smoky mountain wrestling Archives

Buddy Landel Death

By Mike Rickard on March 11, 2018 / 2010s, 2015, Accident / Leave a comment

Buddy Landel Death – Car Accident 1961-2015 (Age 53) William Ansor was born on August 14, 1961, but would later change his name to that of his wrestling persona, Buddy Landel. A talented and charismatic wrestler, the Knoxville, Tennessee native hit the big time in 1985, working in Jim Crockett Promotions. With a “Battle of the Nature Boys” feud on the horizon, big things lie ahead, but Landel’s personal demons led to an abrupt dismissal, and unfortunately his career never bounced back. A Friendship Leads to a Wrestling Career William Ansor’s sister was dating Barry Orton (brother of “Cowboy” Bob Orton Jr.) and knew of Ansor’s interest in wrestling. This led to an introduction to wrestler Boris Malenko, who began training Ansor. With the help of “Cowboy” Bill Watts and Bob Roop, Ansor entered the wrestling business. Ansor debuted in 1979, and worked his first match with “Cowboy” Bob Orton,

Brad Armstrong Death

By Mike Rickard on October 21, 2017 / 2010s, 2012, Undisclosed Causes / 1 Comment

Brad Armstrong Death – Undisclosed Causes 1962-2012 (Age 50) A member of one of wrestling’s underrated dynasties, Brad Armstrong competed alongside his father “Bullet” Bob Armstrong, breaking into the business at age 18. A talented wrestler, Brad Armstrong worked a number of gimmicks, but never found the same success as his father, or brother. Nonetheless, Brad Armstrong was highly respected in the industry, both in and out of the ring. Breaking in at a Young Age The son of WWE Hall of Famer “Bullet” Bob Armstrong, Brad broke into the business at the age of 18, working in the NWA’s Southeastern Championship Wrestling territory. Before long, Armstrong was on the nationally syndicated program World Championship Wrestling, competing alongside his famous father Bob in Georgia Championship Wrestling. Brad also teamed with Tim Horner, forming the team known as The Lightning Express. The rising young star worked the territories as well as

Timothy Well Death

By Ryan on January 11, 2017 / 2010s, 2017, Kidney Failure / Leave a comment

Timothy Well Death – Kidney Failure 1961-2017 (age 55) Timothy Smith died on January 9th, 2017 after suffering from kidney failure. Smith is perhaps best known as Timothy Well, one half of the early 90s WWF tag team “Well Dunn”, where he partnered with Steven Dunn (Steve Doll). Doll died in 2009. Although their WWF run was brief, the duo would end up spending the majority of their careers as a tag team across various promotions. Smith also spent time as a singles competitor where he worked under the ring name of Rex King. Rex King takes on a young Raven in 1989 Early Career Timothy Smith grew up in Florida and like many aspiring wrestlers before him, he was bit by the wrestling bug as a youngster. He would go on to work locally in the Sarasota area, trained by Dean Malenko, before ultimately forming a tag team with Steve Doll.

Balls Mahoney Death

By Ryan on October 23, 2016 / 2010s, 2016, Dead Before 50, Heart Attack / Leave a comment

Balls Mahoney Death – Heart Attack 1972-2016 (age 44) Jonathan Rechner, known to ECW fans as Balls Mahoney, died on April 12th, 2016. Rechner died from a heart attack. He was 44 years old. Just two months prior to his death, Balls Mahoney’s former ECW tag partner, Axl Rotten passed away after suffering from a heroin overdose. Several other wrestlers passed in 2016 including Blackjack Mulligan, Mr. Fuji, Iron Mike Sharpe, and Frenchy Martin. On October 21st, 2016, the Boston Globe reported that CTE was discovered in Rechner’s brain. This shouldn’t come as much of a surprise, given the hardcore nature of Balls Mahoney’ wrestling style. Earlier this year, we wrote a piece about CTE and the ongoing concussion lawsuit against the WWE. The WWE, along with Mahoney’s former colleagues, have taken to Twitter to pay respects: WWE is saddened to learn of the passing of ECW Superstar Balls Mahoney. pic.twitter.com/Ox8dnQih6R — WWE

Sunny Days Turn Dark: The Tammy Lynn Sytch Story

By Ryan on January 23, 2016 / Blog / 4 Comments

There was a time in the 90s when Sunny was on top of the world. Often regarded as “The First Diva” – Tammy Lynn Sytch broke into the WWF in 1994. But after the death of her partner, wrestler Chris “Skip” Candido, a downward spiral seemed to take place. Despite a triumphant return for her WWE Hall of Fame induction, Tammy Lynn Sytch has since been soliciting risqué Skype sessions with fans and is currently in discussion with adult film company Vivid Entertainment.

In May of 2015, Sytch was arrested for Driving Under the Influence in Lehighton, PA. The next day, June 1, 2015, Sytch was arrested for another DUI, followed by a third DUI arrest on June 20th – three DUIs within a three week period.

Chris Candido Death

By Ryan on December 5, 2015 / 2000s, 2005, Dead Before 50, Most Popular, Pneumonia / 6 Comments

Chris Candido Death – Pneumonia 1972-2005 (age 33) Before his life was cut short, Skip Candido had an impressive wrestling career spanning several promotions. He is arguably most remembered as being “Skip” from the WWF. Alongside valet (and real-life girlfriend) Sunny – the duo were known as The Bodydonnas. The Bodydonnas gimmick portrayed Skip and Sunny as arrogant work-out freaks, continuously taunting the crowd for being fat and out of shape. Aside from his run with the Bodydonnas, Candido spent a brief period in the WCW. He stayed long enough to pick up a Cruiserweight title, but ultimately would head to the independents. Prior to Candido’s WCW run, he spent 1996-1999 with ECW. He had a successful run with the promotion and was given the moniker “No Gimmicks Needed” – appropriate considering the WWE had given him a pretty ridiculous gimmick with the Bodydonnas. In 1995, Wrestling Observer named Chris Candido the Most Underrated Wrestler of the Year,

Terry Gordy Death

By Ryan on December 5, 2015 / 2000s, 2001, Dead Before 50, Heart Attack / 2 Comments

Terry Gordy Death – Heart Attack 1961-2001 (age 40) Many professional wrestlers don’t make it to age 50. Sadly, Terry Gordy barely made it out of his 30s. This is the Terry Gordy death story. Best known as a member of the infamous Fabulous Freebirds, Terry “Bam Bam” Gordy had a huge following in the 80s. With the rest of the Freebirds, Gordy won the NWA World Six-Man Tag Team Championship on five separate occasions. In the early 90s, Terry held one half of the WCW tag team championship alongside “Dr. Death” Steve Williams. WCCW in the 80s: Terry and the Freebirds in a classic rivalry against the Von Erich’s Beginning in 1996, Gordy had a brief run with the WWF. The less-than-memorable gimmick tagged Terry Gordy as “The Executioner”. He landed a couple of PPV matches, including a feud with the Undertaker, but ultimately left the company. The gimmick wasn’t a great script and as the WWF moved into

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