Southern States Wrestling

Acronym	SSW
Founded	1991
Style	Wrasslin'
Headquarters	Fall Branch, Tennessee (1991-1998) Kingsport, Tennessee (1999-present)
Founder	Beau James
Owner	Beau James (1991-present)
Parent	National Wrestling Alliance
Sister	Championship Wrestling
Formerly	NWA Championship Wrestling
Website	SouthernStatesWrestling.com

Southern States Wrestling is an American independentprofessional wrestling promotion based inKingsport, Tennessee. Founded by wrestler Beau James in early 1991, SSW (along withNWA Bluegrass) succeededSmoky Mountain Wrestling as the top promotion in eastern Tennessee following its close. It featured a number of former SMW mainstays includingSteve Flynn,Tracy Smothers,Killer Kyle,Tom Prichard,Bunkhouse Buck,Buddy Landell,The Mongolian Stomper^[1] andThe Batten Twins (Bart & Brad Batten). While in the promotion,Ricky Morton teamed with longtimeFantastics rivalBobby Fulton as the Fantastic Express as well as forming a second incarnation of theRock 'n' Roll Express with Ricky Harrison capturing the promotion's tag team title with both men.

Others to appear in the promotion have included formerNational Wrestling Alliance veteransIvan Koloff,Jimmy Valiant,Junkyard Dog,Pez Whatley,Terry Taylor,Shane Douglas and female wrestlersSherri Martel,Debbie Combs,Brandi Alexander,Lexie Fyfe andMalia Hosaka.Jillian Hall,^[2]E. Z. Money,Joey Corman and Samir andAndy Douglas. The promotion also runs a wrestling school inFall Branch, Tennessee.^[3]

In 2015, Beau James began cutting back SSW's schedule due to his commitments to Appalachian Mountain Wrestling as manager ofThe Progressive Liberal, however, the promotion continued to hold events at county fairs and high school gyms. Later on in 2022, Beau James announced that SSW would resume to full time competition, with a tournament to crown a new Southern States Heavyweight Champion, a tournament won by Lord Murphy Costigan.

Southern States Wrestling was founded by Beau James, who began promoting wrestling events inKingsport andFall Branch, Tennessee. The promotion crowned its first heavyweight champion whenThe Tennessee Equalizer defeated George Hiatt inElizabethton, Tennessee on February 16, 1991. Ajunior heavyweight title was created the following year whenEddie Golden defeated Jamie Gibson inBanner Elk, North Carolina. In 1995 the promotion expanded by creating two more titles. The junior heavyweight title was abandoned the previous year and replaced by theSSW Appalachian Heavyweight Championship won by Eddie Golden when he beatTracy Smothers in a best-of-three series inMeadowview, Virginia on May 11, 1996.

Four years later, Mike Cooper won theSSW Young Guns Television Championship in Kingsport coinciding with the promotion launching its weekly television program which aired regularly onWAPK-CA from January 1999 until October 2003. The promotion eventually released a series ofdvds from the program, most notably,Superstars and Legends, Vol. 1, which featuredDon Wright,Ivan Koloff,The Equalizer,Jimmy Valiant,Wahoo McDaniel,Killer Kyle,Jimmy Valiant and Stan Lee.^[4] On May 10, 2001, the promotion held theMark Curtis Memorial Weekend of Champions inKingsport, Tennessee in honor ofWorld Championship Wrestling refereeMark Curtis with the proceeds donated to theChildren's Miracle Network. Among those headlining the event includedArn Anderson.^[5] The next year, theMark Curtis Memorial Weekend of Champions and Legends Reunion featured Jimmy Valiant, Ivan Koloff andSandy Scott. Family members of the lateWhitey Caldwell were also in attendance.^[6]

Southern States Wrestling became involved withAWA Superstars of Wrestling during the early-2000s, although not an official affiliate promotion, and has held interpromotional events with its sister promotion Tennessee's Championship Wrestling. In April 2005, Beau James,Tom Prichard and The Super Destroyer faced Championship Wrestling's "Adorable" Danny Ray, Nick Hammonds & Wayne Adkins at theNight of Grudges supercard at the National Guard Armory in Kingsport.^[7] This was the first interpromotional event in which both promotion's champions faced each other.^[8] In November 2006, Beau James married female wrestlerMisty James at the 15th annual supercardThanksgiving Night Spectacular at the Kingsport National Guard Armory.^[9] Both would participate in mixed tag team matches during the next year. In early 2008, he and his wife were involved in a major interpromotional feud withAWA Superstars of Wrestling World Heavyweight ChampionBrian Logan.^[10]

In August 2017, Beau James announced that SSW had signed a deal with aVOD service to provideonline streaming platform for the promotion.^[11] It took nearly a year to transfer the entire SSW Video Library from VHS/DVD to adigital format. The Southern States Wrestling Network made its debut on July 15, 2018.^[12] In addition to SSW television and supercards, the network also has rare footage fromContinental Championship Wrestling and other Territory-era wrestling promotions from the Tennessee area.^[13]

TheKingsport Wrestling Hall of Fame (also known as theEast Tennessee Wrestling Hall of Fame) is an Americanprofessional wrestlinghall of fame maintained by theKingsport-basedpromotion Southern States Wrestling (SWW). It was established in 1999^[17] to honor select personalities in East Tennessee wrestling history. The induction ceremonies are held as part of its annual "Weekend of Champions and Legends Reunion".

• List of independent wrestling promotions in the United States

• Valiant, Jimmy."Woo...Mercy Daddy!" Welcome To My World: The Jimmy Valiant Story. Shawsville, Virginia: Self-Published, 2006.

• Southern States Wrestling onFacebook
• Southern States Wrestling Network
• Southern States Wrestling at Cagematch.net

• Independent professional wrestling promotions based in Tennessee

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