Dempsey vs Smooth

 

 

 

 

A fine little match here from a couple of years ago at Lancaster Championship Wrestling (Pennsylvania) ought to interest a few of my friends. It pits local hero James Dempsey against out-of-towner Eddie Smooth from Miami, but the twist is both are babyfaces and both retain a share of audience support throughout the 16-minute contest. For the first third, it's all cookies and milk as the wrestlers suspend the action now and then with sportsmanlike handshakes, indicating mutual respect. Then things get tense, and tenser, as impatience puts both men on edge, especially Dempsey, in the long tights. By the final third, both wrestlers are worn down to slow-motion chops, frustrated by a suspenseful string of two-counts; this is always the creamy center of a match for me, two men ground down to the nerve endings by how well matched they are as opponents. In this one, a clean three-count pin ends both men's agony.