Back in a Blaze of glory

Feb. 16—IRONTON — It's been 16 years since Ashland's favorite professional wrestler laced up his boots and competed in a match, but on Saturday night in Ironton's iconic Ro-Na Theatre, Bobby Blaze will do just that for one final go.

"Mentally and physically, I won't have the capacity to do this much longer," Blaze said. "And so I thought, why not one more time? I've got a little granddaughter, my boys, my daughter, my students, they all want to see me do it. and I just want to prove that I can still do it one more time."

The match, which pits Blaze against "The Goat" Jock Samson, will put a period on a sentence started many years ago.

Robert Smedley, aka Blaze, started his journey in professional wrestling in the late 1980s when he started training in Florida with 1960s and '70s villainous wrestling star Boris Malenko.

Today, Blaze is a trainer himself, helping to shape the careers of the men and women in the FTC wrestling promotion based in Ironton. Blaze says the fundamentals he learned from Malenko still serve him today.

"I use the whole Malenko system," Blaze said. "When I broke in, Malenko was known for conditioning. We were in Tampa, Florida, out in the hot sun in August and he busted our tails. I got conditioned a lot before I ever got in the ring. That's a big aspect of it. and we also learned more of the actual wrestling, the fundamentals of wrestling first and then built our way up. That's what I try to do, teach those fundamentals because you have to have the groundwork before you start doing the high flying or big bumps."

Blaze has been sharing his knowledge with the FTC school for two years now, and overall for eight years. For him, the experience has helped him just as much as his students.

"I've trained people before in my career, down in Tampa or in Smoky Mountain Wrestling," Blaze said. "I've always been a teacher at heart. So, when COVID hit, and we got locked down, I said to myself, 'Nothing is happening stuck on this couch, and when this thing's over, I want to get back out and give to something I love — professional wrestling.' and it's gotten me off the couch and out of the house. I tell the students, as much as they think I help them, they help me. For mental health, it's just great to get out and see other people succeed. I've always been a 'pay it forward' type of guy, and that's what I'm doing here. I have this knowledge, but if I didn't share it, I think it'd be a disservice for them and me both. It's been fantastic."

Blaze says he uses his experiences in the sport — starting out as an enhancement talent for the WWE (then known as the WWF), a top guy in the Smoky Mountain Wrestling territory, and his years of exposure on WCW television — as a way to connect with his trainees.

"I tell them stories and relate it to whatever we're learning about," Blaze said. "Experience is a great teacher. Being on the road is a great teacher. Being around different guys and picking up different things is a great teacher. It's my experience through storytelling."

Joe Pace, the owner and promoter at FTC, is thankful for the experience Blaze brings to the school.

"It's been great," Pace said. "We've had a handshake deal going back eight years and have worked off that ever since. I couldn't ask for a better trainer. We've got a good group over there and hopefully a couple of them make it somewhere."

After training the wrestlers for a several years now, and flourishing in the role, what made this the right time for Blaze to step back in the ring? He says a lot of that has to do with friends who are no longer here.

"I wanted to dedicate this match to two people," Blaze said. "First, my trainer and mentor, the Great Professor Malenko. He inspires me all the time still to this day. The other is my good friend Dark Shadow. He passed away at the age of 59, which I am now. He had his last match the night before he passed away. Those two things lay heavy on my mind. I know Malenko and Shadow inspire me. There's a lot of deaths in pro wrestling, but when we lost Tracy Smothers and Bobby Eaton, that hurt me. Those were two really good friends of mine. It came to me, 'You know who can't do this? Bobby and Tracy, but I still can.' So, that's why I want to do it one more time. Who knows what's going to happen next year or tomorrow morning, so I just want to do it one more time."

Blaze will have that "one more time" encounter in a building and in front of a crowd that he thinks is a perfect fit for the match.

"The Ro-Na has a tremendous atmosphere," Blaze said. "It's a very good venue and the FTC crowd are educated in a way that they really enjoy the product that FTC has. It's pro wrestling. I hope to see them all there this time."

Blaze has a simple goal for Saturday.

"I just want to look up, see all those fans, and hope I'm not disappointing anyone," Blaze said. "I take pride in what I do so I want to do my best. I'm hoping at the end of the night I get my hand raised one last time and can walk away from the whole thing and ride off into the sunset with my in-ring career."

Pace is also looking forward to the match and is glad that FTC can be the home for Blaze's final match.

"I've been wanting this to happen for several years now," Pace said. "I started to think the day wouldn't come that Bobby would step back in the ring. I'm super excited and I know everyone will be there to support him and it'll be an awesome night. Regardless of whether he wins or loses."

Blaze added that the outcome doesn't concern him.

"It doesn't matter either way," Blaze said. "I just want to seriously give a good performance. If Jock wins, I'll gladly go and raise his hand if he wins that night. There's no animosity for me. Jock can run his mouth or whatever, but it's my final match and I'm just going to do my best. I hope the box office does well, I think people in this area have wanted this match for a while, and I think we both deserve this match."

Regardless of how things shape up in the match, Blaze hopes that everyone can find a simple takeaway from his comeback story.

"Never give up," Blaze said. "Never quit. If you have a dream, chase it. If it's meant to be, it's meant to be. Three years ago, I was in the hospital, I would've never thought this day would come. If you have something that you want to do, you should try it and do it at least one time. I was lucky enough to travel the world based off my talent, and now can pass it on to the students."

FTC: Welcome to the Jungle begins at 6 p.m. at the Ro-Na at 310 S. 3rd Street in Ironton. Visit allevents.in or Eventbrite for ticket information in advance, or purchase them at the door.

(606) 326-2658 — wadams@dailyindependent.com