10 Absolutely Incredible Wrestling Comparisons
5. Impact Wrestling: Very Literally Hard To Kill
As the Ted Turner-owned WCW, disregarding its regional antecedent promoted under the NWA banner, the promotion lasted 13 years (1988-2001).
As Extreme Championship Wrestling, having folded NWA-Eastern Championship Wrestling and seceded from the fading umbrella organisation, Paul Heyman's renegade counter-culture outfit lasted 7 years (1994-2001).
Some semantic trickery has to be employed to make this comparison, granted - the promotion has changed its name and ownership throughout its existence - but what is currently known as Impact Wrestling has lasted as long as the former #2 and #3 U.S. promotions combined (2002-2022), which is incredible to think about.
Long-time Impact fans won't like this take, so apologies upfront, but it's not as if it deserves this longevity, which makes the comparison all the more inexplicable. The company is enjoying a rave-reviewed 2022 in critical circles and has settled into a steady enough existence as the other televised destination for really good matches - but it risked implosion through its very essence for an eternity. It was an ace, start-of-the-art promotion that stood in its own way by also being sh*t.
David Lynch himself would marvel at both this duality and the surreal nature of its awfulness at its worst.