Autistic Dragon

Flair making a calculated move but it could blow up in his face.

Providence. Solid wins for the Steiners and Bad News. Rotundo with the all-American win over Ivan. Muta continues to shine. Bad night for the Russians. ST find out who's Boss. Honky gets caught with El Kabong. The Powers take down the big boys. Hogan has an OMG moment in Rhode Island. Baltimore. Warrior goes 2-0 against the Nasties. Duggan vs Shiek, a classic. Rude with a huge win over the Superfly. Miscommunication costs the Heenan Family. Taylor escapes with the win and his hair. I imagine things were tense between Scott and Rotundo. Savage and Studd get a cheap win but Andre & Roberts make them pay. Albany. Rockers endure the Pain. Muta can not be stopped. The Towers win the Battle of the Biggun's. An all-star team topples the Hart Foundation. Takes more then a little Bad News to derail the Hulkster.

Miss Kentucky brings in a Moondog to help Bruno get the tag belts. Bert isn't impressed at first but i think that showing in the ring brought him around. DJ and the champs still aren't sweating them though. The Renesto's have a bone to pick about being left out of the tag title tournament and take it out on Rocky & Weiss. Honestly the whole show highlighted the tag scene.

Night 1 in St Paul. Let's go! Brandi wins by a hair and Putski doesn't take it well. Vinnie spares his boys a pinfall loss but The Bruisers make him pay for it. Without the Vin Man to worry about, DJ puts Kelly down for the count. Poffo gets caught up putting on a show and Orndorf catches him. Terry Gordy is a huge get for the AWA and he immediately puts the resident Von Erich on notice. Venomous show who the best masked tag team really is and take the Bee's masks as proof. The Rich's literally trip over each other allowing Los Guerrero's to retain. Double J take his long awaited trip to Larry Land. After a hard-hitting affair, Nikita still stands on to of the mountain. Bring on night 2!

Smoky Mountain Wrestling TV. From the Paintsville High School Gymnasium in Paintsville Kentucky. Taped 10/1/96 before originally airing 10/6/96. On Commentary: Bob Caudle & Dutch Mantell Ring Announcer: Kevin Noe Backstage interviews: Michael St John We see a series of still shots of the action at the Big Apple Grapple before the usual Smoky Mountain intro. We cut to Caudle Mantell (the SMW Heavyweight Title over his shoulder) at the booth joined by SMW owner Bert Prentice who has the SMW Tag Team Titles with him. Caudle: Hello wrestling fans and welcome to another exciting week of Smoky Mountain Wrestling, pro wrestling the way it used to be and the way you like it. I'm Bob Caudle alongside my tag team partner and the man who is, by hook or crook, still your Smoky Mountain Heavyweight Champion "Dirty" Dutch Mantell (Mantell holds the title proudly while Prentice rolls his eyes) and joining us right now is the owner of Smoky Mountain Wrestling Mr Bert Prentice and Bert I understand you have a few announcements for us today. Prentice: I certainly do Bob. First of all I want to thank everyone who came out to join us for the Big Apple Grapple and helped make it a tremendously successful night for Smoky Mountain Wrestling. And for those of you who for whatever reason couldn't make it, well don't you worry cause before too long the Big Apple Grapple will be available on Smoky Mountain Wrestling home video just like Rebirth. And I also wanna announce that the next big event for Smoky Mountain Wrestling will come on October 28th when we present Halloween Scream from the Freedom Hall Civic Center in Johnson City Tennessee. All the biggest stars of Smoky Mountain Wrestling will be there and Dutch (the champ looks at Prentice a little surprised to be singled out) I'll have a announcement as to how you'll be spending that weekend but that's for next week. Right now I want to introduce to everyone your brand new Smoky Mountain Wrestling Tag Team Champions, Tracy Smothers and The Dirty White Boy... The Thugs! *The Thugs come out to their theme "Tuff Enuff" by The Fabulous Thunderbirds and a huge pop from the live crowd.* Prentice: Gentlemen it is my privilege to award you these titles and I think I speak for everyone here when I say congratulations to you both. Smothers: Thank you very much Mr Prentice. You know I've been representing Smoky Mountain Wrestling since November of 92 and my man the Dirty White Boy was here basically from the beginning and we're both so proud to be the tag team champions again but also show a whole new crop of fans what being a Thug is all about. DWB: Hey Mr Prentice, it just hit me you're pretty new around here, do you know what Thug stands for yet? Prentice: Well, can't say that I do. Can you explain it to me real quick? Smothers: *big grin on his face* with pleasure boss man. *Clears throat" T is for Terrible! DWB: H is for Hell! Smothers: U is for Ugly! DWB: G is for Jail.... Both: Cause Thugs can't spell. (Caudle sends us to break while the crowd pops and Prentice just about dies laughing.) Match #1 George South vs Wolfie D Wolfie D has a little extra bite in everything he does as he takes it to the journeyman South before finishing him with a spinning crucifix bomb. Wolf D joins Michael St John and immediately starts running down Flash Flannigan calling him "dead weight who was crimping my style". Says he teamed with Flanagan cause he felt bad for him only to be let down when it counted. After some more of this, Flanagan runs down and a brawl breaks out between the now former partners. Just as Flanagan seems to take the advantage, two men dressed similar to Wolfie D run down and jump on him. One is short with a mohawk while the other is about 6'4 with long brown hair. The three men beat down Flanagan until security finally gets between them and the trio retreat laughing and high-fiveing the whole way. Match #2 Bobby Blaze vs Bart Sawyer A solid if unspectacular TV match. Sawyer shows plenty of craftiness and manages a couple of near falls but the former SMW Heavyweight Champion is able to seal the deal with the "Blaze Blaster"(northern lights suplex) We see footage of the chaotic ending to the match between The Moondogs and The Rock n Roll Express at the Big Apple Grapple. Caudle announces that the two teams will meet again in today's main event. Match #3 Nick Dinsmore vs "No Gimmicks Needed" Chris Candido Dinsmore once again shows considerable promise as a wrestler but Candido is just on another level right now. After several engaging exchanges Candido takes the win with the "New Jersey Jam"(top rope leg drop) Before the main event, Dutch says he spoke to The Heavenly Bodies earlier and they told him they have a big surprise in store for next week when they take on Badd Company. Main Event. The Rock n Roll Express (Ricky Morton & Robert Gibson) vs The Moondogs (Rex & Spot) w/"Father" James Mitchell The Moondogs jump the Express just before the bell to take the early advantage. As tends to happen, Morton is isolated for a good chunk of the match and plays "face in peril" as only he can. Finally Gibson gets the tag and is a house of fire. Things break down near the end but Gibson is able to get Rex in a sunsetflip and just barely hold the wildman down for the 3. The Moondogs aren't finished yet and the two teams are still fighting when time runs out. Caudle: My word it is utter chaos in there right now. We'll try to get this under control fans. But that'll do it for this week, we'll see you next week and until then, so long for now.

Great promo at the start of the show. I'm really liking Flair as the guy at the top of the mountain daring anyone to knock him off. I've been a little confused as to where the FBI stand but this week places them firmly as faces. And I can see that, from what I know of them in ECW they were basically a comedy act anyway. A k.o win in wrestling is pretty big already but a k.o win over Terry Gordy makes Windham a made man. The Harris Brothers are, if nothing else, convincing bruisers. A big night for the "Loose Canon". First he scored the win over Storm and then he storms the main event. Double A does the right thing and sends the invader packing. Between Flair's boasting, Paul E's politicking and Pillman's disrespect Arn is a ready made hero.

Heyman may be slick but he can't deny Arn forever. Storm vs Pillman really stands out to me, though Gordy vs Windham should be a fun hossfest.

I like using Korakuen Hall for these smaller cards. Creates a nice B-show setting between your major shows.

Baxter might be a little bruised but he's a winner tonight. Miss Kentucky claims to have found a team, huh? Well I hope she checked their credentials cause Jamie and Papa-san are on point. The Assassin was fiddling with his mask you say? ....Eh, I'm sure it's nothing. Reno has the CA in trouble until Sierra comes down to bail his comrade out. Luckily Baxter hadn't left the building yet and they send the Cubans into retreat.

Dusty with a big announcement, 40 men fighting in 2 rings for the United States Championship. I understand Arn being frustrated not getting his match with Flair but picking a fight with the Barbarian probably isn't the best answer. Dr Death vs Taz would be awesome to see. Martel screws Chavo without laying a finger on him. I'm noticing an unexpected amount of hugging in the NWA. Gordy grounds Konnan but can he survive Meng? Leave it to naitch to eat the pin but still close the show by talking shit. His match with D-Lo should be fun.

The Towers and the Rougeau Brothers both move on the US tag title tournament. Both would be solid choices as champs. Rotundo makes his move and drops Scott. Hogan defends against the Macho Man in a steel cage on Saturday Night Main Event...Oh Yeah!

Jamie and Papa-san rise to the top of the tag scene. This means Tojo has been one half of the inaugural tag champs in 2 of the 3 promotions Bert Prentice has opened. Elsewhere on the card, Knighton keeps his momentum going while Blaze takes The Assassin to the limit.

Portland. The Diamond Exchange show their dominance. Adams takes down the former Light Heavyweight Champion. A group promo highlights the growing division in the Playboy Club. The Bulldozer is showing Cactus how Wild he can get. Haynes with a huge submission win over Mr Backlund. Portland night 2. Payne gets a measure of payback on Bearer by taking down one of his vampires. Undertaker turns things around for the Neighborhood. King & Candido win an electric tag match. Regal learns his knucks don't solve every problem. Rose seems unusually ungrateful for an assist. His refusal to return the favor may have cost the Superstars a chance to regain the gold. Windham wins a down home Texas brawl. Eugene. BT still has Candido's number. Barr continues to succeed with his strange antics. I wonder if the Blood Syndicate were impressed with The Animal bringing home the win. In defeat, Eddie shows Christopher he hasn't gone soft. Burke and Finlay were too much to handle. The Cheetah Kid racks up another successful defense.

From the Municipal Auditorium in Columbus GA. Airing on the USA Network on 9/30/88. On Commentary: Gordon Solie Ring announcer/Interviews: Sean Moony (Changing the format slightly as I don't quite feel up to writing a full card like usual) Starrcade Series Block A match results. "Wildcat Wendell Cooley defeats "Chief Wahoo McDaniel with a inside cradle after a series of pin attempts. The two shake hands after the bell. In a bit of a shock, "Chief" Joe Lightfoot defeats The Ugandan Giant" Kamala w/"Number One" Paul Jones Friday by count-out after Kamala tried to splash Lightfoot against the ring post but Lightfoot ducked out of the way. "Rugged" Ron Garvin and "Tennessee Stud Robert Fuller w/"The Mastermind" Ron Fuller wrestled to a TV time limit draw. Under the rules, this gives each man 1 point. Non tournament winners: The Renegade Warriors, "Crippler Chris Benoit, "World's Strongest Man" Bill Kazmaier and The Beasts of Burden. After victories by "The Franchise Shane Douglas, The Samoan Island Tribe and the Junkyard Dog, we come to the main event in which Brett Hack Sawyer defeats "British Magician Steve Wright after several bouts of rule breaking culminating in the bridging German suplex. Sawyer took the mic and boasted of having the best German suplex in the business. He says it made him sick to see a "amateur" like Perez use his move so "sloppily". His tirade is cut off by Perez himself hitting the ring and after a brief brawl, hitting a German suplex on Sawyer. As Sawyer lied on the mat, Perez grabbed the mic and said "not bad for an amateur huh?" Starrcade Series leaderboard... Block A: Kamala 6pts, Robert Fuller 5pts, Ron Garvin 5pts, Joe Lightfoot 4pts, Wahoo McDaniel 2pts & Wendell Cooley 2pts Block B: Bob Orton 6pts, Jimmy Garvin 4pts, Manny Fernandez 4pts, The Super Destroyer 4pts, Tom Prichard 2pts Jimmy Golden 0pts Block B continues next week with... "The Ace" Bob Orton vs "The Gatekeeper" Jimmy Golden "Raging Bull" Manny Fernandez vs The Super Destroyer "Gorgeous" Jimmy Garvin vs "The Doctor of Desire" Tom Prichard

I'll definitely be paying attention to the Koslowski brothers when they arrive on the 14th. The UWF opening its dojo is a big step forward.

Taylor gets the crowd heated. Duggan and The Bulldogs put a crack in the Hart Foundation. Roberts DDT is so devastating even Haku's head can't take it. Warrior with another impressive showing. Demolition and the Heenan Family get out of control. Rude and Savage each strengthen their case of a title shot. The Hammer couldn't break down the giant. Savage must have been so pissed seeing Andre walking to the ring after he'd already "won".

Piper and Mando are becoming a weekly highlight. Same for him and Dusty really. It's just so fun watching him get under their skin. Arn may not have a title but getting Piper to shut his mouth feat in itself. I think Double A may have still been a bit sore from the hit job Sting gave him. The Lord Humongous promo felt like a bit of a repeat but the visual of a guy no-selling blows from a sledgehammer would've a lot of people's minds. Zenk tries to do the right thing and Gilbert beats him with a brick for it. Hot Stuff is definitely on Reed's shit list now. A wild elimination match sees The Latin Connection advance to Fall Brawl. Gotta admit I think a title reign from these guys could be pretty entertaining.

Knighton is confident in his ability to collect from the champ, but what happens when you try to collect from someone who doesn't feel they owe you? Looks like Mrs Kentucky reconsidered her opinion of Bruno. The Assassin knows all the tricks and gets one over on Grundy. Hyped for the tag title tournament.

Interesting behind the scenes look as members of the roster vie to be Maeda's successor.

September 30, 1996 Paintsville High School Gymnasium in Paintsville Kentucky. Smoky Mountain Wrestling presents the 1996 Big Apple Grapple! Bob Caudle and Bert Prentice welcome the fans in the sold out Gymnasium and guarantee a action packed night of wrestling. Brickhouse Brown & Koko Ware win the "Wild Card" Battle Royal and are the final team entered into the tournament. Smoky Mountain Tag Title Tournament Quarterfinals. The Thugs (Tracy Smothers & The Dirty White Boy) defeat The Tennessee Volunteers (Reno Riggins & Steve Dunn) when Smothers pinned Dunn with the "Tennessee Jawbreaker". Both teams shake hands after the match. The Arkansas Hit Squad (Mark Canterbury & Dennis Knight) defeat Badd Company (Paul Diamond & Pat Tanaka) with the "Hangman's Noose" on Diamond. The Rock n Roll Express (Ricky Morton & Robert Gibson) vs The Moondogs (Rex & Spot) w/"Father" James Mitchell ends in a double count-out. The Heavenly Bodies (Tom Prichard & Jimmy Del Rey) defeat Brickhouse Brown & Koko Ware by hitting Ware with the "Starfall" (Prichard gets on the second rope, Del Rey places Ware on his shoulder allowing Prichard to preform a falling powerslam) Non tournament match. "The Unpredictable" Dick Slater defeats Killer Kyle with the Figure Four leg-lock. Smoky Mountain Tag Title Tournament Semifinals. The Thugs defeat The Arkansas Hit Squad when Smothers ducks under a Canterbury clothesline and pulls him into a backslide. The Heavenly Bodies receive a bye to the finals. Non tournament match. "Primetime" Brian Lee defeats "No Gimmicks" Needed Chris Candido. Candido had Lee in a schoolboy with his feet on the ropes which the ref noticed and broke up the pin. Candido argued with the ref allowing Lee to score a big boot followed by the "Primetime Slam". Smoky Mountain Tag Title Tournament Finals. The Thugs defeat The Heavenly Bodies when a rare misfire causes Prichard to hit his own partner with a Superkick. Prichard went to check on Del Rey allowing DWB to come from behind with the "Bucksnort Blaster" to give The Thugs their second SMW Tag title reign. Main Event. Smoky Mountain Wrestling Heavyweight Title. "Dirty" Dutch Mantell(c) defeats "Hacksaw" Jim Duggan when Mantell pulled the ref in front of a charging Duggan allowing him to retrieve the title belt and KO Duggan with it.

Adidas shows Parsons why nobody says no to the A-lister. 16 huge matches and two fresh arrivals. St Paul is in for a hell of a two days.

Los Guerreros are primed and ready to defend their titles. Blackwell looks to Crush Oliver in St Paul. Brandi and Putski are keeping things civil. Can't blame Nelson for bailing on the heel team for Wargames. Mr Olympia beats three men in the span of a few minutes. He's certainly looking good heading into St Paul. After 3 long years, are we finally looking at the end of the Peterson/Kelly saga. The Bees are ready to expose Venomous for the world to see. Double J gets his shot at Mid-America title. Question is, is he taking the title back to Memphis or just a shirt from Larry Land? Poor Nelson can't catch a break from the Wargames participants. Atlas and Nikita exchange heated words to close the show.

Smoky Mountain Wrestling TV. From the Morristown-Hamblen High School Gymnasium in Morristown TN. Taped 9/20/96, originally airing on 9/29/96. On Commentary: Bob Caudle & Dutch Mantell. Ring Announcer: Tommy Noe. Interviews: Michael St John After the intro, Caudle welcomes the fans in his usual style. He points out it's 24 hours until the Big Apple Grapple in Paintsville Kentucky but before that there's two huge tag team matches on today's show. First the former AWA World Tag Team Champions, Paul Diamond and Pat Tanaka, reunite to take on Wolfie D and Flash Flannigan, The Black Sheep. In addition, the main event will see SMW Heavyweight Champion Dutch Mantell & the man who will challenge him in Paintsville "Hacksaw" Jim Duggan each select a partner for a tag team match. Mantell repeats his line from last week that nobody will want to team with Duggan especially when they realize who he's found as a partner. Caudle tries to tease it out of him but Dutch isn't sharing. Match #1. The Nightstalker vs American Kickboxer The masked man gets a bit of shine but this is mostly about showcasing the speed and agility of AK who wins with the springboard hurricanrana. The Rock n Roll Express join St John. They put over how happy they are to be back in SMW, where they appreciate traditional professional wrestling not trying to light people on fire for shock value. They've been apart of many great tournaments but the one at Big Apple Grapple is shaping up to be something special. They admit that their a bit long in the tooth compared to some on the SMW roster but they promise they've got plenty of fight left in them and they'll prove it by walking out of Paintsville 11 time SMW Tag Team Champions. Match #2. Tag Title tournament qualifer. The Black Sheep (Wolfie D & Flash Flannigan) vs Badd Company (Paul Diamond & Pat Tanaka) Wolfie again raps on the way to the ring with Flanagan acting as if it's the greatest thing he's ever heard. Badd Company comes out to "Bad Company" by Bad Company in their traditional blue zebra stripes. BC haven't teamed in about 2 years but they find their rhythm quick enough. Wolfie and Flanagan lack experience but make up for it with a willingness to bend the rules. This ultimately backfires thought as Wolfie tries to hold onto Tanaka but when Flanagan tries to charge him, he moves out of the way causing Flanagan to crash into his own partner. Wolfie falls to the floor while Tanaka tags in Diamond. Tanaka slingshot Flanagan into Diamond who catches him with a jumping DDT for the 1,2,3. Curiously, Wolfie D shakes his head and walks off leaving Flanagan laying in the ring. Caudle and Dutch are hyping the arrival of Dick Slater at the Big Apple Grapple when Killer Kyle approaches the desk. As is his custom, he says nothing but retrieves a photo from his coat pocket. He unfolds it and holds it up to the camera revealing a pic of Dick Slater with a cross hair imposed on it. A smirking Kyle walks away, his nonverbal message received loud and clear. Match #3 The Gambler vs "Too Sexy" Brian Christopher A reasonably competitive match that Christopher wins with the "Chris-cross". Caudle hypes Christopher as someone who could be a key player in SMW going forward (Dutch left before the match started). SMW owner Bert Prentice joins Bob Caudle to reveal the official brackets for the Tag Team Titles tournament... "Wild Card" battle royal. Final two enter the tournament as a team. The Thugs (Tracy Smothers & Dirty White Boy) vs The Tennessee Volunteers (Reno Riggins & Steve Dunn) Badd Company (Paul Diamond & Pat Tanaka) vs The Arkansas Hit Squad (Mark Canterbury & Dennis Knight) The Rock n Roll Express (Ricky Morton & Robert Gibson) vs The Moondogs (Rex & Spot) w/"Father" James Mitchell The Heavenly Bodies (Tom Prichard & Jimmy Del Rey) vs "Wild Card" winners Non-tournament matches Smoky Mountain Wrestling Heavyweight Title. "Dirty" Dutch Mantell(c) vs "Hacksaw" Jim Duggan "Primetime" Brian Lee vs "No Gimmicks Needed" Chris Candido "The Unpredictable" Dick Slater vs Killer Kyle. Bell time: 7pm *Dutch comes out first and introduces his partner, Bull Pain. At 6'2, 260lbs, with a bald head and dressed in biker attire, Pain certainly gives off the vibe of someone you don't want to mess with. Duggan is out next and commends Dutch for finding "one bad dude" for a partner. He on the other hand wanted a guy whos ready for anything, who's done it all and seen it all. So he introduces...."Superstar" Bill Dundee! Main Event. SMW Heavyweight Champion "Dirty" Dutch Mantell & Bull Pain vs "Hacksaw Jim Duggan & "Superstar" Bill Dundee A fun tag main event. Dutch only ever comes in when one of the opposition is down and in trouble. He also does whatever he can to avoid being in the ring with Duggan for too long. Things break down with all four men brawling. Duggan and Mantell pair up and they spill through the ropes. Back in the ring, Pain goes for a slam on Dundee who holds on and turns it into a inside cradle for the surprise 3 count. On the floor Dutch & Duggan have been separated and a nervous looking Dutch is holding the title tight as the show ends.

SMW releases Ox Harley and signs Pat Tanaka.

Double A wants his title shot and he's not taking no for an answer. A solid card for next week.