The Turtle Logo Story

"The Turtle Logo Story"
by Curt Lemon, co-producer for PWF

I've known Steve Corino for almost 22 years. Even before he wrestled, we played softball together. When he took off to find his fame and fortune in professional wrestling, he never changed. OK, he didn't find fortune, but got a little fame. He's always been a dreamer (Pun intended) and so have I.

In 2001, fresh off his run in Extreme Championship Wrestling, he started the Pennsylvania Wrestling Federation (PWF). Rob Dimension and Bryan Riegel came aboard shortly after and they re-branded the company the Premier Wrestling Federation. Premier means "First Rate". And that was their goal.

For almost three years, they ran some great shows in suburban Philadelphia. While the hype (and rightfully so) was always with the Philadelphia-based Ring of Honor, the PWF held its own fifty miles away in the tiny town of Pottstown. 

In 2004, the PWF re-branded itself as Pro-Wrestling WORLD-1, but the PWF name didn't die. Former PWF tag team champions, The Damned, started promoting quality shows as "PWF Northeast" up until 2013.

Steve didn't want to get back into running events. He lives at the beach in North Carolina, works as a commentator for Ring of Honor, and still wrestles on the independent scene. That added to becoming a father for the first time in 17 years, it was a hard sell for him.

In September, I took a trip with my wife to hang out with the Corino's at their home for a weekend and we got talking about how there isn't a lot of pro-wrestling in the area and it would new. I didn't think I could talk him into it until the boys from PWF Northeast said that would be re-branding their promotion in 2014. The lightbulb above Steve's head appeared! We, along with a few others, would bring the Premier Wrestling Federation to the Crystal Coast of North Carolina.

The next generation of the PWF will mix "Old School" and "New School". Small shows in small towns, where we focus on a different style of booking consisting of a mix of Japanese style tournaments, old school personal issues, and a development of characters.

Now after reading all of this, you are probably wondering, "What about the turtle?". Oh yes, the turtle.

The Crystal Coast of North Carolina is a beautiful region on the Atlantic Ocean. The sea turtle is a protected animal in every town and city in the area. Steve, one day on his way to the airport, wanted to incorporate a community aspect to the PWF and being a lifelong fan of New Japan Pro-Wrestling, he came up with the idea of the turtle being in the secondary logo. He contacted graphic artist Rick Fonseca and the idea was now a reality.

On behalf of all of us at the new PWF, we hope that you enjoy our journey. We aren't going to take over the world, but in Steve's words "We just want to entertain people."