Tracy Smothers Passes Away

Tracy Smothers has sadly passed away at the age of 58. He announced in November 2019 that he was battling lymphoma and he had been suffering from heart issues in recent weeks. At the time of his passing, he was awaiting hernia surgery.

Smothers' long career spanned 37 years from his debut in 1982 to his final match in October 2019. He left an indelible mark on professional wrestling and individuals from across the wrestling world have paid tribute to The Wild-Eyed Southern Boy's life and career.

Following his debut in 1982, Smothers broke into the business in the late 1980s as one-half of The Wild-Eyed Southern Boys with Steve Armstrong. They competed in Florida Championship Wrestling and the Continental Wrestling Federation before signing with WCW in 1990. The following year, the two held the company's US Tag Team titles as The Young Pistols, following a heel turn.

Smothers departed WCW in 1992 and joined Jim Cornette's Smoky Mountain Wrestling where he enjoyed his most successful spell as a singles star, capturing the SMW Heavyweight Championship on two occasions. He also worked as a heel in Memphis during SMW's 1995 feud with USWA.

After Smoky Mountain Wrestling closed down, he continued to wrestle in Memphis before joining the WWE in 1996. He was rechristened Freddy Joe Floyd and worked as an enhancement talent during his time in the company.

He also took bookings from ECW during his WWE run and later worked for Paul Heyman's promotion full-time until 2000 as a member of the Full Blooded Italians. Billed from Nashville, Italy, Smothers teamed with Little Guido and they held the ECW World Tag Team Championship briefly in 1997. He later appeared at ECW One Night Stand in 2005 with the rest of the FBI.

Following his departure from ECW, Smothers worked for various independent promotions, primarily in the Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky, and Tennessee region. He also took a number of bookings over his final years with Game Changer Wrestling.

Smothers trained and mentored a number of notable wrestlers, including Chris Hero, Brian Kendrick, and Delirious, among many others.

Cultaholic extends its condolences to Tracy Smothers' family and friends.