Likewise, CWF fans were throughout the years treated to televised matches involving many of the territory's up and coming stars with the NWA champion of the time that served to completely propel their status in the eyes of the viewing public (i.e., in the year 2000 we would say "that served to put them over", whereas back then we simply believed these young guys were really honing their skills!). Examples include classic encounters between Hacksaw Butch Reed and Ric Flair, where Reed actually pinned Flair in an impromptu televised skirmish, and classic matches between Mike Rotondo and both Harley Race and Flair, and Barry Windham and Terry Allen against Flair as well. Again, we were in a different era, the age of the "traveling" world champion, and Florida was usually booked as a virtual landmine for the titleholder of that moment to get through.

House shows were of course an equally important part of the promotion during its time, with Florida cities such as Tampa, Orlando, St. Petersburg, Miami, Fort Lauderdale, West Palm Beach, and Lakeland being mainstays on the circuit throughout the years. For years CWF easily managed to bring in capacity crowds throughout these venues using proper build-up and the very real possibility of title changes as enticement. With televised title changes being much more rare than in today's era of prime time competition, prestigious belts such as the Southern and Florida Heavyweight titles were hotly contested and changed hands during house shows for the most part. Florida, as were most all of the territories of the day, was strong in continuity and would usually follow up with a highlight package of the change on the following week's CWF broadcast.

For a promotion with as many legendary performers and angles, and with over 40 years of history to boot, an introduction is obviously just a slight peek into what truly transpired throughout the years (but we need to save some for later of course!). 

NEXT MONTH: