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| - The Canadian Wrestling Federation was the first major wrestling promotion in Canada. It was founded in 1974 by Ed "Strangler" Henson, a legendary Canadian wrestler who had hoped to bring wrestling to his home country on a large scale. Prior to the founding of the CWF, the Canadian wrestling scene was almost non-existent, with a handful of small promotions coming and going within months, only drawing a few hundred fans to each show. Henson changed this by signing numerous Canadian wrestlers who had achieved superstardom in the United States, first and foremost being Dan Stone, considered the best wrestler in the world at the time, and the figurehead of the CWF. Other superstars central to the CWF's success included "Gorgeous" George DeColt, "Whipper" Spencer Marks, and "The Canadian Superstar," Jackson Andrews. For nearly a decade the Canadian Wrestling federation prospered, anchored by Stone as the CWF National Champion (the company's highest title), and DeColt and Marks forming a highly popular tag team known as the Calgary Wolverines. During this time, the CWF was so popular in Canada, not even the Supreme Wrestling Federation, the dominant promotion in the United States, dared to run shows north of the border. However, the opposite was also true; the CWF was unable to expand into the US and challenge the SWF's dominance. This led to the CWF gradually becoming stagnant and suffering a decline in popularity. In 1985, Dan Stone, the long-time face of the CWF, decided to retire. As a way of thanking Stone for his hard work, Ed Henson sold him the rights to the Alberta and Ontario territories, which Stone used to set up his own promotion, North Of The Border Pro Wrestling. Rather than acting as a straight competitor to the CWF, NOTBPW competed alongside it, and the two promotions would exchange talent as a way of keeping each organizaiton fresh. The end of the CWF came in 1989, with the death of Henson on January 3rd. By this time, both Marks and Andrews had retired and walked away from the business, while DeColt, already retired for several years due to an arm injury, was working for the SWF, learning the Sports-Entertainment model that made that organization so successful. As a result, no successor was readily available to fill Henson's shoes, and the CWF officially closed its doors. With the CWF officially defunct, NOTBPW became the sole and dominant force in Canadian wrestling, until DeColt returned to his home country to create Canadian Golden Combat. The success of the Canadian Wrestling Federation paved the way for these highly successful promotions that exist to this day, as well as establish Canada as one of the hottest countries in the world of professional wrestling.
- Canadian Wrestling Federation is a Canadian-based wrestling promotion. It was founded in 1995 by Frank Piche. In 1996, control was handed over to Ernie Todd and Bob Cowan. It is based out of Winnipeg.
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