Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) was a professional wrestling promotion that was founded in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1992 by Tod Gordon, and closed when his successor, Paul Heyman, declared bankruptcy in April 2001.
The company became known for its loyal fan base as well as its tendency to push the envelope with storylines. The group has showcased many different styles of professional wrestling, ranging from lucha libre to hardcore wrestling.
World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) bought the rights to ECW and its library after its 2001 closure and revived the promotion in a full-time fashion on June 13, 2006 with a weekly television series on Sci Fi Channel in the United States, FOX8 in Australia, SIC Radical in Portugal and Sky Sports 3 in the United Kingdom. In 2005 and 2006, WWE promoted an ECW-brand event called ECW One Night Stand, and in June 2006, it became a separate brand of WWE programming, along with RAW and SmackDown!
