American Wrestling Federation
Encyclopedia
The American Wrestling Federation (AWF) was a national professional wrestling
federation founded by Paul Alperstein.
He intended to reintroduce rules as a significant part of professional wrestling
. This was carried out by the use of timed rounds and judges in every match, which is similar to the rules of professional wrestling in Europe
and as well as Boxing
.
Each round was four minutes long with a one-minute rest period between rounds. Title bouts were scheduled for twelve rounds while all other fights were scheduled for three. One referee and two judges were assigned to each match. The winner of each round was decided by both the judges' scorecards and the referee's scorecard. If a match lasted the full amount of scheduled rounds, the winner was declared as whoever had the majority of points on each of the three scorecards.
Another rule implemented was that throwing opponents over the top rope resulted in an automatic disqualification.
Only a few wrestlers in this organization had experience in European wrestling, most notably England's Chris Adams and "Mr. Ambassador" Steve Casey (not to be confused with the World Class wrestler of the same name).
Jim Brunzell was named AWF commissioner
by Alperstein in hopes that he would make sure the above rules were enforced.
The promotion held several house show
s and was building towards a pay per view event, but closed in December 1996 for financial reasons.
Tito Santana defended the AWF Championship belt on a National Championship Wrestling event in York, Pennsylvania
against former AWF wrestler Salvatore Sincere. The storyline was that Santana had dodged Sincere during their AWF days in the mid 1990s and Santana agreed to put the belt on the line against Sincere. Santana won the match for his last title defense, albeit unofficial.
The program resurfaced throughout the United States in late 1996 with new episodes.
The announce team consisted of Mick Karch as announcer and Terry Taylor
as color commentator. Taylor was replaced by Lord Alfred Hayes in 1996.
Ken Resnick handled interview segments. He was replaced by Missy Hyatt
in 1996.
In 2005, the entire run of 1995 episodes was released as a 4-disc DVD
set by Highland Entertainment. It is unknown when or if a second volume will be released with the remaining episodes as there were many not in the DVD set.
As of January 2006, reruns can be seen on Europe's Clear Television via the cluster of Astra
satellites at 19.2° east
.
In 1994 at an in house show which was held in Chicago IL, at the old Chicago studio city it was the second show ever, to make it seem like it was a sold out show(tickets were free) homeless people were offered free food to attend.
Professional wrestling
Professional wrestling is a mode of spectacle, combining athletics and theatrical performance.Roland Barthes, "The World of Wrestling", Mythologies, 1957 It takes the form of events, held by touring companies, which mimic a title match combat sport...
federation founded by Paul Alperstein.
History
Alperstein, a promoter from Chicago, founded the AWF in 1994 and was on-air president of the company.He intended to reintroduce rules as a significant part of professional wrestling
Professional wrestling
Professional wrestling is a mode of spectacle, combining athletics and theatrical performance.Roland Barthes, "The World of Wrestling", Mythologies, 1957 It takes the form of events, held by touring companies, which mimic a title match combat sport...
. This was carried out by the use of timed rounds and judges in every match, which is similar to the rules of professional wrestling in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
and as well as Boxing
Boxing
Boxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...
.
Each round was four minutes long with a one-minute rest period between rounds. Title bouts were scheduled for twelve rounds while all other fights were scheduled for three. One referee and two judges were assigned to each match. The winner of each round was decided by both the judges' scorecards and the referee's scorecard. If a match lasted the full amount of scheduled rounds, the winner was declared as whoever had the majority of points on each of the three scorecards.
Another rule implemented was that throwing opponents over the top rope resulted in an automatic disqualification.
Only a few wrestlers in this organization had experience in European wrestling, most notably England's Chris Adams and "Mr. Ambassador" Steve Casey (not to be confused with the World Class wrestler of the same name).
Jim Brunzell was named AWF commissioner
Commissioner
Commissioner is in principle the title given to a member of a commission or to an individual who has been given a commission ....
by Alperstein in hopes that he would make sure the above rules were enforced.
The promotion held several house show
House show
A house show is a professional wrestling show run by a major promotion that is not televised, though they can be recorded. Promotions use house shows mainly to cash in on the exposure that they and their wrestlers receive during televised events, as well as test reactions to matches, wrestlers, and...
s and was building towards a pay per view event, but closed in December 1996 for financial reasons.
Tito Santana defended the AWF Championship belt on a National Championship Wrestling event in York, Pennsylvania
York, Pennsylvania
York, known as the White Rose City , is a city located in York County, Pennsylvania, United States which is in the South Central region of the state. The population within the city limits was 43,718 at the 2010 census, which was a 7.0% increase from the 2000 count of 40,862...
against former AWF wrestler Salvatore Sincere. The storyline was that Santana had dodged Sincere during their AWF days in the mid 1990s and Santana agreed to put the belt on the line against Sincere. Santana won the match for his last title defense, albeit unofficial.
Warriors of Wrestling
In 1995, the company introduced a program called Warriors of Wrestling for syndication. The initial run consisted of footage shot from 1994 to 1995.The program resurfaced throughout the United States in late 1996 with new episodes.
The announce team consisted of Mick Karch as announcer and Terry Taylor
Terry Taylor
Terry Taylor , is an American retired professional wrestler best known for his time in the National Wrestling Alliance, World Championship Wrestling, and the World Wrestling Federation...
as color commentator. Taylor was replaced by Lord Alfred Hayes in 1996.
Ken Resnick handled interview segments. He was replaced by Missy Hyatt
Missy Hyatt
Melissa Ann Hiatt is an American professional wrestling valet, better known by her ring name, Missy Hyatt. She gained the majority of her fame while working for World Championship Wrestling and Extreme Championship Wrestling....
in 1996.
In 2005, the entire run of 1995 episodes was released as a 4-disc DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
set by Highland Entertainment. It is unknown when or if a second volume will be released with the remaining episodes as there were many not in the DVD set.
As of January 2006, reruns can be seen on Europe's Clear Television via the cluster of Astra
SES Astra
Astra is the name for the geostationary communication satellites, both individually and as a group, which are owned and operated by SES S.A., a global satellite operator based in Betzdorf, in eastern Luxembourg. The name is sometimes also used to describe the channels broadcasting from these...
satellites at 19.2° east
Astra 19.2°E
Astra 19.2°E is the name for the group of communications satellites co-located at the 19.2°East orbital position in the Clarke Belt that are owned and operated by SES Astra, a subsidiary of SES based in Betzdorf, Luxembourg....
.
In 1994 at an in house show which was held in Chicago IL, at the old Chicago studio city it was the second show ever, to make it seem like it was a sold out show(tickets were free) homeless people were offered free food to attend.
AWF Heavyweight Championship
| Wrestler: | Times: | Date: | Place: |
| Tito Santana Tito Santana Merced Solis better known by his ring name Tito Santana, is an American professional wrestler whose heyday spanned from the late 1970s to the early 1990s, though he continues to appear on the independent circuit. He is best known from his time in the World Wrestling Federation... |
1 | November 29, 1994 | Chicago Chicago Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles... (defeated Bob Orton Jr. Bob Orton, Jr. Robert Keith Orton is an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, "Cowboy" Bob Orton. He is the father of wrestler Randy Orton, who is signed to World Wrestling Entertainment... in tournament final) |
| Bob Orton Jr. Bob Orton, Jr. Robert Keith Orton is an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, "Cowboy" Bob Orton. He is the father of wrestler Randy Orton, who is signed to World Wrestling Entertainment... |
1 | October 5, 1996 | Fort Lauderdale, FL (defeated Tito Santana Tito Santana Merced Solis better known by his ring name Tito Santana, is an American professional wrestler whose heyday spanned from the late 1970s to the early 1990s, though he continues to appear on the independent circuit. He is best known from his time in the World Wrestling Federation... to win title) |
| Tito Santana Tito Santana Merced Solis better known by his ring name Tito Santana, is an American professional wrestler whose heyday spanned from the late 1970s to the early 1990s, though he continues to appear on the independent circuit. He is best known from his time in the World Wrestling Federation... |
2 | October 5, 1996 | Fort Lauderdale, FL (defeated Bob Orton Jr. Bob Orton, Jr. Robert Keith Orton is an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, "Cowboy" Bob Orton. He is the father of wrestler Randy Orton, who is signed to World Wrestling Entertainment... to win title) |
AWF Tag Team Championship
| Wrestler: | Times: | Date: | Place: |
| Tommy Rich Tommy Rich Thomas Richardson , better known by his ring name, "Wildfire" Tommy Rich, is a professional wrestler. He is best known for his wrestling career in Georgia and Memphis throughout the 1980s.-Professional wrestling career:... and Greg Valentine Greg Valentine John Wisniski, Jr. is an American professional wrestler, better known as Greg "The Hammer" Valentine. He is the son of wrestler Johnny Valentine.-Training:... |
1 | May 21, 1995 | (defeated Koko B. Ware and Tony Atlas Tony Atlas Anthony White better known by his ring name "Tony Atlas" is an American bodybuilder, powerlifter, and professional wrestler who has held multiple titles and championships in each sport. He is also known by his bodybuilding title, "Mr... in tournament final) |