Fire On The Mountain Sign up for Peacock to watch. 4/9 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. BROWN: I was scared out of my wits of New Jack. 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. Smoky Mountain Wrestling (SMW) Inactive promotion in the Americas region. 10/22 Flash Flanagan defeated Thrasher Sgt. Tennessee, Kentucky and all those places that we used to go to, he really knew what people wanted to see there and he was really smart with it. Smoky Mountain Wrestling - Alchetron, the free social encyclopedia In the same night, I went from being me to being DLo. SMOTHERS: In 1993, Dirty White Boy burned the rebel flag in a trash can while I was handcuffed. 9/27 Parent 10/8 From 1992 until the promotion's end in 1995, Chris Candido wrestled for Jim Cornette 's Tennessee-based outfit 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. They had been bugging me to come down to Smoky Mountain, so I said, Youve gotta wear dresses. You couldve heard a pin drop. It was pretty crazy. Fire On The Mountain 1994 10/8 7/9 1/21 Thanksgiving Thunder - Day 4 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 ??? 10/2 JERICHO: Our style was completely insane. This page is not available in other languages. 9/25 I looked at his arm and there was a dent where one bone was supposed to be and he could bend his forearm in the middle. 6/25 Fire on the mountain: The oral history of Smoky Mountain Wrestling facebook twitter During the early 1990s, wrestling was in a state of transition. Smoky Mountain Wrestling was a professional wrestling promotion that held events in the Appalachian area of the United States from October 1991 to December 1995, when it was run by Jim Cornette. Thanksgiving and Christmas had been a big time of year for us, but when Thanksgiving weekend in 1995 earned us less than it had the previous year, I knew it was inevitable to halt things. Marietta Debut I took the nickname of a high school friend. Several SMW wrestlers would soon obtain work in the WWF, including Tracy Smothers, The Dirty White Boy, and Boo Bradley. [14] 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)[14] SMW also featured a number of younger wrestlers who had not yet made their mark on a national stage, including Bob Holly,[15] New Jack, Al Snow,[16] Balls Mahoney, Chris Jericho,[17] Glenn Jacobs (then known as Unabomb, later better known under the ring name Kane),[18] Lance Storm,[17] Chris Candido,[19] Tammy Lynn Sytch,[19] Brian Girard James (B.G. 12/31, 1/7 JERICHO: When youre in front of 200 people, theres no need to do a dive over the top rope to the floor. 1/22 1 and No. With this upheaval also came the near-overnight disappearance of the territorial era when local stars and fanbases migrated to the increasingly global organizations of WCW and WWE. ROAD DOGG: I wanted nothing more than to go there and wrestle because my family was there. LAWLER: There were some backwoods fans, rednecks and coal miners that would come over from Virginia. CORNETTE: I got a building rent free and made two TV pilots, which ended up being show No. Location Volunteer Slam II 10/29 It was me, New Jack, Mustafa, Unabomb, Chris Jericho lived there at one point, Balls Mahoney and another kid who was Little Snot Dudley in ECW. 3/17 6/13 And I dont know where the kids came from, there were no houses. 4/1 CORNETTE: I had to get Lance paperwork to work in America. 4/21 2/18 3/19 We were working so fast and doing all these high spots. The Rock n Roll Express and Tracy Smothers could give you an education you cant get in the ring. 10/29 11/12 Six Pisgah wrestlers ( Kane Bryson, Cameron King, Xander Hill, Landon Pope, Tytus Bridges and Eli . Watch a Tammy Sytch manage Brian Lee in a Coal Miner's Glove Match. 7/3 Much like several others, including Ric Flair had left the company, Cornette as well felt he had no choice other to leave or run headlong into a brick wall, since he was getting nowhere to begin with. After years of operating in red ink, Cornette shut the promotion down in December 1995 to work full-time with the WWF. CORNETTE: Rob Mazzie was 6-foot-8 and 300-something pounds. One time, before I took the hood off, I worked with my dad in a Loser Leaves Town Match dressed up as a ninja. Brawl In The Hall I started listening to my audience and trying to engage them rather than trying to entertain the fan that I was. The deer was strapped up and he was cutting it open at the gut. 5/13 2/19 Christmas Chaos - Day 1 I live 500 miles away from Knoxville, but wed go up and stay until the matches were over and then drive home. The winner was Chris Candido, who defended his title mostly at SMW events. 8/20 Theyre very vocal about who they like and who they dislike. The basketball teams are voted on by league coaches. CORNETTE: Buddy [Landel] shouldve been a top level performer in one of the big companies, but never got a shot because Buddy was his own worst enemy. After years of operating in red ink, and the loss of financial backing from Rubin, Cornette shut the promotion down in December 1995 to work full-time with the WWF. Plus, get every WWE Premium Live Event and the worlds best TV and movies. We also got WYMT in Hazard, Ky., so we had eastern Kentucky covered, too, with those three stations. CORNETTE: I met [Chris] Candido and his girlfriend, who were teenagers, in New Jersey. The promotion had a brief association with the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA), whose flagship promotion Eastern Championship Wrestling had split away in August 1994, leaving the NWA with no World Heavyweight Champion. Smoky Mountain Wrestling was an organization staging professional wrestling in the Appalachian area of the United States from October 1991 to December 1995, when it was run by Jim Cornette. King Of The Mountain Tournament The promotion was based in Knoxville, Tennessee, with offices in Morristown, Tennessee . 6/12 8/13 He had people screaming during a Chain Match in Pikeville, Ky., population: 6500. 10 Wrestlers We Can't Believe Defeated Randy Savage In A - TheSportster 9/1 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. What made this small, regional organization so memorable? Rick Rubin was a big wrestling fan and he had just made like $100 million from CBS Records. James / Road Dogg) and D'Lo Brown, but ultimately, like most independents, was not financially successful. 8/20 It was more about the moral high ground than the action. Cornette, Lane, and Scott had five years to try and earn the music maven some money. Jim Cornette | Pro Wrestling | Fandom CORNETTE: We ran shows in Marietta, Ga., wed use some of the local promoters guys and there was New Jack. I didnt like the masks, but I liked their work. 1986 - 30 Disks . 7/2 Both Curtis Comes Home and the 2005 sequel show, held in memory of SMW head referee Mark Curtis are both considered "unofficial" reunion shows. It was special. It lasted almost five years and Ill never forget it. Brian Hildebrand was a Smoky Mountain mainstay, occupying such myriad roles as Head of Merchandise, referee (under his alter ego Mark Curtis) and sound director. Eventually, he was walking around in a full body cast. Acronym They were close to 60-years-old at the time and he was doing moonsaults off the top into those chairs. Former employees in SMW consisted of professional wrestlers, managers, play-by-play and color commentators, announcers, interviewers and referees . Watch the big Steiner Brothers vs. Heavenly Bodies match at SummerSlam 1993. CORNETTE: Tracy Smothers was the epitome of the perfect Smoky Mountain hero. There was one caveat - he wasnt going to continuously invest in the product (and lose money). 1/22 Al Snow was working in Ohio and northern Kentucky, so I called him up and Al jumped at the chance. ROAD DOGG: We worked high school gyms in small towns, but they were always packed and they were always the best fans. 3/3 I hit him with a pair of brass knux and he had to leave town. ROAD DOGG: Brian Lee was a great wrestler, a big good-looking guy and had a lot of talent. The promotion had a brief association with the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA), whose flagship promotion Eastern Championship Wrestling had split away in August 1994, leaving the NWA with no World Heavyweight Champion. Founder 7/22 Chris Walker defeated Richard Slinger Doug Furnas defeated Killer Kyle (8:46) 3/27 Ive seen him destroy rings. 160: Xander Hill, Pisgah, Jaime Vega, North Henderson. From 1920 to last week. 11/3 He was just taking photographs. 4/22 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). Thats how they got there in Smoky Mountain. 2/13 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. 8/27 (2) So that was the idea behind Smoky Mountain Wrestling. 4/22 12/10 2/12 Not wrestling heat. ARMSTRONG: The guy has more guts than I ever thought. BROWN: Straight heat. SMOTHERS: Sometimes the pressure would get to him and hed just snap. How did it gain national attention? He became a serious student of the business. Especially when the company was being run by promoters like Jim Herd driving him and everyone else batty due to either their ineptitude, out-of-touch booking style or complete cluelessness. 152: Cameron King, Pisgah. 6/21 9/1 It was obvious that he was saying as long as we broke even, we could do whatever we wanted. Though the promotion was highly thought of, it struggled to get a profitable television deal, and operated throughout a wrestling recession that would not end until the second half of 1996.