Bobby Blaze

Robert Smedley (born June 25, 1963, in Ashland, Kentucky) is an American retired professional wrestler and author, better known by his ring name Bobby Blaze. He gained the majority of his in-ring success performing for Smoky Mountain Wrestling (SMW) from 1993 to 1995, where he held the SMW Heavyweight Championship once, the SMW United States Junior Heavyweight Championship a record four times and the SMW Beat the Champ Television Championship twice. He also performed on the undercard in World Wrestling Federation (WWF) and World Championship Wrestling (WCW).

Bobby Blaze
Birth nameRobert Smedley
Born (1963-06-25) June 25, 1963
Ashland, Kentucky, U.S.
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s)Bob Smedley
Bobby Blaze
Kendo the Samurai
D.B. Smedrock
Underdog
Billed height6 ft 1 in (185 cm)
Billed weight237 lb (108 kg)
Trained byBoris Malenko
Dean Malenko
Debut1988
Retired2023

Professional wrestling career

Early career (1988–1993)

Robert "Bob" Smedley made his professional wrestling debut on September 11, 1988, after training under Boris and Dean Malenko. In 1991 and 1992, he would wrestle as enhancement talent for the World Wrestling Federation (WWF).

Smoky Mountain Wrestling (1993–1995)

In 1993, Smedley began working for the newly formed Smoky Mountain Wrestling (SMW) under the ring name Bobby Blaze. On June 7, 1993, he won the SMW Beat the Champ Television Championship by defeating The Dirty White Boy in a tournament final.[1][2] Twenty-one days later, Blaze faced an unknown, masked wrestler known as "The Mighty Yankee," which turned out to be the Dirty White Boy pulling a trick on Blaze to win the championship from him.[1][2] Blaze was one of eight wrestlers competing in SMW's "King of Kentucky" tournament, defeating Killer Kyle in the first round before losing to Brian Lee in the semi-finals. In September, he won a tournament to become the inaugural SMW United States Junior Heavyweight Champion, a title he held for 21 days before Chris Candido won it from him. The title change led to a series of matches between the two, including trading the title back and forth between them.[3][4] The two also faced off in a series of matches where the loser would be tarred and feathered after the match as part of SMW's Thanksgiving Thunder series.[5] On February 26, 1995, in the main event of SMW's Sunday, Bloody Sunday II, show Blaze defeated Jerry Lawler to win the SMW Heavyweight Championship.[6][7][8] He lost the title to Buddy Landel on April 8.[6][7] Blaze held the SMW Beat the Champ Television Championship one last time before the promotion closed.[1][2] He also had a couple shots at the NWA World Heavyweight Championship against Dan Severn on May 20 in Charlotte, North Carolina, and on August 4 in Knoxville, Tennessee.

Post-SMW career (1995–1997)

After SMW closed, Blaze wrestled on the independent circuit throughout the American East Coast, as well as touring Japan for Michinoku Pro Wrestling (MPW).

World Championship Wrestling (1997–1999)

In September 1997, Blaze joined World Championship Wrestling (WCW). He appeared in the 60-man battle royal in the main event of the World War 3 in 1997 and 1998.[9] Blaze remained with the company, largely performing as a jobber in undercard matches, until 1999.

Post-WCW career (1999–2004)

After leaving WCW, Blaze returned to the American independent scene where he would remain active for five years before retiring in 2004.

Since June 2018, Bobby has hosted a podcast called Bell to Bell with Bobby Blaze.

Books
  • Pin Me, Pay Me!: Have Boots, Will Travel
  • I Kicked Out on Two: The Education of a Wrestler

Championships and accomplishments

References
  1. Royal Duncan & Gary Will (2006). "Tennessee: SMW Televisiton Title". Wrestling Title Histories (4th ed.). Archeus Communications. ISBN 0-9698161-5-4.
  2. "SMW Title Histories". ProWrestlingHistory.com. Retrieved April 25, 2015.
  3. Royal Duncan & Gary Will (2006). "Tennessee: SMW United States Junior Heavyweight Title [Jim Cornette]". Wrestling Title Histories (4th ed.). Archeus Communications. ISBN 0-9698161-5-4.
  4. "SMW Title Histories". ProWrestlingHistory.com. Retrieved April 25, 2015.
  5. "Thanksgiving Thunder 1993". Pro Wrestling History. November 26, 1993. Retrieved April 29, 2015.
  6. Royal Duncan & Gary Will (2006). "Tennessee: Smokey Mountain Wrestling Heavyweight Title [Jim Cornette]". Wrestling Title Histories (4th ed.). Archeus Communications. ISBN 0-9698161-5-4.
  7. "SMW Title Histories". ProWrestlingHistory.com. Retrieved April 25, 2015.
  8. "Sunday Bloody Sunday II". Pro Wrestling History. February 26, 1995. Retrieved April 28, 2015.
  9. "World War III". 16 January 2023.
  10. "Heartland Wrestling Association Heavyweight Title". Wrestling-Titles.com. July 5, 2014. Retrieved April 26, 2015.
  11. "Southern States Wrestling Junior Heavyweight Title". Wrestling-titles.com. Retrieved April 26, 2015.
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