Tag: tracy smothers

Posted on by

For Sean

There are certain things you don’t think about when you start writing about professional wrestling. You don’t think about becoming friends with wrestlers, past or present. You don’t think about the possibility that you’ll have many of them in your phone contacts. You don’t think about the prospect of getting phone calls out of the blue, just to talk. You don’t think about early morning texts, or sharing holiday greetings with people you consider heroes… or even legends.

You also don’t think about losing them. What’s more, you don’t consider that one day, because you are a writer, you’ll be the one to eulogize them in some way. I can’t say that would have dissuaded me from taking this turn in life, but I can’t tell you it’s an honor I am happy to have.

It wasn’t unexpected when we lost Tracy Smothers in 2020. He’d been battling cancer for a year. He’d had good days in bad, and leading up to that morning, when Mad Man Pondo called me at work, he’d had more bad than good. He was a few years shy of 60, but he had cancer. And cancer sucks.

JJ Maguire was past the big 6-0. He was also dealing with cancer himself, though as far as he told me, it was mild by comparison to Tracy’s. I was talking out of a peddler’s mall in Louisville when I got a Facebook message from Jamie Hemmings offering condolences. I wasn’t ready for that one. It came out of no where. it was a complete shock.

Which brings me to Sean Patrick O’Brien.

Sean was 34. He was younger than me by almost a decade and a half. Never in my wildest dreams did I think I would write a memorial for him. Sean left behind a beautiful family, two sweet little girls. And so, so many friends. I’m not sure it’ll sink in even after I go to my first show at the Jeffersonville Arena and see his mural on the wall instead of his smiling face giving me a hug.

If you want to read my memorial to Sean, it’s on Slam! Wrestling. Click here to read it. I don’t have much more to say here. This is just me, getting some thoughts down in black and white, on the unfortunate side of being a pro wrestling writer. I’ll miss Sean’s hugs and smiles as much as I miss Tracy and JJ’s random calls and texts.

To all my friends in the business… you are family, and I love you guys.

To all the superstars and family members of superstars who have allowed me to write their stories… I love you all too. You are family.

Same to all you readers. Thanks for reading. Thanks for being fans of these amazing people. Let’s get back to enjoying pro wrestling. And let’s share a few more hugs – make it a lot more hugs – going forward.

One last thing: here’s the short film Sean helped me make during Covid, along with his brothers in stripes Aaron Grider and AJ Kissinger.

Posted on by

Stayin’ Alive

I heard from Tracy Smothers today. He told me it was gonna be all right.

A year ago, when Tracy passed, I was in the midst of writing Chris Candido’s biography. Tracy’s the one who told me I had to write a book about Candido, and whenever we talked, I’d give him an update on the book. About a week before he passed, Tracy told me he kept hearing Chris’s entrance theme “Back in Black” in different places. He felt like it was Chris talking to him, telling him everything was going to be okay. Two days before he passed, he left me a voice mail telling me he’d just heard the song again on ESPN. “I told you,” he said. “It’s Chris!”

This morning I went in for an EGD and a colonoscopy. Both were first time, preventative scans, but they were prompted by my father’s death in March. He went into the hospital on February 19 not feeling well. He was diagnosed with esophageal cancer on his birthday, February 28. He passed on March 7.

The scans found nothing urgent, but the doctor confirmed I’ll need to get scanned a little more frequently. As I waited for them to unhook me in recovery with my wife, I heard a song coming from the radio at the nurse’s station. It was “Stayin’ Alive.”

No, it wasn’t the N Trance rap version Tracy used, but it was enough for me. I told my wife, “It’s Tracy. He’s saying it’s all gonna be all right.”

I miss him every day. I miss my father too. Tracy was in my life only a few years, but both of those men left a big hole. It was good to hear from him and to know, it’s all gonna be okay.

Posted on by

How Do You Remember Tracy Smothers?

I’ve been dreading this day for a while. As fate would have it, I ended up this morning in the same building I was in a year ago, when Mad Man Pondo called and told me the news. Tracy Smothers was gone.

I only knew Tracy for two years, and just one when we were close. But the man left an impact on me as he did everyone else he met. Tracy had the biggest heart. he was an encourager. He was a teacher. He was a father figure to many. He was a true friend.

The question I started asking after lunch today was how can we best honor his memory? Sharing stories? Heck yes. Sharing videos? Yes, please! But here’s one thing more we can all do: do as Tracy did.

Tracy was always there when someone wanted advice. He never hesitated to teach those who wanted to be taught. He was an encourager. He was a counselor. He was a friend. Even with all the chair shots he took, he never forgot anyone. He followed up with people. He texted to lift people up when they were down. He’d call just to say hello.

For everyone that new Tracy, here’s the challenge. Let’s love like he did. Let’s share our wisdom. Let’s share knowledge. Let’s do so in the same positive, encouraging way he always did.

Let’s reach out to people who are down. Let’s give them a laugh on text or their voice mails. Let’s let them know we are thinking about them.

Let’s make connections too. Give a ride to someone. Introduce someone to someone who can help them. If you’ve read Chris Candido’s book, you have Tracy to thank. Without him, I’d have never met Jimmy Shoulders and Jonny Candido.

We miss his work. We miss the way he wrestled and the way he made us laugh. But I think we can all agree, we miss the way he loved us and everyone he met. Do something good for someone today. Teach. Encourage. Inspire. Or just love on someone. Do it for Tracy. Lord knows he did it for us every day we had him with us!

Posted on by

Pre-order Your Copy of Tracy Smothers’ Book!

Eat Sleep Wrestle is proud to present the autobiography of the one and only, Tracy Smothers!

He’s been hired and fired from every major wrestling company. He’s wrestled all over the United States, in Mexico, and Asia. He’s held multiple tag team belts and heavyweight championships. He’s been a top guy and a jobber. He’s been a hero, a villain, and a mentor to countless young wrestlers of the last two generations. He pinned legends. He defeated cancer. And yes, he wrestled three different bears.

Few wrestlers have logged as many miles as Tracy Smothers, and even fewer have made the impact he has on today’s young stars. Now for the first time, Tracy reveals how a promising young athlete Springfield, Tennessee, who once aspired to be a high school football coach found himself at the center of a fan riot in Mexico City and a bar fight in Malaysia. He talks about the last days of the territories, the rise of the Wild Eyed Southern Boys and the Young Pistols, his star turn in Smoky Mountain, his jobbing days in WWF, life-changing concussions, the FBI in ECW, and the dance contests in the indies. You’ll hear harrowing tales about bounty hunting, delivering pizzas, and yes… going toe to toe with the legendary Ginger the Wrestling Bear.

Tracy Smothers doesn’t care if you love him. He doesn’t care if you think he sucks. He doesn’t even really care if you read his book. There’s only one thing you need to know right now. If you don’t buy this book, EVERYBODY DIES!

If you want to get a signed copy of Tracy’s book you can now pre-order one through the book shop on this our website. Books are expected in early April. That said, with the current COVID-19 situation we cannot guarantee when they will ship. Tracy and I live 2 hours apart, but we will make every effort to get together as soon as books arrive so we can ship them to everyone who pre-orders.

Click here to pre-order a signed copy.

Posted on by

Tracy Smothers to Speak at CAC

If you’re headed to the Cauliflower Alley Club Reunion in April, you’re going to want to mark this on your agenda.

Wednesday, April 29, at 1 p.m., the one and only Tracy Smothers will be sharing stories from his remarkable career. This is a man who has survived bar fights, riots in Mexico City, real life shoots on WWE pay-per-view, THREE different bears, and coming soon… Cancer.

This will be Tracy’s first ever visit to Sin City, and it’s a rare opportunity for West Coast fans to see and learn from a man who has been hired and fired from every company there is to work for (except AEW, but that’s only because they’re new).

Posted on by

Pizza King of the Ring Recap

If you missed Terry Harper Presents Pizza King of the Ring Tuesday night in Jeffersonville, here’s a quick recap of some of the things you missed:

Enter Sandman! When you see a legend of the ring, there are certain things you expect to see. If it’s Mick Foley, you want Mr. Socko. If it’s Stone Cold Steve Austin, you want a Stunner. If it’s the Sandman, you simply want to see him make an entrance. Sandman milked the full duration of his entrance music, sharing beers with fans around the ArenA. By the time he reached the ring, the ECW faithful had their money’s worth. The kendo stick beat down of Nick Depp was just an added bonus.

Speaking of Nick Depp… The reigning Prince of the Deathmatches cut the promo of his life on Sandman. Depp held the crowd in the palm of his hand while he tried to convince the Sandman he had an alcohol problem. Sandman let him speak his peace. Then, as mentioned above, he broke his kendo stick over Depp’s back.

Maria is Amazing. Amazing Maria continues to prove she’s one of the best heels in independent wrestling. She had an entertaining match against the dark but charismatic Sage Sin, who was led to the ring by a fire eater and two casket-bearing ghouls. Sage walked out of the ArenA the winner. Maria was carried out in the casket.

Sudden Death Tables Match. Kevin Cordell of the Talking the Business Podcast told me to keep an eye on Jake Garvin. Kevin thinks he’s a rising star. I have to agree. He and Calvin Tankman broke four tables in their match. These guys are young, big, and athletic, and they’re only going to get better. The only thing more entertaining was watching them pick splinters out of their arms while they looked over the menu at Spinellis later in the evening.

Mama Bates to the Rescue! The intergender match took a very unexpected turn when Mama Bates, Leva Bates’ mother, leapt to her feet and tried to stop Tracy Smothers’ second Kyle Maverick from choking her daughter on the ropes. Yes, some things in wrestling are staged, but it was very clear Mama Bates was not in on any storyline; she was out to protect her daughter, who came out the winner. Side note: Leva remains one of the friendliest and most down to Earth wrestlers outside the ring.

Lio Rush is the Man. I’ve heard a great deal about Lio Rush in the last year. He exceeds the hype. Rush and Super Crazy capped the night off with a stellar bout that had everything from mat wrestling to high flying to steel chairs. Rush is a mega-star on the rise, and a class act out of the ring as well.

Bottom line: Terry Harper doesn’t promoter wrestling shows very frequently, but he has a formula that works. Harper books people he wants to see in match ups he wants to see. He pairs legends of the past with stars of today in a way that allows casual fans who only came to see guys like Sandman to discover rising stars like Lio Rush and PWF’s Tri-State Champion Tyler Matrix. A Terry Harper show is the perfect opportunity to bring your WWE-loving friends along to see names that they know and introduce them to independent wrestling at the same time. It was standing room only in the ArenA tonight, just as it was for Terry’s last show in November 2016. I can’t wait to see what he does next.

Posted on by

One of These Days, Everybody IS Going to Die!

On Tuesday night fans will gather at the ArenA in Jeffersonville, where Terry Harper will present an evening of wrestling under the banner Pizza King of the Ring. If his last show is any indication, this will be packed house, and I have no doubt many fans will be going just to see the intergender battle between Leva “Blue Pants” Bates and Tracy Smothers.

This worries me.

For the last few years, Southern Indiana fans have been treating Tracy Smothers with utter disrespect. They’ve chanted, “Tracy sucks!” They’ve cheered for Tracy’s opponents instead of the Smoky Mountain legend. Tracy has been patient with fans because he has yet to make good on his standard threat, a threat that goes like this:

“If I hear ‘Tracy sucks!’ one more time, everybody dies!”

But a man can only take so much, and I fear that one of these days, everybody is going to die.

Will Tuesday be the night? Will “Go, Blue Pants, go!” be the cheer that forces Tracy to make good on slaughtering an arena full of wrestling fans who have disrespected the man who flies the stars and bars for the last time?

We can only pray that Tracy’s patience will hold out long enough for fans to realize they are disrespecting a legend.

Posted on by

The End of IWA Mid-South?

15219367_10211256468433234_1316175058918177984_nWrestling has not been this hot in Louisville in decades.

While OVW rides a wave of enthusiasm fueled by their increasingly talented roster and their 900th TV taping, turmoil has erupted across the river.

Two years ago when I released Bluegrass Brawlers, I highlighted two Indiana promotions that, at the time, were running regular shows: the venerable IWA Mid-South, and Destination One Wrestling. Running monthly under former Ian Rotten student Rick Brady, D1W brought in some terrific talent including OI4K, Crazy Mary Dobson, the Indy Card Mafia, and Tracy Smothers. A series of unfortunate events forced D1W to go on permanent hiatus in 2015, and the promotion hasn’t been seen since.

That changed the night of the 20th anniversary show for IWA Mid-South, when Tracy Smothers faced IWA-MS Champion JJ Garrett with the title on the line. Smothers was on the ropes against the younger champ, but just when it seemed like Garrett had the match won, the lights went out and a man wearing a mask appeared on the apron. Garrett grabbed the guy and removed the mask to reveal “The Rick” Rick Brady!  The Rick’s sudden appearance gave Smothers the distraction he needed to hit Garrett with his stick and pin him. Once out of the ring, Tracy announced that the IWA title will now be known as the D1W title.

Over the next few weeks, The Rick promised that D1W was taking over and baited Ian Rotten into putting 50% of his company up vs. the chance to finally get his hands on The Rick for 5 minutes alone. Rotten took the bait and a six-man dog collar match was booked to settle the matter. Rotten selected Nick Depp, John Wayne Murdoch and JC Rotten to represent team IWA while  The Rick chose Mitch Ryder, Legendary Larry D and Derek Neal to represent team D1W.

The six men brawled all over the building on Thanksgiving night. During the closing minutes JC Rotten went down and grabbed his knee in pain. He fought his way back into the ring and was caught by Mitch Ryder and put into a figure four leglock. He immediately tapped. JC’s valet Tori entered the ring to check JC and was grabbed by Larry D. The fans were horrified, fearing for Tori’s safety, when Larry grabbed the girl in a huge hug! JC popped to his feet, revealing his knee injury to be a lie. He wasn’t hurt and he had just betrayed his father. The IWA locker room emptied out, but the D1W contingent beat them down in the ring.

Ian Rotten himself came off to chase away the D1W crew, but it was too late. The Rick now owns half of IWA Mid-South, and Ian and The Rick are now 50/50 partners.

I realize some of you Smarks reading this are rolling your eyes right now. “It’s all a work! You know Ian would never put up ownership in IWA!” That attitude is everything that is wrong with the IWC. Folks, this is old school. This is what packed gyms and arenas for decades before the WWE conquered the wrestling world, and guess what? It still works!

Right now, D1W/IWA Mid-South is as hot as they’ve ever been. They’re running twice a week on Thursdays in Clarksville, Indiana at Jammerz Rollerdrome and Saturdays in Memphis, Indiana at the Flea Market. Their fans are energized, and so too are the D1W fans who have missed their favorite promotion. The Rick is steamrolling IWA fans left and right on Facebook, and Tracy Smothers is proving (as he has over and over) that he’s one of the most underrated heels of any generation.

Will D1W take over, or will Ian save his beloved IWA Mid-South? Whatever happens next, the real winners are the fans enjoying a true old-fashioned blood feud!

Posted on by

Thanksgiving Night Wrestling Anyone?

Thanksgiving used to be one of the biggest nights of the year for the WWE. That’s the night they used to hold the Survivor Series Pay-Per-View. The WWE may have done away with Thanksgiving night show, but for fans in the Louisville area, you can still catch some non-stop action thanks to IWA Mid-South.

IWA-MS has a killer card lined up this week for your post-turkey entertainment, starting with the legendary Chris Hero facing the IWA-Mid South (or is it the D1W?) champion Tracy Smothers.

Rachael Ellering will also be in town Thursday night facing Randi West.

Other matches on the card include:

 

Ian Rotten vs. “The Chairman” Joey Owens;

The Rejects (John Wayne Murdoch and Nick Depp) and JC Rotten VS “Marvelous” Mitch Ryder, “Legendary” Larry D and “the Real Deal” Derek Neal in a Triple Dog Collar Six Man Tag;

A Lone Survivor match featuring Team Cole Radrick (Cole Radrick, Andrew Hunter, Brother Reed, Tripp Cassidy plus one more member) VS Team Johnathan Wolf (Johnathan Wolf, “Category 5” Corey Storm, Mickey Muscles, Aidan Blackhart plus one more member);

“Hybrid Monster” Zodiak vs. “The Mouth of the Mid South” Mance Warner;

Malcolm Monroe III vs. Travis Titan

Bell time is 7:30 at Jammerz Rollerdrome in Clarksville, Indiana.

For more information, visit the event page on Facebook!

Posted on by

Twenty Years of Doing It by Their Rules

There’s nothing in the world like an “IWA Mid-South Rules” match. That’s because in an IWA Mid-South Rules match, there are no rules. There’s no disqualifications, and falls count anywhere. And if you see the action coming your way, grab your stuff and get OUT of the way.

IWA Mid-South has been doing it their way for a long, long time. They’ve seen dozens of would-be competition come and go in that time. They’ve been chased out of buildings and entire states. The haters can keep on hating because this Thursday, IWA Mid-South will celebrate its 20th anniversary.

Ian Rotten has booked a stellar line up in celebration of the milestone anniversary. There’s no flier online yet, but the line-up, care of IWA Mid South’s Facebook page, says all you need to know:

“Money” MATT CAGE vs “Knockout Artist” CHRIS HERO vs COLT “Boom Boom” CABANA

THE THREEJECTS (REED BENTLEY, JOHN WAYNE MURDOCH & NICK DEPP) & MARK WOLF take on TODD MORTON’s HANGMEN, DEREK NEAL & BULL PAIN

JJ GARRETT defends his IWA World Title against “The Wild Eyed Southern Boy” TRACY SMOTHERS

“Dangerous” DOUG GILBERT vs KONGO KONG

“Fight or Die” COLE RADRICK vs “Callihan Death Machine” SAMI CALLIHAN

4 WAY TAG MATCH: SAGE PHILIPS & TEDDY KING vs THE BROTHERHOOD (BROTHER REED & MICKEY MUSCLES) vs BOMB SHELTER (ZODIAK & JOSEPH SCHWARTZ) vs NVD (HY-ZAYA & SHANE MERCER)

RAM JAM vs ZACH GOWEN

LOSER LEAVES IWA: “Nasty” NATE CROSS w/ DAHLIA vs JC ROTTEN w/ TORI

20th ANNIVERSARY IWA RUMBLE! 2 competitors start, every minute another competitor enters the ring!

DIRTY DUTCH MANTEL is also scheduled to appear!

The show will be at Jammerz Roller Rink in Clarksville, Indiana on Thursday, October 6. First and second row seat holders get early admission at 5:30 PM for a Meet and Greet. Doors open at 6:45 with bell time at 7:30.

Tickets are $30 for first row, $25 for second row, $20 for general admission. Kids 13 and under are $15.

Contact Misty at BestMistyEVER@gmail.com to order tickets.

Congratulations to Ian and the amazing crew who have kept this Kentuckiana tradition going for two decades!