Mulberry Street Recreational Center drew 375 fans.

A video package hypes Chris Benoit and Dean Malenko, with more focus paid to Benoit’s recent wave of destruction through ECW.

Lance Russell and Dave Brown are in the booth from the WMC-TV 5 studio in Memphis, Tennessee.

Highlights of the 1978 Tupelo Concession Stand Brawl are shown.

The show has a new introduction, with a knock off country song about SMW having the “biggest brawls” and “biggest stars” in wrestling.

Jim Ross and Les Thatcher call the action as they wrap up the television tapings in Sevierville, Tennessee.

(So I actually did have a copy of this show sitting in my home office, so we got a little ahead of ourselves in the SMW reviews by doing the February 4 television show.  We will rewind to review this big event and then move to February 11 next week)

Smoky Mountain Wrestling never put out a VHS release of Super Saturday Night Fever so existing footage is from a fan cam.  According to thehistoryofwwe.com, the show, which took place at the City Coliseum in Knoxville, Tennessee, drew 2,000 fans and a $16,000 gate.

Jim Ross and Les Thatcher oversee commentary and they are still taped from Sevierville, Tennessee.

Jim Ross and Les Thatcher are in the booth and they are still taped from Sevierville, Tennessee.

Jim Ross and Les Thatcher are calling the action and they are taped from Sevier County High School in Sevierville, Tennessee.  According to prowrestlinghistory.com, the taping drew 400 fans.

(Check back tomorrow night for Doomie Award results!)

–Eric Bischoff and Bobby Heenan are doing studio duties for today’s broadcast.  They briefly discuss Ric Flair’s reinstatement.

–Bischoff hypes WCW’s rubber action figures.  Heenan uses the Vader figure to knock the Hulk Hogan figure off his desk.

–Tony Schiavone and Bobby Heenan are doing commentary and they are live from Baltimore, Maryland.

–Todd Pettengill narrates a video package hyping today’s feature match between the British Bulldog and Bob Backlund.

–Jim Ross and Pettengill are doing commentary and they are at a new taping location in Fort Myers, Florida.  These tapings were held on January 25.