THE TWENTY-FIVE GREATEST ANGLES
IN CWF HISTORY!

When I originally made the decision to write an article entitled “The Twenty-Five Greatest Angles In CWF History,” the thought of tackling that task seemed a bit overwhelming. How do you choose only twenty-five angles in a promotion that provided great booking and intelligent storylines on a consistent basis for so many years? Also, what constitutes a “great” angle? Was it because they were my personal favorites? Was it because they were the most memorable, or do we base our decisions on the historical value of each angle? Or do we rank them because they made the most money and drew record crowds? Sounds like an impossible assignment, doesn’t it? That’s what I thought, so I decided to enlist some help. 

I rounded up nine other veteran CWF wrestling fans, “experts” who had lived in Florida and witnessed many CWF cards live and in person. I tried to include a varied mix of fans, those that had seen the promotion in the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s-and some who had actually been fortunate enough to see CWF in all THREE decades. I asked each of these experts to list what they considered the greatest CWF angles of all time, and include their comments on why these angles were so special.

The results are an interesting mix of Florida wrestling’s top talent. There are really no great surprises in who made the list. Sure, Dusty Rhodes, Johnny Valentine, Eddie Graham, Kevin Sullivan and the Brisco brothers all made the cut. The big surprise comes in the talent that didn’t make the list. Rocky Johnson, Lars Anderson, The Ortons, Wahoo McDaniel, Bobby Shane, The Missouri Mauler, Dick Slater, Harley Race, The Spoiler, Cyclon Negro and a handful of legendary greats are no where to be found. But, before you blame me, remember the nine other judges who are equally responsible. Just for the record, I did vote for Wahoo! 

In alphabetical order, here are the ten judges who voted on the twenty-five greatest angles in CWF history.

Michael Bauman attended his first wrestling card at the age of 7 in August of 1968 at Miami’s Dinner Key Auditorium. Michael’s father was renowned photographer, Paul Bauman, who shot for various wrestling publications, including all of the Apter magazines, from 1973 until 1986. For eighteen years, Michael was a fixture on the Miami Beach wrestling cards, and is considered a historian on CWF. He also possesses one of the largest professional wrestling program collections in the world.

Jeff Bowdren had a life altering experience at age 12 when his grandmother took him to his first wrestling card in Savannah, Ga. Almost 30 years later, his love for the business has survived 2 bad marriages, 4 really great dogs (2 he still has) and a number of roadtrips with people you certainly wouldn't associate with....sober. 

·    Crimson Mask saw his first match when this kid named Jake did a 12-hour Broadway with some guy with wings, then asked everyone to call him 'Iz' instead. He would have been at Gotch-Hackenschmidt but couldn't find his buggy whip. He saw most of the great wrestlers who came to perform in the hard-hitting, wrestling-oriented Florida style, starting with Eddie Graham and Iron Mike DiBiase almost up until the very end, which he thankfully missed having to witness, living in California at the time. He is only almost 29.  More...