List of former World Wrestling Entertainment programming
Encyclopedia
The following is a list of former WWE) television program
ming. It includes programming produced under the World Wide Wrestling Federation (WWWF) and World Wrestling Federation (WWF) banners.
) and at times a "feature" match between main WWF talent. The show was taped at the Hamburg Fieldhouse in Hamburg, Pennsylvania
. Exact dates are not recorded, but All-Star Wrestling ran from at least 1974 through August 31, 1986, when it was replaced by the new program Wrestling Challenge
. Challenge was the "B" show of the WWF's syndicated programming, behind Superstars
. Typically, the show featured matches narrated by Vince McMahon
with occasional assistance from Lord Alfred Hayes and Pat Patterson; it was later hosted by Gorilla Monsoon
and Jesse Ventura
. From 1984 to 1986, the theme of All-Star Wrestling was David Bowie
's "Modern Love
".
and Saturday Night's Main Event
, originally filling the 11:00 a.m. Eastern Time slot on Sundays vacated by the cancellation of Southwest Championship Wrestling
. The show ran from September 4, 1983 to October 16, 1994 on the USA Network
. After it was canceled in 1994, it was replaced by Action Zone. Initially, it was a show that featured mainly high-card wrestlers from various promotions across the United States, but after a few months it featured WWF talent exclusively. Although the USA Cable Network had carried WWF events from New York
's Madison Square Garden
and the Capital Centre
in Landover, Maryland
, this was the first weekly national telecast of the original flagship shows for the World Wrestling Federation. By the early 90s, the show mostly reshowed matches and segments from other WWF programs and featured one exclusive match. Vince McMahon
was the original host of the program. Afterward, Lord Alfred Hayes became host. Subsequently, Gene Okerlund
took over hosting duties and stayed there for most of its run. In 1993, Johnny Polo
was added as co-host to replace Bobby Heenan
.
from 1984 to 1986 and was promoted as a variety show
.
from 1985 to 1993. A precursor to Monday Night Raw
, Prime Time Wrestling was a two-hour long, weekly program that featured stars of the World Wrestling Federation. The program featured wrestling matches (most of which were compiled from the WWF's syndicated programs of the era, combined with "house show" matches from venues such as Madison Square Garden
), interviews, promos featuring WWF wrestlers, updates of current feuds
and announcements of upcoming local and pay-per-view
events.
in place of Saturday Night Live
. The show was relaunched in 2006 and continued to air until 2008. During its second run, it was also broadcast on ESPN Radio
. At the time of the original airing it was a rare example of professional wrestling being broadcast on an over-the-air commercial television network
after the 1950s. It coincided with and contributed to the apogee of the "second golden age
" of professional wrestling in the United States
. In a time when weekly programming consisted primarily of established stars dominating enhancement talent, Saturday Night's Main Event was made up entirely of star vs. star bouts. After leaving NBC in 1991, it aired twice on FOX
in 1992 before disappearing for over a decade. When WWE's flagship show, Monday Night Raw
returned to the USA Network
in 2005, Saturday Night's Main Event was revived in 2006 as a "special series" to air on occasion on NBC as part of a deal between WWE and NBC Universal
.
in 1993.
s in local media market
s.
and occasionally aired on NBC
on Friday nights. Only the first three The Main Event episodes were shown live on NBC. The final two were taped and then shown on NBC at a later date.
defeat Owen Hart
to retain the WWF Championship
. The second week's main event had Shawn Michaels
and Diesel
defend the WWF Tag Team Championship against Razor Ramon
and the 1-2-3 Kid
. Action Zone lasted from October 23, 1994 until September 15, 1996. Vince McMahon
and Todd Pettengill
called the first three episodes; after that, Jim Ross
replaced McMahon, with Gorilla Monsoon
filling in for Ross on occasion. By the end of 1995, Action Zone became a highlights show that aired Sunday mornings for both Monday Night Raw
and Superstars
. It was hosted by Todd Pettengill and Dok Hendrix
. In 1996, Action Zone was canceled and replaced by WWF Superstars, which had just been removed from syndication.
between August 21, 1994 and March 26, 1995. The program was created to replace the specials run on the USA Network prior to major pay-per-views. The shows were called "SummerSlam
Spectacular", "March To WrestleMania
", "Survivor Series
Showdown", and "Countdown to the Crowning
". The WWF revived the show in 1995 as a 30-minute preview of the night's pay-per-view action. The final Sunday Night Slam aired just prior to WWF In Your House 5: Seasons Beatings on December 17, 1995. After 1995, this show aired on the Prevue Channel. In 1996, it became WWF Free for All and the channel on which it aired would be renamed TV Guide Channel (now TV Guide Network) almost immediately after that. This last version was terminated in 1998 and replaced by Sunday Night Heat.
from 1996 to 2000 and on TNN from 2000 to 2001. It was a revamp of the WWF's previous Saturday morning show, WWF Mania
, and was hosted by Todd Pettengill
, who had previously been the host of Mania. Sunny
was Pettengill's co-host for its first few months.
was preempted on the weeks of August 29 and September 5 in 1997, due to USA's coverage of the US Open.
, MTV
and Spike TV in the United States, Channel 4
and Sky One
in the United Kingdom and CTV Sportsnet
in Canada. It was most recently streamed on WWE.com on Friday afternoons for North American viewers. However, the show was still televised internationally and showed in the United Kingdom on Sky Sports 3
, Australia on FOX8
, India on Ten Sports
, Germany on Premiere Sport Portal, France on Action, Spain on Sportmania and C+ Deportes -both channels from Digital +, the Middle East on ShowSports4, the Philippines
on Jack TV
, and Japan on J SPORTS. The final episode was uploaded to WWE.com on May 30, 2008. The show was replaced internationally with WWE Vintage Collection
, a program featuring classic WWE matches.
and Hugo Savinovich
, who were the Spanish announce team. Interviews were handled by Maria Felipe. The program had a stable of Mexican
wrestlers such as El Hijo del Santo
and Negro Casas
that competed in Asistencia Asesoría y Administración
, Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre
, or other promotions around the world. Storylines were created within the program only with the Mexican stars. They competed against the stable in cruiserweight style matches and in AAA and CMLL style matches (mostly tag team and six-man tag). The program lasted a year and a half with its final show airing on September 5, 1999.
program. They were replaced by WWE Bottom Line
and WWE After Burn in syndication, with the live matches moving to WWE Velocity
.
. It ran from August 25, 2001 through May 18, 2002. It was originally hosted by Jonathan Coachman
and Trish Stratus
. Stratus, however, was replaced in late 2001 by Terri Runnels
. The program showed classic matches from the WWF's archives, many of which were often taken from viewer suggestions. Starting on the April 6, 2002 episode, the first hour of the show stayed under the Excess name, and was hosted by Michael Cole and Marc Lloyd, who presented an hour of Smackdown highlights and news. The second hour was renamed Late Night Excess and was presented by The Coach and Raven. That show featured Raw highlights, though it lasted only over a month as it was replaced by WWE Velocity
and WWE Confidential
later in 2002.
, from 2002 to 2004. It was hosted by Gene Okerlund
.
in 2005. The newest episode would be uploaded to WWE.com on Saturdays and be available for the next week. Older webcast episodes were also archived. It was the counterpart show to SmackDown and was recorded before the television taping of SmackDown!
(ECW) promotion that lasted from 1992 to 2001. The show's name also referred to the ECW brand
, in which WWE employees were assigned to work and perform, complementary to WWE's other brands, Raw
and SmackDown. 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
.
featuring most WWE matches from house shows, pay-per-views, and WWE Raw
broadcasts that took place at Madison Square Garden
. It debuted on July 12, 2006 and ran for three seasons until the last new episode aired on September 17, 2008. The MSG Network showed reruns of 8 episodes from season three in 2009.
Television program
A television program , also called television show, is a segment of content which is intended to be broadcast on television. It may be a one-time production or part of a periodically recurring series...
ming. It includes programming produced under the World Wide Wrestling Federation (WWWF) and World Wrestling Federation (WWF) banners.
All-Star Wrestling (1974–1986)
All-Star Wrestling consisted of top-tier or mid-card talent defeating enhancement talent (jobbersJob (professional wrestling)
In professional wrestling slang, the term job describes a losing performance in a wrestling match. It is derived from the euphemism "doing one's job", which was employed to protect kayfabe. As professional wrestling is scripted, inevitably a wrestler will be required to lose to an opponent.The term...
) and at times a "feature" match between main WWF talent. The show was taped at the Hamburg Fieldhouse in Hamburg, Pennsylvania
Hamburg, Pennsylvania
Hamburg is a borough in Berks County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 4,114 at the 2000 census. The town is named after Hamburg, Germany.-Geography:Hamburg is located at ....
. Exact dates are not recorded, but All-Star Wrestling ran from at least 1974 through August 31, 1986, when it was replaced by the new program Wrestling Challenge
WWF Wrestling Challenge
WWF Challenge is a professional wrestling television program produced by the World Wrestling Federation . It was syndicated weekly and aired from 1986 to 1996. The show premiered as WWF Wrestling Challenge and became simply known as WWF Challenge in 1995. The show featured matches, pre-match...
. Challenge was the "B" show of the WWF's syndicated programming, behind Superstars
WWF Superstars of Wrestling
WWF Superstars of Wrestling is a professional wrestling television program produced by the World Wrestling Federation . It debuted on September 6, 1986...
. Typically, the show featured matches narrated by Vince McMahon
Vince McMahon
Vincent Kennedy "Vince" McMahon is an American professional wrestling promoter, announcer, commentator, film producer, actor and former occasional professional wrestler. McMahon is the current Chairman, CEO and Chairman of the Executive Committee of professional wrestling promotion WWE...
with occasional assistance from Lord Alfred Hayes and Pat Patterson; it was later hosted by Gorilla Monsoon
Gorilla Monsoon
Robert James "Gino" Marella , better known by his ring name of Gorilla Monsoon, was an American professional wrestler, play-by-play announcer, and booker...
and Jesse Ventura
Jesse Ventura
James George Janos , better known as Jesse Ventura, is an American politician, the 38th Governor of Minnesota from 1999 to 2003, Navy UDT veteran, former SEAL reservist, actor, and former radio and television talk show host...
. From 1984 to 1986, the theme of All-Star Wrestling was David Bowie
David Bowie
David Bowie is an English musician, actor, record producer and arranger. A major figure for over four decades in the world of popular music, Bowie is widely regarded as an innovator, particularly for his work in the 1970s...
's "Modern Love
Modern Love
George Meredith's Modern Love is a collection of 50 16-line sonnets about the failure of his first marriage. He reflects his own disillusionment after his wife Mary Ellen, the daughter of Thomas Love Peacock, left him for the painter Henry Wallis. It is often thought of as one of the first...
".
Championship Wrestling (1978–1986)
Championship Wrestling is the original TV show of the World Wrestling Federation. It featured all the stars of the WWF, interviews and championship matches. The show lasted from 1978 until 1986.All American Wrestling (1983–1994)
WWF All American Wrestling is a cable television program that was a predecessor to Tuesday Night TitansTuesday Night Titans
Tuesday Night Titans is a professional wrestling television program produced by the World Wrestling Federation...
and Saturday Night's Main Event
WWE Saturday Night's Main Event
Saturday Night's Main Event is a professional wrestling television program produced by WWE. It aired occasionally from 1985 to 1992, under the World Wrestling Federation banner on NBC in place of Saturday Night Live. It returned to the air on March 18, 2006, in an 8 EST time slot...
, originally filling the 11:00 a.m. Eastern Time slot on Sundays vacated by the cancellation of Southwest Championship Wrestling
Southwest Championship Wrestling
Southwest Championship Wrestling was a professional wrestling promotion that was owned by Joseph Blanchard and based in San Antonio, Texas, from 1978 to 1985, when it was purchased by Texas All-Star Wrestling and absorbed into that company.-Venues:...
. The show ran from September 4, 1983 to October 16, 1994 on the USA Network
USA Network
USA Network is an American cable television channel launched in 1971. Once a minor player in basic cable, the network has steadily gained popularity because of breakout hits like Monk, Psych, Burn Notice, Royal Pains, Covert Affairs, White Collar, Monday Night RAW, Suits, and reruns of the various...
. After it was canceled in 1994, it was replaced by Action Zone. Initially, it was a show that featured mainly high-card wrestlers from various promotions across the United States, but after a few months it featured WWF talent exclusively. Although the USA Cable Network had carried WWF events from New York
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
's Madison Square Garden
Madison Square Garden
Madison Square Garden, often abbreviated as MSG and known colloquially as The Garden, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in the New York City borough of Manhattan and located at 8th Avenue, between 31st and 33rd Streets, situated on top of Pennsylvania Station.Opened on February 11, 1968, it is the...
and the Capital Centre
Capital Centre
The Capital Centre was an indoor arena located in Landover, Maryland, unincorporated Prince George's County, Maryland; a suburb of Washington, D.C. Completed in 1973, the arena sat 18,756 for basketball and 18,130 for hockey....
in Landover, Maryland
Landover, Maryland
Landover is an unincorporated community in Prince George's County, Maryland, United States, within the census-designated place of Greater Landover. The Prince Georges County Sports and Learning Complex is in Landover...
, this was the first weekly national telecast of the original flagship shows for the World Wrestling Federation. By the early 90s, the show mostly reshowed matches and segments from other WWF programs and featured one exclusive match. Vince McMahon
Vince McMahon
Vincent Kennedy "Vince" McMahon is an American professional wrestling promoter, announcer, commentator, film producer, actor and former occasional professional wrestler. McMahon is the current Chairman, CEO and Chairman of the Executive Committee of professional wrestling promotion WWE...
was the original host of the program. Afterward, Lord Alfred Hayes became host. Subsequently, Gene Okerlund
Gene Okerlund
Eugene "Mean Gene" Okerlund is a semi-retired American professional wrestling interviewer and announcer. He is best known for his work in the World Wrestling Federation and World Championship Wrestling. He was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2006 by Hulk Hogan...
took over hosting duties and stayed there for most of its run. In 1993, Johnny Polo
Scott Levy
Scott Anthony Levy , better known by his ring name Raven, is an American professional wrestler, wrestling producer, wrestling writer, and occasional author and actor currently working for Juggalo Championship Wrestling , where he is co-holder of the JCW Tag Team Championship, as well as other...
was added as co-host to replace Bobby Heenan
Bobby Heenan
Raymond Louis "Ray" Heenan , better known as Bobby "The Brain" Heenan , is a former American professional wrestling manager and color commentator, best known for his time with the American Wrestling Association , World Championship Wrestling and the World Wrestling Federation...
.
Tuesday Night Titans (1984–1986)
Tuesday Night Titans (abbreviated TNT) aired on the USA NetworkUSA Network
USA Network is an American cable television channel launched in 1971. Once a minor player in basic cable, the network has steadily gained popularity because of breakout hits like Monk, Psych, Burn Notice, Royal Pains, Covert Affairs, White Collar, Monday Night RAW, Suits, and reruns of the various...
from 1984 to 1986 and was promoted as a variety show
Variety show
A variety show, also known as variety arts or variety entertainment, is an entertainment made up of a variety of acts, especially musical performances and sketch comedy, and normally introduced by a compère or host. Other types of acts include magic, animal and circus acts, acrobatics, juggling...
.
Wrestling Spotlight (1984–1995)
WWF Wrestling Spotlight was syndicated from 1986 to 1995. Originally known as WWF Superstars of Wrestling until late 1986, the show was hosted by various personalities generally from a studio or control room and consisted primarily of matches from other WWF programming.Prime Time Wrestling (1985–1993)
WWF Prime Time Wrestling aired on the USA NetworkUSA Network
USA Network is an American cable television channel launched in 1971. Once a minor player in basic cable, the network has steadily gained popularity because of breakout hits like Monk, Psych, Burn Notice, Royal Pains, Covert Affairs, White Collar, Monday Night RAW, Suits, and reruns of the various...
from 1985 to 1993. A precursor to Monday Night Raw
WWE RAW
WWE Raw ) is a sports entertainment television program for WWE that currently airs on the USA Network in the United States...
, Prime Time Wrestling was a two-hour long, weekly program that featured stars of the World Wrestling Federation. The program featured wrestling matches (most of which were compiled from the WWF's syndicated programs of the era, combined with "house show" matches from venues such as Madison Square Garden
Madison Square Garden
Madison Square Garden, often abbreviated as MSG and known colloquially as The Garden, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in the New York City borough of Manhattan and located at 8th Avenue, between 31st and 33rd Streets, situated on top of Pennsylvania Station.Opened on February 11, 1968, it is the...
), interviews, promos featuring WWF wrestlers, updates of current feuds
Feud (professional wrestling)
A professional wrestling feud is a staged rivalry between multiple wrestlers or alliances of wrestlers. They are integrated into ongoing storylines, particularly in events which are televised...
and announcements of upcoming local and pay-per-view
Pay-per-view
Pay-per-view provides a service by which a television audience can purchase events to view via private telecast. The broadcaster shows the event at the same time to everyone ordering it...
events.
Saturday Night's Main Event (1985–1992 / 2006–2008)
Saturday Night's Main Event aired occasionally from 1985 to 1992, under the World Wrestling Federation banner on NBCNBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
in place of Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live is a live American late-night television sketch comedy and variety show developed by Lorne Michaels and Dick Ebersol. The show premiered on NBC on October 11, 1975, under the original title of NBC's Saturday Night.The show's sketches often parody contemporary American culture...
. The show was relaunched in 2006 and continued to air until 2008. During its second run, it was also broadcast on ESPN Radio
ESPN Radio
ESPN Radio is an American sports radio network. It was launched on January 1, 1992 under the original banner of "SportsRadio ESPN." ESPN Radio is located at ESPN headquarters in Bristol, Connecticut...
. At the time of the original airing it was a rare example of professional wrestling being broadcast on an over-the-air commercial television network
Television network
A television network is a telecommunications network for distribution of television program content, whereby a central operation provides programming to many television stations or pay TV providers. Until the mid-1980s, television programming in most countries of the world was dominated by a small...
after the 1950s. It coincided with and contributed to the apogee of the "second golden age
1980s wrestling boom
The 1980s professional wrestling boom was a surge in the popularity of professional wrestling in the United States and elsewhere throughout the 1980s...
" of professional wrestling in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. In a time when weekly programming consisted primarily of established stars dominating enhancement talent, Saturday Night's Main Event was made up entirely of star vs. star bouts. After leaving NBC in 1991, it aired twice on FOX
Fox Broadcasting Company
Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the...
in 1992 before disappearing for over a decade. When WWE's flagship show, Monday Night Raw
WWE RAW
WWE Raw ) is a sports entertainment television program for WWE that currently airs on the USA Network in the United States...
returned to the USA Network
USA Network
USA Network is an American cable television channel launched in 1971. Once a minor player in basic cable, the network has steadily gained popularity because of breakout hits like Monk, Psych, Burn Notice, Royal Pains, Covert Affairs, White Collar, Monday Night RAW, Suits, and reruns of the various...
in 2005, Saturday Night's Main Event was revived in 2006 as a "special series" to air on occasion on NBC as part of a deal between WWE and NBC Universal
NBC Universal
NBCUniversal Media, LLC is a media and entertainment company engaged in the production and marketing of entertainment, news, and information products and services to a global customer base...
.
Superstars of Wrestling (1986–1997)
WWF Superstars of Wrestling is a professional wrestling program that debuted on September 6, 1986 and was aired until 2001. Superstars, as it would later be known, was the flagship of the WWF's syndicated programming from its inception until being eclipsed by Monday Night RawWWE RAW
WWE Raw ) is a sports entertainment television program for WWE that currently airs on the USA Network in the United States...
in 1993.
Wrestling Challenge (1986–1995)
WWF Wrestling Challenge aired from 1986 to 1996 and was syndicated weekly. The show premiered as WWF Wrestling Challenge and became simply known as WWF Challenge in 1995. The show featured matches, pre-match interviews, and occasionally, summarized weekly events in WWF programming. As with other syndicated WWF programming, the show promoted WWF event dates and house showHouse show
A house show is a professional wrestling show run by a major promotion that is not televised, though they can be recorded. Promotions use house shows mainly to cash in on the exposure that they and their wrestlers receive during televised events, as well as test reactions to matches, wrestlers, and...
s in local media market
Media market
A media market, broadcast market, media region, designated market area , Television Market Area , or simply market is a region where the population can receive the same television and radio station offerings, and may also include other types of media including newspapers and Internet content...
s.
The Main Event (1988–1991)
WWF The Main Event is a spin-off of the show WWF Saturday Night's Main EventWWE Saturday Night's Main Event
Saturday Night's Main Event is a professional wrestling television program produced by WWE. It aired occasionally from 1985 to 1992, under the World Wrestling Federation banner on NBC in place of Saturday Night Live. It returned to the air on March 18, 2006, in an 8 EST time slot...
and occasionally aired on NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
on Friday nights. Only the first three The Main Event episodes were shown live on NBC. The final two were taped and then shown on NBC at a later date.
Mania (1993–1996)
WWF Mania aired on Saturday morning television program that aired on the USA Network from January 9, 1993 through September 14, 1996. It recapped events that happened during the week in the WWF at the time, and in its earlier years, it usually featured an exclusive match.Action Zone (1994–1996)
WWF Action Zone is a program that featured the World Wrestling Federation stars in action. The main event of the debut show saw Bret HartBret Hart
Bret Hart is a Canadian on-screen personality, writer, actor and Semi-retired professional wrestler. Like others in the Hart wrestling family, Hart has an amateur wrestling background, including wrestling at Ernest Manning High School and Mount Royal College...
defeat Owen Hart
Owen Hart
Owen James Hart was a Canadian professional and amateur wrestler who worked for several promotions including Stampede Wrestling, New Japan Pro Wrestling , World Championship Wrestling , and most notably, the World Wrestling Federation , where he wrestled under both his own name, and ring name The...
to retain the WWF Championship
WWE Championship
The WWE Championship is a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship in WWE. It is the world title of the Raw brand and one of two in WWE, complementing the World Heavyweight Championship of the SmackDown brand. It was established under the then WWWF in 1963...
. The second week's main event had Shawn Michaels
Shawn Michaels
Michael Shawn Hickenbottom , better known by his ring name Shawn Michaels, is an American television host and retired professional wrestler. He presents the Outdoor Channel show MacMillan River Adventures, and is currently signed to WWE, where he has served in an ambassadorial role since December...
and Diesel
Kevin Nash
Kevin Scott Nash is an American professional wrestler and actor. As of 2011, Nash is signed to a five year contract with WWE under their WWE Legends program and appears as part of their Raw brand roster...
defend the WWF Tag Team Championship against Razor Ramon
Scott Hall
Scott Hall is an American professional wrestler. He is best known for his tenure with the World Wrestling Federation in the early and mid 1990s under the ring name Razor Ramon, as well as for his period in the mid 1990s and early 2000s with World Championship Wrestling under his real name...
and the 1-2-3 Kid
Sean Waltman
Sean Michael Waltman is an American professional wrestler currently signed with WWE in their developmental program. He wrestled there under the ring names 1–2–3 Kid and X-Pac off and on from 1993–2002, World Championship Wrestling under the ring name Syxx, and Total Nonstop Action Wrestling ...
. Action Zone lasted from October 23, 1994 until September 15, 1996. Vince McMahon
Vince McMahon
Vincent Kennedy "Vince" McMahon is an American professional wrestling promoter, announcer, commentator, film producer, actor and former occasional professional wrestler. McMahon is the current Chairman, CEO and Chairman of the Executive Committee of professional wrestling promotion WWE...
and Todd Pettengill
Todd Pettengill
Todd Clark Pettengill is a radio disc jockey for WPLJ 95.5 in the New York area. He is perhaps best known for his tenure in the World Wrestling Federation as an on-screen interviewer in the mid-to-late 1990s.-Radio career:...
called the first three episodes; after that, Jim Ross
Jim Ross
James William "Jim" Ross is a professional wrestling commentator, former professional wrestling referee, restaurateur, occasional wrestler, and former company executive of WWE, where he currently works as a commentator on the WWE Raw brand...
replaced McMahon, with Gorilla Monsoon
Gorilla Monsoon
Robert James "Gino" Marella , better known by his ring name of Gorilla Monsoon, was an American professional wrestler, play-by-play announcer, and booker...
filling in for Ross on occasion. By the end of 1995, Action Zone became a highlights show that aired Sunday mornings for both Monday Night Raw
WWE RAW
WWE Raw ) is a sports entertainment television program for WWE that currently airs on the USA Network in the United States...
and Superstars
WWF Superstars of Wrestling
WWF Superstars of Wrestling is a professional wrestling television program produced by the World Wrestling Federation . It debuted on September 6, 1986...
. It was hosted by Todd Pettengill and Dok Hendrix
Michael Hayes (wrestler)
Michael Seitz is a retired American professional wrestler and former musician. Seitz is best known for leading The Fabulous Freebirds under the ring name Michael "P.S." Hayes and for his role as the announcer Dok Hendrix in the World Wrestling Federation...
. In 1996, Action Zone was canceled and replaced by WWF Superstars, which had just been removed from syndication.
Sunday Night Slam (1994–1995)
WWF Sunday Night Slam aired three times on the USA NetworkUSA Network
USA Network is an American cable television channel launched in 1971. Once a minor player in basic cable, the network has steadily gained popularity because of breakout hits like Monk, Psych, Burn Notice, Royal Pains, Covert Affairs, White Collar, Monday Night RAW, Suits, and reruns of the various...
between August 21, 1994 and March 26, 1995. The program was created to replace the specials run on the USA Network prior to major pay-per-views. The shows were called "SummerSlam
SummerSlam
SummerSlam is a professional wrestling pay-per-view event, produced annually in August by professional wrestling promotion WWE. The inaugural SummerSlam took place on August 29, 1988 at Madison Square Garden in New York, New York and was broadcast via pay-per-view, unlike the Royal Rumble of that...
Spectacular", "March To WrestleMania
WrestleMania
WrestleMania is a professional wrestling pay-per-view event, produced annually in late March or early April by WWE, a professional wrestling promotion based in Connecticut...
", "Survivor Series
Survivor Series
The Survivor Series is an annual professional wrestling pay-per-view event held in November by WWE. It is one of the "Big Four" events, along with WrestleMania, Royal Rumble and SummerSlam, as It is one of the original four pay-per-views produced by WWE....
Showdown", and "Countdown to the Crowning
King of the Ring
King of the Ring is a professional wrestling single-elimination tournament held by WWE. The tournament was held annually from 1985 to 2002, with the exception of 1990 and 1992, and from 1993 to 2002 the tournament was produced as a pay-per-view event....
". The WWF revived the show in 1995 as a 30-minute preview of the night's pay-per-view action. The final Sunday Night Slam aired just prior to WWF In Your House 5: Seasons Beatings on December 17, 1995. After 1995, this show aired on the Prevue Channel. In 1996, it became WWF Free for All and the channel on which it aired would be renamed TV Guide Channel (now TV Guide Network) almost immediately after that. This last version was terminated in 1998 and replaced by Sunday Night Heat.
LiveWire (1996–2001)
WWF LiveWire aired on Saturday mornings on the USA NetworkUSA Network
USA Network is an American cable television channel launched in 1971. Once a minor player in basic cable, the network has steadily gained popularity because of breakout hits like Monk, Psych, Burn Notice, Royal Pains, Covert Affairs, White Collar, Monday Night RAW, Suits, and reruns of the various...
from 1996 to 2000 and on TNN from 2000 to 2001. It was a revamp of the WWF's previous Saturday morning show, WWF Mania
WWF Mania
WWF Mania is a professional wrestling television program produced by the World Wrestling Federation . It aired on Saturday mornings on the USA Network between 1993 and 1996 and summarized the weekly events in WWF programming. In its earlier years, Mania usually featured a show exclusive wrestling...
, and was hosted by Todd Pettengill
Todd Pettengill
Todd Clark Pettengill is a radio disc jockey for WPLJ 95.5 in the New York area. He is perhaps best known for his tenure in the World Wrestling Federation as an on-screen interviewer in the mid-to-late 1990s.-Radio career:...
, who had previously been the host of Mania. Sunny
Tammy Lynn Sytch
Tamara "Tammy" Lynn Sytch is an American professional wrestling manager, personality,and occasional wrestler. She achieved her greatest success under the ring name Sunny within the World Wrestling Federation during the 1990s, and is widely considered as one of the first Divas...
was Pettengill's co-host for its first few months.
Friday Night's Main Event (1997)
WWF Friday Night's Main Event aired on the USA Network when Monday Night RawWWE RAW
WWE Raw ) is a sports entertainment television program for WWE that currently airs on the USA Network in the United States...
was preempted on the weeks of August 29 and September 5 in 1997, due to USA's coverage of the US Open.
Shotgun Saturday Night (1997–1999)
WWF Shotgun Saturday Night aired between 1997 and 1999 and was a syndicated show that featured matches with lower card wrestlers. Shotgun Saturday Night was replaced by WWF Jakked in 1999. As a notation, there were various versions of this show that floated around in different markets such as WWF Shotgun and WWF Shotgun Challenge, which were basically the same content just rearranged with different commentary(Shotgun Challenge being specific to the NY Market). There were also three other shows with basically the same content, although camera angles, commentary, and local promos were different. Those being Canadian Superstars(Hosted By Tom Prichard & Ray Rougeau), WWF New York(Hosted by Vince Russo & Others), and WWF 11:Alive.Heat (1998–2008)
Heat (formerly known as Sunday Night Heat) aired on USA NetworkUSA Network
USA Network is an American cable television channel launched in 1971. Once a minor player in basic cable, the network has steadily gained popularity because of breakout hits like Monk, Psych, Burn Notice, Royal Pains, Covert Affairs, White Collar, Monday Night RAW, Suits, and reruns of the various...
, MTV
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
and Spike TV in the United States, Channel 4
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
and Sky One
Sky One
Sky1 is the flagship BSkyB entertainment channel available in the United Kingdom and Ireland.The channel first launched on 26 April 1982 as Satellite Television, and is the fourth-oldest TV channel in the United Kingdom, behind BBC One , ITV and BBC Two...
in the United Kingdom and CTV Sportsnet
Rogers Sportsnet
Sportsnet was launched on October 9, 1998 as CTV Sportsnet. The name was chosen to match the regional "Fox Sports Net" operations across the United States...
in Canada. It was most recently streamed on WWE.com on Friday afternoons for North American viewers. However, the show was still televised internationally and showed in the United Kingdom on Sky Sports 3
Sky Sports
Sky Sports is the brand name for a group of sports-oriented television channels operated by the UK and Ireland's main satellite pay-TV company, British Sky Broadcasting. Sky Sports is the dominant subscription television sports brand in the United Kingdom and Ireland...
, Australia on FOX8
FOX8
Fox8 is an Australian cable and satellite channel available on Foxtel, Austar and Optus Television's subscription platforms...
, India on Ten Sports
TEN Sports
TEN SPORTS is a sports channel, widely broadcast in Asia. Its key programming includes Cricket, Football and sports-entertainment shows viz. WWE. Ten Sports was launched on April 1, 2002, and became the world's premier sports channel for South Asians, reaching over 55 million homes across the Arab...
, Germany on Premiere Sport Portal, France on Action, Spain on Sportmania and C+ Deportes -both channels from Digital +, the Middle East on ShowSports4, the Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
on Jack TV
Jack TV
Jack TV is a Philippine cable TV network owned by Solar Entertainment Corporation, test launched on May 2005, officially debuting on July 12, 2005. It offers Western comedy, animation, sports entertainment, drama series and reality shows, such as Cartoon Network, USA Network, The CW, MyNetworkTV,...
, and Japan on J SPORTS. The final episode was uploaded to WWE.com on May 30, 2008. The show was replaced internationally with WWE Vintage Collection
WWE Vintage Collection
WWE Vintage Collection is a professional wrestling television program from World Wrestling Entertainment showcasing action from the extensive WWE video library...
, a program featuring classic WWE matches.
Super Astros (1998–1999)
WWF Super Astros is a program that showed mostly wrestlers of foreign descent wrestle in the WWF that aired from 1998 to 1999 and was mainly used as a vehicle to promote the WWF in Latin American countries. It was hosted by Carlos CabreraCarlos Cabrera
Carlos Rodrigo Cabrera is a former newsman and currently employed with WWE, where he is one half of the company's Spanish announce team in which he is the play-by-play announcer. His longtime broadcast partner was the former Ecuadorian professional wrestler Hugo Savinovich, who was the color...
and Hugo Savinovich
Hugo Savinovich
Hugo Savinovich is a former Ecuadorian professional wrestler, formerly employed with WWE, where he was one half of the Spanish announce team for the company's TV shows and pay-per-view events. He was a color commentator and partner of Carlos Cabrera and occasionally Marcelo Rodríguez. When he...
, who were the Spanish announce team. Interviews were handled by Maria Felipe. The program had a stable of Mexican
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
wrestlers such as El Hijo del Santo
El Hijo del Santo
Jorge Guzmán Rodríguez , better known as El Hijo del Santo , is a Mexican professional wrestler, political activist and one of the most successful stars in Lucha Libre...
and Negro Casas
Negro Casas
José Casas Ruiz is a Mexican professional wrestler and trainer currently working for Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre under the ring name Negro Casas. He is the son of former wrestler, turned referee Pepe Casas and brother of professeional wrestlers El Felino and Heavy Metal...
that competed in Asistencia Asesoría y Administración
Asistencia Asesoría y Administración
Asistencia Asesoría y Administración is a lucha libre professional wrestling promotion based in Mexico...
, Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre
Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre
Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre is a Lucha Libre-style professional wrestling promotion based in Mexico City while running cards in Guadalajara, Puebla and elsewhere in central and southern Mexico...
, or other promotions around the world. Storylines were created within the program only with the Mexican stars. They competed against the stable in cruiserweight style matches and in AAA and CMLL style matches (mostly tag team and six-man tag). The program lasted a year and a half with its final show airing on September 5, 1999.
Jakked and Metal (1999–2002)
Jakked and Metal both aired syndicated weekly from 1999 to 2002 and replaced the long running WWF Shotgun Saturday NightWWF Shotgun Saturday Night
WWF Shotgun Saturday Night is a professional wrestling television program produced by the World Wrestling Federation . It aired from January 4, 1997 through August 21, 1999 as a syndicated broadcast...
program. They were replaced by WWE Bottom Line
WWE Bottom Line
WWE Bottom Line is a World Wrestling Entertainment syndicated television program which recaps events taking place on Raw. It replaced the WWE's previous syndicated highlight show, WWE Livewire...
and WWE After Burn in syndication, with the live matches moving to WWE Velocity
WWE Velocity
WWE Velocity was a professional wrestling television program produced by World Wrestling Entertainment . It replaced two syndicated WWE shows, Jakked/Metal. Once a weekly Saturday night show on Spike TV and on Sky Sports 2 in the UK on Sunday mornings, Velocity became a webcast from 2005 to 2006...
.
Excess (2001–2002)
Excess is a wrestling talk (originally call-in) show that featured WWF guest superstars and DivasWWE Diva
Diva is a term used by World Wrestling Entertainment , an American professional wrestling promotion, to refer to its female talent. The term is applied to women who appear as wrestlers, managers or valets, backstage interviewers, or ring announcers....
. It ran from August 25, 2001 through May 18, 2002. It was originally hosted by Jonathan Coachman
Jonathan Coachman
Jonathan William Coachman , also known as "The Coach", is a former professional wrestling color commentator and authority figure. He is also a former college basketball player, and football play-by-play announcer...
and Trish Stratus
Trish Stratus
Patricia Anne Stratigias , better known by her ring name Trish Stratus, is a Canadian professional wrestler, actress and television personality currently signed with WWE. She is also a former fitness model....
. Stratus, however, was replaced in late 2001 by Terri Runnels
Terri Runnels
Terri Lynne Boatright Runnels is a former World Championship Wrestling and World Wrestling Federation professional wrestling manager, television host and occasional wrestler....
. The program showed classic matches from the WWF's archives, many of which were often taken from viewer suggestions. Starting on the April 6, 2002 episode, the first hour of the show stayed under the Excess name, and was hosted by Michael Cole and Marc Lloyd, who presented an hour of Smackdown highlights and news. The second hour was renamed Late Night Excess and was presented by The Coach and Raven. That show featured Raw highlights, though it lasted only over a month as it was replaced by WWE Velocity
WWE Velocity
WWE Velocity was a professional wrestling television program produced by World Wrestling Entertainment . It replaced two syndicated WWE shows, Jakked/Metal. Once a weekly Saturday night show on Spike TV and on Sky Sports 2 in the UK on Sunday mornings, Velocity became a webcast from 2005 to 2006...
and WWE Confidential
WWE Confidential
WWE Confidential was a professional wrestling television program produced by World Wrestling Entertainment . It aired on Spike TV late Saturday nights, following Velocity, from 2002 to 2004. It was hosted by Gene Okerlund.-Format:...
later in 2002.
Confidential (2002–2004)
WWE Confidential is a World Wrestling Entertainment television show that aired on Spike TV late Saturday nights, following VelocityWWE Velocity
WWE Velocity was a professional wrestling television program produced by World Wrestling Entertainment . It replaced two syndicated WWE shows, Jakked/Metal. Once a weekly Saturday night show on Spike TV and on Sky Sports 2 in the UK on Sunday mornings, Velocity became a webcast from 2005 to 2006...
, from 2002 to 2004. It was hosted by Gene Okerlund
Gene Okerlund
Eugene "Mean Gene" Okerlund is a semi-retired American professional wrestling interviewer and announcer. He is best known for his work in the World Wrestling Federation and World Championship Wrestling. He was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2006 by Hulk Hogan...
.
Velocity (2002–2006)
WWE Velocity also replaced WWE Jakked and WWE Metal in 2002. Once a weekly Saturday night show on Spike TV, Velocity became a webcastWebcast
A webcast is a media presentation distributed over the Internet using streaming media technology to distribute a single content source to many simultaneous listeners/viewers. A webcast may either be distributed live or on demand...
in 2005. The newest episode would be uploaded to WWE.com on Saturdays and be available for the next week. Older webcast episodes were also archived. It was the counterpart show to SmackDown and was recorded before the television taping of SmackDown!
ECW on Sci Fi/Syfy (2006-2010)
ECW on Sci Fi/Syfy is a professional wrestling television program for World Wrestling Entertainment, based on the independent Extreme Championship WrestlingExtreme Championship Wrestling
Extreme Championship Wrestling 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...
(ECW) promotion that lasted from 1992 to 2001. The show's name also referred to the ECW brand
WWE Brand Extension
WWE, formerly the World Wrestling Federation and World Wrestling Entertainment , currently promotes its core business of professional wrestling through two "brands" named after their two major television shows Raw and SmackDown...
, in which WWE employees were assigned to work and perform, complementary to WWE's other brands, Raw
WWE RAW
WWE Raw ) is a sports entertainment television program for WWE that currently airs on the USA Network in the United States...
and SmackDown. It debuted on June 13, 2006 on Sci Fi
Syfy
Syfy , formerly known as the Sci-Fi Channel and SCI FI, is an American cable television channel featuring science fiction, supernatural, fantasy, reality, paranormal, wrestling, and horror programming. Launched on September 24, 1992, it is part of the entertainment conglomerate NBCUniversal, a...
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
Syfy
Syfy , formerly known as the Sci-Fi Channel and SCI FI, is an American cable television channel featuring science fiction, supernatural, fantasy, reality, paranormal, wrestling, and horror programming. Launched on September 24, 1992, it is part of the entertainment conglomerate NBCUniversal, a...
.
MSG Classics (2006-2009)
WWE Madison Square Garden Classics is a professional wrestling television program for World Wrestling Entertainment that aired on the MSG NetworkMSG Network
The MSG Network, now shortened to simply MSG, is a regional cable television and radio network serving the Mid-Atlantic United States. It is focused on New York City sports teams...
featuring most WWE matches from house shows, pay-per-views, and WWE Raw
WWE RAW
WWE Raw ) is a sports entertainment television program for WWE that currently airs on the USA Network in the United States...
broadcasts that took place at Madison Square Garden
Madison Square Garden
Madison Square Garden, often abbreviated as MSG and known colloquially as The Garden, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in the New York City borough of Manhattan and located at 8th Avenue, between 31st and 33rd Streets, situated on top of Pennsylvania Station.Opened on February 11, 1968, it is the...
. It debuted on July 12, 2006 and ran for three seasons until the last new episode aired on September 17, 2008. The MSG Network showed reruns of 8 episodes from season three in 2009.