Cornette formed the promotion in October 1991 upon leaving World Championship Wrestling, with Sandy Scott and backed financially by music producer Rick Rubin.

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.

[2] The first Smoky Mountain Tag Team Champions were crowned in a tournament final at a TV taping on April 23, 1992, in Harrogate, Tennessee, when The Heavenly Bodies defeated The Fantastics; the match would air on May 9, 1992.

[14] Smoky Mountain Wrestling 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.

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.

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, while also using fried chicken and watermelon as props.

[20][21] The promotion also caused controversy when they gave Chris Powers "The StormTrooper" gimmick, whose uniform, including mask were emblazoned with Swastikas, and upon entering the ring, would raise their arm to the crowd.

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.

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.