Innovate Pro Wrestling (formerly Championship Wrestling Alliance and NWA Smoky Mountain) is an American independent professional wrestling promotion based in Kingsport, Tennessee.[1] The company was established in 2004 and until 2017 it was associated with the National Wrestling Alliance. During its time in the NWA, NWA Smoky Mountain Wrestling was considered the flagship promotion of the National Wrestling Alliance.[by whom?]
 | |
| Founded | 2004 |
|---|---|
| Style | Professional wrestling |
| Headquarters | Kingsport, Tennessee |
| Owner(s) | Tony Givens |
| Formerly |
|
| Predecessor | Smoky Mountain Wrestling (unofficial) |
| Website | www |
History
edit
The promotion was founded by wrestler Tony Givens in 2004, as the Championship Wrestling Alliance, after breaking away from Southern States Wrestling. That same year, Championship Wrestling TV began airing locally on WCYB-DT2 and was later syndicated nationally on AMG-TV. It held weekly television tapings at the National Guard Armory in Morristown, Tennessee as well as house shows throughout East Tennessee. The promotion joined the National Wrestling Alliance as NWA Smoky Mountain Wrestling in early-2011.[2] The announcement was made by CWA Commissioner Robbie Cassidy on the March 13th TV taping of Championship Wrestling TV in Gray, Tennessee.[3] On July 7, 2012, an unidentified fan attacked Cassidy and Tony Givens at an interpromotional show co-hosted by the Pro Wrestling Federation. The fan was subdued by Cassidy and police escorted him out of the building.[4]
On April 6, 2013, NWA Smoky Mountain drew its biggest crowd to date with 2,017 fans attending a NWA Smoky Mountain TV television taping at Elizabethton High School.[5] In October 2013, Givens attempted to raise $15,000 on Kickstarter.com to improve the production values for NWA Smoky Mountain TV. The appeal raised only $1,485 before the 60-day deadline.[6] The show became available on YouTube the following year.
NWA Smoky Mountain is advertised as a "spiritual successor" of the original Smoky Mountain Wrestling and has used a mix of SMW alumni and younger Southern independent wrestlers since its inception. Among the SMW talent to appear for the promotion include, most notably, Bunkhouse Buck, Eddie Golden, Tom Prichard, Tracy Smothers and Ricky Morton. On January 6, 2014, Morton defeated Chase Owens at an NWA Smoky Mountain show to win the NWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship.[7]
A number of top NWA stars have also visited the promotion. In February 2015, Jason Kincaid was interviewed on Pipebomb Radio. He was billed as the longest-reigning NWA Southeastern Heavyweight Championship in the company's history.[8] On April 17, 2015, Jax Dane won the Smoky Mountain Cup and earned a title shot for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship.[9] He defeated then champion Hiroyoshi Tenzan for the title four months later. NWA Smoky Mountain's "Collision Course 10", held on May 9, 2015, nearly sold out the Civic Auditorium in Kingsport, Tennessee. Bobby Eaton also made a special appearance managing Eddie Golden against Jeff Tankersley on the undercard. Larry Goodman of GeorgiaWrestlingHistory.com claimed that the show, headlined by an A.J. Styles versus Chase Owens bout, "[shattered] the company's attendance and gate records".[10] NWA President R. Bruce Tharpe visited Kingsport for the first time at this event.[11]
On October 17, 2015, NWA Smoky Mountain held a special tribute show, "Enter the Dragon", for Ricky Steamboat. Steamboat served as Ricky Morton's cornerman in a "student vs. teacher" grudge match against Kid Kash as part of Kash's retirement tour. This turned a no-holds-barred grudge match after a falling out between the two during a tag team bout.[12][13]
At ReGenesis on August 19, 2017; promoter Tony Givens announced that NWA Smoky Mountain Wrestling was leaving the NWA, and thus the promotion was changing their name to Innovate Wrestling.
Championships and accomplishments
editCurrent championships and accomplishments
edit| Championship | Champion | Previous | Date won | Days held | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Innovate United States Tag Team Championship | The Adkins Boys (Alex and Wayne Adkins) |
Inglorious (Aden Cross and Jeff Connelly) |
March 4th, 2023 | 79+ | Kingsport, Tennessee |
| Smoky Mountain Cup | Chase Owens | Jason Kincaid | April 29th, 2023 | Kingsport, Tennessee | |
| Innovate Grand Championship | Caleb Courageous | Tobey Farley | April 29th, 2023 | 23+ | Kingsport, Tennessee |
Past championships
editRetired championships
edit| Championship | Final champion | Date retired | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| NWA Southeastern Heavyweight Championship | Chase Owens | August 19, 2017 | At ReGenesis, promoter Tony Givens announced that NWA Smoky Mountain Wrestling was leaving the NWA thus the promotion was changing their name to Innovate Wrestling and the NWA Southeastern Heavyweight Championship was officially retired as a result. |
| NWA United States Tag Team Championship | The Ugly Ducklings (Rob Killjoy, Coach Mikey, & Lance Lude) |
August 19, 2017 | At ReGenesis, promoter Tony Givens announced that NWA Smoky Mountain Wrestling was leaving the NWA thus the promotion was changing their name to Innovate Wrestling and the NWA United States Tag Team Championship was officially retired as a result. |
| NWA Mountain Empire Championship | Toby Farley | August 19, 2017 | At ReGenesis, promoter Tony Givens announced that NWA Smoky Mountain Wrestling was leaving the NWA thus the promotion was changing their name to Innovate Wrestling and the NWA Mountain Empire Championship was officially retired as a result. Farley defeated Timmy Lou Retton to become the Interim Innovate United States Heavyweight Championship as a result. |
| NWA Smoky Mountain Television Championship | Chris Richards | August 19, 2017 | |
| AWA World Heavyweight Championship/CWA World Heavyweight Championship (American Wrestling Affiliates/Championship Wrestling Alliance) | Chris Richards | February 4, 2011 | |
| Innovative United States Heavyweight Championship | Toby Farley | May 29, 2021 |
Other championships
edit| Championship | Current Champion(s) | Held since | Days |
|---|---|---|---|
| NWA Tennessee Tag Team Championship | The Heatseekers (Sigmon and Elliot Russell) | June 21, 2014[14] | 3,807 |
Roster
editCurrent roster
edit| Ring name | Notes |
|---|---|
| Aden Cross | |
| Arawn | |
| Austin Tyler Morris | Innovate United States Tag Team Champion |
| Austin West | |
| Chance Rizer | |
| Chase Owens | |
| Chris Richards | |
| Christian Cross | |
| Cody Blades | |
| Cooper Jones | |
| Devon Driscoll | |
| Dylan Wayne Sizemore | |
| Evan Golden | |
| Elliot Russell | |
| Gavin Daring | |
| Garrett Coleman | |
| Hogan Jones | |
| Jason Kincaid | |
| Jax Dane | |
| Jeff Connelly | Innovate United States Heavyweight Champion |
| Jordan Kage | Innovate United States Tag Team Champion |
| Lance Lude | |
| Lenny Stratton | Innovate Television Champion |
| Mickey Midas | |
| Myron Reed | |
| Nick Hammonds | |
| Robbie Cassidy | |
| Rob Conway | |
| Rob Killjoy | |
| Sigmon | |
| Skylar Kruze | |
| Timmy Lou Retton | |
| Toby Farley | |
| Travis Dykes | |
| Travis Lee | |
| Tyler Foshie | |
| Tyler Thorn | |
| Wayne Adkins | |
| Wild Bill |
Managers
edit| Ring name | Notes |
|---|---|
| Dylan Sizemore | Manager |
| Kaela | Valet |
| Mr. Cicero | Manager of Austin West |
| Rob Knight | Manager of Tobey Farley |
Other personnel
edit| Ring name | Notes |
|---|---|
| Tony Givens | Owner |
| Matt Rhoades | Commentator |
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "NWA Smoky Mountain Wrestling".
- ^ Gargiulo, Eric (September 2, 2011). "The Independent Pro Wrestling Pot Calling the Kettle Black". CamelClutchBlog.com. Archived from the original on October 12, 2011.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - ^ Behrens, Bill (March 14, 2011). "BILL BEHRENS NWA NEWS & NOTES for 3-14-11". NWAwildside.com. Archived from the original on December 22, 2015. Retrieved December 20, 2015.
- ^ Bobo, Jeff (July 9, 2012). "Zealous fan tangles with wrestler at Mount Carmel Block Party". Kingsport Times-News.
- ^ Gerweck, Steve (April 7, 2013). "NWA Smoky Mountain's Biggest Crowd Ever". Gerweck.net. Archived from the original on December 22, 2015. Retrieved December 20, 2015.
- ^ Givens, Tony (October 1, 2013). "Help NWA Smoky Mountain upgrade our production to make our 10th Season the best on yet". Kickstarter.
- ^ "VETERAN RICKY MORTON WINS NWA WORLD JR. HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE". 1wrestling.com. January 6, 2014.
- ^ Felix Olmedo, Austin James and Nate Milton (3 February 2015). "NWA Smoky Mountain Heavyweight Champ Jason Kincaid joins us live Tonight". BlogTalkRadio.com (Podcast). Pipebomb Radio. Event occurs at 03:14. Retrieved 22 September 2015.
- ^ ""Godzilla" Jax Dane is on a rampage through the NWA". OnlineWorldofWrestling.com. April 24, 2015.
- ^ Goodman, Larry (May 10, 2015). "NWA Smoky Mountain Collision Course Report form Kingsport on May 9". GeorgiaWrestlingHistory.com. Georgia Wrestling History News and Notes.
- ^ "NWA Wrestling Collision Course at Civic Auditorium, Kingsport". Bristol Herald Courier. May 2015.[permanent dead link]
- ^ "SHOW RESULTS - 10/3 NWA Smoky Mountain in Kingsport, Tenn.: NWA Hvt. Title match, Rob Conway, Kid Kash, Ricky Morton, more". PWTorch.com. Pro Wrestling Torch. October 5, 2015.
- ^ Apter, Bill (October 16, 2015). "Ricky Morton, Steamboat, More What's Happening @Smoky Mt. Wrestling". 1wrestling.com.
- ^ "Smoky Mountain Tennessee Tag Team Title". Wrestling-Titles.com. Puroresu Dojo. 2003.