Art by Travis Heckel
Stuttering Tommy Rich was a former show topic and Superuniverse Top 10 character, portrayed by Tom Robinson and developed by Robinson, Brian Last, and Scott Cornish.
"D-d-d-did s-s-s-s-s-somebody say s-s-s-s-something about g-g-g-gettin' f-f-f-f-f-f-FIRED UP?!"
Origin[]
The origin of the character came from dialogue between TGBL and Tom Robinson, who was co-hosting that week, about the much lauded and acclaimed 1984 WFIA Tag Team of the Year angle in Memphis, which saw the breakup of The New Fabulous Ones of Eddie Gilbert and "Wildfire" Tommy Rich. After Eddie Gilbert accepted the award on the team's behalf, he began bemoaning the fact that they weren't a team anymore, and making snide comments about Rich's recent singles' success, leading to a heel-turn for Eddie Gilbert after a disagreement between the two in-studio lead to Gilbert laying out Rich in the studio a bloody mess.
Tom began to do an impression of Tommy Rich's line of "Do you mean to tell me, that if I need a partner, that Eddie Gilbert's gonna be there?" from the angle, when TR began to stumble and stutter over the opening line. This lead to Brian proclaiming ad-lib - "There it is, Stuttering Tommy Rich."
Facts[]
First appearance in the Top 10 - Episode 47 (#3)
Last appearance in the Top 10 - Episode 77 (#1)
Reigns as Superuniverse Top 10 Champion: 1 (defeated Old Lady in Episode 55.)
Title Defenses: 1 (vs. Denim Fritz, Episode 56)
Lost the title to Yomamba the Jungle Savage in Episode 57.
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Total Superuniverse Top 10 appearances: 22
(Episodes 47-48, 50-60, 62, 66-67, 69-74, 77)
- KILLED - Stuttering Tommy Rich was killed off of the show following the departure of Tom Robinson in Episode 77, with fan suggestions for his death including:
- Being choked to death by Jim Barnett
- Shot during a liquor store hold-up
- Public hanging by "The Hangman" Bruce Pobanz
- Getting an infection after undergoing unlicensed dental work by Dr. Mike Lano
- Hit by a bus going to an AA meeting
and
- Being killed by an air mattress explosion while hiding underneath the ring