Founded in 1996, Total Championship Wrestling (then known as HGC) was originally intended as an attempt to take on America's most dominant promotion, the SWF, in a head-to-head war by closely mimmicking its patented "sports entertainment" style and using big names like the legendary Sam Strong to draw in viewers. Although the company did manage to establish itself as a thorn in the SWF's side, it never really looked like taking over as the undisputed number one promotion.