Credit must go to the WWF and WCW for adapting their style to fit with the 1990s, but it could be argued that without Extreme Championship Wrestling, there'd be no boom period - and certainly no Attitude Era. Nobody grasped the zeitgeist of the 90s quite like Paul Heyman, and his brand of outrageous ultra-violence was just what the era's fans craved. Although undone by ECW's relative lack of size (and his own lack of business sense), Heyman changed the game, greatly influencing the two major promotions. Not only did the WWF and WCW poach top talent from ECW - including the Dudleys, Tazz, and Mike Awesome - they also mimicked the promotion's distinctly rougher edge, introducing increasingly violent match types and controversial gimmicks. ECW wasn't just the catalyst for the industry's success in the 1990s; it was a major factor in in its own right.
