People didnt just want to see them get their @$$es kicked, they didnt want to see them period. Though they did eventually run events over that large of a region, including a few shows at the Cobb County Civic Center in Marietta, Georgia, the promotion's biggest towns included Knoxville, Tennessee, and Johnson City, Tennessee. 8/11 There was one caveat - he wasnt going to continuously invest in the product (and lose money). 9/2 3/12 I, as The Dark Secret, lost to him so he could take the baby bonnet off. MANTEL: I used to tell some of the guys in the locker room, The crowd is aggressive towards you because you might be the biggest stars theyll ever meet. Rock stars dont play concerts back in those hills. It was a good chance to get promoted on national television, but I was afraid that if I showed up, people would think I was leaving Knoxville and it would hurt shows, so Bruce got Vince to agree that we could mention Smoky Mountain on WWE TV. I didnt want it to get to a point where I owed talent money. 5/27 Bob Caudle, who was the play-by-play announcer on the TV program, would also proclaim at the beginning of each show that Smoky Mountain Wrestling was "professional wrestling the way it used to be, and the way you like it." 10/23 8/7 7/3 2/13 4/29 We did the match and it had a crazy emotion to it.We were wrestling against WWE Superstars and founding members of Smoky Mountain Wrestling. ARMSTRONG: I got to wrestle with all four of my sons at one time or another while Smoky Mountain was going on. Thanksgiving Thunder - Day 2 They had such heat. They take their rasslin very seriously. 7/18 ARMSTRONG: They were completely different. The Rock 'n' Roll Express (Ricky Morton and Robert Gibson) for the SMW Tag Team Championship, The Dynamic Duo (Al Snow and Unabomb) vs. 4/9 Contents Formation Territorial reach Notable talent And that ended up as our territory. Thanksgiving Thunder - Day 3 They had been bugging me to come down to Smoky Mountain, so I said, Youve gotta wear dresses. You couldve heard a pin drop. Both Curtis Comes Home and the 2005 sequel show, held in memory of SMW head referee Mark Curtis are considered "unofficial" reunion shows.[24][25]. Christmas Chaos - Day 2 CORNETTE: In one of my late night phone calls with Rubin, he said, I think we ought to have a mummy. STORM: Jericho was still going back and forth to Mexico and Japan, so he was going 100 miles an hour in one territory and 10 in the other. Buddy Landell, The Punisher, Tommy Rich, Terry Gordy, Sgt. The promotion was based in Knoxville, Tennessee, with offices in Morristown, Tennessee. 3/25 9/1 3/12 10/21 We wanted to get away from sports-entertainment.. 8/5 Recently, music producer extraordinaire Rick Rubin was a guest on his former employee, Chris Jerichos podcast. 12/30, 1/14 10/2 And why did it close so quickly? Those Appalachian people are a little bit different than everybody else. 12/31, 1/7 4/20 Like many territories in a post Vince McMahon Jr. 10/16 5 Things Jim Cornette Gets Right About Modern Wrestling (And 5 He's Wrong About), Jim Cornette, SMW was very much an analogue to ECW the same way that its promoter is and was an analogue to Paul Heyman, Jim Cornette over the past decade or two then you already know how bombastic the guy is, 9 Wrestlers We Forgot Were Managed By Jim Cornette, 5 AEW Stars That Jim Cornette Hates (& 5 He Actually Likes), a guy who sometimes feels some on his roster are too southern,. MANTEL: Up there in eastern Kentucky and northern Virginia, youre back in the hills, buddy. 12/25, 1/8 The first Smoky Mountain Heavyweight Champion, "Primetime" Brian Lee, won the championship in a tournament held at Volunteer Slam on May 22, 1992, in Knoxville, Tennessee. Thanksgiving Thunder - Day 4 Speichackerstrasse 2, Oberstdorf, 87561. 1/21 Cornette eventually signed a working agreement with the World Wrestling Federation to trade talent, manage and serve as an on-air talent for that company. It presented a great product for a particular region in the world and gave a place for many to work and hone their craft when there was only a few big promotions to earn a living in. ARMSTRONG: He worked himself to death. 8/13 STORM: Chris worked every single night like it was WrestleMania. 11/8 The result was a unique Appalachian institution that attracted fans who traveled over the hills on the backs of mules to watch performers like Chris Jericho, Road Dogg, Sunny and a guy called Dirty White Boy. 8/7 6/25 He liked southern territory wrestling, wild stuff, big heat, that type of thing. There was an opening act where a guy came out in a skirt, combat boots, piercings and was spitting on the fans. SmackDown results, April 28, 2023: Find out who was drafted in Night One of the 2023 WWE Draft, WWE NXT Spring Breakin' results, April 25, 2023: Indi Hartwell retains the NXT Women's Championship in gutsy performance at Spring Breakin', Roman Reigns survives Cody Rhodes with controversial victory at WrestleMania, Watch Smoky Mountains biggest stars in action, Bad Bunny vs. Damian Priest Road to Backlash, The American Nightmare takes on The Beast at WWE Backlash. 7/17 It was Marilyn Manson before he got famous. 5/5 Smoky Mountain Wrestling (SMW) Inactive promotion in the Americas region Overview News and Rumors History Events Event Statistics Results Titles All-Time Roster Matchguide Win/Loss Records Feuds Promos Tournaments Rivalries Ratings Comments Year: All-Time Roster Displaying items 1 to 104 of total 104 items that match the search parameters. 126: Damon Landreth, West Henderson, Matthew Mehaffey, Pisgah. Related: 5 AEW Stars That Jim Cornette Hates (& 5 He Actually Likes). 7/3 The first Smoky Mountain Tag Team Champions were crowned in a tournament final on April 23, 1992, in Harrogate, Tennessee, when The Heavenly Bodies defeated The Fantastics. CORNETTE: The last one to come was young Brian [aka Road Dogg]. We were far away from breaking even and it wasnt getting any better. Theres a difference between country people and hillbillies and they were bona fide hillbillies. Its hard to make your product seem impressive enough when youve got WWE and WCW to compete with. 3/17 10/17 Sunday Bloody Sunday II The hero is going to be very much Clark Kent, straight and honest. 4/2 We also got WYMT in Hazard, Ky., so we had eastern Kentucky covered, too, with those three stations. 2/19 8/27 Smoky Mountain was, however, the birthplace of the controversial "Gangstas" gimmick, where black wrestlers New Jack and Mustafa would cut promos about activist Medgar Evers, use fried chicken and watermelons as props and win matches as a result of a two count (rather than the conventional three count), which the Gangstas (kayfabe) insisted on due to Affirmative Action. ARMSTRONG: I was getting on up in age. 9/25 The Rock 'n' Roll Express (Ricky Morton and Robert Gibson) for the SMW Tag Team Championship, Chris Candido vs. Tracy Smothers for the vacant NWA World Heavyweight Championship, The Rock 'n' Roll Express (Ricky Morton and Robert Gibson) vs. I liked Lee with Candido a lot more than I liked Lee as a hero. Learn the amazing story of Smoky Mountains rise and fall from the men who lived it, including an exclusive conversation with Jim Cornette himself, speaking to WWE.com for the first time ever. CORNETTE: Rob Mazzie was 6-foot-8 and 300-something pounds. 3/26 8.8/10 Excellent! Non-Televised Smoky Mountain House Shows . 1/16/23 - HI!, WE'RE STILL IN BUSINESS! LAWLER: I went to Knoxville and beat Dirty White Boy for the Smoky Mountain Title as a part of a crossover with the USWA in Memphis. 5/13 1/16 3/26 He eventually lost the belt to Jerry Lawler on December 30, 1995.[2]. Now picture a company trying to keep him in their employ. 6/16 1 and No. 9/1 CORNETTE: Hes an Armstrong. 8/19 For a guy who sometimes feels some on his roster are too southern, at various points Vince McMahon employed an awful lot of guys who had plenty of experience wrestling along the Appalachian Trail. They were close to 60-years-old at the time and he was doing moonsaults off the top into those chairs. The good guy wore the white hat, the bad guy wore the black hat. 8/6 The Mountain 7 has released its all-conference teams for the 2022-23 winter sports seasons. 6/25 4/24 SMW event tours also included high school gyms and fairs in cities throughout Tennessee, Kentucky, West Virginia, Virginia, and North Carolina. 1/21 1986 - 30 Disks . Cornette, a traditionalist, catered to fans that Mick Foley described as "old-time fanswho still believed in good guys and bad guys, and to whom cheating was still reason to get upset." 1/9 1/22 Sullivan got at him with this spike, and we had to censor it because it was so gross. 4/9 8/21 We were running 15 towns a month from three strong TV tapings, but we couldnt get into the Asheville or Lexington markets or get a better timeslot in Chattanooga. SMOTHERS: He carried a pistol on him at that time. 4/8 8/5 11/11 He wined and dined us to impress us with the biggest show they had and we were just super excited about it. 7/7 [8] This led to The Rock 'n' Roll Express wrestling The Heavenly Bodies (Tom Prichard and Stan Lane) at SuperBrawl III in February 1993. What Smoky Mountain was trying to do was to find that market. Thats not something southern America in 1994 was probably ready for. It lasted almost five years and Ill never forget it. During the bout, Bruiser got off to a slow start, as would be expected considering Savage's stature. You can take five minutes for the villain to pull the hair and the crowd would get really upset about it. . Cornette was really . 10/28 Sign up for Peacock to watch. Smokey Mountain was the exact opposite of that, so even at the time, as a teenager, it felt like watching wrestling that my parents might have liked. At Bluegrass Brawl in Pikeville, Ky., Dirty White Boy and I had a Chain Match and a member of the Ku Klux Klan showed up at my merch table. SMW - Pro Wrestling The Smoky Mountain Wrestling 1991-1995 Fans didnt know how to take them. [6][7][22] In February 1995, however, Candido lost the belt to Ultimate Fighting Championship winner Dan Severn,[22] who as a freelancer decided to become a traveling World Champion, depriving SMW of a basis for World Heavyweight championship matches. 10/22 He was so knowledgeable, dedicated and determined. 10/13 6/7 Chris was really moving too fast for small towns in Kentucky. 11/6 4/23 6/18 Its a camaraderie thats not relevant exclusively to Smoky Mountain. CORNETTE: I had made a deal for Eddie Gilbert to come in January 1995 and Dutch had said he had this big guy in Puerto Rico. I knew we could get him back in the ring after someone pushed him too hard, which likely would be me. 10/29 We got lost in the mountains, came back and he was giving the meat to kids. 6/5 The company was being mismanaged and we were arguing about our contracts. First Team: 106: Aydan Mull, Tuscola. STORM: Like ECW, Smoky Mountain was too big to be small and too small to be big. 5/6 SMW 5/15 3/21 Here are a few things fans should know about Jim Cornette's promotion. 7/2 7/9 11/27 The Official Wrestling Museum Non Profit Smoky Mountain Wrestling (SMW) Results Promoting the Areas of: Tennessee, Kentucky, Virginia, West Virginia, The Carolinas Promoter: Jim Cornette 7/91 in ??? 10/1 5/29 12/9 Watch every Premium Live Event and enjoy some of your favorite WWE content on Disney + HotStar. 4/8 4/22 12/1 CORNETTE: I couldnt believe the sight of it. 8/19 ARMSTRONG: Tracy actually pinned a bear and the guy who owned the bear came to me the next day and said, Please tell Tracy to take it easy on my bear. He was a fantastic wrestler. I didnt want to eat very much, because hed push you to your limits. The Rock 'n' Roll Express (Ricky Morton and Robert Gibson), Shawn Michaels vs. The Dirty White Boy for the SMW Heavyweight Championship, The Armstrong Family (Bob Armstrong, Scott Armstrong and Steve Armstrong) vs. Jim Cornette and The Heavenly Bodies (Tom Prichard & Jimmy Del Rey), Tracy Smothers vs. Brian Lee for the SMW Heavyweight Championship, The Armstrong Family (Bob Armstrong, Scott Armstrong and Steve Armstrong) vs. Jim Cornette and The Heavenly Bodies (Tom Prichard and Jimmy Del Ray). Smoky Mountain Wrestling was based . Thanksgiving Thunder - Day 3 For everyone who has paid a lick of attention to Jim Cornette over the past decade or two then you already know how bombastic the guy is. MANTEL: Cornette started at about 14 or 15-years-old taking pictures. In addition to making occasional appearances on the independent circuit in Georgia and Alabama, Armstrong acted as the commissioner of Smoky Mountain Wrestling and worked backstage with Southeast Championship Wrestling and the Continental Wrestling Federation. The Heavenly Bodies, managed by Jim Cornette, were featured heavily throughout the years as they worked storyline feuds with The Rock 'n' Roll Express, The Fantastics and The Armstrong Family (especially Bob Armstrong) SMW also featured a number of younger wrestlers who had not yet made their mark on a national stage, including Bob Holly, New Jack, Al Snow, Balls Mahoney, Chris Jericho, Glenn Jacobs (then known as Unabomb, later better known under the ring name Kane), Lance Storm, Chris Candido, Tammy Lynn Sytch, Brian Girard James (B.G. Owner 160: Xander Hill, Pisgah, Jaime Vega, North Henderson. Watch a Tammy Sytch manage Brian Lee in a Coal Miner's Glove Match. MANTEL: When you take the demographics into consideration, Tracy fit it perfectly. He rolled out of the ring and had a weird look on his face. Cornette formed the promotion in October 1991 upon leaving World Championship Wrestling with Stan Lane, Tim Horner and Sandy Scott. 3/25 4/9 2/6 Cornette formed the promotion in October 1991 upon leaving World Championship Wrestling, with Sandy Scott and backed financially by music producer Rick Rubin. 2/6 Of course, 90% of the shows were in small little towns and rec centers and community clubs. Fire On The Mountain American professional wrestling promotion, NWA World Heavyweight Championship Tournament (1994), List of former Smoky Mountain Wrestling personnel, SMW "Beat The Champ" Television Championship, SMW United States Junior Heavyweight Championship, List of independent wrestling promotions in the United States, "Smokey Mountain Wrestling > Ring Results > 1991-92", "Smokey Mountain Wrestling > Ring Results > 1993", "Smokey Mountain Wrestling > Ring Results > 1994", "Smokey Mountain Wrestling > Ring Results > 1995", "A Look Back at Smoky Mountain Wrestling", "Nostalgia Review: WCW SuperBrawl III; Sting vs. Vader Strap Match, Hollywood Blondes, Barry Windham vs. Fire On The Mountain 1994 113: Kane Bryson, Pisgah, Davey McCoy, Smoky Mountain. I was trying to think about wrestling in a positive way, and I had noticed that every time we ran the Civic Coliseum in Knoxville, the crowd would really like it. He could talk like crazy. 3/26 CORNETTE: I met Rick Rubin through Cat Collins, a DJ friend of mine that had worked for Rubin at American Recordings. 8/7 A lot of experience. Brad has his old Badstreet costume from WCW, which we turned inside out, put on Brian and called him The Dark Secret. The last SMW show was held on November 26, 1995 in Cookeville, Tennessee (though it had been announced on SMW TV's November 25, 1995 episode that upcoming shows were to be held at the Collett Street Rec Center in Morganton, North Carolina on December 1, 1995, and at Cloudland High School in Roan Mountain, Tennessee the following night), and featured the entire SMW roster attacking Jim Cornette, who was then pinned by referee Mark Curtis. LAWLER: There were some backwoods fans, rednecks and coal miners that would come over from Virginia. Watch Smothers battle Chris Candido in an early Ladder Match. 4/3 Fire On The Mountain 7/8 IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship, SMW Beat the Champ Television Championship, SMW United States Junior Heavyweight Championship, Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. CORNETTE: Brian Lee was playing the part of Brad Armstrong. SMOTHERS: Sometimes the pressure would get to him and hed just snap. 12/3 2/12 The same show that we would do live in Memphis every Saturday morning would then show the following week in Louisville. 4/22 Thanksgiving Thunder. 10/23 People knew him, he could talk and knew how to work the style. Who is after two or three years in the business? He had about 20 guys there sitting ringside. Then he studied under Bill Watts, who had a great wrestling mind. SMOTHERS: That was different. Cable was not that widespread, a lot of people used antennas in the hills. Volunteer Slam III BROWN: Straight heat. If Cornette gave up some of the reigns to Sandy Scott or Mark Curtis, they probably could have taken care of some stuff. STORM: We were always trying to push a little further in the ring and Jim was trying to pull us back. The way he spoke, it was just like, Wow. 3/13 4/21 Hotels near Gasthof Alte Schreinerei, Steinsfeld on Tripadvisor: Find traveler reviews, 386 candid photos, and prices for 842 hotels near Gasthof Alte Schreinerei in Steinsfeld, Germany. 7/14 SMOTHERS: I was there the night Kevin [Sullivan] cut up [W*ING] Kanemura. Hes a die-hard wrestling mark. BROWN: The thing I really think about is when Jimmy went to WWE, he split his time and focus, and obviously hes putting most of his thought and input into WWE. CORNETTE: Scott [Armstrong] wrestled under a mask as Dixie Dynamite. Smoky Mountain Wrestling (SMW) Inactive promotion in the Americas region.
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