Championship Wrestling from Florida (CWF) was the corporate and brand name of the

Tampa, Florida Tampa () is a city on the Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The city's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and the seat of Hillsborough ...

wrestling office existing from 1961, when

Eddie Graham Edward F. Gossett (January 15, 1930 – January 21, 1985), better known as Eddie Graham, was an American professional wrestler. He was also the promoter and booker for Championship Wrestling from Florida and President of the NWA in the 1970s. ...

first bought into the promotion, until 1987, when it closed down. It is also referred to as ''Florida Championship Wrestling''. When Mike Graham tried a return to promoting, the rights to the name had been acquired by an outside party, forcing him to use another name, ''

Florida Championship Wrestling Florida Championship Wrestling (FCW) was a professional wrestling promotion based on the former National Wrestling Alliance member promotion, Championship Wrestling from Florida, which operated from 1961 until 1987. From October 2007 to August ...

''.

History

Founding

The original owner and promoter was "Cowboy" Clarence Preston Luttrall, a former journeyman heel wrestler who once fought a widely publicized boxing match, resulting from a wrestling angle, with a forty-something Jack Dempsey. It worked but Cowboy took a severe beating. Cowboy opened the office in 1949, and Eddie Graham bought into the promotion in 1961, then took over completely in 1971, because of health reasons with Cowboy. The office was a member of the National Wrestling Alliance during the entire CWF era, Eddie Graham serving two terms as NWA president, and loosely aligned before that, with other 'world' champions sometimes defending their titles. CWF became a staple in many Southern households in the 1970s and 1980s, with

Dusty Rhodes Virgil Riley Runnels Jr. (October 11, 1945 – June 11, 2015), better known as "The American Dream" Dusty Rhodes, was an American professional wrestler, booker, and trainer who most notably worked for the National Wrestling Alliance, Jim Crocket ...

arguably its most noted headliner, his babyface turn beginning May 14, 1974 against former partner Pak Song. The promotion competed against other syndicated shows on Saturday night like '' The Lawrence Welk Show'' and '' Solid Gold'' for years.

Notable stars

The promotion thrived with stars such as NWA champions Lou Thesz and Gene Kiniski, Graham, Bobby Shane, Robert Lee Schoenberger, Don Curtis,

Sam Steamboat Samuel K. Mokuahi (May 4, 1934 – May 2, 2006) was an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, Sammy Steamboat. Early life Mokuahi grew up in Honolulu, attending President Theodore Roosevelt High School, where he playe ...

, The Magnificent Muraco (Don Muraco), the Great Malenko (Larry Simon), Johnny Valentine,

Hiro Matsuda (July 22, 1937 – November 27, 1999) was a Japanese professional wrestler and trainer best known by his ring name . He trained many professional wrestlers including Hulk Hogan, The Great Muta, "Mr. Wonderful" Paul Orndorff, Scott Hall, Lex L ...

, Bob Orton Sr. and later Bob Orton Jr., Joe Scarpa (later known as Chief Jay Strongbow),

Wahoo McDaniel Edward Hugh McDaniel (June 19, 1938 – April 18, 2002) was an American Choctaw- Chickasaw professional American football player and professional wrestler better known by his ring name Wahoo McDaniel. He is notable for having held the NWA Un ...

, the Funks ( Terry and Dory Jr.), the Briscos ( Jack and Jerry), Buddy Colt (Ron Read),

, Blackjack Mulligan, Bruiser Brody, Kendall Windham,

Barry Windham Barry Clinton Windham (born July 4, 1960) is an American retired professional wrestler. The son of wrestler Blackjack Mulligan, he is best known for his appearances with the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) and World Championship Wrestling (WCW). ...

, Mike Rotunda, Lex Lugar, Rick Rood (later Rick Rude), Harley Race, André the Giant, Jim Duggan, Butch Reed, Rick Steiner,

The Freebirds The Fabulous Freebirds were a professional wrestling tag team who attained fame in the 1980s, performing into the 1990s. The team usually consisted of three wrestlers, although in different situations and points in its history, just two performed ...

, Cactus Jack, Scott Hall, Terry Allen (later more famous as Magnum T. A.), Percy Pringle (later more famous as Paul Bearer), Luna Vachon, Jimmy Garvin, Adrian Street,

Héctor Guerrero Héctor Manuel Guerrero Llanes (born October 1, 1954) is a Mexican American former commentator and professional wrestler. He is a part of professional wrestling's Guerrero family along with his father Gory, brothers Chavo, Mando, and Eddi ...

Chavo Guerrero Sr. Salvador Guerrero Llanes (January 7, 1949 – February 11, 2017), better known as Chavo Guerrero or Chavo Guerrero Sr., and also known during the 21st century as "Chavo Classic", was an American professional wrestler. He was best known for ...

, Oliver Humperdink,

One Man Gang George Gray (born February 12, 1960) is an American retired professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, (The) One Man Gang. For two years in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF), he was Akeem "The African Dream". Prior to this, he wa ...

, J. J. Dillon, Gary Hart (wrestler),

Bob Roop Robert Michael Roop (born July 22, 1942) is an American retired amateur wrestler and professional wrestler whose career spanned high school, college, the United States Army, amateur and professional wrestling. He was an American heavyweight Grec ...

, Mark Lewin, Dutch Mantel, Mike Graham (Eddie's son), The Sheepherders, Kevin Sullivan – whose cult-like Army of Darkness got tremendous heat from the fans – and, in the words of the promotion's legendary commentator and a star in his own right Gordon Solie, 'a host of others'. Solie's deadpan interviewing style often buoyed the outlandish behavior and actions of Sullivan and his minions, bringing a legitimacy to the on-air segments no matter what depths Sullivan would descend to. Dusty Rhodes stands out among the noted performers because of the number of rivalries he had on air through most of CWF's broadcasting history. Well known heels, newcomers and babyfaces who turned heel during their tenure with CWF often sought out Rhodes to make their names in the territory. His rivals over the years included Superstar Billy Graham, Ray Stevens,

Ernie Ladd Ernest Ladd (November 28, 1938 – March 10, 2007), nicknamed "The Big Cat", was an American professional football player and professional wrestler. A standout athlete in high school, Ladd attended Grambling State University on a basketball s ...

Ivan Koloff Oreal Donald Perras (August 25, 1942 – February 18, 2017) was a Canadian professional wrestler, better known by the ring name "The Russian Bear" Ivan Koloff. He was the third wrestler to hold the WWWF Championship. Early life Perras was ...

, Ox Baker, Ron Bass, Kamala,

Abdullah the Butcher Lawrence Robert Shreve (born January 11, 1941), better known by the ring name Abdullah the Butcher, is a Canadian retired professional wrestler. He has a reputation for being involved in some of the most violent and bloody hardcore wrestling m ...

, Ric Flair, his old Texas Outlaws partner Dick Murdoch and of course, Kevin Sullivan. Mike Moore served as a

ring announcer A ring announcer is an in-ring (and sometimes on-camera) employee or contractor for a boxing, professional wrestling or mixed martial arts event or promotion, who introduces the competitors to the audience. In boxing and mixed martial arts bou ...

After Eddie Graham's suicide

When Eddie Graham committed suicide in January 1985, due to a combination of personal and business problems, responsibility for the office went to

and Duke Keomuka, both of whom bought in during the 1960s. The other remaining owners were Mike Graham, Eddie's brother Skip Gossett, Dusty Rhodes and Buddy Colt. The promotion continued losing money and merged with Jim Crockett Promotions in February 1987. Most of the stars had gone to Jim Crockett Promotions or the WWF by that point.

Professional Wrestling Federation

In late 1988 during the acquisition of Jim Crockett Promotions the duo of Mike Graham and Steve Keirn were attempting to revive the dormant CWF territory. Once Dusty departed from WCW they reached out to him, and ultimately partnered to launch the new Professional Wrestling Federation in February 1989. Rhodes had larger visions for the fledgling regional territory, which included a name change from FCW to the non-regional PWF. The new startup promotion featured a raft of current and future stars, including Terry Funk,

Dick Slater Richard Van Slater (May 19, 1951 – October 18, 2018) better known by his ring name "Dirty" Dick Slater, was an American professional wrestler who wrestled in the 1970s, 1980s, and mid-1990s for various promotions including Mid-Atlantic Champio ...

, Bam Bam Bigelow, Al Perez, The Nasty Boys, Scott Hall, Dustin Rhodes, Mike Awesome,

Dallas Page Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...

and The Big Steel Man (who would become Tugboat in the WWF). Dusty Rhodes made his debut for the company on March 4, 1989 at an event in Titusville, FL when he teamed with Steve Keirn to defeat the duo of The Big Steel Man and Dick Slaytor. A week later at the PWF Homecoming event in Tampa, FL he pinned Big Steel Man to become the first PWF Heavyweight Champion. Later that spring as the PWF began to grow Rhodes received a surprise backstage visit from Bobby Heenan, who inquired on the state of the company's business. Shortly thereafter

Vince McMahon Vincent Kennedy McMahon (; born August 24, 1945) is an American media proprietor and retired professional wrestling promoter, executive, and performer. From 1982 to 2022, he served as the chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of WWE, the ...

reached out to Rhodes and made an offer to acquire the PWF as a developmental territory and to bring Rhodes into the WWF. He refused, as his desire was to grow the territory into a national brand that could compete with WCW and the WWF. However the Professional Wrestling Federation's backers did not have a desire to fund the company at a level necessary to enhance the territory further. In May he decided to part ways with the PWF and join the World Wrestling Federation as a wrestler. Before departing, Rhodes was defeated by The Big Steel Man on May 13, 1989 for the PWF title at an event in Sarasota, FL. His final match with the company was on May 20, where he wrestled Steel Man at an event in Fort Lauderdale. The promotion closed shortly after holding its last show June 29, 1991, in Nassau, Bahamas, which saw Tyree Pride beat Steve Keirn for the PWF Florida Championship.

Television programs and tape library

CWF filmed and later taped its weekly TV wrestling show at the famed Sportatorium at 106 N. Albany in Tampa, Fla., which was in reality a small television studio with seating for a live audience of about 100 people (1/40th of the

seating capacity Seating capacity is the number of people who can be seated in a specific space, in terms of both the physical space available, and limitations set by law. Seating capacity can be used in the description of anything ranging from an automobile tha ...

of its Dallas counterpart), with the wrestling office and gym in the same building. Arena footage was always also used, and full arena show broadcasts began in the early '80s. CWF Spin-off shows were ''Championship Wrestling Superstars'', ''Global Wrestling'', ''North Florida Championship Wrestling'', ''United States Class Wrestling'', ''American Championship Wrestling'' and ''Southern Professional Wrestling''. On March 2, 2006, the CWF library was purchased by

World Wrestling Entertainment World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., d/b/a as WWE, is an American professional wrestling promotion. A global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into other fields, including film, American football, and var ...

(WWE) for the DVD on

. Gordon Solie was featured at the end of WWE's FCW TV show, '' FCW TV'' in a tribute to CWF and himself. Howard Brody started NWA Florida in 1990 and he booked for it until 2002. In 2003, Kevin Rhodes started Championship Wrestling from Florida as a member of the NWA. He occasionally has some stars of 1980s wrestling appear in his promotion. In 2007, World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) revived the promotion as a developmental territory under the name Florida Championship Wrestling (FCW). In 2012, the promotion began operating under the

NXT NXT may refer to: Professional wrestling * ''WWE NXT'', a professional wrestling television program produced by WWE that began in 2010 ** NXT (WWE brand), WWE's Florida-based brand and former developmental territory * ''NXT UK'', the British spin- ...

banner, dropping references to FCW. On June 28, 2013, the WWE formally shuttered the Florida Championship Wrestling Arena, moving all equipment and personnel to the WWE Performance Center in Orlando.

Championships

* NWA Brass Knuckles Championship (Florida version) * NWA Florida Bahamian Championship * NWA Florida Global Tag Team Championship * NWA Florida Heavyweight Championship *

NWA Florida Junior Heavyweight Championship The NWA Florida Junior Heavyweight Championship was the top title for lighter wrestlers in the National Wrestling Alliance's Florida territory, Championship Wrestling from Florida. The title itself began in 1942, seven years before CWF was foun ...

* NWA Florida Television Championship * NWA Florida Tag Team Championship * NWA Florida Women's Championship *

NWA Southern Heavyweight Championship (Florida version) The Florida version of the NWA Southern Heavyweight Championship was the major singles professional wrestling championship in the National Wrestling Alliance's Florida territory, Championship Wrestling Florida. It existed from 1962 until 1987 ...

* NWA Southern Tag Team Championship (Florida version) * NWA Southern Women's Championship (Florida version) * NWA North American Tag Team Championship (Florida version) * NWA United States Tag Team Championship (Florida version) * NWA World Tag Team Championship (Florida version)

References

General * * * Specific

External links

Florida Title Histories
{{Portal bar, Television, Florida 1949 establishments in Florida 1987 disestablishments in Florida Companies based in Tampa, Florida Entertainment companies established in 1949 Independent professional wrestling promotions based in Florida Jim Crockett Promotions Mass media companies disestablished in 1987 National Wrestling Alliance members Sports in Tampa, Florida