National Wrestling Federation

National Wrestling Federation, Inc. (NWF) is a Magisterian professional wrestling promotion. A global integrated media and entertainment company, NWF has also branched out into other fields, including film, American football, and various other business ventures. The company is additionally involved in licensing its intellectual property to companies to produce video games and action figures.

The promotion, created in 1972 by Marco Rousseau II, is the largest in Magisteria and is sometimes compared to the WWE. Mathias, Little Belgium, is the company's global headquarters, with offices in Stamford, New York, Pittsburgh, Los Angeles, Mexico City, Shanghai, Moscow, Singapore, Dubai, and Quezon City.

NWF shows, like other professional wrestling promotions, are entertainment-based performance theater, with story line-driven, scripted, and partially choreographed matches; however, matches frequently include moves that can put performers in danger of injury, if not performed correctly. NWF markets its product as sports entertainment, recognizing the roots of wrestling in competitive sport and dramatic theater. Marco Rousseau III, a second-generation wrestling promoter, is the principal owner of the firm.

Early years (1972–1980)
Prior to the establishment of the NWF, the Magisterian wrestling business was controlled by Golden Canvas Grappling (GCG), which was enjoying significant artistic and commercial success at the time. On his 18th birthday in 1972, Marco Rousseau II, the son of shipping billionaire Marco Rousseau I, got a M$20 million trust fund payout and immediately set about establishing the National Wrestling Federation.

The National Wrestling Federation was formally created on June 22, 1972, with its first ever performance attended by 25,000 people. The program was a critical and commercial success, and the company went on to sign Magisteria's most popular wrestler, Master Sullivan, to an exclusive deal, which was unheard of in Magisteria during that time.

Using principles learnt from various forms of entertainment, Rousseau created a product that appealed to the broadest potential audience. While some sneered at the absence of a clearly defined wrestling style and the frequent usage of non-wrestling parts in weekly presentations, the NWF achieved levels of popularity not seen since the resurrection of Magisterian wrestling in 1960.

Boom period (1980-1995)
By the early 1980s, the NWF had overtaken GCG as the most well-known wrestling promotion in Magisteria. The NWF heavily advertised its inaugural pay-per-view, titled 'Night of Legends,' in 1981, with Master Sullivan defending the NWF World Heavyweight championship against Mark Krogan in the main event. On July 12, 1981, the inaugural Night of Legends was held.

The match itself was decent if unspectacular, although it was bolstered by a fervent audience. Sullivan grabbed the early lead, manhandling his opponent with his vast size advantage, until Krogan came back with cheap punches. The conclusion is perhaps one of the most memorable in wrestling history; Korgan struck Sullivan with a DDT, but Sullivan kicked out just before the three count. He then retaliated on the stunned Krogan, hitting three consecutive piledrivers to exact revenge on the neck damage he sustained as a result of Krogan's DDT three months prior to the event, knocking the challenger out cold for the three count to retain the championship.

The event was an incredible success owing largely to this battle. It garnered the greatest attendance for the NWF at the time (about 65,000 people), established a record for the company's largest pay-per-view audience until 2001, and is largely regarded as the defining event in Magisterian wrestling history. NWF exploited this as a springboard to massive commercial success, and the company went on to become the country's unquestioned number one promotion.

Master Sullivan, the NWF World Heavyweight champion at that time, announced his unexpected retirement in 1985, leaving many wondering who would follow him as a major franchise player and champion for the company. It happened when Christian Faith, a youngster, jumped Master Sullivan from behind after announcing his retirement, and attracted the greatest prolonged heel heat in the company's history. Christian Faith wrestled Master Sullivan for the NWF World Heavyweight championship in July 1985, at the sixth annual Night of Legends event, in a winning effort.

The battle lasted 22 minutes and marked a watershed moment in Magisterian wrestling. It was Master Sullivan's final match before retiring and passing away at the age of 49 in 1991. Faith went on to enjoy a 'Golden Year,' during which he was the clear top person in the promotion for a whole year, delivering fans with amazing championship defenses over the likes of Mike Kinsey, Rory McCallum, Sid Streets, and Alex Pierce before losing the belt to Sam Keith in 1986.

In 1993, the NWF witnessed one of the most violent fifteen minutes it had ever witnessed. In a no-disqualification bout, Genghis Rahn fought Karl Jackson. After a few minutes of brawling in the ring, the two wrestlers spilled to the outside, where they brawled with amazing fury along the aisle, over the sound stage, past the audience, and back to the ring. By the time they arrived in the ring, both men were bleeding heavily after being hit with weapons, with Genghis Rahn in particular virtually unrecognizable due to the quantity of blood covering his face and upper body. Rahn finished the carnage by powerbombing Jackson through a ringside table and pulled him back in for the win after smacking Jackson with a hard chair blow to the head.

While the bout was an superbly intense brawl in its own right, it was the shockwaves it created that made it so renowned. Both MBC and the NWF were bombarded with complaints from irate viewers, while a large number of fans who were growing tired of the slow-paced matches that were usually presented to them were ecstatic, wanting NWF to present more of this new extreme style. Marco Rousseau was enraged at the uproar this match had produced, especially since he had not been contacted beforehand, and it was long-standing company policy that matches featuring blood or severe violence required his personal approval.

After a huge backstage argument, Genghis Rahn was fired immediately after the match; he joined small East Coast promotion DAVE (known as Piledriver Wrestling before 1995) a few months later, and became the company's leading figurehead to its gradual shift toward presenting a more violent style of wrestling. Karl Jackson was penalized by being assigned to a dull opening match tag team with Brick Fantana; he departed six months later to join NWF's main competitor, GCG. The match caused the NWF to become even more conservative, which helped them maintain their lucrative TV program.

Rise of junior wrestling (1995-1997)
Marco Rousseau began hiring previously unidentified junior heavyweight wrestlers from Magisteria's indie scene in 1995. This was part of his endeavor to promote fast-paced junior heavyweight wrestling to the Magisterian public after witnessing Japan's success. The first match involving junior wrestlers was between Optimus and Elemental, which took place at the annual September event The Battle Beyond.

The battle pitted two wrestlers prepared to take any risk to win, and it included some never-before-seen high flying top rope techniques. More significantly, the crowd was enthralled by the action and was reacting to the wrestlers in ways that were generally reserved for the grapplers in the main event scenario. After twenty-five minutes, Optimus missed a moonsault, leaving him dazed and vulnerable to an assault. Elemental took advantage of the situation, pounding the youngster with a Brainbuster Suplex for the win, earning probably the greatest standing ovation ever given to a wrestler in Magisterian wrestling.

Junior wrestling in Magisteria became increasingly popular immediately following the event, leading to the NWF launching the NWF Junior Heavyweight championship and the junior heavyweight division. While the initial battle between Optimus and Elemental was a huge success, the rematch in the 1996 Night of Legends event solidified Junior wrestling as a force to be reckoned with in Magisteria.

The match itself is widely recognized as the greatest Junior match of the time, and was so far ahead of its time that it would still be hailed as a classic if it had occurred today, two decades later. The two wrestlers traded lightning-fast aerial maneuvers, flawless technical holds and counters, and daring dives for 45 minutes. Elemental attempted a Brainbuster Suplex to end the bout, but Optimus slid out the back of the move and executed a German Suplex for the three count, becoming the second-ever NWF Junior Heavyweight champion.

Rise of new stars (1997-1999)
In late 1997, top star Christian Faith announced his retirement and advised Rousseau to strongly promote three young talents he had trained: Bryan Vessey, Monty Walker, and Rico Santana. Rousseau consented, and the three were set to face the NWF's then-three most popular stars in a match that would permanently impact the trio's lives. Rico Santana pinned Sam Keith clean in the first of three major events at the 1998 Night of Legends event to enable him advance to the main event stage.

Monty Walker submitted Warren Young in the second of three main events to solidify his reputation as a dangerous opponent. Christian Faith lost his third world championship via pinfall against Bryan Vessey in the main event. After that, the Faith Trio dominated the NWF during the later part of the 1990s and the early half of the 2000s.

Continued rise in popularity (2000s)
Many modifications were undertaken as the NWF reached the 2000s; the corporation established its first 'brand' split in 2002 owing to an abundance of talent.

First brand split (2002–present)
Due to an oversupply of talent, the NWF issued their first brand split in December 2002. The NWF brand split, inspired by WWE's brand split the same year, began with a draft lottery, with each set of wrestlers appearing on one of their flagship shows, Battleground and Intensity. The brand split is held virtually every year to set the rosters, with the initial draft determining the first split rosters and subsequent drafts aimed to renew each show's lineups.

Due to the brand split, the Intensity brand required a new world championship, as the Battleground brand had the original NWF World Heavyweight title. Peter Valentine won the NWF Universal title, which was designed for the Intensity brand, in a sixteen-man single-elimination tournament. In 2008, the NWF exacerbated the brand separation by giving its junior heavyweight division its own brand, Lightning. It also meant that the junior heavyweight titles for Battleground (original NWF Junior Heavyweight title, renamed Battleground Junior Championship) and Intensity (Intensity Junior Championship) had to be merged into the brand, giving rise to the NWF Unified Junior Heavyweight championship. Despite the fact that junior wrestlers have their own brand, they can still be drafted to Battleground or Intensity.

COVID-19 pandemic and return to touring (2020–2021)
The Magisterian outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic began to affect the NWF in March 2020. As a preventive move, three of the four major sports leagues closed locker rooms to the media in mid-March. As other sports were being canceled or postponed, the NWF began filming its weekly programs at the National School Of Wrestling faculty in Santiago, West Yukon, without spectators and with only essential staff present, beginning with the March 16 episode of Battleground - the March 11 episode of Lightning had been recorded at the faculty with paying fans, making it the NWF's last event with ticketed fans in attendance before the pandemic took full effect. The Night of Legends event became a two-night affair, beginning with the 39th event on July 11 and 12, with fans in attendance, albeit in limited numbers.

The NWF hosted its annual April event The World Is Watching in April 2021. The facility was increased to maximum capacity for the pay-per-view event, marking the NWF's first event with a capacity crowd since March 2020. NWF announced in May 2021 that they will resume live touring, beginning with the May 10 edition of Battleground.

Contracts
The majority of NWF's talent is signed to exclusive contracts, which means they can only appear or perform on NWF programs and events. They are not allowed to appear or perform for another promotion unless prior agreements are made. NWF maintains all wrestlers' salaries, lengths of employment, perks, and other contract data totally confidential.