<P> Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) was a professional wrestling promotion that was founded in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1992 by Tod Gordon . ECW closed when then - owner Paul Heyman declared bankruptcy in April 2001 . The promotion showcased various international styles of professional wrestling, ranging from lucha libre to puroresu and hardcore wrestling, and became known for having an intelligent, often rowdy and vocal fanbase that rejected the more cartoonish programming of ECW's competitors . </P> <P> After purchasing the assets of ECW in 2003, World Wrestling Entertainment relaunched the Extreme Championship Wrestling franchise as a third brand with their existing Raw and SmackDown brands . It debuted on June 13, 2006 on Sci Fi in the United States and ran for close to four years until it aired its final episode on February 16, 2010 on the rebranded Syfy . </P> <P> ECW had its origins in 1989 under the banner Tri-State Wrestling Alliance owned by Joel Goodhart . ECW would, in fact, continue to use the former Tri-State Heavyweight championship belt to represent its own Championship, although the ECW title was not considered a continuation of that title . In 1992, Goodhart sold his share of the company to his partner, Tod Gordon, who in return renamed the promotion Eastern Championship Wrestling . When Eastern Championship Wrestling was founded, it was a member of the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA). At the time, "Hot Stuff" Eddie Gilbert was the lead booker of Eastern Championship Wrestling . Gilbert, after a falling out with Tod Gordon, was replaced in September 1993 by Paul Heyman . Heyman, known on television as Paul E. Dangerously, had just left World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and was looking for a new challenge . </P> <P> In 1994, Jim Crockett's non-compete agreement with Ted Turner, who purchased World Championship Wrestling (WCW) from Crockett in November 1988, was up and he decided to start promoting with the NWA again . Crockett went to Tod Gordon and asked him to hold a tournament for the NWA's top prize, the NWA World Heavyweight Championship, in ECW's home area of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on August 27, 1994 . NWA President Dennis Coralluzzo alleged that Crockett and Gordon were going to try to monopolize the title (akin to Crockett's actions in the 1980s) and stated Crockett did not have the NWA board's approval, which resulted in Coralluzzo personally overseeing the tournament . Gordon took offense at Coralluzzo for his power plays and began contemplating a plan to secede ECW from the NWA through a controversial and public manner that would attract attention to ECW and insult the NWA organization . Gordon planned to have Shane Douglas, who was scheduled to face 2 Cold Scorpio in the tournament finals, throw down the NWA World Heavyweight Championship belt upon winning as an act of defiance . </P>

When did ecw change to extreme championship wrestling