10 "Major" Wrestling Promotions That Never Got Off The Ground
9. Main Event Championship Wrestling
Nature abhors a vacuum, so after WWE and ECW collapsed and there was only one major wrestling promotion in the United States, many companies immediately sprung up to fill the void. Ultimately, TNA came closer than any other promotion, but before its June 2002 creation, there were several swings and misses.
The first group to pop up and try to take advantage of the open playing field was Main Event Championship Wrestling, an Illinois-based promotion run by John Collins. By the summer of 2001, Collins claimed to have signed talent like Curt Hennig and Public Enemy, and was allegedly in talks with stars like Randy Savage and Scott Hall - in fact, he seemed to have spoken with everyone about whom he was asked. He also shared plans to run his company as a series of territories, with strongholds in the Northeast, the Midwest, and the South.
Unfortunately, Collins's reach exceeded his grasp... and his integrity. He faked a heart attack to get out of paying talent, spelling the end for the company. Ultimately, he landed in prison for violating the terms of an asset freeze against his Canadian-based partner.