International Wrestling Federation
| Acronym | IWF |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1979 |
| Defunct | 1996 |
| Headquarters |
Reading, Massachusetts Burlington, Vermont |
| Founder(s) | Killer Kowalski |
| Owner(s) | Killer Kowalski (1979-1996) |
The International Wrestling Federation (IWF, also known as Killer Kowalski's All-Stars) was a professional wrestling promotion that held events in the Northeastern United States from 1979 to 1996, when it was run by Killer Kowalski. The promotion was based in Reading, Massachusetts, with offices in Burlington, Vermont. It operated in conjunction with Kowalski's famed wrestling school in Malden, Massachusetts.
The International Wrestling Federation was formed in 1979 by Killer Kowalski two years after starting his wrestling school, the Killer Kowalski Institute for Professional Wrestling, in Malden, Massachusetts. According to former student John Callahan, Kowalski decided to form his own group after an argument with Angelo Savoldi at the Boston Garden. The first championship titles were introduced in 1982 with Kowalski and The Executioners being billed as the first IWF Heavyweight and Tag Team Champions respectively. That same year, the IWF began airing a Sunday morning show, Bedlam from Boston, on the WXNE-TV. During this period, Kowalski partnered with Dominic DeNucci and Bruno Sammartino's "International Wrestling" group based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Kowalski initially promoted shows in the Greater Boston Area but eventually toured throughout the Northeastern United States. IWF event tours also included high school gyms and fairs in cities throughout New England. Some of the promotion's regular towns included Andover, Bellingham, Billerica, Grafton, Middleboro, Norwood, Waltham, and Westford, Massachusetts. Kowalsi was able to promote IWF shows via his weekly column, "Killer's Corner", for the Boston Sunday Herald. The IWF relocated to Burlington, Vermont in the early-1990s but returned to the Boston area by November 2001.
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