Tracy Stanton Smothers was an American professional wrestler, best known for his appearances with World Championship Wrestling, Smoky Mountain Wrestling, the World Wrestling Federation, and Extreme Championship Wrestling.
44 Facts About Tracy Smothers
2.
Tracy Smothers was the first person in Springfield High School history to go to the state championship in wrestling.
3.
Tracy Smothers started his career in 1982 after being trained by Steve Keirn and Stan Lane.
4.
Tracy Smothers later appeared in the combined promotional effort Pro Wrestling USA, making his televised debut at a taping on September 18,1984 that was held in Memphis.
5.
Tracy Smothers would become a two-time NWA Mid-America Heavyweight Champion during his time with the company.
6.
Tracy Smothers joined Championship Wrestling from Florida in February 1987 and immediately formed a tag team with Steve Armstrong as "The Wild-Eyed Southern Boys".
7.
Tracy Smothers teamed with John Paul to win the vacated CWA Tag Team Championship from Action Jackson and Robert Fuller.
8.
Armstrong eventually joined up with Tracy Smothers and reformed the Southern Boys, and they became embroiled in a feud with The Stud Stable.
9.
Three months after departing World Championship Wrestling and following a very brief period in the United States Wrestling Association, Tracy Smothers resurfaced in Jim Cornette's Smoky Mountain Wrestling promotion which was based out of Knoxville, Tennessee.
10.
Now billed as "The Wild Eyed Southern Boy" Tracy Smothers, he made his debut on the October 31,1992 episode of SMW television, defeating Paul Lee.
11.
Tracy Smothers lost the Beat the Champ Championship to Chris Candido on the January 8,1994 episode of SMW television.
12.
Tracy Smothers then formed a team with the Dirty White Boy as the Thugs.
13.
All but Porteau were given new names, and Tracy Smothers was given the monicker "Freddie Joe Floyd".
14.
Tracy Smothers made his debut on the June 29,1996 episode of WWF Superstars, defeating Justin Hawk Bradshaw, but lost in a rematch on the July 13 episode of Superstars.
15.
Tracy Smothers challenged Helmsley for the Intercontinental Championship on the January 5,1997 episode of Superstars, but lost.
16.
Tracy Smothers, long associated with being a stereotypical southern wrestler, was billed as being from "Nashville, Italy" or "Southern Italy" during this time.
17.
Tracy Smothers became an ECW regular, frequently teaming with Little Guido that spring in matches against The Pitbulls.
18.
Tracy Smothers would spend most of his career in IWA Mid-South starting in 1996.
19.
Tracy Smothers's appearances remained sporadic over the next few years, but he wrestled and defeated such opponents as Flash Flanagan, J C Ice, and Bull Pain.
20.
Tracy Smothers then reunited with a former tag team partner, Chris Hambrick, as Southern Comfort, defeating The Second City Saints in the finals of a tournament to win the IWA Mid-South Tag Team Championship, but their reign only lasted a day.
21.
Tracy Smothers participated at the Ted Petty Invitational in September 2008, where he lost to Dave Taylor in the first round.
22.
Tracy Smothers' appearances became infrequent, but he continued to wrestle for IWA until 2010.
23.
In 2016, Tracy Smothers returned to IWA Mid-South after a six-year hiatus.
24.
Now more than twenty years a veteran of the industry, Tracy Smothers had become a universally well-regarded figure to the crop of young wrestlers growing up around him, passing on wisdom in car trips and finding places for them to stay.
25.
In late 2005 and early 2006, Tracy Smothers worked a full-time schedule at various independent promotions in Tennessee and around the midwest and eastern United States, including the IWC, SSW, WOW, VCW, NWA Wrestle Birmingham and NWA Midwest.
26.
Tracy Smothers journeyed to CCW, where on January 11,2006, he defeated Chuck Taylor in the main event to win the CCW Heavyweight Championship.
27.
Tracy Smothers remained the champion until he was defeated for the title by The Blue Meanie on June 3,2007.
28.
Tracy Smothers began to wind down his schedule in 2009.
29.
Tracy Smothers wrestled frequently for the remainder of the year, appearing in NWA Main Event, IWA Mid-South, BWF, and MECW.
30.
Tracy Smothers debuted in Juggalo Championship Wrestling by cutting a series of promos in which he insulted the company, the owners, and the Juggalo fanbase.
31.
Tracy Smothers quickly became the company's main villain by defeating much of their roster and ending most of his matches by choking out his opponents.
32.
Per storyline, Tracy Smothers was arrested just days before Tony's return on the eighth episode, leaving Tony with no way to seek revenge.
33.
At Bloodymania on August 12,2007, Tracy Smothers lost to Ron Killings.
34.
Two weeks later, Tracy Smothers caught Isabella listening to Boondox, the rapper who sings 2 Tuff Tony's entrance music.
35.
Tracy and Isabella Smothers were then scheduled to face Boondox and 2 Tuff Tony on August 10,2008 at Bloodymania II.
36.
Tracy Smothers continued to wrestle on the independent circuit after finishing his work with JCW in 2011.
37.
On June 16,2013 at the Brad Armstrong Memorial Event, Tracy Smothers teamed with old partner Steve Armstrong for the first time in over twenty one years.
38.
Tracy Smothers soon captured the D1W Heavyweight Championship, but lost it to Mad Man Pondo while splitting his time with D1W and IWA Mid South.
39.
Tracy Smothers continued to wrestle frequently in 2017, making appearances in the PWA in Canada, as well as RCCW, ZERO-1 USA, and IWA Mid-South.
40.
Tracy Smothers began to wind down appearances on the independent circuit in 2018, and continued to wrestle shows the following year despite health issues; he had a quick temper due to concussions, and believed he had suffered more than two dozen concussions during his career and suffered greatly from the effects.
41.
In July 2016, Tracy Smothers was named part of a class action lawsuit filed against WWE which alleged that wrestlers incurred traumatic brain injuries during their tenure and that the company concealed the risks of injury.
42.
Tracy Smothers announced on his Facebook page in December 2019 that he was diagnosed with lymphoma after he visited a doctor the month prior and had suffered a heart attack without realizing.
43.
Tracy Smothers was survived by his three sons, Tony Shook, Kyle Tracy Smothers, and Austin Elliot, and his daughter Jessie Belle McCoy, who wrestles as Jessie Belle.
44.
Many wrestlers paid tribute to Tracy Smothers following his death, including Jim Cornette, CM Punk, Edge, Frankie Kazarian, Taz, Jeff Jarrett, Ricky Morton, Bobby Fulton and Tom Prichard.