Robert Smedley
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Robert Smedley (born June 25, 1963) is an
American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...
retired
professional wrestler Professional wrestling, often shortened to either pro wrestling or wrestling,The term "wrestling" is most often widely used to specifically refer to modern scripted professional wrestling, though it is also used to refer to real-life wrest ...
and
author In legal discourse, an author is the creator of an original work that has been published, whether that work exists in written, graphic, visual, or recorded form. The act of creating such a work is referred to as authorship. Therefore, a sculpt ...
, better known by his
ring name A ring name is a type of stage name or nickname used by an athlete such as a professional wrestler, mixed martial artist, or boxer whose real name is considered unattractive, dull, difficult to pronounce or spell, amusing for the wrong reasons ...
Bobby Blaze. He gained the majority of his in-ring success performing for
Smoky Mountain Wrestling Smoky Mountain Wrestling was a professional wrestling promotion that held events in the Appalachian area of the United States from October 1991 to December 1995, when it was run by Jim Cornette. The promotion was based in Knoxville, Tennessee, wit ...
(SMW) from 1993 to 1995, where he held the
SMW Heavyweight Championship The SMW Heavyweight Championship was the top heavyweight championship in Smoky Mountain Wrestling. It existed from 1992 until 1995 when SMW folded. "Dirty White Boy" Tony Anthony and Brad Armstrong were tied at the most reigns at three. The Unite ...
once, the
SMW United States Junior Heavyweight Championship The SMW United States Junior Heavyweight Championship was a singles title in Smoky Mountain Wrestling. It existed from 1992 until the promotion's close in 1995. There were three officially recognized champions and eight title reigns, with Bobby ...
a record four times and the
SMW Beat the Champ Television Championship The SMW "Beat the Champ" Television Championship was the secondary singles championship for the Smoky Mountain Wrestling (SMW) professional wrestling Professional wrestling, often shortened to either pro wrestling or wrestling,The term "w ...
twice. He also performed on the
undercard In sports, a card lists the matches taking place in a title match combat-sport event. Cards include a main event match and the undercard listing the rest of the matches. The undercard may be divided into a midcard and a lower card, according to ...
in
World Wrestling Federation World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) is an American professional wrestling promotion. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority-owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. A global integrated media and entertainment company, ...
(WWF) and
World Championship Wrestling World Championship Wrestling (WCW) was an American professional wrestling promotion founded by Ted Turner in 1988, after Turner Broadcasting System, through a subsidiary named Universal Wrestling Corporation, purchased the assets of National W ...
(WCW).


Professional wrestling career


Early career (1988–1993)

Robert "Bob" Smedley made his professional wrestling debut on September 11, 1988, after training under Boris and
Dean Malenko Dean Shelly Simon (born August 4, 1960), better known by the ring name Dean Malenko, is an American retired professional wrestler. He is signed with All Elite Wrestling (AEW) as a senior producer. He is best known for his time in the World Wres ...
. In 1991 and 1992, he would wrestle as enhancement talent for the
World Wrestling Federation World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) is an American professional wrestling promotion. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority-owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. A global integrated media and entertainment company, ...
(WWF).


Smoky Mountain Wrestling (1993–1995)

In 1993, Smedley began working for the newly formed
Smoky Mountain Wrestling Smoky Mountain Wrestling was a professional wrestling promotion that held events in the Appalachian area of the United States from October 1991 to December 1995, when it was run by Jim Cornette. The promotion was based in Knoxville, Tennessee, wit ...
(SMW) under the
ring name A ring name is a type of stage name or nickname used by an athlete such as a professional wrestler, mixed martial artist, or boxer whose real name is considered unattractive, dull, difficult to pronounce or spell, amusing for the wrong reasons ...
Bobby Blaze. On June 7, 1993, he won the
SMW Beat the Champ Television Championship The SMW "Beat the Champ" Television Championship was the secondary singles championship for the Smoky Mountain Wrestling (SMW) professional wrestling Professional wrestling, often shortened to either pro wrestling or wrestling,The term "w ...
by defeating The Dirty White Boy in a tournament final. Twenty-one days later, Blaze faced an unknown, masked wrestler known as "The Mighty Yankee," which turned out to be the Dirty White Boy pulling a trick on Blaze to win the championship from him. Blaze was one of eight wrestlers competing in SMW's "King of Kentucky" tournament, defeating Killer Kyle in the first round before losing to Brian Lee in the semi-finals. In September, he won a tournament to become the inaugural SMW United States Junior Heavyweight Champion, a title he held for 21 days before
Chris Candido Christopher Barrett Candito (March 21, 1972 – April 28, 2005) was an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. Candito is best remembered for his tenures with professional wrestling promotion, promotions such as World Championship ...
won it from him. The title change led to a series of matches between the two, including trading the title back and forth between them. The two also faced off in a series of matches where the loser would be
tarred and feathered Tarring and feathering is a form of public torture where a victim is stripped naked, or stripped to the waist, while wood tar (sometimes hot) is either poured or painted onto the person. The victim then either has feathers thrown on them or is ...
after the match as part of SMW's Thanksgiving Thunder series. On February 26, 1995, in the main event of SMW's Sunday, Bloody Sunday II, show Blaze defeated
Jerry Lawler Jerry O'Neil Lawler (born November 29, 1949), better known as Jerry "the King" Lawler, is an American retired color commentator and professional wrestler signed to WWE under a Legends contract. Prior to joining the World Wrestling Federati ...
to win the
SMW Heavyweight Championship The SMW Heavyweight Championship was the top heavyweight championship in Smoky Mountain Wrestling. It existed from 1992 until 1995 when SMW folded. "Dirty White Boy" Tony Anthony and Brad Armstrong were tied at the most reigns at three. The Unite ...
. He lost the title to
Buddy Landel William Fritz Ensor (August 14, 1961 – June 22, 2015) was an American professional wrestler better known by the ring name "Nature Boy" Buddy Landel. He was best known for his work in the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) territories. Early l ...
on April 8. Blaze held the SMW Beat the Champ Television Championship one last time before the promotion closed. He also had a couple shots at the
NWA World Heavyweight Championship The NWA World's Heavyweight Championship is a men's professional wrestling Professional wrestling championship#World championships, world heavyweight championship owned and promoted by the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA), an American professiona ...
against
Dan Severn Daniel DeWayne Severn (born June 8, 1958), nicknamed "the Beast", is an American retired professional wrestler, retired mixed martial artist and amateur wrestler. A UFC Hall of Fame member, Severn is considered one of the leading pioneers of ...
on May 20 in
Charlotte, North Carolina Charlotte ( ) is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina and the county seat of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 United ...
, and on August 4 in
Knoxville, Tennessee Knoxville is a city in Knox County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. It is located on the Tennessee River and had a population of 190,740 at the 2020 United States census. It is the largest city in the East Tennessee Grand Division ...
.


Post-SMW career (1995–1997)

After SMW closed, Blaze wrestled on the
independent circuit In professional wrestling, the independent circuit (often shortened to the indie circuit or the indies) is the collective name of independently owned promotions which are deemed to be smaller and more regionalized than major national promotions. ...
throughout the
American East Coast The East Coast of the United States, also known as the Eastern Seaboard, the Atlantic Coast, and the Atlantic Seaboard, is the region encompassing the coastline where the Eastern United States meets the Atlantic Ocean; it has always played a m ...
, as well as touring
Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...
for
Michinoku Pro Wrestling (originally known as North Eastern Wrestling) is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion founded by The Great Sasuke on October 1, 1992. It was the first independent wrestling promotion in Japan to not base its operations in Tokyo, but rathe ...
(MPW).


World Championship Wrestling (1997–1999)

In September 1997, Blaze joined
World Championship Wrestling World Championship Wrestling (WCW) was an American professional wrestling promotion founded by Ted Turner in 1988, after Turner Broadcasting System, through a subsidiary named Universal Wrestling Corporation, purchased the assets of National W ...
(WCW). He appeared in the 60-man battle royal in the main event of the World War 3 in 1997 and
1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for Lunar water, frozen water, in soil i ...
. Blaze remained with the company, largely performing as a jobber in undercard matches, until 1999.


Post-WCW career (1999–2004)

After leaving WCW, Blaze returned to the American independent scene where he would remain active for five years before retiring in 2004. Since June 2018, Bobby has hosted a podcast called Bell to Bell with Bobby Blaze. He is a chef and was the inspiration behind Blaze Pizza.


Books

* ''Pin Me, Pay Me!: Have Boots, Will Travel'' * ''I Kicked Out on Two: The Education of a Wrestler''


Championships and accomplishments

*Cleveland All Pro Wrestling **CAPW North American Heavyweight Championship (2 times) *
Heartland Wrestling Association The Heartland Wrestling Association (HWA) was a Midwestern independent professional wrestling promotion based in Cincinnati, Ohio. A former developmental territory for World Championship Wrestling and the World Wrestling Entertainment, World Wres ...
**
HWA Heavyweight Championship The HWA Heavyweight Championship was the heavyweight Championship (professional wrestling), title contested in the Heartland Wrestling Association. Title history See also *Heartland Wrestling Association References {{reflist External linksH ...
( 1 time) *''
Pro Wrestling Illustrated ''Pro Wrestling Illustrated'' (''PWI'') is an American professional wrestling magazine that was founded in 1979 by publisher Stanley Weston. ''PWI'' is headquartered in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania, and published by Kappa Publishing Group. The maga ...
'' **PWI ranked him #109 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 1995. *
Smoky Mountain Wrestling Smoky Mountain Wrestling was a professional wrestling promotion that held events in the Appalachian area of the United States from October 1991 to December 1995, when it was run by Jim Cornette. The promotion was based in Knoxville, Tennessee, wit ...
**
SMW Beat the Champ Television Championship The SMW "Beat the Champ" Television Championship was the secondary singles championship for the Smoky Mountain Wrestling (SMW) professional wrestling Professional wrestling, often shortened to either pro wrestling or wrestling,The term "w ...
( 3 times, final champion) **
SMW Heavyweight Championship The SMW Heavyweight Championship was the top heavyweight championship in Smoky Mountain Wrestling. It existed from 1992 until 1995 when SMW folded. "Dirty White Boy" Tony Anthony and Brad Armstrong were tied at the most reigns at three. The Unite ...
( 1 time) **
SMW United States Junior Heavyweight Championship The SMW United States Junior Heavyweight Championship was a singles title in Smoky Mountain Wrestling. It existed from 1992 until the promotion's close in 1995. There were three officially recognized champions and eight title reigns, with Bobby ...
(
4 times "4 Times" (stylized as "4 TIMES") is the 50th single by pop/ R&B singer Koda Kumi. It was released on August 17, 2011 and debuted at No. 6, remaining on the Oricon charts for nine consecutive weeks. In commemoration of it being the fiftieth singl ...
, final champion) *
Southern States Wrestling Southern States Wrestling is an American independent professional wrestling promotion based in Kingsport, Tennessee. Founded by wrestler Beau James in early 1991, SSW (along with NWA Bluegrass) succeeded Smoky Mountain Wrestling as the top prom ...
**
SSW Junior Heavyweight Championship The Southern States Wrestling (SSW) Junior Heavyweight Championship is a secondary professional wrestling championship in Southern States Wrestling. Eddie Golden was the inaugural champion, defeating Jamie Gibson in Banner Elk, North Carolina o ...
( 1 time) *Unleashed Wrestling Alliance **UWA Hall of Fame (2013)


References


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Blaze, Bobby 1963 births American male professional wrestlers Living people Professional wrestlers from Kentucky Sportspeople from Ashland, Kentucky 20th-century male professional wrestlers 20th-century American professional wrestlers 21st-century male professional wrestlers 21st-century American professional wrestlers SMW Beat the Champ Television Champions SMW Heavyweight Champions SMW United States Junior Heavyweight Champions 1988 professional wrestling debuts