| Former type | Privately held limited liability company |
|---|---|
| Industry | Professional Wrestling Sports Entertainment Rasslin Puroresu Lucha Libre |
| Founded | 2001 |
| Defunct | 2011 |
| Headquarters | Tampa, FL Spring Hill, FL, U.S. |
| Key people | Jimmy Hart - President |
| Parent | SunWest Management Services, LLC |
| Website | OFFICIAL WEBSITE OFFICIAL XWF SHOP |
Xtreme Wrestling Federation (XWF) was an American professional wrestling promotion. The organization's heyday was from early November 2001 to late February 2002. Its birth coincided with the World Wrestling Federation's acquisition of AOL Time Warner's World Championship Wrestling. XWF's slogan was "No more prima donnas, no more politics... In your face!". They looked to promote a product that the whole family could watch and enjoy by bringing back pro-wrestling storylines with a 21st century spin as an alternative to sports entertainment. The previous number two and three American promotions, the aforementioned World Championship Wrestling and Extreme Championship Wrestling, had folded earlier in 2001, leaving only one national wrestling company. As such, the letter "X" in XWF stood for the missing variable in the industry. The official definition of the "X" became Xcitement as cited by "Mean" Gene Okerlund in the Extras on the XWF DVD and not "Xtreme" as sometimes written.
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The idea of the XWF was generated when several wrestling superstars including Hulk Hogan, Jimmy Hart, The Nasty Boys (Knobbs and Saggs) and Greg Valentine were pitched the idea by Kevin Harrington of replacing the then AOL Time Warner owned World Championship Wrestling which was then purchased by rival competitor World Wrestling Federation. The basis of the XWF was to create a wrestling federation showcasing Family Friendly entertainment all while displaying talents of current Wrestling Legends and future superstars similar to the format that was used in WCW Saturday Night / WCW Main Event. The reason was to create a PG style of wrestling that was opposite of what WCW was since the nWo started.
In November 2001, filming took place for the new XWF Wrestling Promotion. Present that weekend at Universal Studios in Orlando, Florida and filmed in matches were Hulk Hogan, Jimmy "Superfly" Snuka, "Rowdy" Roddy Piper, Greg Valentine, "Hacksaw" Jim Duggan, Bobby "The Brain" Heenan, Jimmy Hart, The Nasty Boys, The Road Warriors, Curt Hennig, Buff Bagwell, Jimmy Snuka, Jr., Rena Mero, Jerry "The King" Lawler, "Mean" Gene Okerlund, and a host of others. The head writer for the promotion was Colin Bowman, former Editor and Publisher of WCW Magazine.
Jimmy Hart acquired the rights for the XWF for an undetermined amount in 2004. In September 2004, the idea of bringing a special television series about the XWF to The Wrestling Channel and likely other channels thereafter was explored by Hart. During July 2005, the XWF released a three DVD series called In Your Face: The Lost Episodes of the XWF. It featured 19 matches from the original Universal Studios tapings with extras including an interview with Hulk Hogan. The series is hosted by Jimmy Hart and Brian Knobbs.
In November 2008 the XWF re-launched its wrestling website displaying the new logo. In January 2009 it was rumored that there were talks of a possible pay-per-view similar to how Total Nonstop Action and Ring of Honor received their television deals. Also, footage from the XWF "invasion" of Puerto Rico in 2002 was to be released. Additionally, plans were underway to launch a series of matches featuring living legends from 2001, new up and coming talent, as well as having living remaining members make personal appearances for the XWF. A Special Collectors set including a DVD, T-Shirt, autographs, and an actual piece of the ring apron from the 2001 tapings was expected to be released later in 2009.
As of 2011, no further activity from the relaunched XWF has taken place, and the website has been taken down.
XWF’s wrestling style was to encompass Sports Entertainment, Rasslin, Puroresu and Lucha Libre, as many of the talent signed to the federation trained primarily in each or all of these styles of wrestling.
The XWF holds four distinctive wrestling divisions with titles for each: The XWF Heavyweight Championship, the XWF Tag Team Championship, the XWF Cruiserweight Championship and the XWF Women’s Championship. Talks of a 5th championship are rumored and, if created, would be a mid-card title similar to World Wrestling Entertainment’s Intercontinental and United States Championships or Total Nonstop Action’s Television Championship.
| Championship | Champion(s) |
|---|---|
| XWF Heavyweight Champion | Mabel |
| XWF Tag Team Champions | The Nasty Boys |
| XWF Cruiserweight Champion | Kid Kash |
| XWF Women's Champion | Christie Ricci |