The original National Wrestling Federation (NWF) was a

professional wrestling promotion A professional wrestling promotion is a company or business that regularly performs shows involving professional wrestling that has little relationship to the rules of the amateur olympic form. "Promotion" also describes a role which entails man ...

based in

Buffalo, New York Buffalo is the second-largest city in the U.S. state of New York (behind only New York City) and the seat of Erie County. It is at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of the Niagara River, and is across the Canadian border from South ...

and owned by promoter Pedro Martínez. It ran from 1970 to 1974. The promotion was then revived in 1986 by Robert Raskin. The revived promotion closed in 1994.

History

Pedro Martínez (no relation to the

baseball player Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

) owned the original National Wrestling Federation, which operated from 1970 to 1974. The NWF Heavyweight Championship and NWF North American Heavyweight Championship were later used by

New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion based in Nakano, Tokyo. Founded on January 13, 1972, by Antonio Inoki, the promotion was sold to Yuke's, who later sold it to Bushiroad in 2012. TV Asahi and Amuse, Inc. own minority shares ...

as its main titles until 1981. During the original version of the NWF, popular performers included Johnny Powers, Ernie Ladd, Waldo Von Erich, Chief White Owl, Hans Schmidt, the Mighty Igor, Luis Martinez, Ron Sanders, Dusty Rhodes, Tony Parisi, Tony Marino, the Stomper, Ben Justice, the Love Brothers, Dick the Bruiser, Black Jack Lanza, Dr. Moto, Mitsu Arakawa, and Bulldog Brower. Championship Wrestling aired on Channel 43 in Cleveland on Saturday nights. Briefly a second show, All-Star Wrestling, aired on Sunday Mornings. That show was filmed in the studios of WUAB-TV in Parma, Ohio. The television hosts were Johnny Powers, Jack Reynolds, and Ron Martinez (son of Pedro Martinez). The film from each show was erased and reused to save money, hence few of the shows are available now on video or YouTube. In 1986, Robert Raskin (President of Raskin Sports Productions and a former professional basketball coach for the ABA) purchased the

Allentown, Pennsylvania Allentown (Pennsylvania Dutch language, Pennsylvania Dutch: ''Allenschteddel'', ''Allenschtadt'', or ''Ellsdaun'') is a city in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, Lehigh County, Pennsylvania. The city has a population of 125,845 as of the 2020 United ...

-based Continental Wrestling Alliance from

D. C. Drake Don Clyde Drake (born September 16, 1957) is an American addictions counselor, retired professional wrestler and former professional wrestling promotion, promoter. He is best known for his appearances on the Northeastern United States, northeaster ...

and renamed it the National Wrestling Federation. The organization revived the NWF Heavyweight Championship and created an NWF Women's Championship. Under the direction of Raskin, the National Wrestling Federation grew rapidly. Using wrestlers who were formerly under contract with the

World Wrestling Federation 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 vario ...

and the

National Wrestling Alliance The National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) is an American professional wrestling professional wrestling promotion, promotion and former professional wrestling governing body operated by its parent company Lightning One, Inc. Founded in 1948, the NWA ...

, Raskin spared no expense in making the product a watchable alternative to the wrestling shows which were currently on television. Drake, who was the champion, also headed up the booking and television production ends of the business. Raskin felt that the NWF should move the television tapings from the Easton, PA VFW Hall to various locations around the east coast. Matches were taped at arenas in

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

, and other locations. Raskin also hired a young

Paul Heyman Paul Heyman (born September 11, 1965) is an American professional wrestling manager, former promoter, photographer, and executive. He is currently signed to WWE, appearing on the SmackDown brand as manager for Undisputed WWE Universal Heavyweight ...

(who later became Paul E. Dangerously) to handle color commentary on the TV show. Drake and Raskin also decided to put more emphasis on the NWF Women's Division. As the women's division became established,

Wendi Richter Victoria "Wendi" Richter (born September 8, 1961) is an American retired professional wrestler. She began her professional wrestling career in companies such as the National Wrestling Alliance, where she teamed with Joyce Grable, with whom she ...

(who along with

Cyndi Lauper Cynthia Ann Stephanie Lauper Thornton (born June 22, 1953) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and activist. Her career has spanned over 40 years. Her album ''She's So Unusual'' (1983) was the first debut album by a female artist to achi ...

helped the WWF bring attention to ladies wrestling once again) was defeated in a questionable fashion in

Madison Square Garden Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as The Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh and Eighth avenues from 31st to 33rd Street, above Pennsylva ...

The Fabulous Moolah Mary Lillian Ellison (July 22, 1923 – November 2, 2007) was an American professional wrestler better known by her ring name The Fabulous Moolah. She began her career working with promoter Billy Wolfe and his wife, wrestler and trainer Mildr ...

and left the organization. She entered the NWF and quickly captured the title from

Heidi Lee Morgan Heidi Lee Morgan (born June 29, 1967) is a retired American professional wrestler who competed in the World Wrestling Federation, International World Class Championship Wrestling, Ladies Pro Wrestling Association, and National Wrestling Federatio ...

. The revived NWF also placed a major emphasis on

hardcore wrestling Hardcore wrestling is a form of professional wrestling where disqualifications, count-outs, and all other different rules do not apply. Taking place in usual or unusual environments, hardcore wrestling matches allow the use of numerous items, inclu ...

, including many specialty matches such as Indian strap matches, dog collar matches, and steel cage matches (including one of the first women's steel cage matches in the United States, featuring Richter and Morgan). Raskin, seeing the organization expand, merged with Creative Entertainment, a sports and entertainment promotional organization from Philadelphia. This move proved to be a smart one as Creative Entertainment was able to book matches for the NWF across the country. The television show expanded to Sports Channels and broadcast stations across the country and appeared in foreign markets in Europe, South and Central America and Asia. As the company grew, creative differences began to split the organization and several in the front office left to pursue other ventures. As the capital investment stopped, the television product was halted. The promotion closed in 1994.

Former personnel

Championships

1970-1974: *

NWF Heavyweight Championship The NWF Heavyweight Championship was a professional wrestling World championship used as part of the National Wrestling Federation and later New Japan Pro-Wrestling. History The NWF (National Wrestling Federation) Heavyweight Championship was ...

NWF North American Heavyweight Championship The NWF North American Heavyweight Championship was a secondary singles title in the American professional wrestling promotion, the National Wrestling Federation. The title started in 1968 as a National Wrestling Alliance title, named the NWA ...

NWF World Tag Team Championship The NWF World Tag Team Championship was the top tag team championship in the National Wrestling Federation The original National Wrestling Federation (NWF) was a professional wrestling promotion based in Buffalo, New York and owned by promoter ...

*NWF Canadian Tag Team Championship – *NWF Brass Knuckles Championship – *NWF World Junior Heavyweight Championship – 1986-1994: *

*NWF International Championship – *NWF Women's Championship – *NWF Tag Team Championship –

References

External links

NWF Title Histories
{{National Wrestling Alliance American professional wrestling promotions 1970 establishments in the United States 1974 disestablishments in the United States