Deep South Wrestling (DSW) is a professional wrestling promotion in the state of Georgia. Deep South worked in tandem with World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) as a developmental territory from September 1, 2005, until April 18, 2007. Deep South was owned by Jody Hamilton, former director of the WCW Power Plant.
| Acronym | DSW |
|---|---|
| Founded | February 12, 1986; September 1, 2005; February 26, 2021 |
| Defunct | October 18, 1988; October 11, 2007 |
| Style | American Wrestling |
| Headquarters | Lovejoy, Georgia (1986–1988) McDonough, Georgia (2005–2007) Griffin, Georgia (2021–present) |
| Founder(s) | 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 on Myspace Deep South Wrestling on Facebook |
First run (1986–1988)
editJody Hamilton and Bill Behrens founded Deep South Wrestling in 1986 as a wrestling promotion and training facility, setting their base of operations in Lovejoy, Georgia. They had ties with both the American Wrestling Association and the National 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 the WCW Power Plant.
Second run (2005–2007)
editIn 2005, WWE decided to run a developmental territory in the Atlanta, 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 nearby McDonough, Georgia.
Deep South Wrestling held their inaugural show under the WWE banner on September 1, 2005. Two months later, the promotion crowned Mike Mizanin as their first Deep South Heavyweight Champion. The promotion gained a timeslot on Comcast Sports South on Sunday nights at 11:30 p.m.
On July 9, 2006, the promotion debuted a live event at Six Flags Over Georgia in Austell, Georgia. DSW began holding live shows at venues other than Six Flags, starting in the nearby town of Griffin, Georgia. On May 18, High Impact (Mike Taylor & Tony Santarelli) won a tournament to crown the first Deep South Tag Team Champions. On October 18, 2006, Deep South Wrestling landed a television deal with MAVTV.
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 to Ohio Valley Wrestling.
Third run (2021–present)
editIn February 2021, Hamilton's son Nick 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.
Champions
edit| Championship | Champion(s) | Date won | Won from |
|---|---|---|---|
| DSW Heavyweight Champion | Jacob Johnson | July 27, 2024 | |
| DSW Tag Team Champions | Caleb Konley and Sal Rinauro | July 26, 2007 | Pretty Boy Floyd and Simon Sermon |
| 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 | Joyce Grable | February 20, 1987 | Terri Shane |
Authority figures
edit| 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 |
References
edit- ^ "WWE Ends Relationship with DSW". Retrieved April 18, 2007.
- ^ "Deep South Wrestling main page". Archived from the original on April 8, 2007.