SMW Beat the Champ Television Championship
| SMW "Beat the Champ" Television Championship | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Tracy Smothers was the first SMW "Beat the Champ" Television Champion | |||||||||||||
| Details | |||||||||||||
| Promotion | Smoky Mountain Wrestling | ||||||||||||
| Date established | December 12, 1992 | ||||||||||||
| Date retired | May 20, 1995 | ||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||
The SMW "Beat the Champ" Television Championship was the secondary singles championship for the Smoky Mountain Wrestling (SMW) professional wrestling promotion. The title was created in 1992 and was active until SMW closed on November 26, 1995. The storyline concept of the title was that the champion would defend his title every week against a "randomly drawn" opponent. For each successful defense of the belt, the wrestler won $1,000, and if the champion could win five title matches in a row, including the title win, then the title was vacated and the champion received a $5,000 bonus. In reality, the opponents were predetermined, and the winner never received the bonus. Moreover, the title was never represented by a belt.[1][2] Because the championship is a professional wrestling championship, it is not won or lost competitively but instead by the decision of the bookers of a wrestling promotion. The championship is awarded after the chosen team "wins" a match to maintain the illusion that professional wrestling is a competitive sport.[3]
Title history
| No. | Overall reign number |
|---|---|
| Reign | Reign number for the specific champion |
| Days | Number of days held |
| <1 | Reign lasted less than a day |
| No. | Champion | Championship change | Reign statistics | Notes | Ref. | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date | Event | Location | Reign | Days | ||||
| 1 | Tracy Smothers | December 12, 1992 | SMW Live event | Morristown, Tennessee | 1 | 58 | Defeated Jimmy Golden, The Dirty White Boy and Killer Kyle in a four-way elimination tournament final. Aired January 16, 1993 on SMW TV | |
| 2 | The Nightstalker | February 8, 1993 | SMW Live event | Jellico, Tennessee | 1 | <1 | Aired February 20, 1993 on SMW TV | |
| 3 | Tim Horner | February 8, 1993 | SMW Live event | Jellico, Tennessee | 1 | 21 | Aired March 6, 1993 on SMW TV | |
| 4 | Bobby Eaton | March 1, 1993 | SMW Live event | Sevierville, Tennessee | 1 | 49 | Aired March 27, 1993 on SMW TV | |
| 5 | Brian Lee | April 19, 1993 | SMW Live event | Barbourville, Kentucky | 1 | 55 | Aired May 1 1993 on SMW TV | |
| — | Vacated | June 7, 1993 | — | — | — | — | Lee won five consecutive matches. | |
| 6 | Bobby Blaze | June 7, 1993 | SMW Live event | Cumberland, Kentucky | 1 | 21 | Defeated The Dirty White Boy. Aired June 26, 1993 on SMW TV | |
| 7 | The Dirty White Boy | June 28, 1993 | SMW Live event | Buchanan County, Virginia | 1 | 49 | Won the title under a mask as The Mighty Yankee. Aired July 17, 1993 on SMW TV | |
| — | Vacated | August 16, 1993 | — | — | — | — | The Dirty White Boy won five consecutive title matches. | |
| 8 | Jimmy Del Ray | August 16, 1993 | SMW Live event | Clinton, Tennessee | 1 | 28 | Defeated Ricky Morton. Aired September 4, 1993 on SMW TV | |
| 9 | Robert Gibson | September 13, 1993 | SMW Live event | Oakwood, Virginia | 1 | <1 | Aired September 18, 1993 on SMW TV | |
| 10 | The Dirty White Boy | September 13, 1993 | SMW Live event | Oakwood, Virginia | 2 | 18 | Aired September 25, 1993 on SMW TV | |
| — | Vacated | October 1, 1993 | — | — | — | — | The Dirty White Boy voluntarily surrendered the championship, claiming he did not want to wrestle anyone except for Brian Lee. | |
| 11 | Tim Horner | October 4, 1993 | SMW Live event | Jellico, Tennessee | 2 | 63 | Defeated Juicy Johnny. Aired November 6, 1993 on SMW TV | |
| — | Vacated | December 6, 1993 | — | — | — | — | Horner injured by Prince Kharis | |
| 12 | Tracy Smothers | December 6, 1993 | SMW Live event | Jefferson, North Carolina | 2 | <1 | Defeated Jimmy Del Ray. Aired December 11, 1993 on SMW TV | |
| 13 | Chris Candido | December 6, 1993 | SMW Live event | Jefferson, North Carolina | 1 | 35 | Aired January 8, 1994 on SMW TV | |
| 14 | Robbie Eagle | January 10, 1994 | SMW Live event | Chilhowie, Virginia | 1 | 28 | Aired February 5, 1994 on SMW TV | |
| 15 | The Hornet | February 7, 1994 | SMW Live event | Jellico, Tennessee | 1 | <1 | Aired February 26, 1994 on SMW TV | |
| 16 | Killer Kyle | February 7, 1994 | SMW Live event | Jellico, Tennessee | 1 | 28 | Aired March 12, 1994 on SMW TV | |
| 17 | Mike Furnas | March 7, 1994 | SMW Live event | Dungannon, Virginia | 1 | 28 | Aired March 19, 1994 on SMW TV | [4] |
| 18 | Bruiser Bedlam | April 4, 1994 | SMW Live event | Clinton, Tennessee | 1 | 28 | Aired April 16, 1994 on SMW TV | |
| — | Vacated | May 2, 1994 | — | — | — | — | Bedlam won five consecutive title matches. | |
| 19 | Kendo the Samurai | May 2, 1994 | SMW Live event | Harriman, Tennessee | 3 | 36 | Defeated Chris Hamrick in a tournament final. Aired June 6, 1994 on SMW TV | |
| 20 | Tracy Smothers | June 7, 1994 | SMW Live event | Loudon, Tennessee | 3 | 28 | Bobby Blaze, not Tim Horner, played Kendo the Samurai in this match. Aired June 18, 1994 on SMW TV | |
| — | Vacated | July 5, 1994 | — | — | — | — | Smothers won five consecutive title matches. | |
| 21 | Chris Candido | July 5, 1994 | SMW Live event | Ashe County, North Carolina | 2 | 34 | Defeated Scott Studd. Aired July 23, 1994 on SMW TV | |
| 22 | Lance Storm | August 8, 1994 | SMW Live event | Saltville, Virginia | 1 | 28 | Aired August 27, 1994 on SMW TV | |
| 23 | Boo Bradley | September 5, 1994 | SMW Live event | Cumberland, Kentucky | 1 | 28 | Aired September 24, 1994 on SMW TV | |
| 24 | Scott Studd | October 3, 1994 | SMW Live event | Morganton, North Carolina | 1 | <1 | Aired October 15, 1994 on SMW TV | |
| 25 | Bryant Anderson | October 3, 1994 | SMW Live event | Morganton, North Carolina | 1 | 35 | Aired October 29, 1994 on SMW TV | |
| — | Vacated | November 7, 1994 | — | — | — | — | Anderson won five consecutive title matches. | |
| 26 | Brian Lee | November 8, 1994 | SMW Live event | Oakwood, Virginia | 2 | 27 | Defeated The Nightmare (Ted Allen). Aired December 10, 1994 on SMW TV | |
| 27 | Buddy Landel | December 5, 1994 | SMW Live event | Princeton, West Virginia | 1 | 63 | Aired December 31, 1994 on SMW TV | |
| — | Vacated | February 6, 1995 | — | — | — | — | Landel won five consecutive title matches. | |
| 28 | Boo Bradley | February 6, 1995 | SMW Live event | Lenoir, North Carolina | 2 | <1 | Defeated The Wolfman. Aired February 18, 1995 on SMW TV | |
| 29 | Billy Black | February 6, 1995 | SMW Live event | Lenoir, North Carolina | 1 | 28 | Aired March 4, 1995 on SMW TV | |
| — | Vacated | March 6, 1995 | — | — | — | — | Championship vacated when Black left SMW. | |
| 30 | Killer Kyle | March 6, 1995 | SMW Live event | Lenoir, North Carolina | 2 | 38 | Defeated Boo Bradley. Aired March 25, 1995 on SMW TV | |
| 31 | Bobby Blaze | April 13, 1995 | SMW Live event | Warrensville, North Carolina | 2 | 37 | Aired April 29, 1995 on SMW TV | |
| — | Deactivated | May 20, 1995 | — | — | — | — | Blaze last defended the title that same night, defeating Al Snow, after which the title was never mentioned again. | |
References
- ^ Royal Duncan & Gary Will (2006). Wrestling Title Histories (4th ed.). Archeus Communications. ISBN 0-9698161-5-4.
- ^ "SMW Title Histories". ProWrestlingHistory.com. Retrieved 2007-07-14.
- ^ Ed Grabianowski (13 January 2006). "How Pro Wrestling Works". How Stuff Works. Retrieved April 5, 2009.
- ^ Hoops, Brian (March 7, 2020). "Daily Pro Wrestling history (03/07): Bruno Sammartino vs. Giant Baba". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Retrieved March 8, 2020.