| Tracy Smothers | |
|---|---|
 Smothers in November 2007 | |
| Birth name | Tracy Stanton Smothers |
| Born | (1962-09-02)September 2, 1962 Springfield, Tennessee, U.S. |
| Died | October 28, 2020(2020-10-28) (aged 58) Evansville, Indiana, U.S. |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | Freddie Joe Floyd Jason the Terrible Shaquille Ali Tracy Smothers |
| Billed height | 6 ft 1 in (185 cm)[1] |
| Billed weight | 235 lb (107 kg)[1] |
| Billed from | Nashville, Tennessee "Nashville,Italy" (ECW) Southern Italy (ECW) Bowlegs, Oklahoma (as Freddie Joe Floyd)Cheyenne, Wyoming |
| Trained by | Stan Lane Steve Keirn |
| Debut | 1982 |
| Retired | 2019 |
Tracy Stanton Smothers (September 2, 1962 – October 28, 2020)[2] was an Americanprofessional wrestler, best known for his appearances withWorld Championship Wrestling,Smoky Mountain Wrestling, theWorld Wrestling Federation, andExtreme Championship Wrestling.
Smothers was born inSpringfield, Tennessee, on September 2, 1962,[3] and graduated fromSpringfield High School, where he played football, golf, and wrestled.[4] Smothers was the first person in Springfield High School history to go to the state championship in wrestling.[5]
Smothers started his career in 1982 after being trained bySteve Keirn andStan Lane.[4] He later appeared in the combined promotional effortPro Wrestling USA, making his televised debut at a taping on September 18, 1984, that was held in Memphis.[3]
A month later, Smothers traveled to theContinental Wrestling Association, spending 1985 as anenhancement talent appearing on Saturday morning television.[3]
For the first time in his nascent career, Smothers, a natural babyface, began to receive a noticeable push,[3] gaining wins over the likes of Danny Davis,Gypsy Joe, Ron Sexton, andDavid Haskins.[2] Smothers would become a two-timeNWA Mid-America Heavyweight Champion during his time with the company.[3]
While in Continental, Smothers wrestled an unmuzzled bear that was announced as 550 lbs; Tracy took the bear to the mat several times. The bear, incapable of understanding the situation, thought they were playing.[3][6]
Smothers joinedChampionship Wrestling from Florida in February 1987 and immediately formed a tag team withSteve Armstrong as "The Wild-Eyed Southern Boys".[3] On February 21, The Southern Boys defeatedThe New Breed to gain their first ever championship, theNWA Florida Tag Team Championship. Smothers and Armstrong held the belts until March 15, when they were defeated byThe MOD Squad. In June, they unsuccessfully challenged for theNWA United States Tag Team Championship, losing to The Midnight Express (Stan Lane &Bobby Eaton).[7]
The Southern Boys (originally without Armstrong) also spent time in Japan to work forNew Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). Afterwards, he returned to CWA, which was now the renamedUnited States Wrestling Association. Smothers teamed with John Paul to win the vacatedCWA Tag Team Championship from Action Jackson andRobert Fuller. Armstrong eventually joined up with Smothers and reformed the Southern Boys, and they became embroiled in a feud withThe Stud Stable.[6]
Smothers reunited with Steve Armstrong and made their debuts forWorld Championship Wrestling on April 23, 1990, in a dark match at aMain Event/WCW WorldWide taping inMarietta. Wrestling as "The Wild-Eyed Southern Boys", their first television appearance came on May 12 at aWorld Championship Wrestling taping, where they defeatedKevin Sullivan andCactus Jack via disqualification.
The Southern Boys defeatedThe Fabulous Freebirds (Jimmy Garvin andMichael Hayes) on June 13 atClash of the Champions XI.[8] They gained revenge by defeating the Pistols on the June 16, 1990, episode ofWCW Worldwide. Smothers and Armstrong started a feud with The Midnight Express, culminating in a match between the two teams on July 13 at theGreat American Bash, which the Midnight Express won.[9] It was considered the best match in the U.S. of that year and one of the all-time classic tag team matches of the era; it was also high in virtually every match of the year poll.[3] On September 5, they defeated Hayes and Garvin atClash of the Champions XII.[10] On February 24, 1991, atWrestleWar, they defeated The Royal Family (Jack Victory andRip Morgan).[11] A few days earlier, they were renamedThe Young Pistols.[4]
On May 19, they lost to The Freebirds atSuperBrawl I in a match for the vacated United States Tag Team Championship after "Badstreet" (a maskedBrad Armstrong) interfered.[12] On June 12, The Young Pistols andTom Zenk defeated Hayes, Garvin, and Badstreet atClash of the Champions XV.[13] The Young Pistols soon turned heel,[3] and on the December 15 episode ofWCW Main Event, they defeated The Patriots (Todd Champion andFirebreaker Chip) to win theWCW United States Tag Team Championship. On December 29 atStarrcade, Smothers and Hayes lost toMarcus Bagwell and Garvin in a Lethal Lottery tag team match.[14] On the February 16, 1992, episode ofWCW Pro, they lost the titles toRon Simmons andBig Josh.[2]
In April, Armstrong left WCW, leaving Tracy to soldier on as a singles competitor. He remained as a heel, and on May 17 atWrestleWar, he lost toJohnny B. Badd.[15] AtBeach Blast on June 20, he,Ricky Morton, andDiamond Dallas Page lost toJunkyard Dog, Big Josh, and Tom Zenk in asix-man tag team match[16] before leaving the company in August.[3]
Three months after departing World Championship Wrestling and following a very brief period in theUnited States Wrestling Association, Tracy Smothers resurfaced inJim Cornette'sSmoky Mountain Wrestling promotion which was based out ofKnoxville, Tennessee. It would be here that Smothers achieved his greatest singles success.[3][4] Now billed as "The Wild Eyed Southern Boy" Tracy Smothers, he made his debut on the October 31, 1992, episode of SMW television, defeating Paul Lee. Competing as a topbabyface, he remained undefeated for the remainder of the year, defeatingRobbie Eagle,Dutch Mantell,Jimmy Golden,Killer Kyle, andThe Nightstalker.[3][6] In December, he won a tournament to be crowned the inauguralSMW Beat the Champ Television Champion.[2]
In 1993, he began a feud withSMW Heavyweight Champion "Dirty White Boy"Tony Anthony.[3] He lost the Beat the Champ Championship to The Nightstalker on February 8.[17] At Bluegrass Brawl on April 2, Smothers defeated DWB in a chain match to win the SMW Heavyweight Championship.[17] He lost the title on July 17 to "Prime Time"Brian Lee. Smothers won his second (vacant) Beat the Champ Championship for the second time on December 11, after he defeated Jim Cornette's henchmanJimmy Del Ray.[17]
Smothers lost the Beat the Champ Championship toChris Candido on the January 8, 1994, episode of SMW television.[17] On the June 18 episode of SMW, he defeatedKendo the Samurai to win the Beat the Champ Championship for the third time.[18] He would vacate the championship in July and transitioned into a feud with Jim Cornette's chargeBruiser Bedlam.[18] At Night of the Legends on August 4, Smothers,Road Warrior Hawk, andBob Armstrong defeated Bruiser Bedlam,Terry Funk, andDory Funk Jr. That month, he began to frequently team with the veteran Bob Armstrong and defeated Bruiser Bedlam, Killer Kyle, and Jim Cornette in numerous handicap matches.[18]
After winning his feud with Anderson in early 1995, he formed a team withScott Armstrong, beginning a feud with the newly arrivedGangstas in which they were winless.[2] Smothers then formed a team with the Dirty White Boy asthe Thugs.[19] The Thugs feuded with The Gangstas during the spring, but did not get a win until April 13.[20] The war between them continued until June, when the Gangstas departed forExtreme Championship Wrestling.
That summer. an interpromotional war broke out between SMW and the USWA; on June 16, the Thugs defeatedUSWA Tag Team ChampionsPG-13 in a non-title match. On July 6, the duo upendedAl Snow andUnabomb to win theSMW Tag Team Championship. They successfully retained the titles against Snow and Unabomb, as well asThe Headbangers. before losing the titles at SuperBowl of Wrestling on August 4 toThe Heavenly Bodies. Eight days later, the Thugs defeated Snow and Unabomb in aloser leaves town match.
After SMW folded, Smothers continued to work for the USWA. Now teaming with Steve's youngest brotherJesse James Armstrong, the new duo defeated PG-13 to win the USWA Tag Team Championship on December 11, 1995, at the Mid-South Coliseum in Memphis, Tennessee. Smothers and Armstrong would hold the belts until January 3, 1996, when they would lose them toDoug Gilbert andTommy Rich. In January 1997, he joined the USWA branch of theNation of Domination, changing his name to Shaquille Ali (a take off ofNBA starShaquille O'Neal and legendaryboxerMuhammad Ali). After becoming the #1 contender to the USWA World Heavyweight Championship by winning a tournament, he would face the champion Jerry Lawler for the title, but lost.[2]
Faced with an expanding WCW and their own limited talent pool, Jim Cornette suggested that a number of unsigned wrestlers be brought in to flesh out the WWF roster. This ultimately led to the signing of Smothers, Tony Anthony,Bill Irwin,Tom Brandi, andAlex Porteau. All but Porteau were given new names, and Smothers was given the moniker "Freddie Joe Floyd".[4] The name was arib on WWF agentsJack Brisco, whose birth name was “Freddie Joe”, and his brotherJerry, whose actual first name is “Floyd”. Both Briscos came fromBowlegs, Oklahoma, the same home town Freddie Joe Floyd was billed as being from.[6][21] He made his debut on the June 29, 1996, episode ofWWF Superstars, defeatingJustin Hawk Bradshaw, but lost in a rematch on the July 13 episode ofSuperstars.[21] His firstMonday Night RAW appearance came on July 22, when he was defeated byMankind.[2]
Initially used primarily for television tapings, Floyd rebounded to defeatUncle Zebekiah on the August 3 episode ofWWF Superstars. Smothers made his firstMadison Square Garden appearance when he facedHunter Hearst Helmsley on September 29, winning by countout due toMr. Perfect distracting Helmsley (and inadvertently becoming the first person to kick out of the Pedigree).[4][21] He challenged Helmsley for theIntercontinental Championship on the January 5, 1997, episode ofSuperstars, but lost. His last match as Freddy Joe Floyd came on June 2, where he defeatedT.L. Hopper.[2]
While still a part of the WWF, Floyd joinedExtreme Championship Wrestling on February 22, 1997, as "The Main Man" Tracy Smothers. On March 15 atHostile City Showdown he teamed with "The Rookie"Chris Chetti againstThe Full Blooded Italians (FBI),Little Guido and former SMW rival "The Big Don" Tommy Rich. During the match, Smothersturned on Chetti and joined The FBI (despite not being Italian). Smothers, long associated with being astereotypical southern wrestler, was billed as being from "Nashville,Italy" or "Southern Italy" during this time. He began doing a goofy dance, that ECW announcerJoey Styles often commented on by saying "what the hell is with that awful dance."[6] Smothers was often mocked by the crowd with chants of "Freddy Joe!" regarding his WWF stint.[3][2]
Smothers became an ECW regular, frequently teaming with Little Guido that spring in matches againstThe Pitbulls. On June 7, they lost to the Pitbulls atWrestlepalooza.[22] Smothers and Guido faced numerous opponents that summer, includingBalls Mahoney &Axl Rotten. On October 17, they defeated Mahoney and Rotten on ECW television.[23] A day later, Smothers and Guido upsetJohn Kronus andNew Jack to win the ECW Tag Team Championship.[24] As the year wound down, they successfully defended their titles against Mahoney & Rotten, as well as New Jack and Kronus. Their reign however came to an end on December 5, 1997, when they were beaten for the titles byDoug Furnas andPhil Lafon.[25]
On February 21, 1998, he wrestled former SMW opponentAl Snow atCyberSlam in a losing effort.[26] On March 1 atLiving Dangerously, he and Guido lost toJerry Lynn & Chris Chetti.[27] AtWrestlepalooza on May 3, Guido and Smothers lost toSuper Nova andThe Blue Meanie.[28] On May 16 the F.B.I. attacked Nova and Meanie, coming to the ring to the strains ofFrank Sinatra's "New York, New York" (Sinatra had died two days earlier). AtGuilty as Charged on January 10, 1999. the F.B.I. (Guido and Smothers) faced Rotten & Mahoney and Roadkill and Doring in an elimination match but were defeated.[29]
Smothers wrestled at both of the ECW reunion shows, defeatingThe Blue Meanie atHardcore Homecoming on June 10 with the help ofJ.T. Smith, and accompanyingLittle Guido to ringside for his match withYoshihiro Tajiri andSuper Crazy two days later atECW One Night Stand 2005.[30]
On July 11, 1999, Smothers returned to the WWF using his real name as he lost to former FreebirdMichael Hayes onShotgun Saturday Night aired July 17.[31] This time he worked as ajobber losing to the likes ofRikishi,Chaz,Tazz andVal Venis on Shotgun Saturday Night,Sunday Night Heat andJakked.[32] His final match in the WWF was on June 20, 2000 in a dark match for Sunday Night Heat losing toScott Vick.
Later that year he worked for WWF's developmental territoryMemphis Championship Wrestling until November 2000.
Smother made a one night return to WCW on January 5, 2000 losing toThe Barbarian onWCW Worldwide which aired on January 29.[33]
Smothers would spend most of his career in IWA Mid-South starting in 1996.[3] His appearances remained sporadic over the next few years, but he wrestled and defeated such opponents asFlash Flanagan,J. C. Ice, andBull Pain. On September 11, 1997, he defeated Pain to win the IWA Mid-South Heavyweight Title, but would lose it the following day to fellow WWF roster memberSalvatore Sincere.[2] After wrestling a handful of shows in 1998 and 1999 for IWA Mid-South, Smothers became a full-time regular, and on August 18, 2001, he unsuccessfully challengedTrent Baker for the IWA Mid-South Heavyweight Title at Night The Lights Went Out In Charlestown.[2]
Smothers then reunited with a former tag team partner, Chris Hambrick, as Southern Comfort, defeating The Second City Saints (CM Punk &Colt Cabana) in the finals of a tournament to win the IWA Mid-South Tag Team Championship, but their reign only lasted a day.[2] He participated at the Ted Petty Invitational in September 2008, where he lost toDave Taylor in the first round.[34] On October 19, during the Double Death Tag Team Tournament, Smothers andCorporal Robinson facedCult Fiction'sVulgar Display of Power,Brain Damage and Deranged, managed byHalfbreed Billy Gram. Smothers turned on his partner and joinedCult Fiction.[35] Smothers' appearances became infrequent, but he continued to wrestle for IWA until 2010.
In 2016, Smothers returned to IWA Mid-South after a six-year hiatus. On October 6 at IWA Mid-South's Mid-South 20th Anniversary Show, Smother defeated JJ Garrett to win the IWA Mid-South Championship but lost it to Mitch Page on December 22 at the IWA Mid-South Winter Tryout Show. On February 28, 2019, he attempted to regain the IWA Mid-South Championship but was defeated by Aaron Williams at The Heartbreak Ends event.[2]
Now more than twenty years a veteran of the industry, Smothers had become a universally well-regarded figure to the crop of young wrestlers growing up around him, passing on wisdom in car trips and finding places for them to stay.[4][36] In late 2005 and early 2006, Smothers worked a full-time schedule at various independent promotions inTennessee and around the midwest and eastern United States, including the IWC (International Wrestling Cartel), SSW (Southern States Wrestling), WOW (Wrestlers of West Virginia), VCW (Vanguard Championship Wrestling), NWA Wrestle Birmingham andNWA Midwest. On August 25, 2005, Southern Comfort won the IWC Tag Team Championship in a ladder match at IWC Summer Sizzler 2; they would hold the belts until November 25 when they lost them to The Gambino Brothers Moving Company (Marshall Gambino & Mickey Gambino).[2]
Smothers journeyed to CCW (Coliseum Championship Wrestling), where on January 11, 2006, he defeatedChuck Taylor in the main event to win the CCW Heavyweight Championship.[2] On February 26, Smothers was declared the inaugural OPW (Omni Wrestling Promotions) Heavyweight Champion; he lost the title the same night to Taylor.[37] Smothers traveled to CAPW (Cleveland All Pro Wrestling), where at CAPW Seasons Beatings on December 3, he defeated championClaudio Castagnoli and Jason Bane to win the CAPW Heavyweight Championship.[38] He remained the champion until he was defeated for the title byThe Blue Meanie on June 3, 2007.[39]
Smothers competed in various independent promotions in 2008 in the United States, but returned once more to Japan to appear at an XWF event, teaming withRaven andSuper Leather in a match against Kintaro Kanemura, Masato Tanaka & Tetsuhiro Kuroda.[40] After returning from Japan, Smothers reformed his FBI partnership with Little Guido and appearing in JAPW (Jersey All Pro Wrestling), where they won theJAPW Tag Team Championship on November 15.[41] The FBI would hold the titles for a month, losing them on December 13 to Azrieal & Dixie.[42]
Tracy Smothers began to wind down his schedule in 2009. He would not wrestle again until April 17, 2010, where he and Chris Hamrick challenged PWF Tag Team Champions Jay Shaft & JD Hogg for the titles in a losing effort. He wrestled frequently for the remainder of the year, appearing inNWA Main Event, IWA Mid-South, BWF, and MECW (Main Event Championship Wrestling).[2]
On August 8, 2010, Smothers took part inTotal Nonstop Action Wrestling's ECW reunion show,Hardcore Justice, where he, Little Guido andTony Luke defeatedKid Kash,Simon Diamond andJohnny Swinger in a six-man tag team match.[43] On the following edition ofImpact!, the ECW alumni, known collectively asExtreme, Version 2.0 (EV 2.0), were assaulted byA.J. Styles,Kazarian,Robert Roode,James Storm,Douglas Williams andMatt Morgan ofRic Flair'sFourtune stable, who thought they didn't deserve to be in TNA.[44][45] The following week TNA president Dixie Carter gave each member of EV 2.0 TNA contracts in order for them to settle their score with Fourtune.[46]
Tracy Smothers debuted inJuggalo Championship Wrestling by cutting a series ofpromos in which he insulted the company, the owners (Insane Clown Posse), and theJuggalo fanbase.[47] Tracy quickly became the company's mainvillain by defeating much of their roster and ending most of his matches by choking out his opponents.[47] He attackedhero2 Tuff Tony in the sixth episode of theinternet wrestling showSlamTV!, causing Tony to be knocked out of action for several weeks.[47] Per storyline, Smothers was arrested just days before Tony's return on the eighth episode, leaving Tony with no way to seek revenge.[47] AtBloodymania on August 12, 2007, Smothers lost toRon Killings.[48]
Tracy and 2 Tuff Tony continued their rivalry into season two. In the first episode, both men faced off in a match which saw Tracy win after a fast count by the referee, who was later revealed as Tracy'sillegitimate daughter,Isabella.[49] Two weeks later, Tracy caught Isabella listening toBoondox, the rapper who sings 2 Tuff Tony's entrance music.[50] The following week, 2 Tuff Tony attacked Tracy after his match. Tracy later caught Isabella engaging in sexual actions with Boondox, through storyline, and assaulted him.[51] Tracy and Isabella Smothers were then scheduled to face Boondox and 2 Tuff Tony on August 10, 2008, atBloodymania II.[52] However, Isabella was replaced byBull Pain after she injured her leg, and Smothers and Pain lost to Tony and Boondox.
AtBloodymania IV on August 15, 2010, he lost toBooker T, who was accompanied by Boondox.[53] In the summer of 2011 he lost to former ECW starRhyno on July 28 and former F.B.I. teammateTommy Rich on August 16, 2011.[2]
Tracy Smothers continued to wrestle on the independent circuit after finishing his work with JCW in 2011. He jumped toOhio Valley Wrestling on August 31, where he and his daughterJessie Belle Smothers won a mixed tag team match against CJ Lane & Mysterie.[54] On June 16, 2013, at the Brad Armstrong Memorial Event, Smothers teamed with old partner Steve Armstrong for the first time in over twenty one years. The reunited Southern Boys teamed with Doug Gilbert to defeat Paul Lee, The Storm Trooper &Vordell Walker.[2] Smothers soon captured the D1W Heavyweight Championship, but lost it to Mad Man Pondo while splitting his time with D1W and IWA Mid South.[2]
In March 2016, Smothers appeared in HLW (Heroes And Legends Wrestling), where he teamed withBobby Fulton and defeated Jake Omen & Scotty Young to with the HLW Tag Team Championship. Smothers continued to wrestle frequently in 2017, making appearances in the PWA (Pure Wrestling Association) in Canada, as well as RCCW (Rocket City Championship Wrestling), ZERO-1 USA, and IWA Mid-South.[2] He began to wind down appearances on the independent circuit in 2018, and continued to wrestle shows the following year despite health issues; he had a quick temper due to concussions, and believed he had suffered more than two dozen concussions during his career and suffered greatly from the effects.[3] His final match came at HLW Heroes And Legends XIII on October 5, 2019, dropping the HLW Legends title to Dru Skillz.[2]
In July 2016, Smothers was named part of aclass action lawsuit filed against WWE which alleged that wrestlers incurred traumatic brain injuries during their tenure and that the company concealed the risks of injury. The suit was litigated by attorney Konstantine Kyros, who has been involved in a number of other lawsuits against WWE.[55] US District JudgeVanessa Lynne Bryant dismissed the case in September 2018.[56]
Smothers announced on his Facebook page in December 2019 that he was diagnosed withlymphoma after he visited a doctor the month prior and had suffered aheart attack without realizing. Despite this, he died from the illness at 4:30 am on October 28, 2020, at the age of 58.[4][3] A day before his death, he posted that he was back in the hospital after hernia surgery aggravated his condition. Smothers was survived by his three sons, Tony Shook, Kyle Smothers, and Austin Elliott, and his daughterJessie Belle McCoy, who wrestles as Jessie Belle.[4]
Many wrestlers paid tribute to Smothers following his death, includingJim Cornette,CM Punk,Edge,Frankie Kazarian,Taz,Jeff Jarrett,Ricky Morton,Bobby Fulton andTom Prichard.[4][6]
World Wrestling AllianceWorld Champion 1×
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