The Pro Wrestling Federation (PWF) was a professional wrestling promotion that held events in the Carolinas area of the United States from October 1990 to December 2000, when it was run by George South and Gary Sabaugh. The promotion was based in Charlotte, North Carolina, with offices in Hickory, North Carolina. The PWF was consistently ranked among the top independent promotions in the Southern United States by Pro Wrestling Illustrated throughout the 1990s.
History and overview
Formation
The promotion was founded by former Jim Crockett Promotions wrestlers George South and Gary Sabaugh in 1990. During the company's first year in operation, The Russian Assassin was billed as PWF Heavyweight Champion while George South and The Rising Sun were awarded the PWF Tag Team Championship. On June 15, 1991, South also became the first PWF Junior Heavyweight Champion after winning a tournament held in Charlotte. In April 1992, the PWF was named the top independent promotion in the Southeastern United States by Pro Wrestling Illustrated, and was considered among the region's leading companies throughout the decade.
The promotion also had a number of other singles titles including the PWF Lightweight Championship (1992), PWF United States Championship (1993), PWF Southern Championship (1993) and PWF Women's Championship (1992-1993) but these were all short-lived. The first PWF Intercontinental Champion was crowned in a tournament final on January 29, 1994, in Inman, South Carolina, when American G.I. defeated The Russian Assassin. This title was replaced by the PWF Eastern States Heavyweight Championship following a tournament won by Tyrone Knox the following year.
Sabaugh took over the promotion in October 1994. This allowed South to wrestle for other Southern independents, however, he continued to be involved with the PWF and its training school for its entire 9-year run.
Territorial reach
The PWF's "home territory" was the Carolinas with its live events held in many of the smaller towns once run by the Crockett family in the National Wrestling Alliance's old Mid-Atlantic territory. PWF event tours also included church fundraisers, high school gyms, national guard armories and fairs in cities throughout North and South Carolina, Virginia, and West Virginia. By 1995, the promotion was running at least four shows a week in the Carolinas alone.
In the early-1990s, the promotion filmed two television pilots with hopes of a weekly television series. The PWF was able to get a studio wrestling show on WBTV (Channel 15) in Charlotte, North Carolina but it only lasted six months on the air. One of the two filmed pilots were later released on DVD in the late-2000s.
Notable talent
The promotion was able to bring in a number of former stars from Jim Crockett Promotions during its early years including, most notably, The Barbarian, Jack Victory, Ron Garvin, Wahoo McDaniel, and The Rock 'n' Roll Express (Ricky Morton and Robert Gibson). Bambi and Peggy Lee Leather from Ladies Professional Wrestling Association also made several appearances during this period. As South and Sabaugh were regulars on WCW television, the two were able to use their connections to bring in The Equalizer, Firebreaker Chip and The Guerreros (Eddie Guerrero and Hector Guerrero) for championship runs in the early-to-mid 1990s.
The PWF featured a number of wrestlers who were regulars in the Southeastern wrestling scene and was the birthplace of Men on a Mission (Mabel and Mo). It also featured a number of younger wrestlers in the Carolinas who had not yet made their mark on a national stage, including Chris Hamrick, Kid Kash (then known as David Jericho), Mike Maverick, Ron Killings, Venom and The Hardy Boyz. Starting in 1993, The Hardys had their first-ever matches in the PWF. Sabaugh was impressed by their high-flying moves but felt they were too inexperienced and lacked basic fundamentals and in-ring psychology. He wanted the brothers to train at their wrestling school, however, the Hardys were unable to afford the $3,000 class fees. They ultimately decided to create their own promotion, OMEGA Championship Wrestling, which operated from 1997 to 1999.
South and Sabaugh's wrestling school, the PWF Training Center, was located in Charlotte, North Carolina. This allowed the promotion to develop its own crew of home grown talent. Some of their early students included Madd Maxxine, Henry O. Godwinn, and referee Charles Robinson who would later go on to join the World Wrestling Federation.