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The IWL was founded by Indigo, and the league held its first card on Thursday, June 5, 1997.
Originally the IWL was just one of the many features of Indigo's Wrestling Online website, which covered all three of the major feds. However, the IWL soon became one of the most popular features of Wrestling Online. Indigo and Justin Cryder initially had no experience in e-feds, but learned quickly on the job.
That first card on June 5, 1997, was a 15-man battle royal to crown the first IWL World Champion, which became A-Bomb Bill. The match results were determined by using TNM simulator. A roleplaying board was used to book matches and develop angles. Comments from the announce team of Good Ole James Hoss and Jeff "The Emperor" Bawler typically preceded and followed the TNM match results.
From that first card throughout its three-year existence (1997-2000), the IWL was widely regarded by e-wrestlers and other e-feds as one of the better e-feds in existence.