The Last of the Territorial Wrestlers...Tracy Smothers

Until I added the label of his name to this entry, I truly thought that this may have been the first time that Tracy Smothers was mentioned in the decade plus of this blog's existance. It isn't, but if it were it certainly wouldn't have been due to my lack of fandom for the man. As just about anyone would tell you, Tracy Smothers was the man. It seems generic, but there's no other way to put it. His passing last month was sadly not a surprise due to his health issues, but still very much a shock due to the unbreakable spirit that the man had.

I've always felt that Tracy Smothers was the last true territorial wrestler, especially seeing as that he was reportedly still wrestling as of a year ago. He began in 1982, the year that I was born, and wrestled virtually everywhere. He may not have had huge runs everywhere he went, but I honestly don't think that mattered to him. If you recall Randy The Ram's line of "I just wanna wrestle," in the film The Wrestler, I think that summed up Smothers fairly well.

And despite runs in WWF, WCW, ECW, and various other territories, I would bet money that Smothers had some of his best times working the indy circuit in the 2000's. We in the Pittsburgh area were lucky enough to have Tracy prioritize our local independent group, IWC, as one of his top spots. Often with "Southern Comfort" partner Chris Hamrick, when Tracy was on the card you were guaranteed a great, hard-hitting match mixed with a bit of Southern-style entertainment as only Tracy could provide. During this run Tracy was also usually the veteran of the locker room. I know for a fact that many then up-and-coming wrestlers were more than honored to sit under his learning tree and even more thrilled if they were listed on the booking sheet opposite "the wild-eyed Southern boy."

One thing that Tracy did not have a lot of was merchandising. His other appearance here on the blog was actually one of a few posts documenting the top wrestling stars who never had an action figure. He made it into several trading card sets and sold a lot of self-produced merch at his ubiquitous gimmick table. If his rights can be obtained he would be an amazing fit into the Figures Toy Company Legends of Professional Wrestling Line. For a company that loves producing variants, he's a gold mine.

It's actually his table that reminds me of my favorite Smothers story. There was a time when WWE was heavily cracking down on individuals selling the footage that they owned. Conventions were frequently raided, albeit silently, due to unauthorized DVD's being sold. Once at an event I purchased two NWA shows on DVD from Tracy. They were very bootlegged, but in the days before WWE Network it was how a fan obtained this old footage. Tracy, for whatever reason, signed both of the actual discs for me. Think about that. I don't think that I even realized it at the time. All I can say is that it was a very Tracy Smothers thing to do, and that's a great thing. He seemed very care-free.

It was probably that way of thinking that guided him through his health issues. It probably also allowed him to enjoy a lot more of life than most in his fifty-eight years. He was a wrestler's wrestler, loved the business, loved entertaining the fans, and loved the fans. We loved him, too. 

Tracy Smothers

1962-2020

5 More Wrestlers...Who Never Had An Action Figure

Back in 2011 and 2013 respectively, the blog featured two different lists of five wrestlers who never received action figures. The lists were limited to male wrestlers seeing as female wrestlers and non-wrestler names such as announcers have been sadly under produced as figures in the past, thus they would dominate the discussion. One name from each of our lists, The Blue Meanie and Magnum T.A. to be exact, have finally made their way into figure form. Now, after a five year hiatus, we introduce five more names of the "unmade."

If you want to see a wrestler who would translate directly into an action figure, look no further than Mr. Hughes. Immense, imposing, and just plain mean looking, Curtis Hughes' rather nomadic approach to the wrestling business likely cost him an action figure. Had his 1993 WWF stint lasted longer, he most assuredly would have been produced by Hasbro. The same thought goes towards his later cups of the coffee in the WWF with the likelihood of Hughes receiving a Jakks figure.

Though unlikely at this point due to his tragic death, "Gentleman" Chris Adams could have found his way into one of the various Legends figures lines at some point. The British star, who made his name most notably in World Class Championship Wrestling, was always a favorite of the female fans but could alternate between dashing hero and cocky villain. The lack of a WWF run diminished his action figure chances, but Adams did see some success with WCW during the Monday Nitro era.

Tracy Smothers is another name whose brief appearances in the various wresting companies led to a figure never happening. He was featured heavily in the early 1990's WCW trading card sets, so he may have been eventually included in the Galoob figure line of the time had it lasted longer. His WWF run as Freddie Joe Floyd came at a dark time for wrestling figures when little was being produced. Smothers would be a perfect candidate for the Legends line produced by Figures Toy Company which gave birth to the first figure of The Blue Meanie.

Still being burnt by sparklers on the independent circuit, Gillberg is one phenomenon who has never been immortalized in plastic. While there have been a few wimpy looking figures of Goldberg produced, the former WCW Champion's number one imitator has yet to officially be created. Gillberg would actually fit like a glove into the WWE Mattel line where a hearty sense of humor has recently been infused into the figure selections. An Elite release of Gillberg, complete with J.O.B. Squad t-shirt and WWF Light Heavyweight Championship belt, would fly off of the shelves. Sparklers sold separately.

Finally, we look at a former World Heavyweight Champion sans action figure. Tommy Rich hit the peak of his popularity before wrestling figures ever hit shelves, but he's another name who is ideal for a Legends line. When "Wildfire" defeated Harley Race for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship, it was both shocking and controversial. While his lack of a figure doesn't carry the same emotion as his short title run did among fans, he would be a very welcomed addition with collectors who love representations of the territorial stars.

Another five names. Will our track record continue and one name off of our list finally be produced? It would be nice. And perhaps the next time we visit this topic, we will take a look at some non-male wrestler names who need to see an action figure. With two of the biggest female wrestling names finally seeing figures this year, maybe for the next round we'll look at who else should be included in the "women's wrestling figure revolution..."