Smoky Mountain Wrestling 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 . The promotion was based in Knoxville , Tennessee with offices in Morristown , Tennessee . History and overview . Formation . Cornette formed the promotion in October 1991 upon leaving World Championship Wrestling with Stan Lane , Tim Horner and Sandy Scott . The promotion was backed financially by music producer Rick Rubin . The first events and TV tapings were held in October and November 1991 . Matches from these shows were first shown in February 1992 . 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 . The first Smoky Mountain Tag Team Champion s were crowned in a tournament final on April 23 , 1992 , in Harrogate , Tennessee , when The Heavenly Bodies defeated The Fantastics . Territorial reach . Cornette had initially envisioned a territory reaching from Kentucky into as far as South Carolina and Georgia . 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 . SMW event tours also included high school gyms and fairs in cities throughout Tennessee , Kentucky , West Virginia , Virginia , and North Carolina . In 1993 , Smoky Mountain Wrestling signed deals with the World Championship Wrestling and the World Wrestling Federation to showcase their wrestlers on the larger companies ' shows . This led to The Rock ' n ' Roll Express wrestling The Heavenly Bodies ( Tom Prichard and Stan Lane ) at SuperBrawl III in February . 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 . Notable talent . The promotion featured a number of wrestlers who were regulars in the south eastern wrestling scene and was the birthplace of the Heavenly Bodies , Stan Lane and Tom Prichard and later Prichard and Jimmy Del Ray . 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 . James / The Road Dogg ) and D ' Lo Brown , but ultimately , like most independents , was not financially successful . 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 . 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 . Style and controversy . Cornette , a traditionalist , catered to fans that Mick Foley described as " " old - time fans . . . who still believed in good guys and bad guys , and to whom cheating was still reason to get upset . " " 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 . " " This was in sharp contrast to ECW , in which edgy angles , " tweeners " and anti - heroes increasingly took precedence over clearcut heroes and villains . 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 . National Wrestling Alliance . 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 . A 10 - man tournament was held in Cherry Hill , New Jersey in November , featuring many SMW wrestlers ; the participants were Tracy Smothers , Devon Storm , Eddie Gilbert , Johnny Gunn , Chris Candido , Al Snow , Dirty White Boy , Jerry Lawler , Lou Perez , and Osamu Nishimura . The winner was Chris Candido , who defended his title mostly at SMW events . In February 1995 , however , Candido lost the belt to Ultimate Fighting Championship winner Dan Severn , who as a freelancer decided to become a traveling World Champion , depriving SMW of a basis for World Heavyweight championship matches . However , in April 1995 , The Rock ' n ' Roll Express won the NWA World Tag Team Championship for the fifth time , giving SMW a handful of World Tag Team championship matches . Demise . 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 1997 . After years of operating in red ink , Cornette shut the promotion down in December 1995 to work full - time with the WWF . The last SMW show was held on November 26 , 1995 in Cookeville , Tennessee , and featured the entire SMW roster attacking Jim Cornette , who was then pinned by referee Mark Curtis . Several SMW wrestlers would soon obtain work in the WWF , including Tracy Smothers , The Dirty White Boy , and Boo Bradley . WWE now owns the SMW video library . Both " Curtis Comes Home " and the 2005 sequel show , held in memory of SMW head referee Mark Curtis are both considered " unofficial " reunion shows .