We got to the point where we were too small to be big, but too big to be small. 6/5 6/8 1/21 CORNETTE: Nobody knew what the hell we were doing because we werent talking with any wrestlers. The Gangstas (New Jack and Mustafa) for the SMW Tag Team Championship, Bobby Blaze and The Rock 'n' Roll Express (Ricky Morton and Robert Gibson) vs. D-Lo Brown and The Gangstas (New Jack and Mustafa) for the SMW Tag Team Championship, The Heavenly Bodies (Tom Prichard and Jimmy Del Ray) vs. The Dirty White Boy for the SMW Heavyweight Championship, The Bruise Brothers (Don Bruise and Ron Bruise) vs. 12/12 5/17 I thought it would be great if we paired Eddie, this cocky little guy who could talk, with this big enforcer guy that we called Unabomb. 11/18 Theyre very vocal about who they like and who they dislike. 5/8 The gardens and a portion of the palace were completed before Ludwig II's mysterious death. Cornette had initially envisioned a territory reaching from Kentucky into as far as South Carolina and Georgia. Watch WrestleMania and other WWE Premium Live Events on Flow. 3/6 People didnt just want to see them get their @$$es kicked, they didnt want to see them period. 3/4 7/9 Volunteer Slam IV Watch The Thrillseekers' amazing video package including riding bumper cars and at a petting zoo. The early 1990s saw Jim Cornette launch his own wrestling promotion, Smoky Mountain Wrestling. STORM: Chris worked every single night like it was WrestleMania. DLO BROWN: [Cornette] was a good character and a good entertainer, but he also knew TV stations, syndication, how to book venues and how to promote. 1/28 Jericho asked me if he could go in the ring to practice some stuff. 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. CORNETTE: We led up to a World Tag Team Title Match against The Steiner Brothers at SummerSlam. 6/12 12/2 8/21 [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. Founder [26], The King of Kentucky Tournament was a one-night single elimination tournament held in Hazard, Kentucky on June 24, 1993. It was sold out with like 5,000 people. It was Marilyn Manson before he got famous. The Heavenly Bodies (Stan Lane and Tom Prichard) for the SMW Tag Team Championship, The Rock 'n' Roll Express (Ricky Morton and Robert Gibson) vs. Anything you wanted Dirty White Boy to do, he was there to do. 5/27 When you see guys later in a WWE locker room, theres an instant connection that you did time in the territory together. 12/3 8/5 6/24 Christmas Chaos - Day 3 MANTEL: The wrestling business was in transition at the time. Event history Watch "The King" in Smoky Mountain against Dirty White Boy. Eventually, he was walking around in a full body cast. Sign up for BINGE to watch. 11/6 6/24 People knew my friend Cat Collins and were asking, Whos that bum hanging around with Cat? I drove him to Nashville to produce the Johnny Cash album and I got to eat lunch with Johnny Cash. 9/30 Language links are at the top of the page across from the title. 7/1 2/12 Chris had dual-citizenship. Tales From The Territories - Smoky Mountain Wrestling - Full Episode 12/30 Original Wrestling Documentaries 62.6K subscribers Subscribe 4K 429K views 5 years ago #TalesFromTheTerritories Follow. 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. 5/21 6/10 9/23 There were zero shades of gray. He had people screaming during a Chain Match in Pikeville, Ky., population: 6500. 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. 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. 3/28 Acronym They were carrying WWEs Superstars, so they aired us from 11:00 to noon and aired Superstars from noon to 1:00 and asked people to vote for which program to keep. Sign up for Peacock to watch. The Heavenly Bodies (Tom Prichard and Jimmy Del Ray), Brian Lee vs. Tracy Smothers vs. 3/12 3/20 Thanksgiving Thunder - Day 1 3/21 ROAD DOGG: Once my skills were improving and could carry the Armstrong name, I started wrestling as Brian Armstrong and tagging with my brothers. CWA MEMPHIS. The outdoor festival . His talent was great, but the fans didnt know exactly how to take him. 10/23 2/12 9/27 CORNETTE: Bullet Bob was one of the most important parts of Smoky Mountain from the start. Thanksgiving Thunder - Day 4 1/23 3/13 7/3 James / The Road Dogg) and D'Lo Brown, but ultimately, like most independents, was not financially successful. 5/15 Thats how full the place is. 10/29 10/24 12/29 It was more about the moral high ground than the action. 11/10 ROAD DOGG: Jim Cornette gave me the name The Dark Secret, because it was a dark secret that the Commissioners son was the one under the hood. What made this small, regional organization so memorable? [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. 12/5 The way he spoke, it was just like, Wow. 9/17 From what I understand, Jim paid really well. Smoky Mountain Wrestling was a professional wrestling promotion based in Knoxville, Tennessee from 1991 to 1995. Pisgah @ Smoky Mountain - Wrestling Event - FloWrestling Smoky Mountain Wrestling Results - The Official Wrestling Museum He had so much heart and loved wrestling more than anybody Ive ever met. 10/29 Pisgah @ Smoky Mountain . 9/4 The next spring, I beat him in a cage with a tennis racquet and sent him to the hospital and Scott came back with Steve, his other son, and then we did this big Lumberjack Match. CORNETTE: In one of my late night phone calls with Rubin, he said, I think we ought to have a mummy. 6/19 1/28 He was the best performer of the three of them, so I made him their posse member. 9/24 8/27 (2) They wanted an edgier, alternative product. But when Jimmys on his game, hes very intense and wants it done right. Not meant to be an exact copy, but this is basically the Palace of Versailles of Bavaria. 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." He eventually lost the belt to Jerry Lawler on December 30, 1995.[2]. BROWN: We had what was called the Smoky Mountain Flophouse in Morristown, Tenn., close to Cornettes house. The day-long Smoky Mountain Bigfoot Festival will be 10 a.m.-6 p.m. May 6 at the Townsend Visitors Center, 7906 E. Lamar Alexander Parkway, after the Bigfoot 5K race at 9 a.m. I knew something was wrong. 2/19 Now picture a company trying to keep him in their employ. The Steiner Brothers (Rick Steiner and Scott Steiner), The Bruise Brothers (Ron Bruise and Don Bruise) vs. AWA TV. 7/16 10/7 7/7 7/30 Popular attractions Heimatmuseum Oberstdorf and Neue Skischule . One of the Largest collections of Wrestling footage. 9/8 I had wrestled in Knoxville many times before, but it had been a while since Id been back. Thats what Cornette did. Buddy Landel for the WWF Intercontinental Championship, The Heavenly Bodies (Tom Prichard and Jimmy Del Ray) vs. 11/13 Dad knew what Jim wanted and Jim knew how Dad was going to act out there. MANTEL: The business had morphed. 5/3 It didnt matter if we had 112 people in Pikeville, Ky. CORNETTE: I had visited my friend Cat, who was touring with Danzig. This page is not available in other languages. Rick Rubin on loving pro wrestling, learning from Ric Flair and how "Rowdy" Roddy Piper turned the Beastie Boys Bad. 8/7 1/14 7/30 4/22 CORNETTE: I met Rick Rubin through Cat Collins, a DJ friend of mine that had worked for Rubin at American Recordings. We could get them last. 7/14 STORM: I told Jericho that I was talking to Jim Cornette about going to Smoky Mountain. Fire on the mountain: The oral history of Smoky Mountain Wrestling facebook twitter During the early 1990s, wrestling was in a state of transition. There were a lot sliced tires and keyed cars. 10/14 5/28 3/26 7/22 He and The Rock n Roll Express together showed how much fun a locker room can be if you dont take yourselves too seriously. 10/12 MANTEL: What held Smoky Mountain back was their markets were too small. 8/26 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." 9/25 Learning when to do things, why to do them and getting the crowd to react the way you want. Results ; Team Name . Later on, he turned into Jim Cornette the manager. 4/17 He never went out to any bars on the road. SMW Thanksgiving Thunder 1995 | Pro Wrestling | Fandom Where else could a good ole country boy from Springfield, Tenn., like Tracy Smothers have people cheer for him? I dont think America in 1994 was ready for it. We got lost in the mountains, came back and he was giving the meat to kids. 5/7 Its hard to make your product seem impressive enough when youve got WWE and WCW to compete with. 3/19 I said, Now theres a gimmick. These two guys with tattoos had been The Masked Spiders in New Jersey. Volunteer Slam II They were heartthrobs. 3/18 But Cornette wanted to have a hand in everything. 4/9 Under Cornette, it was fresh and exciting. 9/23 The Heavenly Bodies (Prichard and Jimmy Del Ray) then faced The Steiner Brothers for the WWF Tag Team Championship at SummerSlam 1993, and then defeating The Rock 'n' Roll Express at Survivor Series 1993 for the SMW Tag Team Championship. 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. 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. Prince Kharis - Online World of Wrestling Pro Wrestling is a FANDOM Lifestyle Community. [4][5][6][7], In 1993, Smoky Mountain Wrestling signed deals with World Championship Wrestling and the World Wrestling Federation to showcase their wrestlers on the larger companies' shows. 4/23 [29], After SMW closed, Brad Armstrong declared himself SMW champion and defended the SMW Heavyweight Championship in the United States Wrestling Association. He wrote an article called Bobs Brigade, and thats when I first became aware of him. They were heartthrobs.. Smokey Mountain Wrestling was a wrestling promotion founded by Jim Cornette, Rick Rubin and others. 6/7 Big Apple Brawl 7/19 5/29 4/22 9/19 Hes a die-hard wrestling mark. The company was being mismanaged and we were arguing about our contracts. 6.7K views 3 years ago 2 Smokey Mountain Wrestling Episode 2 Back in Time Wrestling 1.1K. 4/1 It took a while to get ingratiated into the style of being slowed down. Ever since WWE became a national promotion in the 1980s, wrestling promotions have risen to present themselves as alternatives to Vince McMahon's pro wrestling empire, if not direct competition. 3/19 [28], The Carolina Cup Tag Team Tournament was a one-night single elimination tournament held at the Grady Cole Center on August 13, 1995. 5/14 The Thugs (Tony Anthony and Tracy Smothers) and a, Robert Gibson and The Heavenly Bodies (Tom Prichard and Jimmy Del Ray) vs. Ricky Morton and The Thugs (Tony Anthony and Tracy Smothers), This page was last edited on 31 January 2023, at 01:59. 10/29 Day 3: Herrenchiemsee Palace. Of course, 90% of the shows were in small little towns and rec centers and community clubs.

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