10 "Major" Wrestling Promotions That Never Got Off The Ground
1. Heroes Of Wrestling
In 1999, wrestling was an easy sell. WWE was so popular that even an ailing WCW and an under-the-radar ECW were getting a boost, and cable and network TV institutions produced documentaries and specials about the sport (with widely varying levels of quality).
With that in mind, 1999 would seem like the perfect time to try and launch a new wrestling promotion, and it was... it just had to not be the worst launch of all time, and Heroes of Wrestling couldn't manage that.
The first and only Heroes of Wrestling Pay-Per-View, which aired on October 10, 1999, is widely considered the worst wrestling PPV ever. Filled with terrible matches (the stars on the show, such as The Bushwhackers and The Iron Sheik, were pitifully past their primes) and awful commentary (advertised play-by-play legend Gordie Solie was too ill to participate), the entire thing was a horrendous parody of a real wrestling show.
The most infamous part of the evening, though, came toward the end. Jake Roberts was scheduled to take on Jim Neidhart in the semi-main event, but Roberts was clearly intoxicated. He was unable to move properly and was making lewd gestures with his snake, so promoter Bill Stone sent out Yokozuna and King Kong Bundy (who were meant to clash in the main event) to turn it into a tag team match. The bout ended when Yokozuna attacked Stone because Roberts was too drunk to do so.
Heroes of Wrestling commissioner Captain Lou Albano guaranteed fans more shows from the promotion, but their failure to materialize makes his statement less a broken promise than an empty threat.