Being from the Bristol, Tennessee area, I can honestly say that Smokey Mountain Wrestling's Johnson City show that featured WWE's Undertaker as well as The Gangstas and Rock and Roll Express vs. Al Snow and Unabomb is to this day the best live event I have been to. Smokey Mountain was a great promotion, in my opinion.

Love learning about the behind the scenes workings of SMW.

If time machines ever become available. I’m going back and following SMW on the road from start to finish! I’ll do stooge work, shit I’ll job in the opening match! I’ll do whatever!

I was at the Bluegrass Brawl! It was the best live wrestling that I've ever seen.

Living in Knoxville, I enjoyed all years, yet 1993 was probably my favorite year of SMW. I was a Junior and Senior in highschool in 93 and 94. I thought Smokey would last forever. If I knew it would end in 95, I would have been at every Knoxville and Morristown card! I think I went to 15 total Knoxville cards!

Hey! 26 years ago now! Too bad wrestling can't be as good as the old days!

I was 5 years old in 1993. I got to see Survivor Series live in Boston as my first WWF/E event. Awesome to hear Cornette shoot on this year. I love how he breaks all the numbers and expenses and shit down.

This has been so enjoyable for me and has given me such a clear understanding of how a territory ran and survived . Jim is a national treasure .

I’m from Pikeville and remember the ‘94 Bluegrass Brawl very well! I was a JR in High School. I loved SMW because it was like the old school Crockett territory that I’d grew up on. It was well produced but not “overproduced” like WWF has always been and WCW had become after Turner bought them.

Yes Corny, stayed with it the whole time. Enjoyed as always.

I was a freshman at Sullivan East when SMW was there. I was really disappointed that the crowd was so small.

im from and live in that small town of hurley va we are up to 1,000 people now

I wonder how different the pro wrestling world would have been if two things happened: (1) Jim Ross getting the job, power & access to Ted Turner's resources that went to Eric Bischoff & (2) Rick Rude not had his career ending injury.

I compare this to all in and it's such a different proposition. Getting people to come back as opposed to putting together a crazy good card. Tricky

You can understand why the talent liked Kip Fry but he was disastrous

Listening to Jim's analysis of the cards and how much each house drew shows just how tough it must have been to make money off this. Considering SMW was run in the middle of the tough time years of 1992-1997 it's amazing it lasted as long as it did. Cornette obviously knew what he was doing, just wish it had hung on another year or so. Imagine if SMW had still been running when the wrestling biz picked up again in 1996 :D

I have to disagree with Jim's point at the end about 93 and 94 WCW being worse than 91 and 92. I agree that 93 was worse, and was the worst year of Turner ownership until 99-01; but 94 was not that bad. Their business went up in 94, the first third of that year is a smart fan's haven, and the last eight months featured the biggest star of the 80's-90's era in a brand new place. I know Hogan isn't everyone's cup of tea, but getting him to WCW was a major coup. 94 is actually a strong WCW year until November. Basically, the 12 month period between Havoc 93 and Havoc 94 is good.

Ah yes, that classic WCW storyline "Fortress of Solitude for the Midget's Spin the Deal" I love Jim

I Know the "TroubleMakers" from that Beckley Show.

Love the inside working info about the wrestling business .....thanks Corny

1:06:05 "September... fuck it... back to school... everybody's pissed"

"And Horner" is like the antithesis of Artie Lange's "and [Lawrence] Taylor" bit

We love it when he talks about Beckley!

I'm trying to piece together how long Corny was actually with Bobby Eaton. Because they started in Memphis in '84, went to Texas together, Mid South, Crockett, WCW, did SMW together. So about ten straight years they were together most days.

Great video. Very informative.

Weren't Knoxville and Johnson City Jim Crockett Promotions territories as well?

It's too bad that when I rented SuperBrawl 3, their match wasn't on the videotape

Hearing how Jim had to compete with county fairs kinda blows my mind

If the population of council is over 3,000 I’ll eat your hat. Lmao

This is more proof internet killed wrestling. Cards would be out seeing its just the same things and kill the tour. Plus even in old small towns they have it and will watch tv or youtube then spend $10 on a show.

Im from pikeville ky and remember those Saturday mornings...hell i was at The Bluegrass Brawl and it was amazing. Edit: it was a million degrees in there.

Incredible as usual

RIP Vader

Great stuff.

Collett ( cal- let) st rec center Morganton, n.c. lol!!! Good stuff. Smaller venue but we loved our NWA wrestling 😁

I was there... So much fun

Know what’s funny? This would be the time to re-up Smokey Mountain if he wanted to run another company. Tons of indies out there, and a lot of the country folk that want Corny’s idea of wrestling

SANDY SCOTT WAS A BEAST

Wow goddamn this should be interesting.

I have no clue why this rules so hard, but it does.

Jim speaking of the Watts WCW era got me thinking. About Watts being too set in his ways although successful to shift to a tv ppv audience in addition to house shows. Bischoff and Watts could of kept competitive with wwf maybe?

Does Jim mention the revenue splits between the comps?

I’m from West Virginia and I’m pretty sure that Jim knows the geography of my state better than I do.

I don't remember WCW ever being on WVLT 8

I hear 8 dollar ringside and just laugh good god times have changed

Bodies vs R&R stole the show ... I my vote goes to Sting vs Vader strap match

No Gatlinburg?

I love how Pro Wrestling thrives around the first of the monthy just like drug sales. #trapcornette

I miss the good old days.

Im English but God Damn it I would love a Bit of SMW. Good old fashioned territory wrestling. We got CPW where im from.

In what kind of bizarro world does Arn Anderson team with one of his greatest rivals, the Rock and Roll Express???

Wonder if Jimmy sold 100% of the SMW to Vince.

Oh shit, it’s Arn Anderson!

I like when Jim says look at an Atlas lol. Google maps

I had to stop this video to go find the video of Arn's reveal.

Probably have replayed the smw deep dives 4 or 5x each..i live in whitesburg ky about 30 minutes from both hazard and Pikeville. I was 8-11 I think going to Thanksgiving thunder every year it was ran and alot of shows in neon ky..small very hillbilly coal miners and the 1st of the monthers...i wasn't smart until dirty white boy and that group showed up on WWF tv..and this jim cornette..he isn't just a manager coming to little letcher county ky to help the heavenly bodies

Ahhh if only smokey mountain opened up again 😔

It's a shame how tourism has changed seriville

And now Innovate Wrestling carries on the tradition!

I'm so grateful that when Jimmy Is dead and burning in hell, we will be left with his gift of total knowledge of every spot show take and attendance since 1945...love you, you magnificent bastard

26:00

Bake sales?😂😂😂😂

Football rules East Tennessee high school and college is the truest thing he ever spoke

If you only make $2200 for a show how's Jim gonna pay the bills when he only makes $2000 off of all that?

Corny!!!!!!

“We did garbage, but it means something”. I see, so when you did it, it was proper and good but when Heyman did it (to rave reviews I might add) it was putrid and immoral. LOL I love Jim, but damn is he a hypocrite. I mean that with all sincerity. Good Lord

Your stealing Jim’s content

Fun fact. Bill watts was the basis for the racism lawsuit against WCW that they lost on account of having a vocal racist as match maker in large part, this is Jim cornette biggest idol in wrestling.

Sabu sucked Then Now Forever