Smoky Mountain Wrestling (SMW)

[9.0] "Smoky Mountain is a perfect example of the best aspects of pro wrestling. Especially late 92 and 1993. It's such an underrated promotion that it's nearly reverted back to being a hidden gem in the modern world. Just a fantastic way to present wrestling. A perfect snapshot of its time and place in the history of the business."

[7.0] "This is a go to comfort watch. Not just for wrestling, but anything in general. It's so much fun and so simple, and I mean simple in the best possible way. Every episode is entertaining in some capacity and there were a lot of stars who came through. Regardless of my opinion on Jim Cornette overall (it's not high), the way he presented and ran this promotion should be commended. He gave a particular demographic what they wanted. Even by the early 90's wrestling was turning a corner with its stories but SMW kept it simple. A lot of matches aren't going to blow you away but they weren't meant to."

"I have found Smoky Mountain to be a product that's very unique, a moment in time... It's sort of a lost bridge between the golden days of territory wrestling, where TV was meant to be an advertisement for the live big cards, and the modern days of Worldwide wrestling where the TV is the same as the touring stuff, and the live shows are meant to build up the PayPerViews. Smoky Mountain has angles and development of personalities, but unless you were around for some of the big shows, or are able to find the big cards recorded on tape, you'll be missing some of the big blow offs. It's definitely comfort food for those of us who miss the regional approach to wrestling, and Cornette made sure he stuck to his vision. In a lot of ways it's the Yin to ECW's bloody, grungy Yang."

[9.0] "Was definitely greater than the sum of its parts. Bad timing for Corny to attempt to open up a regional wrestling promotion when the business was in the middle of one of the worst recessions (both creatively and financially) in decades. There was really not a lot of good available talent to be had, but somehow SMW found some diamonds in the rough and created a fun product. It's worth it for any wrestling fan to track down the show and give it a watch."

[7.0] "Smoky Mountain Wrestling is rough around the edges like a lot of small promotions, but there's a core vision at the center that keeps the product as a whole pretty interesting throughout its lifespan. The meat of the matter with SMW is the tag division, it's where most of the great workers were situated and where many of the promotion's most memorable moments came from (gangstas promos and the like.) The other stuff is hit and miss, the singles division was for want of a real top guy for the company's entire lifespan. In general the singles guys on display were pretty shabby, and Cornette's approach as a booker was to keep most of his wrestlers on the straight and narrow, meaning that while great workers could do great work, middling or bad workers would come across as boring at best and irritating at worst. Still, it's kinda nice to go back to SMW just for the sake of seeing a focused product that really feels like a snapshot of wrestling history, a promotion that existed at the turning point between the modern era and everything that preceded it. When SMW began, neither Monday Night Raw nor Monday Nitro had made air, and by the time SMW closed down, the monday night wars had begun only a few months prior."

[7.0] "I've watched a few episode of SMW and I don't know how I really feel, It's nice seeing Talent Like jericho, Storm and Candido but You have to get through lots of Robbie eagles (not the good one) and Tim Horners, the basic episodes are fairly boring as the matches are short but I get it's because it's supposed to represent old school territories but It's rough trying to get through some matches, in one of the episodes the thrilleseekers have what feels like a 9 minute debut video Package and OH BOY it feels longer. All in all If you love old school RASSLIN then you will like SMW."

[10.0] "Mostly great promotion with consistently good booking and events and a lot of great talent passing through. Unfortunately closed down largely due to the whole wrestling business in the USA being in it's worse state ever and this style of regional territory no longer being viable without big money backing."

[8.0] "Fun promotion that literally had everything from comedy to the hardcore which is weird given Cornette hates both of those things. It had those weird WWF and WCW crossovers that were interesting, Some guys like The Gangsters, Bob Holly, Lance Storm, Balls Mahoney and so many more. I know people don't like Jim Cornette but they should give his company a chance."

"I just discovered that this site doesn't list the final Smoky Mountain show. Here it is, along with the link to the page that does: 11/26/95 ? SMW ? Thanksgiving Thunder Tour? in Cookeville, TN @ Community Center The Wolfman vs. Sgt. Rock. Jim Cornette vs. Butch Cassidy. Tommy Rich & The Punisher vs. The Bullet & Buddy Landel. The Heavenly Bodies (Prichard & Del Ray) & Robert Gibson vs. The Dirty White Boy, Tracy Smothers, & Ricky Morton. ? The whole SMW crew attacks Jim Cornette who is defeated by referee Mark Curtis. * Note: This was the final SMW event. *link removed*"

[9.0] "Smoky Mountain Wrestling isn't for everybody; it's very niche in today's landscape, and was extremely basic, grassroots pro-wrestling by the standard of its own time. Be that as it may, however, SMW is legit one of my all-time favourite promotions, and produced one of the finest wrestling TV shows ever. The booking was sublime, always internally consistent and never blatantly stupid (an advantage over ALL North American contemporaries at the time). As of the time of writing this comment, all of SMW TV is available to watch on YouTube (with the exception of the elusive episode 20), along with all home-video exclusive/closed-circuit shows, and I would implore every hardcore pro-wrestling fan to give it a watch."

[10.0] "The short lived SMW was a sentiment so noble and of such warmth and genuineness that it could bring a tear to the eye. Sadly, it was not to be. Cornette's vision for what pro-wrestling is and should be (not all that different from mine) was simply incompatible in the nascent era of sports entertainment, and against the juggernaut size of WWF and WCW or the audacious spectacle of ECW it couldn't compete. The time is right for a revitalisation, with broadcasting easier than ever, the style SMW perfected is needed in wrestling now more than ever."

[8.0] "Smoky Mountain Wrestling was your classic 'old school' territory, built on grudge matches and personal issues. SMW had a decent 1992, was red hot for 1993, was still decent in 1994, but 1995 saw the promotion slowly fade away. For some reason, it doesn't seem to get the recognition that it definitely deserves."

[8.0] "Jim Cornette's tragically short-lived Smoky Mountain Wrestling was intended to provide an alternative to the WWF and WCW products of the early-to-mid '90s and present an old-school product that hearkened back to the Southern rasslin' territory days, and in large part it succeeded in its goals. Along the way it served as a stopover for veteran talents between companies and territorial mainstays, such as Terry Funk, Cactus Jack, the Rock 'n' Roll Express, Tracy Smothers and the Armstrongs, and also served as a place for younger talents to develop, many of whom moved on to big things - Chris Jericho, Lance Storm, Al Snow, the Hardys, the Gangstas, Chris Candido, Tammy Fytch (Sunny), Unabomb (Kane), D'Lo Brown and Boo Radley (Balls Mahoney) being among those to call SMW home during their formative years. SMW eventually became officially affiliated with the WWF, with WWF stars showing up in SMW and SMW's tag belts being defended at the 1993 Survivor Series event. Unfortunately, finances didn't hold out and SMW folded after only four years in business, but the company put out a quality product while it lasted and left its mark."

[8.0] "Very classic and a traditional type of wrestling that ever held in U. S. soil and originated from Knoxville (same as fellow Tennessee USWA), I can say that Jim Cornette is a best manager who created such an unique events and also intense match to be enjoyed by all fans even he had a devious mind and devious gimmick, truly the best and don't forget that they had such a best talents like Heavenly Bodies, Rock N' Roll Express, Gangstas with D-Lo Brown, Cactus Jack, Arn Anderson, Funk Bros, Thrillseekers, "Wild Eyed Southern Boy" Tracy Smothers, Kevin Sullivan, Bruise Bros, "Mr. Wonderful" Paul Orndorff, and Dick Murdoch"

[10.0] "I love SMW. It had so many great talent like the Thrillseekers, Lance Storm and Chris Jericho, Tracey Smothers, and Chris Candido. SMW also had some wrestlers before they were popular like New Jack. I have enjoyed so many matches from SMW. Chris Candido vs Tracey Smothers in a ladder match is my favorite from SMW. Overall a great promotion, ahead of its time."

[10.0] "Great promotion led by one of the top three minds ever in wrestling Jim cornette, with a solid core of veteran talent who could still perform at a somewhat high level. The Heavenly Bodies, Rock n roll express, stud stable, dirty white boy w/ mr Ron wright, Dixie dynomite and Primetime Brian Lee just to name a few. With the ever smooth Bob Caudle and the Traditional Heenan heel type commentary from Dirty Dutch Mantell I think it was one of the most underrated duos to call the action. Like Siskel and Ebert two thumbs up!"

[8.0] "I wish it were still running. This is the perfect distillation of Jim Cornette's vision of old school territorial rasslin'. Always great matches. They had Madison Square Garden-like crowds in tiny high school gyms in Kentucky and West Virginia. Proof that such a concept can succeed. It just needs the brilliant mind of Jim Cornette."