Norman Smiley

Norman Smiley (born February 28, 1965 in Northampton) is a British professional wrestler currently competing for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling. He is best known for his appearances in the United States of America with World Championship Wrestling as "Screamin'" Norman Smiley.

Career

Norman Smiley trained under Rusty Brooks and Boris and Dean Malenko before making his debut in 1986 on the Floridian independent circuit. In 1992 he began wrestling for the Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre in Mexico as Black Magic, winning the CMLL World Heavyweight Championship and holding it until losing to Silver King in 1994. In 1995 and 1996 he briefly competed in the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania based Extreme Championship Wrestling promotion.

World Championship Wrestling

Smiley joined World Championship Wrestling in 1997, wrestling primarily on WCW Saturday Night. After being removed from television, he returned several months later with a new gimmick. His new character saw him add the "Big Wiggle" to his repertoire of moves. After knocking an opponent down, Smiley would perform a dance that he called the "Big Wiggle". He later added the "Smiley Spank", which saw him double an opponent doubled over, straddle them and perform a slapping motion with his hands. Smiley reportedly stated that the "Big Wiggle" was influenced by the off-screen antics of fellow wrestler Juventud Guerrera, a friend of Smiley's who he often shared hotel rooms with while traveling between house shows.

During his tenure in WCW, Smiley often teamed with Chris Adams. The duo had previously teamed together as the British participants in the 1990 NWA Pat O'Connor tag team tournament, and were close friends.

A heel turn brought new life to Smiley's career in WCW. In a backstage interview on an episode of WCW Saturday Night, he told fans that he was European and that, as such, his name should be pronounced phonetically as "Nor-MAHN Smi-LAY." He then feuded with Chavo Guerrero, Jr., on one occasion destroying Chavo's hobby horse mascot, Pepè, by feeding it into a wood chipper on an episode of WCW Monday Nitro.

In 1999, booker Vince Russo moved Smiley into the hardcore division. Smiley's character was afraid of hardcore matches and of the wrestlers who competed in them, and he was nicknamed "Screamin'" Norman Smiley as a result of propensity to fall to the mat and scream like a girl whenever he was struck with a weapon. Smiley would also come to the ring wearing a jersey (often bearing the logo of a local professional sports team), along with padding and a football helmet to cushion blows. His comedic gimmick saw his popularity soar, and he eventually won the WCW Hardcore Championship by defeating Bam Bam Bigelow in a tournament final. During his reign, Smiley was a reluctant champion, even attempting to purposely lose matches (although he invariably inadvertently retained the title, much to his chagrin.)

Smiley feuded with Brian Knobbs, Meng and Terry Funk during his tenure as WCW Hardcore Champion, recruiting Chris Jericho's former associate Ralphus to be his manager. With the assistance of Ralphus, he stole a backyard wrestling championship from a group of children during a vignette. A notable moment of his reign saw Terry Funk, Smiley's scheduled opponent for Spring Stampede 2000, locate the champion by following the sound of his screams to the bathroom stall where he was hiding.

Smiley remained in WCW until the company was sold to the World Wrestling Federation in March 2001. He was not hired by the WWF following the sale.

Independent circuit

Smiley wrestled for the short-lived X Wrestling Federation and the World Wrestling All-Stars before returning to the Florida independent circuit. He wrestled briefly for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling in 2002, and had several tryout matches with World Wrestling Entertainment in 2003 and 2004. In February 2006 he was backstage during the TNA pay-per-view Against All Odds 2006, and he wrestled in an eight-man opening match on an episode of TNA iMPACT! shortly thereafter, doing the Big Wiggle on Jeff Jarrett. At TNA Destination X 2006 on March 12, 2006, Smiley and Shark Boy lost to David Young and Elix Skipper. Smiley and Shark Boy upset Homicide and Machete of the LAX on the March 18 edition of Impact. Smiley was inactive for several weeks following an attack at the hands of Scott Steiner, but returned on the July 13, 2006 episode of iMPACT!, losing to Abyss.