SMW Bluegrass Brawl 1993

Date: April 2, 1993

Location: Pikeville College Gym – Pikeville, KY

Announcers: Lance Russell and Les Thatcher  

If we’re reviewing shows from 1993, why not rewatch some Smoky Mountain! 

The Setup 

This was smack dab in th middle of the Rock & Rolls vs. Heavenly Bodies feud, and we had Arn Anderson and Bobby Eaton on loan from WCW to alter the dynamic, especially with Arn as a babyface. They also added Robert Fuller, Jimmy Golden, and Dutch Mantel to add some depth to the program. 

We also had Dirty White Boy (as the Yankees with manager Ron Wright) defend the SMW title against Trafy Smothers in Wright’s former specialty match, a Tennessee chain match. 

The Business 

The show drew 1,778 fans, which Historyofwwe shows as a company record, so the main programs and extra talent were well-built. 

The Results 

Mongolian Stomper def. Rob Morgan in 1:32. Stomper was just a constant movement of ass-whipping on the young job guy, winning quickly with the cobra clutch. The locals were happy to see Stomper kick ass. NR

Tim Horner def. Nightstalker by DQ in 13:12. I may have liked this more than most, but they told a good story, and Stalker was surprisingly good working the crowd. Although all of his moves didn’t look solid, you could tell that working the SMW loop had taught him how to play to the hostile fans. They didn’t start the match with Horner getting the upper hand like they do today with every fucking babyface today, and that made sense, because why would a fresh Tim Horner be able to dominate a fresh Nightstalker due to their respective sizes? Horner started wearing Stalker down in the latter half of the match and continued to go for a sleeper, forcing Stalker to carry him physically. Stalker eventually internationally threw Horner over the top for the DQ instead of passing out. **3/4 

Singapore Spike Match: Brian Lee def. Kevin Sullivan in 7:05. The funniest part of this match was Lance Russell going over rules for every type of match on the die (singular word for dice) that were available for Lee to roll. The poor guy had to stand there speaking for about a week and a half. Lee rolled a six, which was “Brian Lee’s choice,” and he picked a Singapore spike match as revenge for getting spiked by Sullivan. To overbook this a little more, Horner was handcuffed in Lee’s corner and Nightstalker in Sullivan’s. In the most budget-friendly portion of the show, four cardboard boxes were placed on the ringpost, and one of them contained a spike. Poles were absent, but that was very Vince Russoish. I just typed a lot of words for a match that wasn’t much. Sullivan did go fucking nuts, making it appear he was grabbing Brian Lee’s nuts and stomach with a pair of pliers, but by the time they got to a fourth box, they were all empty, totally confusing the live crowd. It turns out that Nightstalker removed the spike from a previously opened box and eventually handed it to Sullivan. However, Lee never did anything with the spike, and he ended up with the cheap roll-up win. I’m sorry, but this was bullshit. Lee picked the match so he could get revenge on Sullivan with the spike and never even used it. The action was okay, but the spike appearing not to be in any of the boxes once they were all open came across as really stupid. Nightstalker and Sullivan split after the match.  *1/4 

SMW Title/Tennessee Chain Match: Tracy Smothers def. Dirty White Boy (C) in 25:58. You had to win the match by touching all four corners, and this was a wild, bloody ass brawl. Every time Smothers tried to drag DWB to a corner, he wrapped the chain around his neck, and Anthony started changing colors in a subtle yet effective touch. Smothers bled a gusher, and Anthony was wrapping the chain around the open wound and pulling backwards so that it grated Tracy’s forehead. This may have gone a little long, but it was still fucking awesome, ending with DWB dragging Tracy and Tracy touching each corner as well. Anthony tried wrapping the chain around Tracy’s neck and physically lifting him, but Tracy flipped over and touched the fourth corner for the win. Great match! ****

Elimination Street Fight: Heavenly Bodies & Bobby Eaton def. Rock & Roll Express & Arn Anderson and Stud Stable & Dutch Mantel in 13:16: There were no tags in this, so there was a lot of brawling and a lot to follow. In probably the most prominent comedy spot of his career, Eaton brawled to the back with Ricky Morton, then came back with a tire around his neck and head. Weapons were used in this, including trash cans and chairs. Robert Gibson and Rob Fuller were fighting over a chair when Morton blasted Fuller to eliminate the Stud Stable. Gibson was selling his leg, so Fuller attacked that body part after his team was eliminated. Arn – the big outside star from WCW – used a fire extinguisher and started whipping the remaining heels into a table in the corner, even Cornette. Gibson had the figure-four on Cornette, when a bloodied Prichard came off the top with a loaded boot on Gibson for the win. This was a good brawl. ***

Recommendation

Thumbs up. This wasn’t a great show, but a good one. Honestly, if the Singapore spike match had felt like it delivered, it might have been great. Still, some significant issues felt like they were settled, and it was a fun and sometimes bloody southern rasslin show. How can you go wrong?