8 Signings That DESTROYED Wrestling Promotions
1. WWE Signing With TNN
ECW creatively peaked in 1995, managed to get the prestige (if not particularly the profits) of pay-per-view in 1997, and was nationally televised in 1999 thanks to a deal with TNN. But that timeline simplifies what was realistically the beginning of the end rather than a continuation of progress and prosperity.
Four years removed from his best work as a booker, Paul Heyman never sold being a spent force until he fell afoul of network executives that he appeared to abhor from the off. A series of strange early decisions (the Network had issues with the first episode, so Heyman ran a clip show for the debut) quickly resulted in ECW showing open disdain for the channel, even going as far as to make the Cyrus character an executive and leader of a Network stable that ran roughshod on the babyfaces.
At the six month mark, there was at least some justification for Heyman and ECW's disdain being so public. The company had been used as a soft launch of sorts - TNN were keen on wrestling but willing to take a low stakes punt on North America's number three major before spending big on the number one. After 7 years on USA Network, Raw landed on the station as part of a mega-money five year deal, rendering ECW more obsolete than ever having had it's best stars and concepts pillaged by the majors and its biggest televised era considered a failure of concept and execution.