-Today, Project 45 takes us to the year 1994 as we take a look at an episode of Smoky Mountain Wrestling from February 19, 1994.
-1994: I turned 16 and was in tremendous shape. I got my first job bagging groceries at a store and starting to come into my own.
-This episode of Smoky Mountain Wrestling was broadcast on February 19, 1994. It was recorded on February 7, 1994 from Jellico High School in Jellico, TN. There were 300 in attendance.
-Intro.
-Bob Caudle welcomes us to SMW. He and Dutch Mantell are our commentators for the event. Dutch pulls the name of Larry Santo out of his hat to face Robbie Eagle for the Beat the Champ TV Title. They say they have a lot coming up and Dutch says he has a special contract signing on Down and Dirty with Dutch. Bob says the Dirty White Boy has an announcement that's going to set Tammy Fytch on her ear. Dutch says her rear? Bob says no, her EAR, Dutch! I love the interplay between these two. They get interrupted by Chris Candido and Larry Santo. Candido says Santo has a great win/loss record here in SMW and it was the biggest upset of all time when Robbie Eagle beat him and he shouldn't even say that since it took two people to beat him and now that he knows that Larry has a match against Robbie Eagle for the TV Title, he's got his money on Santo. He's going to go to the back and in 5 minutes, teach Larry how to beat Robbie Eagle. Larry says he's ready and he's going to beat the champ.
-Anthony Michaels and Bobby Blaze vs. Well Dunn Timothy Well and Steven Dunn: Dunn and Blaze start. They lock up and Dunn with a knee to the stomach. Dunn with a right hand punch to the face. Dunn with an Irish whip, misses a clothesline, and Blaze with an arm drag. Blaze with a wrist lock. Dunn with an eye poke. Dunn with another Irish whip. He drops his head and Blaze kicks him in the face and then gives him a spinning heel kick. Michaels tagged in. He hits a second rope double ax handle on Dunn. Michaels gets a wrist lock on. Dunn with a poke to the eye and an Irish whip. Dunn drops down. Well pulls Michaels down as he gets too close to the ropes. Dunn stomps Michaels and tags Well in. Double Irish whip and a double back elbow to Michaels. Well with a belly to belly suplex to Michaels. Dunn tagged back in. Double Irish whip and a double clothesline to Michaels. Dunn drops a knee on Michaels. Michaels tries to come back with a shot, but Dunn rakes his eyes. Dunn with a suplex. Dunn with a savate kick. Well tagged in. He chokes Michaels on the ropes. Blaze comes in and gets stopped by referee Mark Curtis allowing Well Dunn to double team Michaels. They guillotine Michaels on the ropes. Dunn drops a fist on Michaels. Well Dunn with a double Irish whip and backdrop. Well with a scoop slam. Dunn tagged back in. He chokes Michaels on the mat. Well tagged back in. Dunn with a front face lock. Well hits Michaels in the back with a double ax handle. He picks Michaels up and punches him in the face. Well Dunn with Michaels in their corner choking him. Blaze comes in and attacks both members of Well Dunn, despite trying to be held back by Curtis. All four men in now. Curtis gets Blaze out and Well Dunn double teams Michaels. Well Dunn with a Corner whip to Michaels and Well charges him and hits a nice spinning heel kick in the corner. Wells then corner whips Michaels into a flying forearm by Dunn. Dunn gets the pin.
-Bob Caudle interviews Well Dunn and they are very complementary to each other. Well says they've held titles everywhere they've been and they think that SMW has some of the best tag teams. Dunn says they've got the best tag teams in the world right now, and that's what they are doing here. But make no mistake about it. When Well Dunn comes to town, they walk away with the gold. They are used to wearing the gold. They then compliment each other again and leave.
-Bob and Dutch then take a look at the chain match between the Dirty White Boy and Brian Lee from Sunday Bloody Sunday. Joined in Progress. DWB and Lee both bleeding and DWB with the chain wrapped around the throat of Lee. DWB with a corner whip, but Lee moves on the charge. DWB hits the corner hard. Lee with a clothesline. He hits a shot to DWB. He wraps the chain around DWB's throat. Lee gets one post and DWB also hits a post. They then both get the second post. DWB gets back to his feet. They both get three posts. Tammy Fytch gets up on the apron and gets in the ring. Referee Mark Curtis tries to get her out allowing Ron Wright to come in and hit Lee with his loaded shoe knocking him out. DWB hits the final post to win.
-Bob Caudle interviews the DWB with the Dirty White Girl. DWB is the SMW champion and says to Lee that he has something that Lee thinks belongs to him. DWB says if you want it tough guy, all you've got to do is come through him to get it. He says Lee and that dirty, dog walking tramp Tammy Fytch have put their hands on the DWG once too many times. They show a video of Lee attacking DWG. Fytch then says her match with DWG will start now and she pins DWG. DWB says he has gone to SMW and asked the Board of Directors for a mixed tag match. He tells Lee and Fytch to cinch it up real good and tight and come on because this is far from being over. Because the DWG is going to get her hands on Tammy Fytch. DWG says it will be a cold day in hell before Tammy Fytch beats her when she's conscious. DWB says they are going to teach Fytch how to take a royal butt kicking.
Highlights from Terry Funk with Jim Cornette vs. The Bullet Texas Death Match. Funk stacks chairs and broken tables in the ring. He scoop slams Bullet on the pile and Funk goes up and hits a moonsault on the Bullet to win that fall. Double count going. Both get to their feet. Funk goes for a piledriver, the Bullet reverses it into a backdrop. The Bullet with a DDT to Funk on the stack Funk had put in the center of the ring. The Bullet gets the fall. Bullet gets back to his feet and wins the Texas Death Match, so Bob Armstrong is the commissioner of SMW again. Bullet goes after Terry Funk. Cornette hits him with the racket from behind. Dory Funk also comes in and all three attack the Bullet. Cornette gets on the mic and says the Bullet is going to kiss his feet. Anthony Michaels and Tracy Smothers run in and chase the heels away.
-Brian Matthews is at a hotel in Knoxville where a meeting has been called by Bob Armstrong. Armstrong kicks someone out and throws his stuff out after him and says that's the crooked Board of Director that Jim Cornette and his mama paid for and Armstrong threw him out on his ear. He says there's going to be some changes made. He has signed himself and Jim Cornette to a cage match one on one. He says Jim Cornette said he couldn't do it one on one. It needed to be a handicapped match and he needed a partner, so he picked Captain Redneck Dick Murdoch. Armstrong says bring it on, he will wrestle both. He will do whatever he has to do to get Cornette. He wants to show everybody in the Smoky Mountains how to drop that hog. To get to Jim Cornette, he will have it done. He's not through yet, there are some more things he has taken care of.
-Jim Cornette is then shown. He says Bob Armstrong, I guess your idea of a joke your sick sense of humor. He says here is the paperwork to have the decision reversed on appeal to have Armstrong replaced as commissioner. He says he did everything he could to make sure Bob Armstrong was never the commissioner of SMW again. But Bob Armstrong foiled him again. When you beat Terry Funk in Knoxville, not only have you assumed the commissioner role again, but you've also got passed a little ruling that you shoved through with your little buddies that you shake hands with on the board of directors that you can wrestle as well as be the commissioner. Cornette says that smacks to me like conflict of interest, Bob Armstrong. That smacks to me of bribery. And he is going to prove that Bob Armstrong is a crooked politician one way or another yet and he will tell you something else he's going to do. He is going to get Dick Murdoch, because if Bob Armstrong wants him the only way Bob Armstrong is going to get him is in a handicapped match where Cornette has a partner because Jim Cornette has never claimed to be a wrestler. But remember this Armstrong. The men that he manages and him put Bob Armstrong in the hospital before and they can do it again. Captain Redneck beat Bob Armstrong right in the middle of the ring 123 in the Knoxville Civic Coliseum on Christmas Night and he's one of the baddest men in wrestling and one of the baddest men walking the face of the planet, so that's the way it's going to be at Golden Week '94. He and Dick Murdoch in a handicapped match against Bob Armstrong and one way or another, he's going to see that Dick Murdoch gives Armstrong that Brain Buster and breaks that big fat neck of Armstrong and sends him back to the hospital and relieves him once again as the commissioner of SMW and as for the Armstrong Family Reunion. Marietta, Georgia, Cobb County Civic Center. He realizes that Bob Armstrong is attempting to mutilate him, but they don't call him Houdini Cornette for no reason and one way or another, Armstrong, he will live to see the following day, but he's not sure that Armstrong will. Have a good family reunion, because it might be the last time the whole gang is all together ever again.
-Dutch and Bob argue over the outcome of the Bullet/Terry Funk match. They get interrupted by Tracy Smothers and Robbie Eagle. Smothers says Chris Candido, I heard you running your mouth out there and you were hollering how you were going to put your money down on Larry Santo. Well, right here is the TV champion, how about a hand for Robbie Eagle here and the crowd cheers. Smothers says if you're a better man, you want to put some money down? Well, let me tell you something, he's got $2,500 on Robbie Eagle and he is saying Robbie can beat your boy Larry Santo so put up or shut up. He's going to retain the TV Title and Smothers and Candido are going to have a side bet.
-Bob and Dutch talk about that challenge from Smothers to Candido.
-Jeff Jarrett says Thursday, March 10, Armstrong boys, not only is JJ going to give you the wrestling lesson, he's going to give you the singing lesson of your life. They are hyping up the Armstrong Family Reunion event on the 10th.
-Down and Dirty with Dutch: Dutch says SMW has signed a new tag team described by experts as one of the greatest teams of all time and more than likely the team of the 90's. Dutch then throws it to a contract signing of The Thrillseekers Lance Storm and Chris Jericho. Dutch is shown sitting at a table with Storm, Jericho, and SMW Commissioner Bob Armstrong. Behind them are Tim Horner, Pam Lawson, Cat Collins, Sandy Scott, and Mark Curtis in attendance. Armstrong says this is going to be great for SMW and from the film that he has seen, he thinks this is going to be the hottest team to come down the pike in the past 20 years. He thinks this team is good to go. Storm says everybody knows Smoky Mountain Wrestling is the most tag team rich promotion in the world today. Teams like the legendary Rock 'n' Roll Express and The Heavenly Bodies. That's why Chris and he are happy to be there. So that they can prove themselves against the best and show the people that they are the tag team of the future. Jericho says that's right, Lance, we're very impressed by all the officials and all the referees and everybody has treated us here and we're thrilled to be coming to the promotion because we want to show everybody out there in Tennessee and all the surrounding areas wrestling Thrillseekers Style because we're going to go 100 mph nonstop we like to live on the edge and we're going to show everybody out there that we can do that. You know we're going to rock SMW and we're going to rock America. Watch out people because we're coming to your town. Dutch says no event would be complete without the signing. Jericho and Storm sign. Armstrong then signs and it is official the Thrillseekers are on their way to Smoky Mountain Wrestling.
-Bob Caudle interviews Tammy Fytch and Brian Lee. Fytch is upset. She screams I don't want to do this Brian. I don't want to have this match. I'm not a wrestler. I shouldn't be in the ring, I'm a student for God's sake. I don't want to do this. She's going to bite me and give me rabies or something. Lee is trying to calm her down. Bob tells Lee that Fytch is hysterical. Lee says I know she's hysterical and Bob says well stop her. She won't stop so Lee picks her up on his shoulder and tells Bob that this isn't as bad as it seems. Bob then throws it to a Rock 'n' Roll Express/Heavenly Bodies 2/3 falls match from Harlan, KY. Joined in Progress. Ricky Morton with a suplex to Jimmy Del Ray. He gets another two count. Tom Prichard with a kick to Morton and the Heavenly Bodies double Irish whip Robert Gibson. Gibson comes back and tries a sunset flip on Prichard, but Del Ray holding on to Prichard's hand trying to stop him from coming over. Morton with a shot to Del Ray's stomach to break it and Prichard goes over. He gets a two count. Gibson with a small package for a two count. Morton with a sunset flip for a two count, but Prichard breaks up the count. Morton reverses a suplex attempt into a small package for another two count. Morton slams Del Ray into a turnbuckle head first. Morton with a hip toss. Gets another two count. Then another pinning combination, but the bell rings. Time limit draw.
-The Rock 'n' Roll Express are shown in the locker room. Ricky Morton says well, Heavenly Bodies, now you see what it's like to go an hour inside that squared circle. You see, just a few more minutes in that match and those belts would have been theirs. Because the tongues were hanging down to the ground and you were gasping for air. Well, they want to have a match to separate the boys from the men. You call yourselves the true Smoky Mountain Tag Team Champions. Well brother, they want a match that goes for an hour. They want a match to show you Prichard and Opie Taylor that they are the true Smoky Mountain Tag Team Champions. You see, you come out here and run your mouth, but you've got to prove it when you step inside that ring just like they did tonight. You said an hour passed by and to them they had another hour in them and the Heavenly Bodies were down to their last breath. They were sucking for air. So, boys, come on prove to them that you are the Smoky Mountain Tag Team Champions, they don't think so. So be ready for a match with an hour time limit brother and before that match is over with, they're going to go all night long and that's in and out of the ring.
-Bob Caudle talks to Jim Cornette and The Heavenly Bodies. Bob says 2/3 Falls to a draw and Cornette says yeah, that's exactly right because as you can see from that piece of videotape they just showed right there, the Rock 'n' Roll Express Robert Gibson and Ricky Morton like the shameless cowards that they are ran from the Heavenly Bodies for 58 minutes and 30 seconds and finally, even though we cornered them in the last few seconds and were pounding their brains out they were running for too long and the match went to a draw. But let me explain something to you, Rock 'n' Roll. I want you to listen real good. You went to Smoky Mountain Wrestling and you came up with the idea for this marathon match. That's exactly what they've got signed, a contract for a marathon match. The match has to go for an hour, it's got to go 60 minutes because if you quit, you're the losers and whoever wins the most falls during that hour is the winner of the match. The tag team titles are going to be on the line and you think you've done something Rock 'n' Roll. The only thing you've done is dig yourself an early grave, because these men right here can go an hour brother and then some just ask any woman in the Smoky Mountain area, right Tom? Tom Prichard says from the very inception of SMW, the Heavenly Bodies have ruled the tag team scene, whether it took us 5 minutes, whether it took us 10 minutes or whether it's going to take us an hour. We're going to show everyone in SMW who the real marathon men are. Jimmy Del Ray says you're exactly right, you know, a long time ago, they wrote a song about my cousin and I. The 60 minute men. That's him and I because we can go 60 minutes all night long. Cornette says and let me explain something to you Rock 'n' Roll, I want you to dig back in your memory. I want you to think about all the times that the Rock 'n' Roll Express and the Midnight Express went 60 minutes to a draw. The times that the Rock 'n' Roll Express went 60 minutes with Ole and Arn Anderson. I was there and I saw it. The times the Rock 'n' Roll Express went 60 minutes with the Russians. I was there and I saw it. I know every one of your tricks. I know every one of your moves and I know the ways that you can be beat so when this marathon match comes about the final result is going to be 14 falls for the Heavenly Bodies and a big fat goose egg for the Rock 'n' Roll Express. Because, believe me, I've got enough aggravation in my life I don't need these two punks on my trail like this. We're gonna finish this thing once and for all brother and in the process we're going to retain the SMW tag team titles.
-When they come back from commercial break, Dutch has his feet up on the desk and Bob says Dutch, don't put your feet up on the furniture. Bob then shows a clip of Robbie Eagle winning the Beat the Champ TV Title. They show Chris Candido get Eagle up on the turnbuckle for the suicideplex and Tracy Smothers come and knock Candido off of the turnbuckle. Eagle then covers Candido to win the Beat the Champ title. Smothers and Eagle celebrate afterwards.
-Beat the Champ TV Title Match. Robbie Eagle with Tracy Smothers vs. Larry Santo with Chris Candido: The bell rings. They circle each other. Santo up against the ropes like he doesn't want to lock up with Eagle. Eagle tries to lock up again and Santo back to the ropes. Santo starts arguing with the crowd. They finally lock up. Eagle with a side headlock. Into a hammerlock. Santo struggling, but finally reverses the hold. He gets Eagle down. Eagle gets up and out of the hold and reverses it into a wrist lock. Santo reverses that into a wrist lock of his own. Santo with a hip toss. Santo with a corner whip, but misses the charge in when Eagle moves. He hip tosses Santo out of the corner. Back to an arm lock. Santo grabs Eagle's hair and forces him down to the mat and applies a wrist lock. Eagle gets back to his feet and Santo hits him with forearms. Eagle staggers up against the ropes and Santo smacking him hard on the chest. Santo then biting Eagle. Santo gets Eagle into a corner and rams his shoulder in several times. He then chops Eagle in the chest. He then hits Eagle with some forearms. He then shows off to the crowd and Eagle comes behind and rolls him up for a two count. Eagle with an arm drag. Eagle with a dropkick. Santo rolls to the outside to regroup with Candido. Back in, Santo with a boot to the stomach and a chop and then a forearm to the back of Eagle. He then applies a chin lock to Eagle. Santo with an Irish whip. He misses a clothesline when Eagle ducks it, but gets Eagle on the comeback and throws him outside. Candido comes over and smacks Eagle in the face. Eagle gets up on the apron and rams his shoulder into Santo and sunset flips him. Candido gets up on the apron and grabs Santos arms trying to prevent him from going over, but Smothers comes in and breaks the hold and Santo goes down and Eagle pins him.
-Lex Luger says he is looking forward to seeing all his friends at the Marietta Civic Center on Thursday, March 10 for the Armstrong Family Reunion.
-Bob Caudle talks to Chris Candido. He is having a fit over losing $2,500 to Tracy Smothers in a side bet. Candido says it is his money and he wants Smothers out there. He says he wants Tracy Smothers to put that money up again. That's his money. Smothers comes out. Candido says that's still his money and Smothers has to put it back up. Smothers says you want another shot at this money? Smothers says maybe he will and maybe he won't. He'll let Candido know next week. They then sign off from Jellico.
-Final Thoughts: This was a fun little show, but came at a weird point in the taping schedule as evident by the clips of matches and interview heavy show. But the Thrillseekers are on their way and it is the first look many people got of Lance Storm and Chris Jericho.