Tenta's Promotion Tribute: Smoky Mountain Wrestling

[jmt225]

Yeah, I don't think the Gangstas gimmick was racist against blacks either. If it was... then New Jack wouldn't have taken part of it.

However, they were DEFINITELY racist against whites, lol. That's why Cornette created them... to piss off the crowd. And that's exactly what they did, by praising OJ Simpson, and just saying other types of completely racist shit.

Anyways, the stories are endless with New Jack when it comes to his time with SMW. I have every New Jack Shoot Interview ever done (don't judge me... I just think he's an entertaining story teller, lol), and man does he have some stories about his time there. From having to hide in the trunk of a car to escape riots, to beating up rednecks, to cops harassing him and Mustafa... it's unbelievable what they went through, and I praise the Gangstas for having the balls to continue to carry the gimmick while being so legitimately hated.

But yeah.. the Gangstas were definitely one of Cornette's most genius monikers. WWE and WCW both tried to duplicate it, but neither could pull it off, because the fact of the matter is... neither had New Jack to carry the load. Say what you want about New Jack as a wrestler and as a person... but man, there's no denying that the guy was an absolute master on the microphone, and that's ultimately why the Gangstas worked so well.

 

[Ferbian]

Fucking hell Tenta you write a lot. Or I've just been gone from this thread way too long. Either way it's time for me to catch up.

1. If Boo Bradley happened in a bigger promotion, would Foley be called out for plagiarism?

Even with the current life that Smokey Mountains had. It was still somewhat of plagiarism. But I don't believe Foley would've been called out either way. Rehashing as well as changing it a slight bit to come off as something different even if it's somewhat the same. It's something that happened before Smokey Mountains. As well as after Smokey Mountains. It doesn't change anything.

Furthermore, is this, in your mind, a blatant rip off?

Not exactly. Mankind had his twists. So did Boo Bradley. So it's not a specific rip-off as much as some kind of adopting with a change thing.

And, if it weren't Mahoney, would this gimmick have actually gotten over, instead of floundering?

Probably not. I mean Mahoney fitted into that gimmick pretty well. I think the gimmick really needed somewhat of a floppy overweight kind of guy to properly work. It's a shame. But it's a fact. I think it's all due to the promotion not exactly being mainstream that ultimately influenced the outcome of the gimmick. Hell any of the gimmicks ever invented in there.

They just never got that over. Because all in all it was a developmental promotion. I think even back then people knew that. But nonetheless the gimmicks needed bigger crowds to properly get over I'd say.

Did Cornette push the wrong people?

Perhaps. Perhaps not. I think in the end it depends on who was better for the job. We all know Cornette is the king of kayfabe. As well as even though I find him to be an overrated mind. He still had his opinions that made sense.

Jericho and Storm were bound to be huge stars. But I don't believe they were bound to be huge stars in that promotion. It was clear even back then. No matter if it was WWE. Or any other given promotion. I would assume big guys were still something to look out for.

Besides I'd say Jericho and Storm improved a lot with ECW and WCW rather than they did with Smokey Mountains. They learned stuff in ECW and WCW where as Smokey Mountains was, well a developmental promotion. And because of the fact that Vince wasn't gonna be developing them into anything big anyway in the era of muscles and size. Jericho and Storm would've been forgotten anyway.

What if Jericho and Storm were that good younger? Could they have kept alive SMW?

They would've certainly been pushed more. Because as I mentioned. The potential in Jericho and Storm were limited back then. The potential shined through mostly in WCW. And because of that. I think that if they were at their top level. They would've accomplished much more.

jericho and Storm would've gotten over that's for certain. But even with that I seriously doubt that Smokey Mountains would've gone anywhere with or without Jericho and Storm at a high level of performance ability.

Smokey Mountains was a small promotion. That fact remains. They wouldn't have stayed alive in a world of big promotions on the rise. Especially not with the fact that, again - They're a developmental promotion.

First Mankind, now the Nation of Domination... Does anyone else see blatant gimmick infringement here?

Yes, and no. Again - Rehashing talent gimmicks with a twist. As well as reusing storylines etc. doesn't file for gimmick infringement. If it works. It works. Why not capitalize on it somewhere else? WWE after all was in a working connection with Smokey Mountains. If they weren't then there would've definitely been another problem with it.

As well as the fact that Smokey Mountains weren't even a big promotion. They weren't as mainstream so the fact that gimmicks were reused isn't something we scream up about. Unless we go back and look at it thoroughly.

Plain and simple... Do you believe this gimmick was racist, and do you think Jim Cornette was racist

Both might have been the case. But just as well both of them could've been the complete opposite. I mean there's always been stereotyping in wrestling. In the world as a whole. So why not capitalize on the potential behind it? I mean I'm not sure whether they were heels or faces with the crowd. But I would assume they were heels.

And even if they were faces. There's still capitalization to be done with it. Using something we know the world hates. Just as well as using something people can relate to or love. It gets over. Austin got over as a face because he fought the ultimate pain in the ass - the boss. Stereotyping right there that "The boss is a bastard. And that's that. End of discussion"

Just as well as Vince got over being a heel because of it. So stereotyping has proved to work before. Why not capitalize on it?