Dirty White Boy vs Tracy Smothers (SMW, 4-2-1993)

SMW Bluegrass Brawl, Pikeville, KY

This is a Tennessee chain match for DWB’s SMW heavyweight title.

Smothers before the match cuts a classic small room Southern promo, talking about all the nasty shit DWB has done to him, the worst of which was burning the rebel flag that his grandpa gave him, which was replaced by some nice folks down in Sevierville, Tennessee.

We see clips of wheelchair-bound former wrestler Ron Wright, now Dirty White Boy’s manager, presenting DWB with his famous chain match chain. Then we get a pre-taped promo with DWB “in Central Park” — he was working a New Yorker gimmick because it’s the South and these hillbillies are afraid of anything bigger than Chattanooga. To be fair I generally am, too. I live 45 minutes from Chicago and go to the city maybe once every five years.

DWB pulls a gun when a lady screams in the distance and he sees some muggers, but like a true Yankee coward it’s not like he goes and breaks it up or anything. DWB calls Smothers a drunk.

Hey, another pre-tape where DWB uses the chain to hit a bag of flour sitting on some plywood balanced on cinder blocks — in Central Park, mind you. Then a melon. Then a beer bottle.

Smothers became a Thing with internet fans years and years ago now, when he did the “ultra mega double mass homicide” or whatever it was promo in IWA Mid-South, and people were, like, “Haha this dopey redneck is funny,” and he has accepted being largely treated as a caricature ever since, because it’ll pay some bills.

But before he was Funny Ol’ Tracy Smothers, he was a hell of a good pro wrestler, and so was Dirty White Boy. Both of them wound up with the WWF in about ’96, as Freddie Joe Floyd (Smothers) and TL Hopper (DWB), and they were just job guys who got pictures in a WWF Magazine feature, alongside Bill Irwin’s hockey Goon gimmick and Alex “The Pug” Porteau. Because of this specific brief period in their careers, both are unfairly seen by many of today’s fans as mediocrities from an ancient time, because it’s definitely their fault that Vince McMahon hates professional wrestling, that they weren’t pretty enough to be stars in the WWF machine, or big enough to be the type of ugly McMahon will accept and also make fun of, like Mike Shaw or One Man Gang. The sooner more people would admit they carry the same fetishes Vince McMahon does, the better off my brain would be.

This is billed as the first Tennessee chain match in 10 YEARS, since the days of Ron Wright himself.

Smothers is out first to Charlie Daniels Band’s “The South’s Gonna Do It Again,” waving the Confederate flag to cheers. DWB is out, of course, to Foreigner’s “Dirty White Boy.”

After Lance Russell takes an hour and a half to read the rules of the match, Smothers waves the Confederate flag some more. Ron Wright gives DWB some final good wishes and DWB cuffs up and tosses the other end of the chain over to Smothers. Smothers eventually gets cuffed up by Mark Curtis. This is a “touch all four corners” mach, which generally works against any match with the rules, but at times it’s OK.

Bell sounds and they tentatively pull over to one another. DWB has some of the chain and swings it at Smothers, then pulls him in and clotheslines him down. DWB with right hands, Smothers off the ropes, through DWB’s legs, and yanks him down by the chain. Smothers with right hands and a jumping SAVATE kick sends DWB to the floor.

Smothers flies off the apron, hitting DWB from behind. DWB sent on top of a table and Smothers grabs a fan’s Confederate flag and spins it around. Back into the ring. Smothers hovers over a downed DWB in the corner, then picks him up by the receding hair. Smothers smacks DWB’s head into the corner 10 times and DWB is down again.

Smothers smacks DWB’s head into the middle turnbuckle pad this time, 10 more. Now the bottom turnbuckle. Kids are stoked about it, chanting along in their high voices. Smothers wraps the chain around DWB’s neck and touches the first corner, talks to the crowd, touches another corner, touches a third corner, and DWB hooks the bottom rope with his legs. Smothers lands a couple punches to break him free and DWB punches him in the gut, so the corners are erased.

Smothers mounts DWB in the corner and lays in with 10 punches. Smothers with another jumping SAVATE kick. Smothers touches a corner, touches another, and swipes at Ron Wright on the floor. But DWB lands a punch and we reset again.

Smothers with right hands in response, DWB staggers and then drops on another shot. They go back out to the floor and Smothers chokes DWB with the chain again. Back into the ring and Smothers smacks DWB’s head off the top turnbuckle again, 10 more times. Man, kids do not get sick of counting to 10.

Tracy wants the mic. “Go back up north, you goofy yankee!” Thatcher and Russell discuss DWB and Ron Wright relocating to New York, and Thatcher doubts they’re actually living in New York. Smothers drops a leg down on DWB’s groin.

Smothers touches a corner. Smothers touches another corner. Tracy with a couple stomps, then mounts and lays in some right hands. Fuck yeah, COUNTING! 10 punches! Ah-ah-ah!

DWB trying to get out of the ring. Smothers starts over with the corners, touches three and DWB lays in a couple shots to reset again. DWB really selling being choked and dragged by the chain like a motherfucker. Smothers climbs up to the top rope and DWB falls back and that crotches Smothers up top.

DWB takes over on offense finally. They’re outside the ring and down and then Smothers comes up busted open, and White Boy is choking him with the chain. Back into the ring, DWB in control, landing right hands with the chain wrapped around his fist. White Boy grinds the chain into the open wound. He talks some shit to the fans and they boo.

White Boy goes back to the cut and then clotheslines Smothers down. Bloody Smothers back up to his feet, but DWB hits him in the gut and knocks him right back down, Smothers selling the chain-assisted body shot like a killer blow.

DWB touches a corner, Smothers starts fighting with the chain, DWB touches a second corner. DWB touches a third corner. Tracy pulling with all he’s worth, gets up and lands a left hand blow to the gut.

DWB right back with a punch and a chain choke in the corner. Smothers falls out of the corner, lifeless and bloody. White Boy with a chain-wrapped elbowdrop. DWB wraps the elbow and cracks Smothers on top of the head. Smothers wearing THE CRIMSON MASK as White Boy dominates him with the chain.

DWB goes for the legs now, trying to hogtie Smothers, which, I mean, he still has to pull him, but fuck it, it’s an idea. DWB touches a corner, touches a second, touches a third with ease, and he’s on his way to the fourth, but Smothers manages to kick him off the ropes and then monkey flip him over, untangling his feet with DWB down.

Smothers up and swinging blindly with the blood covering his eyes. “TRACY!” a young woman shouts in distress. DWB takes Smothers down and stomps away. Crowd chanting for Tracy as Lance notes that DWB is “starting to blow pretty hard.”

Smothers in the corner, White Boy smacks him across the face a few times and talks shit. Smothers fires back with a right hand. Smothers with a kick to the gut, off the ropes, forearm shot to the jaw. Smothers mounts in the corner and MY GOD we are counting again, but we only get to four punches before DWB drops him over his knee.

White Boy touches a corner, and Smothers jumps him from behind, hammering away with forearms to the back. White Boy whipped to the corner, but Smothers’ charge misses and he cracks his head on the top turnbuckle.

Lance says we’re 19 minutes in. DWB choking with the chain again. Smothers is still fighting, though, and unlike goofy Tim Horner earlier on the show he doesn’t let his arm drop three times. More choking. White Boy touches a corner, another, a third, and Tracy just manages to cut him off before he can touch the fourth. Lance drops his voice and goes, “Tracyyyyyy” out of nowhere.

DWB with a mule kick to the nuts. “White Boy’s sayin’, ‘What do I gotta do, get a gun to stop this guy?'” Yeah, maybe.

Smothers gets hanged over the top rope with the chain. “They can’t stop it because this is one of those matches you can’t stop, but that is awful.” Tracy skins the cat back into the ring but runs right into a clothesline.

DWB goes up top, as Smothers tried earlier, and gets about the same result, yanked off into a flip to center ring. Smothers firing up again with rights and jabs and rights! DWB off the ropes, Tracy hits the jumping back elbow and rolls outside, with Ron Wright rolling out of the way. Smothers jumps off the apron with a chain shot to DWB’s head. DWB bleeding now, too.

Back in and Smothers goes up top with DWB staggering around, then cracks him with another chain shot. Smohers touches a corner, touches a corner, Smothers bites DWB’s head and chokes him with the chain. Tracy picks him up in a fireman’s carry and touches the third corner. He walks toward the fourth and final corner but Ron Wright wheels over and grabs Smothers’ foot, and DWB drives his weight down and they hit the mat.

White Boy hanging Smothers over his shoulder. He touches a corner, Smothers does, too. Second corner, Smothers touches, too. Third corner, Smothers touches, too. They trade shots and the count is broken.

So we go back to the same thing, with Smothers being dragged and touching right after DWB touches. This time, Smothers managers to backflip over DWB, and reaches out to touch the fourth corner and win the Smoky Mountain heavyweight title.

We see Russell interviewing a bloody Smothers backstage. Smothers is very “aw shucks” here thanking “Mr. Russell” and saying it’s the greatest moment of his nine-year career. “I told him he’s gonna have to kill me and he durn near did, but man, by the good grace of God and the support of the fans and just a little bit of Lady Luck, I’m the new Smoky Mountain heavyweight champion!”

DWB runs in and busts some wood over Smothers’ skull, then spits on him. “There will be more chain matches!”

Rating: 3.5/5. It’s not a GREAT! or CLASSIC! match but it is a very good bloody fight and overcomes the touching corners limitations for the most part, being entertaining enough with a hot enough crowd to get over that goofy shit. Lotta counting spots. Smothers and Tony Anthony were both really good and while this isn’t the pinnacle of what either could do, that’s largely down to the stipulation. It’s on YouTube and worth a watch if you’re interested in either guy in their natural environment.