WCW WorldWide
Encyclopedia
WCW WorldWide was a syndicated
TV show
produced by World Championship Wrestling
.
(as Wide World Wrestling), a syndicated one-hour program produced by Charlotte, North Carolina
-based Jim Crockett Promotions
. It was taped each Wednesday night at WRAL-TV
television studios in Raleigh, North Carolina
, following the taping of the syndicated Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling. The original host of Wide World Wrestling was former Georgia Championship Wrestling
announcer Ed Capral.
Later hosts of Wide World Wrestling included George Scott
, Sandy Scott
, Dr. Tom Miller and Les Thatcher
.
, to avoid confusion with ABC
's Wide World of Sports
(many newspapers would incorrectly mix the two shows up in their listings), JCP changed the name of the show to World Wide Wrestling. Rich Landrum
became the new host and was joined shortly thereafter by veteran wrestler Johnny Weaver
as color commentator.
In the summer of 1981
, WRAL television opted not to renew its contract with JCP, citing that it needed the studio space to produce a new local version of PM Magazine
. Crockett initially worked out a deal with WCCB
television in Charlotte to house the tapings, but that fell through. So he instead went with WPCQ in Charlotte (a station immortalized by Ted Turner
when it was WRET because the future cable mogul once held a telethon to save the channel from going bankrupt).
WPCQ (now WCNC
) had briefly played host to tapings for Eddie Einhorn
's International Wrestling Association
in the 1970s so it seemed like a natural fit. The physical studio itself was very cramped however and it made for a claustrophobic viewing experience. The ring, television sets, banners, and camera platforms, which had been positioned in perfect symmetry at WRAL, were now oddly positioned and the result was to say the very least, ugly.
Landrum left World Wide Wrestling in 1982
after being released by Jim Crockett Promotions in a cost cutting measure. David Crockett
left his position as Bob Caudle
's color commentator on Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling to take over play-by-play duties on World Wide.
For a time, World Wide ran with a three-man announce team as wrestler Ray "The Crippler" Stevens joined. Rowdy Roddy Piper
would also occasionally be thrown into the mix as well.
Not pleased with the studio situation, Crockett began to make plans to rectify matters and by July 1983
, had moved his tapings out of WPCQ and into major arenas, buying a mobile TV truck for $1 million and hiring his own crew.
In 1984
, Tony Schiavone
replaced Weaver as color commentator on World Wide (with Weaver moving over to join Caudle on Mid-Atlantic). Schiavone had previously worked for JCP as the announcer for their minor league baseball team the Charlotte O's, and as the host of their market-specific promotional interview segments, which were used to promote events in individual towns. Tully Blanchard
for a time joined World Wide as a color commentator as well.
After the sale of JCP's wrestling assets to Turner Broadcasting in 1988, World Wide Wrestling went through a revolving series of announcing teams and included at various times such names as Schiavone, Jim Ross
, Gordon Solie
, Lance Russell
, Chris Cruise, Terry Funk
, Dutch Mantel
l, Ole Anderson
, Jesse "The Body" Ventura
, Scott Hudson
, Bobby "The Brain" Heenan and Larry Zbyszko
.
regime, the name World Wide Wrestling was changed to WCW WorldWide.
WorldWide was originally made up of matches from television tapings around the country. From 1993
onward, the show was taped at Disney/MGM Studios
. As such, these shows recorded, were the source of the infamous "Disney Tapings
." In 1995
, WorldWide moved to a custom built set on a soundstage at Disney/MGM Studios
and later to Universal Studios Florida
in Orlando
, Florida
. In mid-1998
, WCW started taping WorldWide at the same arenas they would tape WCW Saturday Night
until early-2000
, when they moved the tapings before Thunder
tapings.
In November
2000
, the show would change formats, no longer featuring exclusive matches, and instead showing matches from previous WCW pay-per-view events (as well as providing a recap of that week's Monday Nitro
and Thunder
).
WorldWide was cancelled along with Monday Nitro and Thunder before the World Wrestling Federation
purchased WCW's tape library and intellectual property. At the time of its cancellation, WorldWide was the longest-running, uninterrupted weekly syndicated show of any kind on the air in the United States.
) to have a regular slot on UK terrestrial television, having appeared on two different over the air networks during its lifetime.
Beginning in 1991, WCW WorldWide was broadcast in the UK on the ITV
network originally overnight at 1 or 2 a.m. alongside other U.S. imports such as American Gladiators
and America's Top Ten. Late in 1992 however, it moved to a Saturday afternoon slot. The day's football scores would be scrolled across the bottom of the screen as part of ITV's Saturday Sport line up. In late 1995, however, the show was moved back to the late night slot and disappeared from the network.
During July 1999
, Worldwide returned to TV in the UK on Channel 5, who broadcast the show at 7pm on Friday evenings, although occasionally the show would be broadcast in a late-night mid-week time-slot instead. These shows were a collection of matches from Nitro
, Thunder
and WCW Saturday Night
, which had taken place five or six weeks before. The announcers were usually Scott Hudson and Larry Zbyszko
, who provided dubbed
commentary with references aimed at the UK viewers. Due to being moved around the schedules and skipping some weeks, the show continued until May 2001 over a month after being bought by the WWF. As mentioned, WCW was purchased by the World Wrestling Federation, and ceased to produce any more new programming.
Even though the show wasn't broadcast from 1995 until 1999 on British Television in English, it was on the German speaking channel DSF, along with other WCW content not seen anywhere else in the country.
Following the purchase of WCW by the World Wrestling Federation, older versions of WorldWide were repeated on Sky Sports
.
Television syndication
In broadcasting, syndication is the sale of the right to broadcast radio shows and television shows by multiple radio stations and television stations, without going through a broadcast network, though the process of syndication may conjure up structures like those of a network itself, by its very...
TV show
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...
produced by World Championship Wrestling
World Championship Wrestling
World Championship Wrestling, Inc. was an American professional wrestling promotion which existed from 1988 to 2001. Based in Atlanta, Georgia, it began as a regional promotion affiliated with the National Wrestling Alliance , named Jim Crockett Promotions until November 1988, when Ted Turner and...
.
Wide World Wrestling
The show began in 19751975 in television
The year 1975 in television involved some significant events.Below is a list of television-related events in 1975.For the American TV schedule, see: 1975-76 United States network television schedule.-Events:...
(as Wide World Wrestling), a syndicated one-hour program produced by Charlotte, North Carolina
Charlotte, North Carolina
Charlotte is the largest city in the U.S. state of North Carolina and the seat of Mecklenburg County. In 2010, Charlotte's population according to the US Census Bureau was 731,424, making it the 17th largest city in the United States based on population. The Charlotte metropolitan area had a 2009...
-based Jim Crockett Promotions
Jim Crockett Promotions
Jim Crockett Promotions was a professional wrestling promotion owned by Jim Crockett, Jr. until the late 1980s. It was a member of the National Wrestling Alliance and was the forerunner to World Championship Wrestling .-Early history:...
. It was taped each Wednesday night at WRAL-TV
WRAL-TV
WRAL-TV, virtual channel 5 , is a television station in Raleigh, North Carolina. WRAL-TV has been the flagship station of Capitol Broadcasting Company since its inception, and is currently the CBS affiliate for the Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill/Fayetteville area, known collectively as the Triangle...
television studios in Raleigh, North Carolina
Raleigh, North Carolina
Raleigh is the capital and the second largest city in the state of North Carolina as well as the seat of Wake County. Raleigh is known as the "City of Oaks" for its many oak trees. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the city's 2010 population was 403,892, over an area of , making Raleigh...
, following the taping of the syndicated Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling. The original host of Wide World Wrestling was former Georgia Championship Wrestling
Georgia Championship Wrestling
Georgia Championship Wrestling was a professional wrestling promotion whose self-titled TV program aired in the 1970s and 1980s on Atlanta, U.S., superstation WTBS. Though based in Atlanta, the company also ran live wrestling shows throughout its geographic "territory" of Georgia Georgia...
announcer Ed Capral.
Later hosts of Wide World Wrestling included George Scott
George Scott (wrestler)
George Scott was a Canadian professional wrestler, booker and promoter. From the 1950s until the 1970s, he and his younger brother Sandy competed as The Flying Scotts in North American regional promotions including the National Wrestling Alliance, particularly the Midwest and Mid-Atlantic...
, Sandy Scott
Sandy Scott
Angus Mackay Scott , better known by his ring name Sandy Scott, was a Canadian professional wrestler. He worked with his older brother George from the 1950s until the 1970s as The Flying Scotts in North American regional promotions including the National Wrestling Alliance, particularly the Midwest...
, Dr. Tom Miller and Les Thatcher
Les Thatcher
Leslie Alan Malady better known by the name Les Thatcher is a former professional wrestler who achievied many accolades over his career...
.
World Wide Wrestling
In 19781978 in television
The year 1978 in television involved some significant events.Below is a list of television-related events in 1978.For the American TV schedule, see: 1978-79 American network television schedule.-Events:...
, to avoid confusion with ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
's Wide World of Sports
Wide World of Sports (US TV series)
ABC's Wide World of Sports is a sports anthology series on American television that ran from 1961 to 1998 and was originally hosted by Jim McKay. The title continued to be used for general sports programs until 2006...
(many newspapers would incorrectly mix the two shows up in their listings), JCP changed the name of the show to World Wide Wrestling. Rich Landrum
Rich Landrum
Richard E. Landrum is best known as a radio and TV broadcaster. He started his broadcasting career at the age of 16.- 1960s :...
became the new host and was joined shortly thereafter by veteran wrestler Johnny Weaver
Johnny Weaver
Kenneth Eugene Weaver was a professional wrestler and wrestling commentator in the National Wrestling Alliance, better known by his ring name, Johnny Weaver...
as color commentator.
In the summer of 1981
1981 in television
The year 1981 in television involved some significant events.Below is a list of television-related events in 1981.For the American TV schedule, see: 1981-82 American network television schedule.- Events :...
, WRAL television opted not to renew its contract with JCP, citing that it needed the studio space to produce a new local version of PM Magazine
PM Magazine
PM/Evening Magazine was a television series with a news and entertainment format. It was syndicated to stations throughout the United States...
. Crockett initially worked out a deal with WCCB
WCCB
WCCB is the Fox affiliate television station in Charlotte, North Carolina. The station's headquarters are located just outside Uptown, off Independence Boulevard across from Bojangles' Coliseum at . It is the flagship station of its owner and operator, Bahakel Communications...
television in Charlotte to house the tapings, but that fell through. So he instead went with WPCQ in Charlotte (a station immortalized by Ted Turner
Ted Turner
Robert Edward "Ted" Turner III is an American media mogul and philanthropist. As a businessman, he is known as founder of the cable news network CNN, the first dedicated 24-hour cable news channel. In addition, he founded WTBS, which pioneered the superstation concept in cable television...
when it was WRET because the future cable mogul once held a telethon to save the channel from going bankrupt).
WPCQ (now WCNC
WCNC-TV
WCNC-TV is the NBC affiliate in Charlotte, North Carolina. It broadcasts its digital signal on UHF channel 22 and is carried on cable channel 6 on most area cable systems. It is owned by the Belo Corporation...
) had briefly played host to tapings for Eddie Einhorn
Eddie Einhorn
Eddie Einhorn is minority owner and Vice Chairman of the Chicago White Sox.Einhorn produced the nationally syndicated radio broadcast of the NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship in 1958...
's International Wrestling Association
International Wrestling Association
The International Wrestling Association is a wrestling promotion in Puerto Rico, started in Japan in 1994 by promoter Victor Quiñones. The Hispanic division was created in 1999. The company was a member of the National Wrestling Alliance until 2001, but again became a member in 2007...
in the 1970s so it seemed like a natural fit. The physical studio itself was very cramped however and it made for a claustrophobic viewing experience. The ring, television sets, banners, and camera platforms, which had been positioned in perfect symmetry at WRAL, were now oddly positioned and the result was to say the very least, ugly.
Landrum left World Wide Wrestling in 1982
1982 in television
The year 1982 in television involved some significant events.Below is a list of television-related events in 1982.For the American TV schedule, see: 1982-83 American network television schedule.-Events:...
after being released by Jim Crockett Promotions in a cost cutting measure. David Crockett
David Crockett (wrestling)
David F. Crockett is a former professional wrestling announcer and executive from Charlotte, North Carolina. He is the son of Jim Crockett and brother to Jim Crockett, Jr. He was usually paired in announcing duties with Tony Schiavone, with Crockett providing color commentary and Schiavone...
left his position as Bob Caudle
Bob Caudle
Bob Caudle is an American professional wrestling announcer most notable for his time with The National Wrestling Alliance-NWA. He started working with Jim Crockett Promotions in the late 1950s for promoter Jim Crockett, Sr...
's color commentator on Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling to take over play-by-play duties on World Wide.
For a time, World Wide ran with a three-man announce team as wrestler Ray "The Crippler" Stevens joined. Rowdy Roddy Piper
Roddy Piper
Roderick George Toombs , better known by his ring name "Rowdy" Roddy Piper, is a Canadian semi-retired professional wrestler and film actor who is currently signed to WWE. In professional wrestling, he is best known for his work with WWE...
would also occasionally be thrown into the mix as well.
Not pleased with the studio situation, Crockett began to make plans to rectify matters and by July 1983
1983 in television
The year 1983 in television involved some significant events.Below is a list of television-related events in 1983.For the American TV schedule, see: 1983-84 United States network television schedule.-Events:...
, had moved his tapings out of WPCQ and into major arenas, buying a mobile TV truck for $1 million and hiring his own crew.
In 1984
1984 in television
This article is a list of television-related events in 1984.-Events:*January 9 – Wendy's "Fluffy Bun" ad first airs, which propels Clara Peller and her "Where's the beef?" catchphrase to national prominence....
, Tony Schiavone
Tony Schiavone
Noah Anthony "Tony" Schiavone is an American sports broadcaster. He is the play-by-play broadcaster for the Gwinnett Braves of the International League...
replaced Weaver as color commentator on World Wide (with Weaver moving over to join Caudle on Mid-Atlantic). Schiavone had previously worked for JCP as the announcer for their minor league baseball team the Charlotte O's, and as the host of their market-specific promotional interview segments, which were used to promote events in individual towns. Tully Blanchard
Tully Blanchard
Tully Arthur Blanchard is a semi-retired second generation American professional wrestler. He is best known as an original member of the Four Horsemen....
for a time joined World Wide as a color commentator as well.
After the sale of JCP's wrestling assets to Turner Broadcasting in 1988, World Wide Wrestling went through a revolving series of announcing teams and included at various times such names as Schiavone, 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...
, Gordon Solie
Gordon Solie
Jonard Frank Labiak , better known as Gordon Solie, was a Florida-based professional wrestling play-by-play announcer working for World Championship Wrestling...
, Lance Russell
Lance Russell
Lance Russell is a former professional wrestling announcer in the Memphis region from 1959 to 1997, particularly in NWA Mid-America and its descendant as the dominant promotion in Memphis, the Continental Wrestling Association...
, Chris Cruise, Terry Funk
Terry Funk
Terrence "Terry" Funk is an American professional wrestler and actor known chiefly for the hardcore wrestling style he adopted in the latter part of his career that inspired many younger wrestlers, including Mick Foley...
, Dutch Mantel
Dutch Mantel
Wayne Keown is an American professional wrestler, and author better known by his ring name, Dutch Mantel or Dutch Mantell. He currently is semi-retired but still makes occasional wrestling appearances. He was previously with Total Nonstop Action Wrestling as a writer behind the scenes...
l, Ole Anderson
Ole Anderson
Alan Robert Rogowski , better known by his ring name of Ole Anderson, is a retired professional wrestler and a promoter. He held numerous NWA World Tag Team Championships with Gene Anderson, who was portrayed as his brother...
, Jesse "The Body" 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...
, Scott Hudson
Scott Hudson
Raymond Scott Hudson is a professor of electrical engineering and computer science at Washington State University. Hudson was educated at Caltech, where he received his bachelor's degree in engineering and applied science in 1985, his master's degree in electrical engineering in 1986, and his PhD...
, Bobby "The Brain" Heenan and Larry Zbyszko
Larry Zbyszko
Lawrence "Larry" Whistler is a professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, Larry Zbyszko. Zbyszko is perhaps best known for his feud with his mentor, wrestling legend Bruno Sammartino during the early 1980s....
.
WCW WorldWide
Under the Eric BischoffEric Bischoff
Eric Aaron Bischoff is an American entrepreneur, and professional wrestling booker and on-screen personality currently signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling...
regime, the name World Wide Wrestling was changed to WCW WorldWide.
WorldWide was originally made up of matches from television tapings around the country. From 1993
1993 in television
The year 1993 in television involved some significant events.Below is a list of television-related events in 1993.For the American TV schedule, see: 1993-94 United States network television schedule.-Events:-Debuts:-1950s:...
onward, the show was taped at Disney/MGM Studios
Disney's Hollywood Studios
Disney's Hollywood Studios is a theme park at the Walt Disney World Resort. Spanning 135 acres in size, its theme is show business, drawing inspiration from the heyday of Hollywood in the 1930s and 1940s...
. As such, these shows recorded, were the source of the infamous "Disney Tapings
WCW Disney tapings
The WCW Disney tapings were a series of television tapings of professional wrestling matches conducted by World Championship Wrestling at the Disney-MGM Studios in Lake Buena Vista, Florida.-History:...
." In 1995
1995 in television
The year 1995 in television involved some significant events.Below is a list of television-related events in 1995.For the American TV schedule, see: 1995-96 United States network television schedule.-Events:-Debuts:-1950s:...
, WorldWide moved to a custom built set on a soundstage at Disney/MGM Studios
Disney's Hollywood Studios
Disney's Hollywood Studios is a theme park at the Walt Disney World Resort. Spanning 135 acres in size, its theme is show business, drawing inspiration from the heyday of Hollywood in the 1930s and 1940s...
and later to Universal Studios Florida
Universal Studios Florida
Universal Studios Florida is an American theme park located in Orlando, Florida. Opened on June 7, 1990, the park's theme is the entertainment industry, in particular movies and television. Universal Studios Florida inspires its guests to "ride the movies," and it features numerous attractions and...
in Orlando
Orlando, Florida
Orlando is a city in the central region of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat of Orange County, and the center of the Greater Orlando metropolitan area. According to the 2010 US Census, the city had a population of 238,300, making Orlando the 79th largest city in the United States...
, Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
. In mid-1998
1998 in television
The year 1998 in television involved some significant events.Below is a list of television-related events in 1998.For the American TV schedule, see: 1998–99 United States network television schedule.-Events:-Debuts:-1950s:...
, WCW started taping WorldWide at the same arenas they would tape WCW Saturday Night
WCW Saturday Night
WCW Saturday Night was a weekly Saturday night TV show on TBS produced by World Championship Wrestling. The program existed through various incarnations under different names before becoming WCW Saturday Night in 1992...
until early-2000
2000 in television
The year 2000 in television involved some significant events.Below is a list of television-related events in 2000.For the American TV schedule, see: 2000-01 United States network television schedule.-Event:-Debuts:-1940s:...
, when they moved the tapings before Thunder
WCW Thunder
WCW Thunder was a professional wrestling show produced by World Championship Wrestling which aired on TBS from January 8, 1998 to March 21, 2001...
tapings.
In November
November 2000
November 2000: January – February – March – April – May – June – July – August – September – October – November – December-----November 3, 2000:* Widespread flooding throughout England and Wales after days of heavy rain-November 7, 2000:...
2000
2000 in television
The year 2000 in television involved some significant events.Below is a list of television-related events in 2000.For the American TV schedule, see: 2000-01 United States network television schedule.-Event:-Debuts:-1940s:...
, the show would change formats, no longer featuring exclusive matches, and instead showing matches from previous WCW pay-per-view events (as well as providing a recap of that week's Monday Nitro
WCW Monday Nitro
WCW Monday Nitro was a weekly professional wrestling telecast produced by World Championship Wrestling, created by Ted Turner and Eric Bischoff. The show aired Monday nights on TNT, going head-to-head with the World Wrestling Federation's Monday Night Raw from September 4, 1995 to March 26, 2001...
and Thunder
WCW Thunder
WCW Thunder was a professional wrestling show produced by World Championship Wrestling which aired on TBS from January 8, 1998 to March 21, 2001...
).
WorldWide was cancelled along with Monday Nitro and Thunder before the World Wrestling Federation
World Wrestling Entertainment
World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. is an American publicly traded, privately controlled entertainment company dealing primarily in professional wrestling, with major revenue sources also coming from film, music, product licensing, and direct product sales...
purchased WCW's tape library and intellectual property. At the time of its cancellation, WorldWide was the longest-running, uninterrupted weekly syndicated show of any kind on the air in the United States.
WorldWide in the United Kingdom
WCW WorldWide is one of only two American wrestling shows (the other being WWE Sunday Night Heat on Channel 4Channel 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...
) to have a regular slot on UK terrestrial television, having appeared on two different over the air networks during its lifetime.
Beginning in 1991, WCW WorldWide was broadcast in the UK on the ITV
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
network originally overnight at 1 or 2 a.m. alongside other U.S. imports such as American Gladiators
American Gladiators
American Gladiators is an American competition television program that aired in syndication from September 1989 to May 1996. The series matched a cast of amateur athletes against each other, as well as against the show's own gladiators, in contests of strength and agility.The concept was created by...
and America's Top Ten. Late in 1992 however, it moved to a Saturday afternoon slot. The day's football scores would be scrolled across the bottom of the screen as part of ITV's Saturday Sport line up. In late 1995, however, the show was moved back to the late night slot and disappeared from the network.
During July 1999
July 1999
July 1999 was a month with thirty-one days.The following events also occurred during the month:...
, Worldwide returned to TV in the UK on Channel 5, who broadcast the show at 7pm on Friday evenings, although occasionally the show would be broadcast in a late-night mid-week time-slot instead. These shows were a collection of matches from Nitro
WCW Monday Nitro
WCW Monday Nitro was a weekly professional wrestling telecast produced by World Championship Wrestling, created by Ted Turner and Eric Bischoff. The show aired Monday nights on TNT, going head-to-head with the World Wrestling Federation's Monday Night Raw from September 4, 1995 to March 26, 2001...
, Thunder
WCW Thunder
WCW Thunder was a professional wrestling show produced by World Championship Wrestling which aired on TBS from January 8, 1998 to March 21, 2001...
and WCW Saturday Night
WCW Saturday Night
WCW Saturday Night was a weekly Saturday night TV show on TBS produced by World Championship Wrestling. The program existed through various incarnations under different names before becoming WCW Saturday Night in 1992...
, which had taken place five or six weeks before. The announcers were usually Scott Hudson and Larry Zbyszko
Larry Zbyszko
Lawrence "Larry" Whistler is a professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, Larry Zbyszko. Zbyszko is perhaps best known for his feud with his mentor, wrestling legend Bruno Sammartino during the early 1980s....
, who provided dubbed
Dubbing (filmmaking)
Dubbing is the post-production process of recording and replacing voices on a motion picture or television soundtrack subsequent to the original shooting. The term most commonly refers to the substitution of the voices of the actors shown on the screen by those of different performers, who may be...
commentary with references aimed at the UK viewers. Due to being moved around the schedules and skipping some weeks, the show continued until May 2001 over a month after being bought by the WWF. As mentioned, WCW was purchased by the World Wrestling Federation, and ceased to produce any more new programming.
Even though the show wasn't broadcast from 1995 until 1999 on British Television in English, it was on the German speaking channel DSF, along with other WCW content not seen anywhere else in the country.
Following the purchase of WCW by the World Wrestling Federation, older versions of WorldWide were repeated on Sky Sports
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...
.