Founded in 1991 by well-known wrestling manager and talent scout Jim Cornette, Tennessee-based Smoky Mountain Wrestling served as a training ground for numerous wrestlers who would later appear in the big-league promotions.  Smoky Mountain was a sort of continuation of the rich Memphis wrestling promotion that drew large crowds continuously for years, a regional wrestling organization that would attempt to compete on a smaller scale with the nationally-televised WWF and WCW.  Emphasizing stiff, southern-style wrestling, Smoky Mountain operated for some four years before finally closing its doors, but would have an impact felt even today in that many of its stars (including Kane, Al Snow, and Mick Foley) would  go on to great success in the World Wrestling Federation.

Blood, Brawls and Grudges is the second compilation of Smoky Mountain Wrestling released under the Wrestling Gold banner.  While Smoky Mountain wasn't particularly known for hardcore or extreme wrestling, promotions in the Tennessee and Kentucky regions had been using so-called "garbage wrestling" tactics like the use of weapons spots and raucous brawling for years - in fact, the legendary Japanese wrestler Atsushi Onita (who founded the innovative Frontier Martial Arts Wrestling in Japan) learned the fundamentals of "garbage wrestling" while on an American wrestling tour in Memphis. 

This volume of the Wrestling Gold series showcases several well-known wrestlers competing in matches that would be among the most wild and downright violent in Smoky Mountain's history.  With ten matches and a run time of over two hours, there's a good amount of material on the program and it probably would be worthwhile for most wrestling fans.

Here's the rundown of matches:

1.  The Rock 'n' Roll Express (Robert Gibson and Ricky Morton) and "The Enforcer" Arn Anderson vs. Dr. Tom Pritchard, "Beautiful" Bobby Eaton and "Sweet" Stan Lane - A wild, six-man tag match featuring some legitimate stars of the day.  It's worth noting that this is one of the legendary Anderson's only appearances outside of the major promotions, and he does a good job here of cleaning house on several occasions.  This match is exciting and demonstrates the mastery that all six of these guys have with regard to tag team wrestling; they constantly keep the audience involved and interested in the contest.  Four stars out of five.

2.  The Rock 'n' Roll Express and Randy "Macho Man" Savage vs. Chris Candido, "Prime Time" Brian Lee, and Bruiser Bedlam - Another exciting six-man tag match, this time featuring none other than Savage (who at the time was headlining in the WWF) teaming with the legendary RnR Express to take on the young, talented team of Candido, Lee and Bedlam.  Lee at the time was working in the WWF as the fake Undertaker, and uses a lot of those mannerisms in this match.  It's pretty evident that Candido and Lee were at the top of their games here; both would soon be working for (all too) brief stints in the WWF that (surprise!) really didn't showcase their abilities.  This match also shows off Savage's charisma and athletic ability; he's in his prime here.  Four stars.

3.  The Heavenly Bodies ("Gigolo" Jimmy Del Ray and Dr. Tom Pritchard) vs. The Steiner Brothers (Scott and Rick) - Very cool match featuring the Steiners prior to their big run in WCW and with their mascot, an aggressive pit bull who frequently jumps in the ring and harasses the wrestlers, in the corner.  This match gets hot and heavy early on, with action frequently spilling out into the ringside area.  The Steiners really look dominant during this match, showing off incredible power and strength, but the Bodies show that their sneaky tactics may be the equalizer in the contest.  Kind of a bum ending to the match, but really solid up until then.  Four stars.

4.  Chris Candido and Boo Bradley vs. Cactus Jack and Tracy Smothers - Bradley, later Balls Mahoney of the WWF and ECW promotions, teams with the talented Candido to take on legendary hardcore wrestlers Cactus Jack and the underrated Tracy Smothers in this wild "Falls Count Anywhere" match.  Going into the contest, I knew this was going to get crazy, and the wrestlers didn't disappoint.  The action goes all over the place, with Cactus utilizing some of the ringside furniture as weaponry.  The camera has a hard time keeping up with this match, sometimes providing a lousy view of the action, but I'm still going to give this contest four stars; it's always great to see an old school Cactus Jack match.

5.  Al Snow vs. Ricky Morton - A steel cage match that aimed to settle the ongoing feud between these two notable competitors.  Snow, a ten-plus year veteran who wrestled all over the place, clearly was an expert at delivering the "bad guy" persona, while Morton was probably one of the best "sellers" in the game, making the audience really feel for him.  The cage in this match looks pretty shaky, but the action inside is rough and nasty.  A pretty unique finish makes this match another winner.  Four stars.

6.  The Heavenly Bodies vs. The Thugs (Tracy Smothers and The Dirty White Boy) - Smoky Mountain Tag Title match between two of the more rugged tag teams in the promotion.  Smothers is a pretty solid wrestler; it's a shame that whenever I think about the guy, I picture his lousy wrestling from ECW in which he was mainly used as a joke.  This match gets pretty violent, with Smothers and especially Pritchard (after having his head rammed into the turnbuckle a legitimate fifty or more times by the Dirty White Boy) absolutely spewing blood by the end of the match.  Four and a half stars.

7.  Boo Bradley and The Mongolian Stomper vs. Tommy Rich and Terry "Bam Bam" Gordy - An interesting contrast of styles in this match, with the straight-shooting Bradley and the powerful Stomper wrestling the conniving team of Gordy and Rich, who do a fine job of playing the heels in this match.  Some decent action, with Rich and Gordy using every trick in the book to gain an advantage.  Stomper doesn't see much ring time, but for his age, looks ready to rumble, and Bradley shows off some surprisingly good skills.  Three and a half stars.

8.  Jim Cornette vs. Butch Cassidy - This is more of a comedy match, as manager/promoter Cornette faces off against midget wrestler Cassidy.  Cornette clearly can't wrestle to save his life, but Cassidy shows off some good abilities, at one point suplexing Cornette (who at that point had to weigh at least double what Cassidy did).

9.  Scott and Steve Armstrong vs. Dory Funk Jr. and Terry Funk - Two of the more legendary brother tag teams face off in this match pitting the powerful Armstrongs against the legendary Funks.  Dory and Terry are the only brothers to ever both hold the NWA heavyweight title, and are two of the greatest wrestlers in history, with Dory being an expert technician and Terry being the rugged "hardcore legend."  This match really shows off the talents of both teams; everyone involved seems to be in top form, with the match having some really good spots.  Four and a half stars.

10.  The Gangstas (New Jack and Mustafa) vs. The Rock 'n' Roll Express - A contrast of styles if there ever was one, this brawl features the famed Express taking on The Gangstas, one of the most violent tag teams in wrestling history.  This match never really gets started, instead it escalates into a full scale brawl all over (and outside of) the arena.  Many wrestlers get involved in the fight, which eventually has Ricky Morton being slammed off a Corvette in the parking lot.  I'm giving it three stars since there's little wrestling, but this segment does have pretty decent action.

As usual with the Wrestling Gold series, the program is viewable with either the original announcing or with a newly recorded second commentary track.  This "insider commentary" provided by wrestling journalist Dave Meltzer and promoter Jim Cornette is invaluable, providing a wealth of information about the business, the matches, and the wrestlers featured here.  Cornette also introduces the matches, providing more background information.  The DVD also features three short biographies: Randy "Macho Man" Savage, Tommy Rich, and Bruiser Bedlam.  Picture quality on the program is pretty good but occasionally kind of dark. 

There are several matches during this program that feature bloody, hardcore-style wrestling.  In particular, the Heavenly Bodies vs. Smothers/DWB match is pretty gory, so this program may not be suitable for younger viewers.

Overall, I think Blood, Brawls, and Grudges may be one of the better Wrestling Gold releases.  The wrestling on this volume is almost universally very good, and several matches here are very exciting.  The talent on the program is also top-notch, with several wrestlers who would be familiar to today's wrestling fans.  While the action on this volume might not be as exciting as the slam-bang, thrill-a-second spot-fests pumped out by the WWE, I think the wrestling fan with an appreciation for the sport and athleticism would find this DVD of interest. 

Recommended:
Yes

Viewing Format: DVD
Video Occasion: Good for Groups
Suitability For Children: Suitable for Children Age 13 and Older