 | |
| Acronym | DSW |
|---|---|
| Founded | Original incarnation: February 12, 1986 Second incarnation: September 1, 2005 Current incarnation: February 26, 2021 |
| Defunct | Original incarnation: October 18, 1988 Second incarnation: October 11, 2007 |
| Style | American Wrestling |
| Headquarters | Lovejoy, Georgia (1986–1988) McDonough, Georgia (2005–2007) Griffin, Georgia (2021–present) |
| Founder | Jody Hamilton |
| Owner(s) | Jody Hamilton (1986–1988; 2005–2007) Bill Behrens (1986–1988) Nick Patrick (2021–present) |
| Parent | Deep South Wrestling, LLC. |
| Website | Deep South Wrestling onMyspace Deep South Wrestling onFacebook |
Deep South Wrestling (DSW) is aprofessional wrestling promotion in the state ofGeorgia. Deep South worked in tandem withWorld Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) as a developmental territory from September 1, 2005, until April 18, 2007. Deep South was owned byJody Hamilton, former director of theWCW Power Plant.
Jody Hamilton andBill Behrens founded Deep South Wrestling in 1986 as a wrestling promotion and training facility, setting their base of operations inLovejoy, Georgia. They had ties with both theAmerican Wrestling Association and theNational Wrestling Alliance. After a career-ending back injury in October 1988, Hamilton folded the promotion and focused on his wrestling school, which by 1989, evolved into theWCW Power Plant.
In 2005,WWE decided to run a developmental territory in theAtlanta, Georgia area and hired Hamilton to run the territory and resurrect the Deep South Wrestling promotion after seventeen years of inactivity and set their base of operations in nearbyMcDonough, Georgia.
Deep South Wrestling held their inaugural show under the WWE banner on September 1, 2005. Two months later, the promotion crownedMike Mizanin as their firstDeep South Heavyweight Champion. The promotion gained a timeslot onComcast Sports South on Sunday nights at 11:30 p.m.
On July 9, 2006, the promotion debuted a live event atSix Flags Over Georgia inAustell, Georgia. DSW began holding live shows at venues other than Six Flags, starting in the nearby town ofGriffin, Georgia. On May 18, High Impact (Mike Taylor &Tony Santarelli) won a tournament to crown the firstDeep South Tag Team Champions. On October 18, 2006, Deep South Wrestling landed a television deal withMAVTV.
On April 18, 2007, WWE ended its relationship with Deep South.[1][2] after Deep South had held its final event on April 12. Because of Deep South parting ways, talent not under WWE developmental contracts left the promotion. Those that remained under contract were reassigned toOhio Valley Wrestling.
In February 2021, Hamilton's sonNick Patrick revived Deep South Wrestling, with Griffin, Georgia, as its new base of operations for the promotion and its training facility. On August 3, 2021, DSW founder Jody Hamilton died at the age of 82.
| Championship | Champion(s) | Date won | Won from |
|---|---|---|---|
| DSW Heavyweight Champion | Najasism | June 30, 2025 | Champion Prince Apollo and Jacob Johnson in a triple threat match |
| DSW Tag Team Champions | Dj Smoke and Najasism | March 23, 2025 | Austin Towers and Jay Alpha Miller |
| DSW Brass Knuckles Champion | Luke Graham | 1987 | |
| DSW Junior Heavyweight Champion | Dewayne Bruce | 1987 | |
| DSW United States Champion | The Psycho | 1987 | |
| DSW Women's Champion | Gemma Jewels | June 29, 2025 | Defeated Audrey Allen in decision match for reactivated title. |
| Authority | Position | Date started | Date finished | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jody Hamilton | Owner | September 1, 2005 | April 19, 2007 | Hamilton assigned Krissy Vaine General Manager to DSU |
| Krissy Vaine | General manager | October 12, 2006 | 2007 | Became Co-General Manager with Angel Williams |
| Krissy Vaine &Angel Williams | Co-General Manager | 2007 | April 18, 2007 | Last General Managers when DSW was shut down |
