Lymphoma finally won against Tracy and he passed away today.  He was a mainstay in indy scene for two decades and many guys have told Tracy stories over the years as he literally worked with everyone as they were coming up and many looked up greatly to him, particularly Punk.

Great article on Tracey and the bears.

prowrestlingstories.com/pro-wrestling-stories/tracy-smothers/

Here is a mad man wrestling a bear.

Great interview on him about fighting bears.

RIP Tracy.

One of those guys who belonged on any roster and could work with anybody. I know him largely from his days with the FBI but have seen him pop up on so many different shows. I thought he was instrumental in Rikishi Phatu's rise in 1999, taking his big sit-out piledriver on Heat to really wow the audience and get people talking.

Tracy worked with everyone who would book him and he was always super friendly. Met him a few times. He loved working with newer guys and telling stories to them and teaching them. Hell after JBL hit Meanie during that brawl Tracy was the first one in JBL's face and he punched JBL legit. He was a guy who never really was THE star, but was the guy that many wrestlers consider to be one of the best guys backstage. Hell for a while he mine as well have been running IWA-MS.

I loved Tracy's work in SMW. He was such a good babyface there. Such a fun-loving guy.

I always enjoyed Tracy. Been a fan since he was just a wild eyed Southern Boy.

At least he wasn't smothered.

Damn. I know he had been having health issues for a while.

Have to admit I wasn't much of a Tracy Smothers fan. He peaked for me as an Apter Mag darling in 95-96. They made him out to a big deal. Remember when he debuted in WWF as Freddie Joe Floyd against Bradshaw on Superstars. My friends and I marked out. "That's Tracy Smothers!" We reacted as if Ric Flair or somebody like that had just jumped to WWF. And, yeah, after all that Apter Mag hype he ended up being Freddie Joe Floyd: glorified jobber. Talk about a letdown. Then it was on to ECW where the FBI was one of my Bottom 5 acts in the promotion and literal fast forward material.

I finally did learn to appreciate Tracy when I watched SMW. He did a good job as the local hero top babyface. The SMW faithful loved them some Tracy Smothers and his feud with Dirty White Boy was good stuff. He was also a part of the famous Southern Boys vs. Midnight Express match from Great American Bash 1990 and, as c mentioned, was revered by a whole lot of guys from the 2000s indie boom period.

RIP Tracy Smothers.

Tracy was great in the ring, and could put on a good match with anybody. I'll always remember him best in ECW in the FBI. I also liked the stuff he did in SMW and in WCW as well.

RIP Tracy.

Baker , last year he announced he had cancer but said it was not terminal. Sadly he was wrong. He was winding down his career, but even then, it came out of nowhere as Tracy until then would still pop up at random shows here and there.


#RIPTracySmothers is where guys are sharing stories. Not a bad word being said about him. Kingston really tore up, as Tracy was really the first guy to give him or Blackjack any real respect. Every interview about his career, Kingston put over Tracy for helping teach him the business.

I was never a fan of Tracy in the ring as he was really before my time, but Punk, Hero, Kingston, Foley and others always told stories about him and people I know who worked shows with him always said he was the greatest guy and would literally sit the guys before or after shows telling stories about anything they wanted to know. People said too if he watched your match he would give you specific feedback about what he liked, like what character stuff or moves and tips for how to do things a little better.

The little I seen of him was from IWA-MS and he was something else. Just a total wildcard that would do deathmatches one week then switch to mat wrestling then switch to a 70's heel. Looked like he just did whatever the fuck he felt like doing and had fun with it. In the deathmatch scene guys who can work stood out and Tracey was the clear standout from IWA-MS deathmatch scene. Then I heard the bear story and holy shit, yeah he wrestled over a dozen bears.

But yeah, sooner or later guys would work with Tracey and they all had a Tracey story. Interviewers used to ask about them at one time.  When I got into wrestling I keep watching his stuff and not understanding why everyone said he was so great until I learned about all the of the backstage stuff.  Pity he did not end his time as a WWE trainer.

Oct 29, 2020 1:06:25 GMT bodyslam said:

I always enjoyed Tracy. Been a fan since he was just a wild eyed Southern Boy.

Watched some of those promos this morning.  Unreal how magnetically likable he was with that Southern gimmick.  

RIP, paisan.

Oct 28, 2020 16:16:31 GMT c said:

Here is a mad man wrestling a bear.

I don't want to take anything away from the late Tracy Smothers. The man wrestled a bear! But how great is Gordon Solie in this clip? Have to admit, other than the way he pronounced suplex "suplay," I was never much of a Solie fan until now. He was before my time and I thought he was boring. But here he is with a straight face putting over the technical acumen of a bear. Amazing. Eat your heart out, JR. 

The real reason I popped on tonight was to share my favorite Freddie Joe Floyd moment. Alas, I cannot find video footage to share. So I'll have to explain it. My favorite Freddie Joe Floyd moment took place against Mankind on the July 22, 1996 edition of Raw. Mankind tied Freddie Joe to the tree of woe and came in with a big running elbow drop. Freddie Joe did an impressive sit up just in the nick of time causing Mankind to miss. Real cool spot and the one time I thought Freddie Joe Floyd lived up to all those months of Apter Mag hype. 

Yeah Solie legit putting over the match is hilarious.