10 "Major" Wrestling Promotions That Never Got Off The Ground
2. Major League Wrestling
Of all of the promotions on this list, Major League Wrestling came the closest to actually delivering something akin to what it was trying to give the wrestling world. Created in June of 2002, the same month that TNA was born, MLW wasn't trying to be an alternative to WWE - it was trying to be the next ECW.
The northeastern U.S. home base was the same as ECW's. The underground feel was the same. The use of a TV show to air pre-taped matches from prior events (hosted by Joey Styles) was the same. The storylines were the same.
When I say the storylines were the same, I mean that MLW fashioned itself as a sequel to ECW - albeit one without the big stars, who had gone to WWE. On the first MLW show, Shane Douglas won the MLW Heavyweight Title, then threw it down as he had the NWA World Title. It didn't generate the same level of buzz the second time. Other ECW stars, like Steve Corino, Justin Credible, Simon Diamond, and Johnny Swinger failed to generate excitement atop the card, and MLW folded in 2004.