SMOKY MOUNTAIN WRESTLING THANKSGIVING THUNDER 11/28/92
Running Time: 98 minutes
Smoky Mountain Wrestling presented its third major event of the year at the Freedom Hall in Johnson City, TN before a crowd of about 1500 people (announced, looked like less than that), or about a 75% full house given the seating setup (WCW would hold Monday Nitro there and draw about 5,000 people). Although the product was still very much in an improvement phase, it was much more interesting and solid in the ring than six months earlier. The Rock N Roll Express had reformed their team and were back feuding with Jim Cornette, this time against the Heavenly Bodies, which were perhaps the freshest tag team act in the U.S. in 1992. Dirty White Boy continued to reign as SMW champion and provided the federation with a solid, dependable lead character who could mesh well with most of the top face acts in the ring. So back to this show, it was actually the climax of a five city/town/village (remember it is SMOKY MOUNTAIN Wrestling) Thanksgiving Thunder tour. Les Thatcher and Dutch Mantell handled commentary, with some nameless character handling interviews backstage.
1. Handicap Match: Paul Orndorff vs Danny Davis & Ronnie Garvin
Garvin and Orndorff wrestled into a corner and Garvin landed a punch. (clip) Garvin punched and choked Orndorff, and bit him. Garvin gave Orndorff seven punches in the corner and his trademark right hand near the center of the ring. Garvin raked Orndorff's face and repeatedly stomped his hands. Garvin atomic dropped Orndorff, who crashed into the corner upon impact. Garvin landed more punches and an elbowsmash for a near fall. Garvin attempted a piledriver but Orndorff countered with a backdrop. Garvin and Orndorff traded elbows and punches, then collided with each other. (clip) Garvin applied a sleeper catching Orndorff in a criss cross. Orndorff nearly passed out. Garvin then gave Orndorff the Garvin stomp for a near fall. Davis tagged in and landed some elbows. He choked Orndorff and went for a rollup out of the corner but Orndorff held onto the ropes. Orndorff gave Davis an enzu-lariat (and a pretty solid one too) and a running knee to the head. Orndorff cranked Davis's neck and gave him a rolling neck snap. Orndorff stomped Davis and choked him in the ropes. Davis went for a sunset flip but Orndorff punched him and elbowsmashed him. Orndorff landed a second elbow and elbowsmashed Davis's leg. (clip) Orndorff missed a clothesline and Davis gave him a cross bodyblock. Orndorff recovered and stomped Davis. Orndorff slammed Davis but missed a top rope elbow. Garvin tagged in and attacked Orndorff with punches and a headbutt. He rammed Orndorff into three corners and landed more punches. Garvin went for a piledriver but Orndorff backdropped him. Orndorff blocked a sunset flip but Davis tackled him and Garvin rolled him up for the pin at 24:01 (11:03 aired). Orndorff attacked both men afterwards and piledrove Davis (illegal move in SMW). Garvin went after Orndorff but Orndorff atomic dropped him. Orndorff went for a piledriver but Tim Horner made the save. Less than half aired, and not even that portion looked good. A few decent moves and action sequences, but mostly methodical and pretty lifeless. This seemed like an interesting match in theory, but proved that an interesting gimmick does not an exciting match make. * or less.
2. SMW Title Lumberjack Match: Dirty White Boy (c) vs Tim Horner
DWB got a pretty solid amount of cheers from a supposedly old school crowd. Horner knocked a distracted DWB out of the ring with a dropkick from behind. DWB landed some punches. Horner slammed DWB twice and DWB retreated but the lumberjacks threw him back in. Horner landed some punches and threw DWB out, and the lumberjacks threw him back in. DWB slammed Horner twice DWB tried to throw Horner out of the ring, but Horner countered and threw him out, and DWB was thrown back in. Horner kicked DWB and rammed him into the corner repeatedly. Horner kneedropped DWB for a near fall and raked his face. Horner slammed DWB for a near fall and punched him out of the ring. The heel lumberjacks tended to DWB so the faces confronted them. Surprised??? Horner suplexed DWB back into the ring for a near fall. DWB caught Horner on a criss cross and pressed him into the air and to the mat. DWB gave Horner a backbreaker and a legdrop for a near fall. DWB stomped Horner and threw him out by the heel lumberjacks, who went after him. DWB punched Horner and threw him over the top rope. The lumberjacks began to fight amongst themxelves before throwing Horner back in. Horner telegraphed a backdrop and DWB spiked him with a pretty sharp DDT for a delayed near fall. DWB punched Horner and kicked him. He choked Horner and landed some punches in the corner. Horner and DWB exchanged punches but DWB then raked Horner's eyes. DWB whipped Horner hard into the corner and gave him two elbowsmashed for a near fall. DWB threw Horner out of the ring and Horner was thrown back in. Horner countered a slam but DWB blocked a rollup by holding onto the ropes. Horner caught DWB off guard with a cool sunset flip for a good near fall. DWB clotheslined Horner and kneedropped him twice. DWB kneelifted Horner and chopped him but Horner tried to fight back. DWB choked Horner, elbowed him and gave him a low blow. DWB rammed Horner into the corner repeatedly but Horner no-sold the blows. Horner no-sold DWB's punches and fought back with punches hof his own. Horner backdropped and clotheslined DWB twice but DWB pulled him out of the ring. Orndorff attacked Horner and the faces intervened. Horner punched DWB but Orndorff went after him from the apron. Orndorff threw brass knuckles to DWB as Horner gave Orndorff some punches. Horner kicked DWB but Orndorff grabbed Horner and DWB gave him the power of the punch. Hey, 10 years ahead of his time!!! DWB then pinned Horner at 15:02 to retain the title. Solid match, nothing special. Given its place in the show, I'm not really disappointed. Horner never struck me as a championship contender on any level, just a solid worker who could make others look good on any level he worked. **
3. Kevin Sullivan vs Mongolian Stomper
They began to fight at ringside before the bell with great intensity. Stormper rammed Sullivan into the barricade and chased him up the stairs in the crowd. They traded blows near the empty seats at the top of the arena. Stomper kicked Sullivan and pounded him. Stomper dominated Sullivan as they fought down the stands. Sullivan fought back and rammed Stomper into some chairs. Sullivan was busted open. Stomper dominated Sullivan as the action returned to ringside and into the ring. Stomper repeatedly kicked Sullivan in the head. He rammed Sullivan into the corner 6 times and whipped him into the opposite corner but ran into a boot. Sullivan jumped off the second rope with a chop on Stomper and gave him a foot stomp. Sullivan stomped Stomper (say that 5 times fast), gave him a Mongolian chop (!) and stomped his hand. Stomper began to no-sell Sullivan's blows and fired back with punches of his own. Sullivan raked Stomper's eyes and whipped him into the corner but ran into a boot. Stomper applied a cobra clutch but Nightstalker interfered and attacked Stomper. Sullivan and Nightstalker double teamed Stomper and hit the ref, and the bell sounded for the DQ 5:10 into the footage. Wild post match activities as a couple faces made failed save attempts until about 6 of them ran the heels off. Not much athletic content, but man this was a fun match! They made up for lack of athleticism with very strong intensity, and this came off as a legit grudge match. Not much better than the last match, but tons more enjoyable for a non-old school fan. Fans live ate this up, which helped too. **1/2 (all for the intensity and freshness).
4. Battle Royal with: Tracy Smothers, Bobby Fulton, Dixie Dynamite, Robbie Eagle, Tim Horner, Nightstalker, Dirty White Boy, Robert Fuller, Jimmy Golden, Ronnie Garvin, & Paul Orndorff
This was a unique match since they ran a contest where fans could pick the winner, then a drawing would be done with names who predicted correctly, and the winning fan would get a VCR. Cheesy prize, but realistic and a nice touch that seemed legit the way they handled it. Pretty typical battle royal fare, so I'll mainly address the eliminations. Eagle was the first wrestler ousted. Fuller was next to be eliminated, and Garvin eliminated Golden. Garvin and Horner eliminated Orndorff. Orndorff hung around and ousted Horner. Garvin was also eliminated. Dynamite fought with DWB while Smothers fought with Nightstalker in the corner. DWB ousted Dynamite rather easily. DWB clotheslined Smothers and Nightstalker slammed and elbowsmashed him. DWB kneelifted Smothers
and clotheslined him. The heels continued to dominate Smothers and DWB DDTd him. Nightstalker powerslammed Smothers and DWB tried to throw him out but Smothers skinned the cat back into the ring. Smothers attacked both opponents and dropkicked them. DWB and Nightstalker fought back. They tried to throw Smothers out but Smothers held his ground and clotheslined them both over the top rope to the floor to win the battle royal at 8:23. Better than average because the closing portion was given ample time to develop. Smothers was one of the better SMW workers, so that helped too. *1/2
Footage aired of two tag team title changes between the Rock N Roll Express and Heavenly Bodies during the Thanksgiving Thunder tour.
SMW Tag Team Title Streetfight: Rock N Roll Express (Ricky Morton & Robert Gibson) (c) vs Heavenly Bodies (Stan Lane & Tom Prichard) w/Jim Cornette
The champs entered through the crowd and attacked the Bodies with a trash can and trash can lid. Gibson hit both opponents with the trash can and Morton hit Lane with the lid. Morton hit Prichard with the lid and Gibson rammed Lane into the trash can. Gibson gave Lane some punches. Morton and Gibson double teamed Prichard. Morton hit Lane with a kendo stick and broke the stick over Prichard's head. Lane fought back and hit Morton with the lid. Gibson punched Lane but Prichard hit him with the trash can. Prichard choked Gibson with a stick as Morton punched Lane. Gibson hit Prichard with the trash can as Lane punched Morton. Gibson took out Lane with the trash can. Morton punched Prichard and the Express backdropped him. Lane kicked Gibson and whipped Morton with a belt as Prichard attacked Gibson with the stick. Gibson fought back and hit Prichard with the trash can. Gibson also hit Lane with the trash can and stomped him in the corner. Prichard threw Gibson out of the ring. Morton clotheslined and choked Lane with a bandana (I think) for a near fall. Cornette stood on the apron but Morton punched him and Cornette took a really cool bump knocking over the announcers' table (in a more comedic way than a hardcore bump). Lane knocked Morton out of the ring and rammed him into the table that Cornette held up. Cornette and Lane rammed Morton into the table as Gibson rammed Prichard into the ringpost. Lane kicked Gibson and rammed he and Morton together. Cornette threw powder in Morton's eyes and hit him with his tennis racquet. Cornette also hit Morton with the house mic. Lane and Cornette tied Morton by his neck to the bottom rope and shoved the ref when he tried to intervene. Cornette landed a ton of punches on Morton, who bled from his head. Lane attacked Gibson with savate kicks in the ring. Lane punched Gibson and Prichard placed a plastic bag over his head. Morton freed himself and attacked both opponents with repeated chairshots. Prichard was also bleeding by this point. Gibson brought the table into the ring and Morton propped it in the corner. Gibson whipped Lane into the table and Morton did the same to Prichard. Prichard fought back against Gibson at ringside. Morton catapulted Cornette into the ring but after Cornette had tossed his racquet to Lane. Gibson kicked Lane and hit him with the racquet. Gibson confronted Cornette but Prichard attacked him from behind. Prichard accidentally clotheslined Cornette when Gibson ducked. The Express gave Prichard their trademark double dropkick and Morton gained a near fall. Gibson punched Cornette. Prichard placed an object around his boot and kicked Gibson. He then pinned Gibson at 9:48 to win the title. Great wild match by 1992 standards. Not spectacular athletically, but always intense. If Stomper-Sullivan was rated well by me, this has to get a significantly higher rating. A little short for my taste, but not too short given the intensity from bell to bell. ***1/2
Footage aired of their final match of the tour, a barbed wire cage match in Knoxville at the Civic Coliseum. The Express regained the title, producing the fourth title change of the tour. The video then concluded with a music video dedicated to the Rock N Roll Express set to "The Boys are Back in Town".
Much better than Volunteer Slam 1992. I can do without the handicap match, but the rest of the tape was entertaining, with each match having something to offer. The main event might have been the best match action wise to date in SMW, and the show built well from a quality standpoint. If you want to check out SMW, I'd definitely recommend this tape. But if you're just gonna get 1 or 2 tapes, maybe you should skip this one.
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