Maryland Championship Wrestling (MCW) was originally established by wrestlers Dan McDevitt and Mark Shrader as an extension of the wrestling school Bone Breakers Training Center. MCW held its first card at Baltimore's Patapsco Arena on July 19, 1998, featuring Jerry Lynn, Devon Storm, Little Guido, Balls Mahoney, manager Jim Cornette and The Headbangers. During that event, MCW held a six-man match to crown the first ever Light Heavyweight Champion. The winner of the match was Shane Shamrock and due to his shooting death by police the following month, MCW named him as the lifetime Light Heavyweight Champion and replaced it with the Cruiserweight Championship.