Autistic Dragon

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.

Between their tournament win & beating the PoP at MSG, The Rockers are on a roll. The Hulkster bites back at Savage and proves his point by taking down Big John Studd. Even MSG couldn't handle the Towers and Demolition in the same ring! Martel doesn't seem particularly grateful for Tito lending him a hand.

I'm sure Anjo earned himself some new fans with his spirited performance against the boss. Vrij ends the night with a major win over Fujiwara.

Taped at the Civic Center before Main Event Originally airing on 9/24/88 on the USA Network. "World's Strongest Man" Bill Kazmaier defeats The Mongolian Mauler with a running powerslam. The Zero Fighters shooting star (Keiichi Yamada & Hiroshi Hase) defeat The Brooklyn Brawler & The Black Scorpion when The Scorpion tapped to the "Scorpion Death Lock". "Black Bullet Shaska Whatley w/"Number One" Paul Jones defeats M.C Slammer (Brickhouse Brown in a mask) with the "Flying Willie". Main event. Michael "PS" Hayes defeats Zodiac with a DDT. In other news... After recapping last nights Block B matches, we see the updated leaderboard. Block A: Kamala 6pts, Robert Fuller 4pts, Ron Garvin 4pts, Joe Lightfoot 2pts, Wahoo McDaniel 2pts, Wendell Cooley 0pts. Block B: Bob Orton 6pts, Jimmy Garvin 4pts, Manny Fernandez 4pts, The Super Destroyer 4pts, Jimmy Golden 0pts. Block A will continue next week with... Wendell Cooley vs Wahoo McDaniel Kamala vs Joe Lightfoot Ron Garvin vs Robert Fuller

From the Civic Center in Roanoke VA. Previously recorded & airing on 9/23/88 on the USA Network. On Commentary: Gordon Solie Ring announcer/Interviews: Sean Moony Match #1. Starrcade Series Block B match. The Super Destroyer w/"Number One" Paul Jones vs "The Gatekeeper" Jimmy Golden w/"The Mastermind" Ron Fuller Referee Tommy Young kept a close eye on both managers, making sure they both had to mind their manners. Left to their own devices, the two heels do all they can to one-up each other in the rule breaking department. SD proves he's the dirtier player by claiming victory with the "loaded" headbutt. Match #2 Buffalo Soldiers (Ranger Ross & Brickhouse Brown) defeat Nick Boogs & Rolph Ziggler when Brown pinned Boogs with a swinging neckbreaker. Match #3 Angel of Death defeats Riddick Moses with the Death Sentence. Match #4. Starrcade Series Block B match. "The Doctor of Desire" Tom Prichard vs "Raging Bull" Manny Fernandez The two fan favorites had a tough but clean back-and-forth match that saw both men score a number of nearfalls. The end sees Prichard score a Superkick which knocks Fernandez into the ropes. Somehow Manny uses the momentum this creates to power the "Flying Burrito" for the win! Match #5 "British Magician" Steve Wright defeats Nate Riddle with the "Octopus Hold" Match #6 The Lawmen (Billy Joe Travis & Doug Gilbert) defeat Mick Khan & Vince Kenny with "Justice Served" (double hot shot) Main Event. Starrcade Series Block B match. "Gorgeous" Jimmy Garvin w/Precious vs "The Ace" Bob Orton w/JJ Dillon These two certainly know how to work a crowd and they show their skills here. Nothing too flashy but they tell a solid TV story. Dillon tries to slide his shoe to Orton but Precious stops him. Angered, Dillon grabs her by the shoulders and starts shaking her! She lets out a scream which gets Garvin to slide out of the ring, grabs Dillion and rams him into the post. He checks on Precious before climbing back in the ring where he runs into a sickening lariat from Orton which leads to the 1,2,3.

The Windhams vs The FBI could be a fun tag feud. Pillman & Darling outlast the big Harris boys. Gilbert shows why he's known in some circles as "Dangerous" Doug by trying to light 911 on fire! Thankfully Taz was on hand. Great job hyping the NWA World Heavyweight Title throughout the show. Shame Arn & Bobby aren't sticking together but at least their both in the title picture. I'm curious to see how #1 contender D-Lo reacts to Double A cutting in line to get the first shot at Ric next week.

Honestly if I'm on the NWA board of directors I'm a little nervous of Douglas winning the title considering what happened *ahem* last time.

I like that you're willing to repeat segments. After all it's not like the fans in Sparta can check Twitter and call you on it. Mr Memphis is back though not nearly as successful. Bass gets his shot at the big one but even the cowbell isn't enough to keep Michaels down.

Whether Arn did it alone last week or not, the Stinger gets his chance at payback in the big tag match at Fall Brawl. Speaking of big tag matches, we've got a Bunkhouse Brawl incoming and I love it. It's bounty vs bounty, and Hart seems to have someone looking to collect his. Reed tries to get back at Gilbert but Missy pulls her man out of harms way. The US tag title tournament is shaping up nicely. Lord Humongous arrives in dominant fashion. The ladies may have found a home in WCW.

Victoria. Finlay lets Burke know he is never safe. Hashimoto derails Tenryu. Scotty's win streak continues to build. Christopher & Cornette out-heel Candido. Haynes pulls off a perfect victory. Vancouver. Lynn scores a solid opening win. Regal's ko punch claims another one. Stormfront beat a out of synch Barr and Guerrero. Hall & Taker gets thrown out. Vic proves he's still a good sport in the absence of Cornette. The Beast gets a second chance but the Widowmaker pulls it out again. Kelowna. Azul's rise continues, as does Brookside's slump. DDP has really turned things around for the DC. Adams & Albright win a pair of slugfests. The Midnights show they don't need to cheat to retain their titles. Silver may be a King but Pillman retains the TV crown.