This is a feature length documentary tribute to our late friend and pro wrestler, Mark “Bison”Smith. His story is told through interviews with his family, friends, mentors, peers in pro wrestling, old archives footage and photos and even through his personal journal entries.
We follow Bison’s career from his early life, high school and college sports accolades and his pro wrestling journey as told by the people who loved him.
Mark “Bison” Smith
September 24th 1970 – November 22nd 2011
Featuring interviews with:
The Smith Family and friends
High School coaches
Apollo Kahn
Bart Blaxson
Big Ugly JD Bishop
Boyce LeGrande
“Bulldog” Brian Raymond
Buddy Sotello
Donovan Morgan
Hook Bomberry
Kid Chrome
Hangman Mike Hughes
Michael Modest
Ricky Marvin
Sal Thomaselli
Seymour Snott
Tommy Drake
“Shooter” Tony Jones
Vinnie Massaro
Vito Thomaselli
21 Comments
Bison smith is a Pro wrestling Noah legend
Tuning in after Doug Williams tweeted about Bison.
Tuning in after Doug Williams tweeted about Bison.
Bison was one of Puerto Rico adopted sons. The buffalo Bison a fan favorite for ever.
Bison in Puerto Rico was amazing, his run in IWA was by far my favorites to watch as a kid and you could tell that by just looking at him it could rip your head off.
The guy had the look, attitude and physical prowess of a Strong Style wrestler and it was that tough wrestling style what made him a star and loved here in the island.
Gone too soon in his prime, but never forgotten. A adopted son here in island along with the likes of Shane The Glamour Boy and Slash Venom, we the fans treated them like they were part of our own and no matter what roles they played we loved them still because they made one heck of a job of making wrestling not only fun to watch but tell stories that cautivated us both in and outside of the ring.
R.I.P Mark Smith "El Buffalo Bison"
El buffalo Bison, best moment of IWA Puerto Rico, thanks a lot for that great fights. RIP
Great documentary. I got the opportunity to meet him in the parking lot of the arena in Bayamon. He was a great man and a great wrestler that doesn't get the recognition he deserves. Thank you to the creators.
What a great documentary. Why WWE NEVER gave him a shot is beyond me. Don't think enough credit was given to Buddy Sotello. The Super Destroyer gimmick that Buddy and former ring announcer Warren Michaels came up with was brilliant. Talk about turning around someone's career!
Bison in Puerto Rico here was a beast! But one of the funniest stories I ever heard walking in that realm was from one of the people that worked with him.
Apparently there was one night when maybe Anarchy who was sort of the designated jobber took on Bison in a squash and he hit him with the lariat so hard he came through the curtain unable to breath and started wheezing out "watch out for the lariat!" And everyone after that had a nervous look whenever they got Bison so the main thing everyone did when they had to work with him from there out was they had to tuck there head into there chest so they wouldn't bounce like a basketball.The guy was a freak of nature, it's still a tragedy he died on the way to a show.
IWA Bison its the Goat Great Documental 🙌🔥
I KNEW Bison Smith in his time at IWA was a great wrestler the best Heel and powerhouse in the history of pro wrestling We will always remember him THANKS for this Documental congratulations Indi Handshake
I had the honor and privilege of knowing both Mark (Bison) & Gary Albright. They were both incredibly unique heavyweights in the All Japan/NOAH system. Boyce is right – they were very laid back but highly intelligent with a sneaky sense of humor. Mark really could do anything in the ring and as time passes on, his matches hold up very well. But I choose to remember him as just a really decent guy who found himself in a horrible spot with Misawa's passing. When he got the call to work for Victor Quinones and IWA Puerto Rico, Mark said the NOAH office was nervous because of what had happened to Bruiser Brody but they ultimately gave him their blessing. Mark was really happy in PR and it was a great fit. To all of Mark's friends and family reading this comment, please know that the Japanese wrestlers miss him a lot and thought very highly of him. Akitoshi Saito still keeps a picture of Mark in his bag.
Vito Thomaselli is my cousin.
It was awesome that you were able to get him to appear in this documentary.
His friend, Sal Thomaselli is an awesome guy, as well & I liked seeing him be incorporated in this documentary, as well…
I can't wait to see this documentary for myself, personally.
How did Mark "The Bison" Smith pass away, exactly?…
"I'm not a sports-entertainer: I'm a pro wrestler!…".
–Mark "The Bison" Smith.
Is Pro Wrestling Iron still in business?…
I remember my cousin, Vito Thomaselli & his friend/tag-team partner, Sal worked there, but, that was when they were living in California, at the time & it was so long ago, I literally forgot that this promotion was even still around.
Would you guys ever consider doing maybe a mini-documentary on Donovan Morgan? He was always one of my favorite indy stars and he has seemingly disappeared after retiring. No interviews and barely any of his matches on YouTube besides his Iron stuff. Just an idea.
His son Justin put out a better promo than some guys today that have been pro several years !!! Bison was killer . I really thought he was the next wave of guys like Brody but with a modern twist . Im sad he passed that young . May God bless Bison Mark the Shark Smith and his family and friends . And Justin , if you see this , the wrestling world could use a Bison Jr . !!!
Thank you so much for this documentary ! It made my day , yet broke my heart at the same time .
Excelente documental, felicitaciones! Sigan creando más contenido de esta índole
Byson Smith
Great doc. Bison Smith is one of those names that came up when I’d look into Noah and Indy wrestling around 05-2010. Really cool to see his story and to understand his background and hear from both his family and pro wrestling family and how much he meant to them.
Caught this doc right before I was about to go to bed the other night and it was definitely worth the 1.5 hours of lost sleep.