SMW Volunteer Slam IV 5/19/1995

Smoky Mountain Wrestling presents Volunteer Slam IV
Date: 5/19/1995
From: Knoxville, TN

Due to there being a scaffold match tonight in the main event, there’s a giant metal beam on two sides of the ring for the scaffold structure. It’s not a hinderance to my viewing, but the live crowd could see that as an annoyance.

Opening Contest: Bobby Blaze vs. D’Lo Brown: They trade go-behinds with Blaze getting the advantage on the mat for a moment. Blaze gets an inside cradle for a near fall and arm drags Brown to the mat. Blaze stomps on Brown’s arm and delivers another arm drag to keep control on the mat with an arm bar. Brown gets a head scissors on Blaze, but Blaze bridges out and once again takes Brown over with an arm drag. Blaze locks in an arm bar, but Brown reaches the ropes quickly to break free. Brown backs Blaze into a corner and delivers a knee lift and right hands to gain the advantage. Brown misses a splash in the corner and Blaze arm drags Brown once again. Brown knee lifts Blaze and delivers a right hand. Blaze counters a slam attempt with a kick to the head and takes Brown down to the mat for a two count. Blaze forearms Brown and hits a spinning heel kick in the corner. Blaze knee lifts Brown for a two count. Blaze misses a splash in the corner and Brown hits a swinging neckbreaker. Brown clotheslines Blaze and chokes Blaze over the top rope. Brown taunts the fans and jumps off the middle rope to drop Blaze over the top rope. Brown drives Blaze down to the mat with a vertical suplex and gets a two count with a pinkie finger. Blaze is stopped by a knee lift and a spinning heel kick by Brown. Blaze gets a sunset flip cover, but Brown kicks out and clotheslines Blaze. Brown scoop slams Blaze to the mat and continues to taunt the fans. Brown goes to the top rope and misses a diving headbutt. Blaze dropkicks Brown and delivers a running knee lift. Blaze does an awkward looking splash, which looked quite dumb. Brown drives Blaze down with a backbreaker. Brown goes to the top rope and gets crotched by Blaze to prevent a moonsault. Blaze hits a top rope sunset flip and wins the match. (*1/2. There were a few highlight moments for Brown, especially the top rope move to the apron that got a good crowd reaction. Blaze just doesn’t do much of anything to get excitement out of the crowd. Blaze had a few awkward and boring moments. D’Lo sure does appear often on live events but never has had a role on TV, which is kind of bizarre to me.)

Second Contest: Unabomb vs. Robert Gibson in a falls count anywhere match: Unabomb knee lifts Gibson to start the match and keeps control with kicks in the corner. Gibson trips Unabomb and delivers a clothesline to stagger Unabomb. Gibson dropkicks Unabomb to the floor and sends Unabomb head first into the ring post. Gibson sends Unabomb into the guard railing a couple of times. Gibson hammers away on Unabomb around ringside and onto a table. Gibson continues with right hands as they return to the ring. Unabomb kicks Gibson and dumps Gibson to the floor. Unabomb continues with strikes over the back as they head into the crowd. Unabomb sends Gibson into the wall face first. Gibson fights back as they head back to the ringside area. Unabomb knee lifts Gibson before they return to the ring. Unabomb takes Gibson over with a snap suplex for a near fall. Unabomb nails Gibson with a running boot and goes to the top rope. Unabomb leaps off missing a leg drop and Gibson takes advantage with a rollup for the win. (*. Honestly, this was baffling. The match hardly had any brawling outside of the ring and then the finish actually just happens in the ring? What is the point of the stipulation? Plus, Unabomb seems like the kind of wrestler you’d want in your main event picture and not doing pin jobs to tag wrestlers.)

Third Contest: SMW Heavyweight Champion Buddy Landel vs. Steve Armstrong: Armstrong takes Landel down to the mat with a top wrist lock and switches to a wrist lock. Landel backs Armstrong into a corner and cleanly backs off. Landel controls Armstrong with a hammerlock for a few moments, but Armstrong counters. Landel reaches the ropes to break the hammerlock hold. Landel works over Armstrong with a few strikes and yanks Armstrong down to the mat to keep arm control. Landel backs off in the corner, and Armstrong delivers a few strikes followed by a hip toss. Landel begs off in the corner as Armstrong backs off. Armstrong jabs Landel several times to the mat causing Landel to beg off again in the corner. Landel avoids a takedown attempt and gets a headlock on Armstrong. Armstrong avoids a monkey flip attempt and puts Landel in a headlock. Landel stomps Armstrong on the knee and keeps Armstrong on the mat. Landel focuses his attack on the left knee of Armstrong and uses the ropes for leverage. Armstrong doesn’t submit and Landel continues to stomp on the knee in the corner before wrapping the leg over the middle rope. Armstrong fights back with a few strikes and chops. Armstrong plants Landel with a slam and a splash for a two count. Landel once again begs off in the corner. Armstrong plays to the crowd and pummels Landel with right hands in the corner causing Landel to go to the floor and grab the championship. Armstrong ducks a strike and goes to put the figure four on Landel, but the referee has already called for a disqualification. After the match, Landel decks Armstrong with the championship and puts the figure four on Armstrong in the middle of the ring. The referee tries to pull Landel off, but is shoved down by Landel. The referee threatens to vacate the championship and that cauases Landel to break the hold. (*1/4. I was bored by this as the leg work from Landel wasn’t all that interesting or entertaining. Armstrong had a brief moment of offense, but this was largely a slow match and a weak defense for Landel. It’s also a bit bizarre for the champion to be on so early in the card, but I guess there’s just not a strong challenger for the show to justify a higher spot.)

The following match is not your typical dog collar match. Bradley and Kyle are not attached together but rather the ring posts are covered and under one of the turnbuckles is a dog collar to use as a weapon. I’ve never heard of such a concept prior to this.

Fourth Contest: Boo Bradley vs. Killer Kyle in a dog collar match: Bradley chokes Kyle with a towel to start the match. Kyle decks Bradley with a clothesline to gain the advantage and tries to find the dog collar, but is stopped by Bradley. Bradley delivers a side kick and chokes Kyle on the mat. Kyle takes Bradley over with a suplex and goes to look for the dog collar, but is again stopped by Bradley. Bradley tosses Kyle out of the corner and looks for the dog collar, but it’s not in the corner he chose. Kyle decks Bradley to the mat. Kyle works over Bradley in the corner and sends Bradley to the floor. Kyle choose the wrong corner and Bradley nails Kyle with a superkick. Bradley slams Kyle to the mat and signals for an elbow drop, which he connects with. Kyle eye rakes Bradley and they begin to trade strikes on the mat. Bradley bites Kyle’s hand, but is stopped by an eye rake. Kyle hooks Bradley for a suplex and drives Bradley down to the mat. Kyle goes to the corner, and picks the wrong one again. Kyle chokes Bradley with the covering from the corner. The referee stops Kyle in the corner and Bradley gives Kyle a wedgie followed by an atomic drop. Bradley nails Kyle with a strike to the head and goes to the final corner to get the dog collar, but is splashed by Kyle from behind.

Kyle decks Bradley with a right hand a few times that has a glove on, which could be loaded. Kyle keeps control with an elbow drop and Bradley struggles to get to his feet. Kyle gouges Bradley’s face and is using the dog collar. There’s no chain but rather just the actual collar. Kyle delivers a DDT onto the collar and Bradley has been busted wide open. Kyle sends Bradley into the guard railing chest first. Kyle works over Bradley on the apron and on the floor. Kyle rolls Bradley back into the ring to continue the match. Kyle plants Bradley with a side slam. Kyle misses a middle rope fist drop. Bradley has gotten the dog collar and decks Kyle with it a few times. Kyle bails to the floor and is choked by Bradley in front of the fans. Bradley drops Kyle with a few right hands and taunts the fans. Bradley continues to deck Kyle with right hands. Bradley chokes Kyle with the dog collar, but Kyle breaks free with a low blow. Kyle misses a clothesline, but Bradley nails Kyle with the dog collar for a near fall. Bradley rams Kyle into the corner and plays to the crowd delivering several right hands in the corner. Bradley is distracted by D’Lo on the apron. Kyle has the dog collar, but accidentally hits D’Lo. Bradley whacks Kyle with the dog collar to win the match. (*1/2. The action isn’t anything great, but I didn’t find it to be mindlessly boring by any means. It’s mostly a brawl and the fans were seemingly invested in the action. Bradley has connected with the fans and that helped the viewing experience. Bradley could excel with a bigger push at some point.)

Fifth Contest: USWA Tag Team Champions PG-13 (JC Ice & Wolfie D) vs. Dirty White Boy & Tracy Smothers: Smothers and Wolfie kickoff the title match. Wolife arm drags Smothers and taunts the fans with Ice. Smothers arm drags Wolfie and taunts the champs. Smothers misses a splash in the corner and Wolfie taunts the crowd. Wolfie pummels Smothers in the corner, but Smothers comes back with a hip toss and dropkicks to the champs. Ice tags into the contest to try his luck against Smothers. Ice control Smothers with a wrist lock for a few moments. Smothers counters and tags in White Boy. They double chop Ice to send him to his corner to regroup with Wolfie. White Boy drops Ice with a right hand to counter a leapfrog. White Boy misses a clothesline and taunts Ice in the corner causing the champs to bail to the floor. Wolfie returns to the match and collides with Ice off the ropes. Wolfie falls to the floor and Ice is knocked to the floor, as well. White Boy controls Wolfie with a wrist lock and Smothers comes off the top with an axe handle to the shoulder followed by a knee lift for a two count.

Wolfie is met with a double strike to the back and a slam by White Boy. White delivers a knee drop and tags in Smothers. Smothers is kicked by Ice on the apron and clotheslined to the floor by Wolfie while the referee was distracted. Smothers is sent hard into the guard railing back first. Wolfie keeps control with a standing fist drop on Smothers followed by a back elbow and knee drop for a two count. Smothers is driven down by a double bulldog. White Boy tries to get involved, but is stopped by the referee. Smothers is double teamed by the champs with stomps. Wolfie keeps Smothers on the mat with a sleeper. Wolfie decks White Boy on the apron and Ice enters to keep Smothers on the mat with a headlock. Ice keeps Smothers on the mat with a sleeper. Smothers breaks free and gets a sunset flip on Ice, but Wolfie distracts the referee. Ice nails Smothers with a right hand and taunts White Boy on the apron. Smothers is met with a back elbow and double elbow drop for a near fall. Wolfie misses a splash in the corner, but Ice clotheslines Smothers from the apron. Wolfie tries for a cover and manages a two count.

Ice tags in and works over Smothers with right hands. Ice misses a splash in the corner and drops to the mat. Wolfie tags in and decks White Boy on the apron to cause a distraction. Wolfie jabs Smothers in the corner a few times. Wolfie misses a splash and is accidentally clotheslined by Ice on the apron. Smothers forearms Ice, but is decked by Wolfie on the apron. Smothers delivers a double DDT to the champs and all three men are down. Smothers tags in White Boy and White Boy cleans house with strikes. White Boy delivers a double clothesline. White Boy slams Ice coming off the ropes. White Boy big boots Wolfie and rams him into the corner face first. White Boy hits a side slam, but Wolfie nails White Boy with a hubcap. Smothers nails Ice with the hubcap and does the same to Wolfie on the apron. White Boy covers Ice and pins him to win the titles! After the match, Randy Hales comes to ringside and tells the referee what happened. Thus, the decision is reversed and the titles are given back to PG-13. (***. The match went for nearly twenty minutes, but it flew by. The crowd was red-hot for the action and the tag match was a solid encounter. They didn’t do anything overwhelming with spots, but I was invested and they kept a good pace throughout. Sure the finish is lackluster, but it continues the issue between USWA and SMW for future matches.)

Terry Funk comes out with a branding iron on fire and spits fire towards the Gangstas to scare them.

Sixth Contest: The Gangstas vs. Bob Armstrong & Terry Funk in a Texas Death Match: Armstrong and Cornette beat on Jack in the ring and Armstrong knocks Mustafa off the apron. Funk and Armstrong go on the attack brawling on the floor with Funk punching Mustafa on a table. Funk piledrives Mustafa on the table, which doesn’t break. Funk sends Mustafa into the table at ringside. Armstrong tosses Jack over the top to the floor. Armstrong decks D’Lo off the apron and Armstrong delivers a stomp to the face for a three count, but there is a thirty second rest period. Mustafa then has ten seconds to get up and he naturally gets up easily. Jack isn’t interested in tagging in and Funk jabs Mustafa a few times. Jack brings a table in and rams the table into Funk’s face and stomps on Funk while Armstrong argues with the referee. Mustafa covers Funk for a three count. After a rest period, Jack attacks Funk before the ten-count seemingly knowing that Funk would get up. Jack sends Funk into the table face first and again pins Funk with a table on top of him. Jack punches Armstrong on the apron before dumping Funk to the floor and Mustafa sends Funk into the ring post. Jack leaps off the apron wildly to take Funk out with a clothesline. Armstrong runs over and has a standoff with Jack with chairs. Cornette whacks Jack over the back with a tennis racket.

Jack controls Funk with a side headlock, but Funk delivers a back suplex to drive Jack to the mat. Mustafa punches Funk a few times and elbows Funk followed by a knee lift. Funk staggers as Mustafa decks Armstrong on the apron. Funk tries to strike Mustafa, but drops down. Armstrong gets the hot tag and cleans house with strikes. Armstrong sends Mustafa to the floor and pulls Jack into the ring to deliver a right hand. Armstrong punches Jack into the ropes and Funk enters the match to clothesline Jack for a two count. Armstrong stomps on Jack leading to a near fall. Jack stops Armstrong with a few blows to drop Armstrong to the mat. Funk yells at Jack from the apron. Mustafa delivers an elbow drop for a three count on Armstrong, but Armstrong is able to continue the match. Funk threatens to hit the referee, but doesn’t do so. Funk gets tagged in and has Cornette’s tennis racket hitting the Gangstas with it a few times.

Funk chokes Mustafa over the ropes and continues with several jabs. Armstrong is up and all four men are going at it. D’Lo gets gets involved hitting Funk with a weapon and Jack gets a three count once again on Funk. Mustafa decks Cornette on the floor a few times. Armstrong spikes Jack with a piledriver. Funk gets to his feet before Jack and they win the match as a result. After the match, Cornette gets a microphone and says it took six months to get even with the Gangstas. Cornette credits Armstrong for shaking his hand and says the fans would never have accepted him and he’d never get even with the Gangstas. Cornette wants to express his gratitude and has a present for Armstrong. Cornette throws a fireball into Armstrong’s face and Funk attacks Armstrong! Cornette hits Funk with a tennis racket several times. Funk chokes Armstrong on the mat and spikes Armstrong with a piledriver. Steve Armstrong runs into the ring and makes the save. Buddy Landel runs into the ring and beats on Steve. Bobby Blaze tries to help out, but he’s driven down by the Punisher. Punisher puts a full nelson on Boo Bradley and slams him down to the mat. Cornette uses the tennis racket on Steve. (**. Texas Death Matches tend to be quite annoying and since they went with a rest period and then a ten count, this match kind of got annoying, too. It’s a decent brawl and the crowd was hot for the action. The aftermath with Funk and Cornette turning on Armstrong was nicely done and if they have that match in Knoxville, I’d have to imagine they’d draw a good crowd for that one.)

Main Event: Ricky Morton vs. Al Snow in a scaffold match: Snow attacks Morton on the floor as Morton was looking to climb up the scaffold. Snow sends Morton into the guard railing back first to continue the advantage. Snow misses a chair shot and Morton kicks the chair into Snow’s face. Morton is wearing a neck brace for the match and sends Snow into the ring post face first. Snow climbs the structure to avoid a chair shot. Morton follows Snow to the top, but Snow delivers a few right hand to stop Morton. Morton dangles on the side as Snow walks the top and taunts the fans. Snow rams Morton’s face onto the scaffold and drags Morton further onto the scaffold. Snow tries to shove Morton off, but Morton blocks being sent off. Morton battles back with a few right hands and rams Snow face first onto the scaffold a few times. Morton tries to knock Snow off, but fails to do so. Morton kicks Snow and looks for a piledriver, but Snow blocks it. Snow rips off Morton’s neckbrace and they trade kicks. Snow jabs Morton to gain the advantage and lays Morton on the scaffold. Snow delivers a splash and several right hands.

Morton fights back ramming Snow’s face on the scaffold, but Snow crawls away and tries to climb back down, but Morton punches Snow several times. Snow climbs down the side and almost slips off. Unabomb has come down to the ring and climbs the scaffold on the wrong side. Morton is distracted by Unabomb allowing Snow to stomp on Morton a few times as Robert Gibson has come down to the ring, as well. Unabomb boots Gibson in the ring to knock him to the floor. Snow tries for a piledriver, but Morton blocks it and tries to push Snow off the side. Snow is dangling off the side and Morton punches Snow several times knocking Snow off to the mat for the win. After the match, Morton attacks Unabomb and sends him into the structure. Snow puts Gibson in the tree of woe in the corner. Snow sends the referee to the floor. Snow leg drops Morton and Unabomb introduces a noose into the equation. They try to toss the noose over the scaffold, but pivot to over the side of the structure after a struggle. They proceed to hang Morton on the side of the structure. (*1/2. Scaffold matches tend to be boring because the match is very limited for what they can do. The crowd was invested in it and at this rate Morton winning was probably the right decision considering Snow got his heat back with the post match attack.)

Final Thoughts:
It’s a one match show with PG-13/Smothers & Dirty White Boy being the only real quality match. Some of the aftermath of the matches provided some entertainment, but if you’re focusing on in-ring action the trend of an SMW supercard being underwhelming continues this time around, too.

Thanks for reading.