Shawn Crossen

Shawn Crossen (born in Anoka, Minnesota) is the creator of "NWF Kids Pro Wrestling" back in the mid 1980s. At the age of 14, he formed a youth based professional style wrestling league that eventually held live events drawing hundreds of fans with even thousands more that tuned into the weekly cable television program they produced and aired all across the country, with Crossen acting as wrestler, promoter and producer.
Early years
The wrestling league was formed by Crossen and childhood friend Charley Lane in early 1984. The matches took place in a basement and were taped and edited for community television. The league went by several names in the first year until it was eventually and officially known as "NWF Wrestling". The quality of wrestling was still developing in this early stage, but the rivalries and storylines were quite entertaining. This popularity growth would eventually lead to large crowds at public NWF events.
National cable television
By 1985, Crossen took the NWF from Anoka, Minnesota to a national audience all across the country by way of cable television. Crossen did this by circulating his weekly wrestling program he produced to cities across the United States. It was the first professional wrestling for children in the United States.
Live public events
By 1986 at the age of 16, Crossen was the youngest-ever wrestling promoter in the United States. On May 9, 1986 at the Anoka Armory, Crossen promoted his first "live" professional wrestling event at the Anoka Armory drawing close to 350 fans, with events later that year, selling out with over 450 fans.
Pro Wrestling America
After receiving training and guidance from Eddie Sharkey in 1986, on November 8, 1986 Crossen and Sharkey worked together and promoted a double header card in Champlin, MN at the American Legion Hall. This event was sold out with standing room only. Crossen and Sharkey became friends and wrestling opportunists. In 1989, after dissolving the NWF, Crossen wrestled for Eddie Sharkey between 1989-1990 capturing the PWA Middleweight Championship.
Book
In 2004, Crossen paid vanity press AuthorHouse to print a book titled "Pro Wrestling Kids' Style" (ISBN 1-879000-12-1), a memoir of his life as a kid running his own professional wrestling league. It details all the obstacles and setbacks they faced as they grew from the basement in Anoka into thousands of living rooms nationwide.
Film
In 2005, Crossen produced a documentary titled NWF Kids Pro Wrestling: The Untold Story, which contains several interviews of past participants from the NWF talking about what it was like as a kid being a part of the league. The production won several awards including the ScreenCraft Award for "2006 Best Feature Documentary" from the New York International Film and Video Festival.
Championships and accomplishments
* NWF Wrestling
** NWF World Championship (5 times)
** NWF World Tag Team Championship (3 times)

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