Izzy Slapawitz
Jeff Smith, better known as Izzy Slapawitz, was an American professional wrestler, manager and color commentator, best known for his time with International Championship Wrestling.
From 1978 to 1982, Smith led the Slapowitz Syndicate in the NWA's Mid-South and Knoxville territories as well as many "outlaw" promotions in the Southern United States. He also had brief stints in Georgia Championship Wrestling, Jim Crockett Promotions, Maple Leaf Wrestling, and the World Wrestling Federation. At various times his stable included Barry O, Bob Orton, Jr., Boris Malenko, Crusher Broomfield, James "Sugar Bear" Harris, The Mongolian Stomper, Randy Savage, Ray Candy, Rip Rogers and The Devil's Duo.
Early life
Smith was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York. He became a wrestling fan in the late 1950s. A childhood friend claimed that they were the first wrestling fans to bring signs to local World Wide Wrestling Federation house shows. Around 1971, Smith also co-founded an unofficial fan club for Freddie Blassie with members wearing homemade "Blassie's Army" T-shirts. In his early 20s Smith had an altercation with Kevin Sullivan while attending a live event at Sunnyside Gardens. Sullivan had been hit with an unknown object at the end of his bout against Davey O'Hannon. Smith, who often cheered for the "heel" wrestlers, had been heckling Sullivan throughout the night causing the wrestler to believe that Smith was responsible. The young wrestling fan was brought to the dressing room by building security after the match where he was confronted by Sullivan, Gorilla Monsoon and Arnold Skaaland. Smith denied any wrongdoing and was allowed to leave. Smith continued watching wrestling after moving to Knoxville, Tennessee in the mid-1970s. He eventually met Norvell Austin at a Southeastern Championship Wrestling. Austin later introduced Smith to Rick Conner who agreed to train him.Professional wrestling career
Early career
Smith made his pro debut in 1976. He spent the next two years wrestling for "outlaw" promotions as "Pretty Smitty from New York City" in Georgia, Kentucky, Tennessee and Virginia. One of his earliest matches was a battle royal in which all the participants wore masks. Smith had never been in such an event and, after being thrown over the top rope, broke his leg in three places. He was pelted with Coke cans and other items by unruly fans while paramedics loaded him into the ambulance. The crowd's reaction convinced him to perform as a "heel" for the majority of his career. On September 16, 1978, Smith wrestled Burr Head Jones for an NWA Mid-America television taping at the Memorial Auditorium in Chattanooga, Tennessee. He later felt the match was "garbage". Smith attributed his poor performance to nervousness as he was used to wrestling in front of much smaller crowds. After the match, Smith was berated by promoter Nick Gulas in front of the entire locker room. Although Gulas' booker Tom Renesto reassured Smith that he was welcome to return, Smith felt Gulas had acted unprofessionally and refused to work for him again.American Wrestling Association
Not long after, Smith was brought into George and Gil Culkin's American Wrestling Association-affiliated promotion in Mississippi: AWA International Championship Wrestling. Smith's old trainer Rick Conner recommended him to then booker Frankie Caine praising his interview skills. Caine decided to use Smith as a manager believing he had potential as an on-screen character. Smith credited Caine for creating the Izzy Slapawitz character and working with him to further develop the gimmick. Slapawitz was initially presented as a shady New York City businessman who owned a chain of pawn shops throughout the city. In first television appearance, however, Southern audiences mistook "pawn shop" for "porn shop" due Smith's thick New York accent. His introduction elicited some mild controversy at the time and that aspect of the character was quickly dropped. In spite of this rough start, Smith was well liked by Caine and the Culkins. He formed the first version of the Slapawitz Syndicate with Rip Rogers and The Japanese Wrecking Crew. One of the first targets of the Slapawitz Syndicate was Joey Rossi who was harassed by the group, and Smith in particular, for several weeks while the Culkins were running shows in Vicksburg, Mississippi. Smith was unexpectedly forced into a bout with Rossi which led to the manager wrestling his first-ever match in the territory. Unlike the typical "cowardly" wrestling manager, Smith aggressively brawled with Rossi and was disqualified in their best two of three falls match. The bout was covered by the Vicksburg's daily newspaper with a front-page story entitled "Tougher Then They Thought".Shikina and Fugi quickly captured the promotion's Mississippi and U.S. Heavyweight Championships under Slapawitz's leadership. Smith's stable soon became involved in a "heel vs. heel" feud against Percy Pringle and AWA Tag Team Champions The Mongolians. Slapawitz and Pringle faced each other in six-man tag team matches as well as in a variety of specialty matches throughout Mississippi in 1978. One of their most infamous matches was a bloody Texas Bull Rope match at the Mississippi Coliseum in Jackson, Mississippi that ended in a double-countout when the brawl spilled outside of the ring and into the backstage area. The feud concluded the following week at the Mississippi Coliseum with Slapawitz and The Japanese Wrecking Crew defeating Pringle and The Mongolians in a "Loser Leaves Town" Steel Cage match; due to the pre-match stipulations, the Slapawitz Syndicate won all four titles in addition to $5,000. Slapawitz remained with the promotion until the Culkins rejoined Bill Watts at the end of 1979. Smith praised the Culkins for their honesty calling them "two of the finest promoters, in my experience, that ever promoted wrestling matches in the United States". Although Smith had never worked for Mid-South Wrestling, Watts compared "Izzy Slapawitz" to Paul E. Dangerously when the two first met in World Championship Wrestling.
NWA Tri-State
After leaving Mississippi, Smith followed Frankie Caine to the NWA's Oklahoma territory where he managed Oki Shikina and James "Sugar Bear" Harris. Then NWA Tri-State promoter Leroy McGuirk felt that the "Izzy Slapawitz" name might offend the large Jewish American population in Tulsa and changed it to Ilya Zinervitch. When Caine left the promotion after a falling out with McGuirk, Skandor Akbar replaced him as booker. Akbar believed that the territory could only support one "heel" manager, however, he offered to put Smith under a hood so he could wrestle as a masked wrestler. Smith turned him down as had been on the road for a considerable length of time and wanted to return to Knoxville so he could spend more time with his family. Smith and Harris left the territory after losing a "loser leaves town" match to Jimmy Garvin in Little Rock, Arkansas.All-Star Championship Wrestling
Smith joined a local "outlaw" promotion called All-Star Championship Wrestling soon after returning to Knoxville. The organization was formed by Ronnie Garvin, Bob Roop, Bob Orton, Jr. and Boris Malenko after leaving Southeastern Championship Wrestling and was running in opposition to NWA promoter Robert Fuller. Yasu Fuji, one of his former charges, encouraged Smith to contact then booker Ronnie Garvin. Although the territory was struggling in its promotional war against Fuller, Garvin agreed to hire him. In January 1980, Smith made his first television appearance scouting for new talent. Initially managing Bob Orton, Jr. and Barry O, this new version of the Slapawitz Syndicate included Boris Malenko, Randy Savage, Rip Rogers, and Tony Peters. Peters quickly won the ICW Southeastern Heavyweight Championship under his management.Smith led his stable against Ronnie Garvin, Bob Roop and other fan favorites. One of the highlights during this period was when Smith faked a heart attack during a match with Roop to avoid wrestling him. On January 19, 1980, Smith was in the corner of Bob Orton, Jr. in a "loser gets painted yellow" match against Ronnie Garvin at WNOX Auditorium. If Garvin won, Smith would have been forced to spend 2 minutes in the ring with him. On March 15, Smith teamed with The Destroyer in a handicap match against Garvin. Two weeks later, Garvin was lured into a "loser leaves town" match in exchange for a title shot against Tony Peters. Smith, however, was barred from ringside during the bout. A brawl between members of the Slapawitz Syndicate and Ronnie Garvin at the WNOX Auditorium resulted in Smith throwing a fireball for the first time in the territory. Smith's actions caused a riot with fans tearing the seats out of the floor and throwing them at the wrestlers. Smith and his men were able to escape the building unharmed. A fan pulled a knife on Smith outside, but he was disarmed by Tony Peters. The incident caused All Star Wrestling to lose access to the venue. On April Fools' Day, he led the Orton brothers to the Southern Tag Team Championship when they defeated Terry Gibbs and Bob Roop. Barry O was replaced by Tony Peters after leaving the territory. On May 24, 1980, Smith led his Southern Tag Team Champions against Garvin and Terry Gibbs at Evans-Collins Field.
International Championship Wrestling
All Star Wrestling was closely associated with another "outlaw" promotion, International Championship Wrestling, based in Lexington, Kentucky. When All Star merged with ICW, Smith was among the wrestlers who opted to join the sister promotion in Lexington, Kentucky. Smith and other All Star Wrestling stars were regulars on ICW's weekly television show prior to and following the merger. Slapawitz Syndicate members Barry Orton and Tony Peters did not make the move to Kentucky The ICW version of the Slapawitz Syndicate consisted of Bob Orton Jr., Crusher Broomfield, Rip Rogers, and the Devil's Duo. Randy Savage and his manager Steve Cooper were also members for a time, most notably during their feud with midget wrestler Wee Willie. Smith's look varied depending on the territory he worked. In Knoxville, he dressed in a black robe and sported long bushy hair and beard. In real-life, Smith would sometime have trouble getting a hotel room because of his appearance. He also carried a whistle which he used to annoy fans at ringside.Smith and his stable continued their feud against the fan favorites of the territory. In August 1980, Smith and Bob Orton, Jr. were involved in a controversial angle when they interfered in a match between Barry O and Ronnie Garvin. As Orton distracted the referee, Smith injected Garvin with an unknown substance that made the wrestler "foam at the mouth". ICW officials immediately disqualified Barry O and suspended Bob Orton, Jr. from a championship tournament to crown the first ICW Television Champion. Orton was able to sneak into the tournament as the masked wrestler The Best but was eliminated by Bob Roop in the quarter-finals.
In the following weeks, Smith and Bob Orton, Jr. were hounded about the identity of The Best. On the September 6th edition of International Championship Wrestling, Lanny Poffo brought out a sports bag he "found" to the announcers' desk while Orton wrestled "Pistol" Pez Whatley. Searching the bag, he showed co-announcer John Back and the studio audience the mask and wrestling tights worn by The Best. He quickly put the items back inside and returned backstage. Smith eventually noticed the bag on the desk, unaware that Poffo had opened the bag, and began blowing his whistle at Orton. The panicked wrestler left the ring, grabbed the sports bag, and hurried with Smith back to the locker room. Orton was counted out as a result. Later on, Bob Roop confronted Smith and Orton with the bag during a TV interview. When Orton insisted the bag was not his, Roop used a knife to rip it into shreds to see Orton’s reaction. To the crowd's amusement, Orton was clearly distraught as the expensive bag was destroyed. Smith and Orton showed up the following week's episode and brought out midget wrestler Mighty Cupid who claimed the $500 bag was his. In an attempt to garner sympathy with the crowd, Orton promised to take the $500 out on Roop.
On September 20, 1980, the Devil's Duo made their ICW television debut with an impressive win over George Weingeroff and Jim Pride. The team's name was created by promoter Angelo Poffo who was part of the original Devil's Duo with Chris Markoff and manager Bobby Heenan during the 1960s. As their manager, Smith accompanied them to the ring holding a book he called the "Kaba Kaba" and muttering supposedly occult phrases. These theatrical hints of mock-satanism helped to put the team over with the fans but also limited their exposure, as many other territories at that time were too 'Bible Belt' for any satanism gimmick to be used. Nevertheless, the team quickly established themselves as top contenders for the promotion's U.S. and Southeastern Tag Team titles. On April 25, 1981, Smith led the Devil's Duo to the ICW United States Tag Team Championship, which they won from Lanny Poffo and George Weingeroff at Henry Clay High School. He threw a fireball to help his team win the tag team title. Shortly after their victory, Smith went on live TV to congratulate his team for winning the belts and bragged to the crowd about the amount of "fan mail" his champions had received. He also mentioned a letter from "his cousin overseas" and suddenly displayed a picture of Ayatollah Khomeini. This upset many in audience as the U.S. was still in the midst of the Iranian hostage crisis. Smith continued to taunt the crowd and ended by turning to the camera asking "Oh yeah? Well, how many hostages do YOU have?". Before the end of the show, a mob had formed outside the TV studio. The wrestlers were trapped in the building until a police escort arrived. The promotion had to arrange special security for the trio for the next several months.
On May 6, Smith and the Devil's Duo entered in a $10,000 battle royal held in Frankfort, Kentucky. Smith was one of the final three participants along with Jeff Sword and Ronnie Garvin. As Garvin was attempting a piledriver on Sword, a masked man entered the ring, climbed to the top rope and hit Garvin with a 2x4. This allowed Sword to toss Garvin out of the ring. The masked wrestler, later called The Destroyer, turned his attention towards the two remaining men. Still holding the 2x4, The Destroyer stared them down but withdrew when Doug Vines joined his teammates. Smith was declared the winner of the battle royal. On his way out of the ring, Smith dropped the $10,000 check. A fan picked it up and saw it had "void" written across it. The promotion explained this by claiming that the ring check was ceremonial and that the winner would be given the actual one within a few days.
That summer, Smith was attacked by fans during an ICW house show in Illinois. It was during a rematch against Poffo and Weingeroff that Smith secretly handed a chain to one of his men. The event was held in a high school gym without guardrails or security and angry fans were able to surround the manager. Poffo and Weingeroff convinced the crowd to hand Smith to them and the wrestlers quickly rushed him back to the dressing room. Smith sustained a swollen knee from the assault and believed that he would have sustained more serious injuries had his opponents not intervened. It was this incident that led to his decision to leave the territory. Smith blamed Angelo Poffo for not hiring security to work at the event which led to a verbal altercation with the promoter. Poffo ordered Smith and his team to turn over the tag team belts. He also had Slapawitz Syndicate member Barry Orton, Jr. surrender his Southeastern title. But Smith was not alone as many others had grown tired of the excessive traveling, low payoffs and poor working conditions. The Poffo family's feud with Jerry Jarrett and the Continental Wrestling Association had also alienated Smith and others who had friends in the Memphis territory. Smith and the Devil's Duo were the first of many ICW mainstays who left during the summer and fall of 1981. Smith and the Devil's Duo were considered the promotion's top "heel" tag team at the time of their departure. Angelo Poffo later blamed Smith for the loss of talent. Despite the falling out between him and the Poffos, Smith spoke highly of the tight-knit comradery among the ICW roster.
The Devil's Duo dropped the belts back to Lanny Poffo and George Weingeroff in Owenton, Kentucky on June 15, 1981. Smith did not appear for the show, and all three members left the promotion shortly after this event. Prior to this, Randy Savage had left the Slapawitz Syndicate and had put a $2000 bounty on the manager. On the July 25th, 1981 edition of International Championship Wrestling, Randy Savage aired a video of he and The Destroyer "taking out" Slapawitz with the masked wrestler collecting the reward.