WWE Superstars
Encyclopedia
WWE Superstars is a professional wrestling
television program
produced by World Wrestling Entertainment
that originally aired on WGN America in the United States
. It debuted on April 16, 2009 and ended its domestic broadcasting on April 7, 2011. After the final domestic TV broadcast the show moved to an internet broadcast format while maintaining a traditional television broadcast in international markets. The show features WWE talent from both of the current brands
: Raw
and SmackDown. The show also previously featured talent from the now-defunct ECW brand.
. In early 2009, WGN put out a press release hyping the revived series and revealed its new time slot for its debut. Superstars airs Thursday nights at 8:00 pm Eastern/7:00 pm Central. A replay airs at noon on Sunday on WGN America. Until early 2010 the replay also aired on WGN-TV
. However, it was removed, hence eliminating distribution of the show from the Canadian fanbase. Superstars had its debut show on April 16, 2009.
On March 17, 2011, WGN America announced that they would not renew their domestic broadcasts rights to WWE Superstars and the last episode they would air would be shown on April 7, 2011. Online reports stated that the network did not renew the series because it didn't live up to its expectations. WWE.com aired the show from April 14, 2011 until September 22, 2011 when it was removed from the website due to low viewing returns. The show is still in production for international broadcasting. However, it was announced on October 5, 2011 on Twitter by WWE Superstars commentator Scott Stanford
that WWE Superstars will return to WWE.com beginning October 6, 2011 and will air Thursdays 4:00 pm Eastern/3:00 pm Central with WWE NXT also having moved to a new day and time Wednesdays at 4:00 pm Eastern/3:00 pm Central.
" by Adelitas Way
. WWE Superstars currently uses the same universal WWE entrance set that is also currently used for WWE's other primary television programs Raw
, NXT
, and SmackDown. Although WWE promotes the series as a television program that takes place during one night, in reality, the matches that are set for the event are taped earlier than the broadcast day. These matches are taped during the Raw and SmackDown events on Mondays and Tuesdays, respectively, and are then aired Thursdays during Superstars. As a result, the show features brand-specific commentary throughout the show, as each brand's respective commentators announce the match for their particular show. Also the colors of the ropes change depending on the brand that is wrestling. The colors of the ring ropes are blue for SmackDown, white (Formerly red) for Raw and were grey during the matches of the now defunct ECW brand.
(*) If any Superstars commentators are unable to call the action for their respective brands, The alternate team of Josh Mathews and Matt Striker will serve as a dual-branded announce team. Mathews, who works color commentary opposite Stanford for the Raw portion will serve as play-by-play commentator and Striker will serve his usual duties on color commentary as he would normally do when working opposite Korpela. The Mathews/Striker tandem are the only announce team to call Superstars for all brands Raw, Smackdown and the former ECW brand since the show's inception in April 2009.
on WWE.com, WWE Superstars is also broadcast internationally.
Professional wrestling
Professional wrestling is a mode of spectacle, combining athletics and theatrical performance.Roland Barthes, "The World of Wrestling", Mythologies, 1957 It takes the form of events, held by touring companies, which mimic a title match combat sport...
television program
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 Wrestling Entertainment
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...
that originally aired on WGN America in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. It debuted on April 16, 2009 and ended its domestic broadcasting on April 7, 2011. After the final domestic TV broadcast the show moved to an internet broadcast format while maintaining a traditional television broadcast in international markets. The show features WWE talent from both of the current brands
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...
: 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. The show also previously featured talent from the now-defunct ECW brand.
Show history
On December 19, 2008, WWE and WGN America announced an agreement to create a new weekly, one-hour prime time series entitled WWE Superstars that was to debut in April 2009. The show features stars from all the WWE brandsWWE 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 early 2009, WGN put out a press release hyping the revived series and revealed its new time slot for its debut. Superstars airs Thursday nights at 8:00 pm Eastern/7:00 pm Central. A replay airs at noon on Sunday on WGN America. Until early 2010 the replay also aired on WGN-TV
WGN-TV
WGN-TV, virtual channel 9 , is the CW-affiliated television station in Chicago, Illinois built, signed on, and owned by the Tribune Company. WGN-TV's studios and offices are located at 2501 W...
. However, it was removed, hence eliminating distribution of the show from the Canadian fanbase. Superstars had its debut show on April 16, 2009.
On March 17, 2011, WGN America announced that they would not renew their domestic broadcasts rights to WWE Superstars and the last episode they would air would be shown on April 7, 2011. Online reports stated that the network did not renew the series because it didn't live up to its expectations. WWE.com aired the show from April 14, 2011 until September 22, 2011 when it was removed from the website due to low viewing returns. The show is still in production for international broadcasting. However, it was announced on October 5, 2011 on Twitter by WWE Superstars commentator Scott Stanford
Scott Stanford
Scott Stanford is a sports anchor and commentator. He is the weekend sports anchor at New York City's NBC Affiliate, WNBC-TV. In addition, he is a play-by-play commentator for the Monday Night Raw portion of the WWE's Internationally syndicated program, WWE Superstars, an interviewer for Monday...
that WWE Superstars will return to WWE.com beginning October 6, 2011 and will air Thursdays 4:00 pm Eastern/3:00 pm Central with WWE NXT also having moved to a new day and time Wednesdays at 4:00 pm Eastern/3:00 pm Central.
Production
The theme song for WWE Superstars is "InvincibleInvincible (Adelitas Way song)
"Invincible" is the debut single from Adelitas Way's debut album, Adelitas Way, and is currently being used as the theme song for WWE Superstars. On April 17, 2009, the song became available to iTunes...
" by Adelitas Way
Adelitas Way
Adelitas Way is a hard rock band from Las Vegas, Nevada that broke into mainstream in 2009 for their song "Invincible", which is the official theme song for WWE Superstars on WGN America. They also perform the song "A New Day" as the theme song for the defunct WWE Tag Team The Legacy and later used...
. WWE Superstars currently uses the same universal WWE entrance set that is also currently used for WWE's other primary television programs Raw
WWE RAW
WWE Raw ) is a sports entertainment television program for WWE that currently airs on the USA Network in the United States...
, NXT
WWE NXT
WWE NXT is a sports entertainment television program produced by WWE that debuted on February 23, 2010. Described as a hybrid between reality television and WWE's scripted live event shows, the premise of the show follows select talent contracted to WWE's developmental territory Florida...
, and SmackDown. Although WWE promotes the series as a television program that takes place during one night, in reality, the matches that are set for the event are taped earlier than the broadcast day. These matches are taped during the Raw and SmackDown events on Mondays and Tuesdays, respectively, and are then aired Thursdays during Superstars. As a result, the show features brand-specific commentary throughout the show, as each brand's respective commentators announce the match for their particular show. Also the colors of the ropes change depending on the brand that is wrestling. The colors of the ring ropes are blue for SmackDown, white (Formerly red) for Raw and were grey during the matches of the now defunct ECW brand.
Commentators
| Commentators | Dates |
|---|---|
| Raw WWE RAW WWE Raw ) is a sports entertainment television program for WWE that currently airs on the USA Network in the United States... brand |
|
| Michael Cole Michael Cole Michael Sean Coulthard , better known by his ring name Michael Cole, is an American professional wrestling commentator, currently signed to WWE on both its Rawand SmackDown brands. Coulthard is a former news journalist.... and Jerry Lawler Jerry Lawler Jerry O'Neil Lawler is an American professional wrestler, wrestling commentator, musician, businessman, commercial artist and film actor, known throughout the wrestling world as Jerry "The King" Lawler. He is currently signed to WWE, working on its Raw brand as the color commentator and occasional... |
April 16, 2009 — October 26, 2010 |
| Scott Stanford Scott Stanford Scott Stanford is a sports anchor and commentator. He is the weekend sports anchor at New York City's NBC Affiliate, WNBC-TV. In addition, he is a play-by-play commentator for the Monday Night Raw portion of the WWE's Internationally syndicated program, WWE Superstars, an interviewer for Monday... and Jerry Lawler |
October 7, 2010, October 28, 2010 — November 11, 2010 November 25, 2010, December 23, 2010 |
| Michael Cole and Josh Mathews | November 11, 2010 |
| Scott Stanford and CM Punk CM Punk Phillip Jack "Phil" Brooks , better known by his ring name CM Punk, is an American professional wrestler currently signed to WWE and working on its Raw brand currently serving his second title reign as WWE Champion.... |
November 18, 2010, December 2, 2010 — December 16, 2010 |
| Scott Stanford and Josh Mathews | December 30, 2010 — present |
| Josh Mathews and Matt Striker | November 10, 2011 |
| SmackDown brand | |
| Todd Grisham Todd Grisham Todd Grisham is an American presenter/announcer who is best known for his time in the WWE as a backstage interviewer, play-by-play commentator and occasional ring announcer... and 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... |
April 16, 2009 — October 29, 2009 |
| Todd Grisham and Matt Striker | November 5, 2009 — December 2, 2010 |
| Jack Korpela and Matt Striker | December 9, 2010 — May 26, 2011, June 9, 2011 — November 3, 2011 |
| Jack Korpela Jack Korpela Jack Korpela is an American presenter, commentator and interviewer best known for his previous work on ESPN as a motorsports announcer and currently, he is a play-by-play commentator for the SmackDown portion of the WWE's Internationally syndicated program, WWE Superstars, an interviewer for... and Booker T |
June 2, 2011 |
| Josh Mathews and Matt Striker | November 10, 2011 — present |
| ECW brand | |
| Josh Mathews and Matt Striker | April 16, 2009 — October 22, 2009 |
| Josh Mathews and Byron Saxton | October 27, 2009 — February 11, 2010 |
| Spanish Broadcasters | |
| Carlos Cabrera Carlos 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... , 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... and Marcelo Rodríguez Marcelo Rodriguez Marcelo Antonio Rodríguez Laprea is a Venezuelan actor and professional wrestling announcer currently working for the international Spanish versions of WWE shows Raw, SmackDown, NXT, Superstars, and pay-per-view events alongside Carlos Cabrera as color commentator. Their audio can also be accessed... |
April 16, 2009 — October 6, 2011 |
| Carlos Cabrera and Marcelo Rodríguez | October 13, 2011 — present |
| Dual Branded | |
| Josh Mathews and Matt Striker (substitute)* | April 16, 2009 — present |
(*) If any Superstars commentators are unable to call the action for their respective brands, The alternate team of Josh Mathews and Matt Striker will serve as a dual-branded announce team. Mathews, who works color commentary opposite Stanford for the Raw portion will serve as play-by-play commentator and Striker will serve his usual duties on color commentary as he would normally do when working opposite Korpela. The Mathews/Striker tandem are the only announce team to call Superstars for all brands Raw, Smackdown and the former ECW brand since the show's inception in April 2009.
Ring announcers
| Ring announcer | Dates |
|---|---|
| Raw WWE RAW WWE Raw ) is a sports entertainment television program for WWE that currently airs on the USA Network in the United States... brand |
|
| Lilian Garcia Lilian Garcia Lilian Annette García , is a Spanish-American singer. She is best known as the former ring announcer for WWE's Raw brand. During her time in WWE, she became the first Diva to remain with the promotion for ten years.-Early life and career:... |
April 16, 2009 — September 24, 2009 |
| Justin Roberts Justin Roberts Justin Jason Roberts is an American professional wrestling ring announcer, currently working for WWE appearing on its Raw brand.-Career:... |
October 1, 2009 — May 5, 2011 July 14 - 21, 2011 November 10, 2011 |
| SmackDown brand | |
| Justin Roberts | April 16, 2009 — September 24, 2009 |
| Tony Chimel Tony Chimel Anthony "Tony" Chimel is an American professional wrestling ring announcer, currently employed by WWE working as the ring announcer for SmackDown brand.-WWE :... |
October 1, 2009 — May 5, 2011 July 21, 2011 |
| Savannah Angela Fong Angela Carolyn Fong is a Canadian professional wrestler, model, cheerleader for the CFL's British Columbia Lions and actress best known for her time at World Wrestling Entertainment as known by her former ring names Miss Angela during her time at the developmental territory FCW and as Savannah... |
May 6, 2010 — June 17, 2010 |
| Jamie Keyes Brittany Beede Brittany Beede is an American model and professional wrestler. She is best known for her time in WWE, where she took part in the third season of NXT under the ring name Jamie... |
August 12, 2010 — August 31, 2010 |
| Eden Stiles | July 14, 2011, November 10, 2011 |
| ECW brand | |
| Tony Chimel | April 30, 2009 — September 24, 2009 |
| Lauren Mayhew Lauren C. Mayhew thumb|150px|right|Mayhew at the June 2009 premiere for [[The Proposal |The Proposal]]Lauren Courtney Mayhew is an American singer and actress.-Biography:... |
October 8, 2009 — November 19, 2009 |
| Savannah | December 17, 2009 — February 11, 2010 |
| Dual-branded | |
| Ashley Valence Ashley Ann Vickers Ashley Ann Vickers is an American television personality, sports announcer, and model. She is an emcee for NBA team the Memphis Grizzlies and in 2010 became a WWE Diva as a ring announcer/co-host for the WWE program NXT under the name Ashley Valence... |
November 25, 2010 — December 9, 2010 |
| Justin Roberts | March 10, 2011 |
| Eden Stiles | May 12, 2011 — present |
United Kingdom & Ireland Television Timeslots
- Sky 1SKY 1The Box is an entertainment channel in New Zealand available on SKY Network Television.The channel shows are a variety of the most recent shows such as from the United States, for example CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, The Simpsons, Family Guy, World Wrestling Entertainments hit shows, and...
- Friday Afternoons (2009-2010) - Sky 1 - Saturday Mornings (2011-Present)
International broadcasters
In addition to being broadcast in the United StatesUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
on WWE.com, WWE Superstars is also broadcast internationally.
| Country | Network | Ref |
|---|---|---|
| Arab World Arab world The Arab world refers to Arabic-speaking states, territories and populations in North Africa, Western Asia and elsewhere.The standard definition of the Arab world comprises the 22 states and territories of the Arab League stretching from the Atlantic Ocean in the west to the Arabian Sea in the... |
AD Sport 6 HD Abu Dhabi Sports Channel Abu Dhabi Al Riadhia is an Arabic television station It broadcasts from Abu Dhabi, capital of the United Arab Emirates and is owned by Abu Dhabi Media Company... |
|
| Australia Australia Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area... |
Fox8 FOX8 Fox8 is an Australian cable and satellite channel available on Foxtel, Austar and Optus Television's subscription platforms... |
|
| Bulgaria Bulgaria Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east... |
RING.BG RING.BG RING.BG is a Bulgarian sports TV channel . It was founded in 1998 by a group of professionals and sports enthusiasts. It is distributed via cable path throughout the country... |
|
| France France The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France... |
RTL9 RTL9 RTL9 is a Luxembourger television channel shown internationally to viewers in Luxembourg, France, Belgium and francophone Switzerland.- Télé-Luxembourg :... |
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| Dominican Republic Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic is a nation on the island of La Hispaniola, part of the Greater Antilles archipelago in the Caribbean region. The western third of the island is occupied by the nation of Haiti, making Hispaniola one of two Caribbean islands that are shared by two countries... |
Antena Latina | |
| India India India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world... |
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... |
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| Italy Italy Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and... |
Sky Sport 2 Sky Italia Sky Italia S.r.l. is an Italian digital satellite television platform owned by News Corporation launched on 1 August 2003, when the former platforms TELE+ and Stream TV merged together... |
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| Japan Japan Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south... |
J SPORTS | |
| Malaysia | Astro Super Sport | |
| Mexico 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... |
MVS (52MX y MC) | |
| 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... |
Studio 23 Studio 23 Studio 23 is a Filipino television network owned by the ABS-CBN Corporation. The network is named for its flagship station in Metro Manila, DWAC-TV, which is carried on UHF channel 23... , Balls Balls (TV channel) Balls is a Filipino sports television network owned by Creative Programs, Inc., a subsidiary of ABS-CBN. It is managed by the sports division of ABS-CBN Corporation, ABS-CBN Sports. The channel operates non-stop 24/7.-History:... |
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| Panama Panama Panama , officially the Republic of Panama , is the southernmost country of Central America. Situated on the isthmus connecting North and South America, it is bordered by Costa Rica to the northwest, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the south. The... |
RPC Canal 4 | |
| Poland Poland Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north... |
TV Puls TV Puls TV Puls is a Polish commercial television channel, which was based on Telewizja Niepokalanów with the support of companies such as PKN Orlen, KGHM Polska Miedź, PZU Życie, Prokom and which started broadcasting in March 2001. Due to financial problems, ended broadcasting on April 1, 2003... |
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| Peru Peru Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean.... |
Frecuencia Latina Frecuencia Latina Frecuencia Latina , better known as Channel 2, is a Peruvian television network. The network was founded on May 31, 1962 by the Cavero Family Group who turned the station into a network filled with musical programs and variety shows... |
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| Romania Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea... |
Sport.ro Sport.ro Sport.ro is a private channel in Romania, launched on July 27, 2003 and dedicated entirely to sports. Sport.ro reaches nearly 64% of the population of 21.5 million inhabitants of Romania and its broadcast schedule contains domestic and international sporting events... |
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| Singapore Singapore Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the... |
SuperSports Plus | |
| South Africa South Africa The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans... |
e.tv E.tv e.tv is the fifth terrestrial television channel in South Africa, following three channels operated by the state-owned South African Broadcasting Corporation and the privately owned subscription-funded M-Net, operated by Multichoice... |
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| United Kingdom United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages... & Ireland Republic of Ireland Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,... |
Sky1, Sky Sports 3 |