Carolina Wrestling Federation Mid-Atlantic (CWF Mid-Atlantic, formerly known as the Carolina Wrestling Federation and FWA-Carolinas) is an American independentprofessional wrestlingpromotion founded by Jeff Rudd in 2000. The promotion is based in the southeastern United States, largely covering the Carolinas and Virginia, with its headquarters in Burlington, North Carolina. It is one of the oldest "indy" groups in North Carolina, succeeding Count Grog's Southern Championship Wrestling as the state's top promotion shortly before its close in 2004.
On November 15, 2019, all future shows for the promotion were postponed, leaving the federation's future operation in doubt.[2] The federation did go forward with its Battlecade XX event on December 28, 2019.[3]
History
Formation and early years
Jeff Rudd, who wrestled under the name "The Gemini Kid", founded the Carolina Wrestling Federation in Burlington, North Carolina, in 1996. Rudd had previously wrestled in Eddie Gilbert's Continental Wrestling Federation with Mike Howell, who also had some involvement in the Alabama-based organization, and named their new promotion the "Carolina Wrestling Federation" (CWF) to honor Gilbert (who had died the previous year). They began running shows in Durham and other parts of North Carolina off and on during the late 1990s, though the promotion was run on a part-time basis due to their work for OMEGA and other local independents.[4]
Following the close of OMEGA in 1999, with Matt and Jeff Hardy joining the World Wrestling Federation, Rudd decided to begin running the CWF again. Rudd hoped the promotion would fulfill OMEGA's previous role to showcase younger talent in North Carolina as well as to recreate the "fun atmosphere" enjoyed by former OMEGA stars.[4] The following year, the promotion crowned its first champions; David Taylor, The Gemini Kid, and The Dupps (Bo Dupp and Stan Dupp), as the CWF Mid-Atlantic Heavyweight, Cruiserweight and Tag Team Champions, respectively.
Its weekly television series, "CWF Championship Wrestling", was carried by Adelphia Cable, Charter Communications, Lexcom, Piedmont Cable, and Time Warner and syndicated throughout the region. By 2003, the series was being broadcast locally on then-UPN affiliate WUPN (now MyNetworkTV affiliate WMYV) and PAX station WGPX-TV, then the highest rated PAX affiliate in the country, reaching an audience of 1,500,000 in the Piedmont area alone and seen in at least 16 counties in North Carolina and Virginia. A year later, it was airing in over 50 cities and towns.[7] It was later broadcast on the internet as well via Highspots.TV[8][9][10] and CWF's official YouTube channel. CWF Mid-Atlantic additional exposure though its involvement in numerous fundraisers for charities, school clubs, civic groups, and similar organizations such as ARC of Alamance, American Red Cross and the Special Olympics. One of its most notable efforts was helping raise money for the Red Cross and Salvation Army, along with Don Kernodle, in the days following the September 11 terrorist attacks.[11] They also held events for individuals in need of financial assistance to pay for medical expenses. On August 20, 2005, CWF Mid Atlantic held a benefit show in King, North Carolina, for an 11-year-old wrestling fan, Stephen Arrowood,[6] who was left paralyzed from the waist-down following emergency surgery to remove a cancerous tumor from his spinal cord.[12]
The following year CWF Mid Atlantic promoted a lucha libre-themed event for Burlington's annual International Cultural Festival held at the Downtown Amphitheatre. The card featured Marcellus King and Señor Sábado Noche in a "lighting" (Relámpago) match and a Best 2 out of 3 FallsTrios match pitting Ultra Dragon, the Kamakazi Kid, and Brass Munkey against El Gemini, El Sucio, and Double K which lasted nearly an hour.[6] The promotion had appeared at last year's festival and the success of the lucha libre show led to CWF Mid Atlantic becoming a regular attraction.[13]
Rusty Loudermilk was a CWF mainstay, occupying a number of roles including sports agent and manager (under his alter-ego Rusty James).[17]
Affiliation with other independent promotions
In February 2001, CWF Mid-Atlantic became an official affiliate promotion for the Frontier Wrestling Alliance based in the United Kingdom. This was part of an association of independent wrestling groups in North America and Europe headed by the FWA. It was one of two promotions in the United States, along with FWA Texas, and subsequently changed its name to "FWA-Carolinas". This new international working agreement saw the sharing of talent and interpromotional events. "The Anarchist" Doug Williams, Jodie Fleisch,[4]Jonny Storm, Alex Shane, Flash Barker, Drew McDonald, British Women's Champion Sweet Saraya, and FWA-UK Commissioner Victoria Demonfort were among the FWA stars to appear for the CWF during the next three years.[18]
It was around this time that state legislation which put professional wrestling under the jurisdiction of the state's boxing commission threatened to shut down many, if not all, of the independent promotions operating in North Carolina. The cost of promoters to put on a wrestling show was tripled due to state regulation and put severe financial burdens on an industry which was already in a recession in the years following the "Attitude Era". CWF Mid-Atlantic was heavily involved in the campaign to stop the H-232 bill. The promotion's website provided fans with up-to-date information and encouraged them to contact their representatives.[19] The efforts of Jeff Rudd in particular, through Senator Hugh Webster, helped eventually remove pro wrestling from the bill.[4]
Count Grog's Southern Championship Wrestling, widely regarded as the state's top indy promotion, closed down in 2004. Many other promotions were forced to cease operations during this period which were absorbed by CWF Mid-Atlantic to some extent. The same year that SCW closed, it jointly promoted the final shows for Alternative Championship Wrestling (January 31, 2004) and South Atlantic Wrestling (November 27, 2004) in which both promotions were formerly merged with CWF Mid-Atlantic.[6] East Coast Pro Wrestling, another closely associated promotion, was also incorporated into the CWF.[4]
AWA Superstars
The promotion had a three-year association with AWA Superstars (AWA), one of 32 territories across the continental United States, with CWF Mid-Atlantic officially representing the Mid-Atlantic United States. Their membership in the AWA allowed the promotion to use its talent and many of its world champions, among those including CWF's own wrestlers, made title defenses on CWF live events when touring the region. Their own titles were renamed "AWA Mid-Atlantic" with all their events sanctioned by the organization.[6]
Key moments in the AWA-CWF relationship included Ric Converse capturing the AWA World Heavyweight Championship from Takao Omori on June 14, 2006,[20] and his subsequent feud with Steve Corino over the title.[8][21] Both Xsiris and T.J. Mack held the AWA World Light Heavyweight Championship[22] and The New Generation Dynasty (Ric Converse and Xsiris) held the AWA World Tag Team Championship.[23] On December 2, 2006, CWF Mid Atlantic hosted a major AWA supercard at the Carolina Sports Arena with many of its fellow AWA affiliates AWA Apex Wrestling (West Virginia), AWA Slam (Chicago), AWA Brew City Wrestling (Wisconsin), AWA World Star Wrestling (Connecticut, Pennsylvania, and Ohio), AWA North Atlantic (Maine), and AWA Power Pro Wrestling (North Carolina). The semi-main event featured T.J. Mack interfering in a title unification ladder match between Kirby Mack and Xsiris to win the AWA World Light Heavyweight title, and Rob McBride and Tank Lawson defeating the Old School Blondes (Steve Corino and Ricky Landell) to win the AWA World Tag Team titles.[6][24]
While champions, Converse and Xsiris defended the belts in a four-way "title vs. career" match against AWA Mid-Atlantic Tag Team Champions Rob McBride and Tank Lawson, AWA Mid-Atlantic Heavyweight Champion Joey Silvia and AWA Mid-Atlantic Television Champion "Simply" Steve Greene, and Neon Lions (Chris Collins and Lee Valiant) at CWF's "Absolute Justice" on June 16, 2007.[25] It was during this time that Dale Gagne, owner of AWA Superstars, was involved in a lawsuit with World Wrestling Entertainment over the use of the AWA name. Many affiliate promotions were dropped by the organization in early-2007 with the AWA officially terminating the sanctioning rights with CWF Mid-Atlantic as of July 29, 2007.[6]
Recent years
After their departure from AWA Superstars, CWF Mid-Atlantic continued their interpromotional activities. Two months before leaving the AWA, on May 19, 2007, CWF Mid-Atlantic held three live events in three different states; a Carolina Sports Arena television taping in Burlington, NC, a joint show with South Atlantic Wrestling at Hooker Stadium in Martinsville, VA, and a house show in Sharon, SC.[21]
They also joined another international governing body, Pro Wrestling International, which included US-based promotions in Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, and Texas as well as in Australia, the Netherlands, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom. Like their previous arraignment with the AWA, all members shared talent and recognized the PWI Ultra J-Crown Championship which was defended at live events by all involved. In the CWF, it was defending at many shows including at least two supercards.[26][27] On November 14, 2009, a PWI event involving CWF Mid-Atlantic, Premier Wrestling Showcase, and Rider's Championship Wrestling was held at the Mid-Atlantic Sportatorium in Burlington, North Carolina.[6]
In January 2011, CWF Mid-Atlantic co-promoted a show with Dragon Gate USA at the Carolina Sports Arena.[28] On April 1, 2011, the PWI International Heavyweight Championship changed hands between Ric Converse and Shane Helms at the Mid-Atlantic Sportatorium in Burlington, North Carolina.[29]
Postponement of all future events
On November 15, 2019, a post was made on the official website for CWF Mid-Atlantic announcing that all future events were postponed. The announcement suggested that "Our future is now going to be much different."[2] The federation did go forward with its Battlecade XX event on December 28, 2019.[3] No announcement or events have happened since, however, leaving the future of the federation in doubt.
In May 2010, the promotion formed a partnership with Amber O'Neal's Arena Chicks promotion.[36] With its assistance, Arena Chicks was able to produce its first DVD release, ArenaChicks, Volume 1, using matches held at the Mid-Atlantic Sportatorium including mixed tag matches with male CWF wrestlers.[37] On February 5, 2011, CWF Mid-Atlantic's “End of an Era, Part 1″ supercard at the Mid-Atlantic Sportatorium featured an interpromotional match between and Amber O’Neal and Jazz, the latter making her Arena Chicks debut. This match was included on the DVD release of ArenaChicks, Volume 2 that same year.[38]
The television title of CWF Mid-Atlantic. It was established as a cruiserweightchampionship in 2000 and defended until 2004.[43] It was reactivated two years later.[44][45]
The title was established in 2002 under FWA-Carolinas and continues to be defended within CWF Mid-Atlantic.[46][47]
PWI International Heavyweight Championship
Johnny Weaver Memorial Tournament winners
CWF Mid-Atlantic has held an annual open invitational tournament in honor of Johnny Weaver since 2004. It is typically a standard 8 or 16-man single-elimination tournament held annually in early May or late July with the finals ending at the end of August. The event not only showcased many of the younger wrestlers on the Southern independent circuit but also featured guest appearances by stars from the old Mid-Atlantic wrestling territory. Weaver regularly attended these events and would traditionally present the winner with the "Johnny Weaver Cup".[1] Following his death in 2008, it was turned into a memorial tournament and an award ceremony for fellow Mid-Atlantic wrestling legends. At the 2009 Johnny Weaver Cup, brothers Don and Rocky Kernodle, Jimmy Valiant, and Rich Landrum were all honored at the event. Wendi Weaver, the daughter of Johnny Weaver, also attended the event to accept the award on her father's behalf. Their new home arena, the Mid-Atlantic Sportatorium, was dedicated to the memory of the late Johnny Weaver.[48]
(2002–2005) Syndicated, also broadcast on UPN and the PAX Network.
CWF Worldwide
(2015–) broadcast every Wednesday at 9pm EST on YouTube.
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1 2 "Results From CWF Mid-Atlantic TV Taping Held On October 28th In Burlington, NC ." DeclarationofIndependents.net. Ed. Sean McCaffrey. N.p., Oct. 2006. Web. Oct. 5, 2011. <www.declarationofindependents.net/doi/pages/cwfawa1028.html>.
↑ "Results From CWF Mid-Atlantic Live Events Held On September 2nd In Manninc, SC And Burlington, NC." DeclarationofIndependents.net. Ed. Sean McCaffrey. N.p., Sept. 2004. Web. Oct. 5, 2011. <www.declarationofindependents.net/doi/pages/cwf92.html>.
↑ "CWF Mid-Atlantic Results From July 29th & 30th AWA World Light Heavyweight Title Tournament Held In Burlington, NC." DeclarationofIndependents.net. Ed. Sean McCaffrey. N.p., Aug. 2005. Web. Oct. 5, 2011. <www.declarationofindependents.net/doi/pages/cwfawa.html>.
↑ "AWA Claims They Have a New President: Perhaps due to the lawsuit the WWE has filed against Dale Gagner???." DeclarationofIndependents.net. Ed. Sean McCaffrey. N.p., Apr. 2007. Web. Oct. 5, 2011. <www.declarationofindependents.net/doi/pages/awaprezchange.html>.
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