Norman Smiley: Difference between revisions
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On the February 16, 2007 edition of iMPACT! Smiley made his return, teaming with Shark Boy in a loss to LAX. |
On the February 16, 2007 edition of iMPACT! Smiley made his return, teaming with Shark Boy in a loss to LAX. |
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Recently at TNAWrestling.com, Norman Smiley was taken off the roster page. |
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Recently at TNA.com, Norman Smiley was taken off the roster page. There was talk that he had been released but has also been said otherwise and Smiley will continue to job to the TNA roster and will compete occasionally on [[TNA Xplosion]]. It has been said his contract in TNA will end soon upon release as of now he makes few apperances as a jobber |
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==Finishing and signature moves== |
==Finishing and signature moves== |
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Revision as of 06:21, 5 April 2007
| Norman Smiley | |
|---|---|
| Born | February 28, 1965 Northampton |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | Black Magic Lord Norman Norman Smiley |
| Billed height | 188 cm (6 ft 2 in) |
| Billed weight | 112 kg (247 lb) |
| Trained by | Rusty Brooks, Boris Malenko, Dean Malenko |
| Debut | October 2, 1990 |
Norman Smiley (born February 28, 1965 in Northampton) is a British professional wrestler currently competing for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling. He is best known for his appearances in the United States of America with World Championship Wrestling as "Screamin" Norman Smiley.
Career
Norman Smiley trained under Rusty Brooks and Boris and Dean Malenko before making his debut in 1986 on the Floridian independent circuit, originally known as Black Magic, then as the hated Lord Henry Norman. In 1992, he began wrestling for the Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre in Mexico as Black Magic, winning the CMLL World Heavyweight Championship and holding it until losing to Silver King in 1994. In 1 95 and 1996, he briefly competed in the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania based Extreme Championship Wrestling promotion.
World Championship Wrestling
Smiley joined World Championship Wrestling in 1997, wrestling primarily on WCW Saturday Night. After being removed from television, he returned several months later with a new gimmick. His new character saw him add the "Big Wiggle" to his repertoire of moves; prior to this, his signature taunt was a mimed bow-and-arrow motion, informally dubbed "The Sacagawea". After knocking an opponent down, Smiley would perform a dance that he called the "Big Wiggle." He later added the "Smiley Spank", which saw him double an opponent over, straddle him, and perform a slapping motion with his hands. Smiley reportedly stated that the Big Wiggle was influenced by the off-screen antics of fellow wrestler Juventud Guerrera, a friend of Smiley's who he often shared hotel rooms with while traveling between house shows.
During his tenure in WCW, Smiley often teamed with Chris Adams. The duo had previously teamed together as the British participants in the 1990 NWA Pat O'Connor tag team tournament, and were close friends.
A heel turn (reportedly at the suggestion of Adams, who himself had a legendary heel run in Texas years before) brought new life to Smiley's career in WCW. In a backstage interview on an episode of WCW Saturday Night, he told fans that he was European and that, as such, his name should be pronounced phonetically as "Nor-MAHN Smi-LAY." He then feuded with Chavo Guerrero, Jr., on one occasion destroying Chavo's hobby horse mascot, Pepè, by feeding it into a wood chipper on an episode of WCW Monday Nitro.
In 1999, booker Vince Russo moved Smiley into the hardcore division. Smiley's character was afraid of hardcore matches and of the wrestlers who competed in them, and he was nicknamed "Screamin'" Norman Smiley as a result of propensity to fall to the mat and scream like a girl whenever he was struck with a weapon. Smiley would also come to the ring wearing a jersey (often wearing a jersey of a local professional sports team), along with padding and a football helmet to cushion blows. This comedic gimmick caused Smiley's popularity to soar, and he eventually won the WCW Hardcore Championship by defeating Brian Knobbs in a tournament final. During his 2 reigns, Smiley was a reluctant champion, even attempting to purposely lose matches (although he invariably retained the title inadvertently, much to his chagrin). Smiley holds the 2 longest WCW Hardcore Championship reigns, at 51 and 42 days, respectively.
Smiley feuded with Brian Knobbs, Meng and Terry Funk during his tenures as WCW Hardcore Champion, recruiting Chris Jericho's former associate Ralphus to be his manager. With the assistance of Ralphus, he stole a backyard wrestling championship from a group of children during a vignette. A notable moment of his reign saw Terry Funk, Smiley's scheduled opponent for Spring Stampede 2000, locate the champion by following the sound of his screams to the bathroom stall where he was hiding.
Smiley remained in WCW until the company was sold to the World Wrestling Federation in March 2001. He was not hired by the WWF following the sale.
TNA & Independent circuit
Smiley wrestled for the short-lived X Wrestling Federation and the World Wrestling All-Stars before returning to the Florida independent circuit. He wrestled briefly for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling in 2002 and then had several tryout matches with World Wrestling Entertainment in 2003 and 2004. In February 2006, he was backstage during the TNA pay-per-view Against All Odds 2006, and he wrestled in an eight-man opening match on an episode of TNA iMPACT! shortly thereafter, doing the Big Wiggle on Jeff Jarrett. At TNA Destination X 2006 on March 12, 2006, Smiley and Shark Boy lost to David Young and Elix Skipper. Smiley and Shark Boy upset Homicide and Machete of the LAX on the March 18 edition of iMPACT! Smiley was inactive for several weeks following an attack at the hands of Scott Steiner, but returned on the July 13, 2006 episode of iMPACT!, losing to Abyss. In an online interview, Smiley promised his fans that he was working diligently to get back into TNA wrestling. He stated that he would like to make a run at the X-division title upon his return.
On the February 16, 2007 edition of iMPACT! Smiley made his return, teaming with Shark Boy in a loss to LAX.
Recently at TNAWrestling.com, Norman Smiley was taken off the roster page.
Finishing and signature moves
- Norman Conquest (Crossface chickenwing)
- Big Wiggle (from behind a bent forward opponent, he licks his hands, rubs his chest, and makes a slapping motion on the hips of the opponent)
- Sunset flip
- Victory roll
- Flying crossbody
- European uppercut
- Belly to back suplex
- Jumping headbutt
- Many Armbar Variations
- Many Scissor variations
Championships and accomplishments
- CMLL World Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
- Four Star Championship Wrestling
- FSCW Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
- Future of Wrestling
- FOW Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
- Global Wrestling Alliance
- GWA Global Television Championship (1 time)
- Independent Pro Wrestling Association
- IPWA Southern Championship (1 time)
- IPWA Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Joe DeFuria
- Maximum Pro Wrestling
- MXPW Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
- PWI ranked him # 375 of the 500 best singles wrestlers of the PWI Years in 2003
Personal life
Smiley is the godfather of one of the children of fellow wrestler Ian "Vampiro" Hodgkinson.
References
- Norman Smiley at Accelerator3359.com
- Norman Smiley at Bodyslamming.com
- Norman Smiley at ObsessedWithWrestling.com[citation needed]
- Norman Smiley at WeeklyVisitor.com
- Norman Smiley keeps screamin'
- Smiley's screaming his way to the top
Fan tributes
- The Wrestling Mayhem Show's #1 Favorite tagteam of All Time Norman Smiley and Shark Boy.