WWE HEAT
Encyclopedia
WWE Heat was a professional wrestling
television program
produced by World Wrestling Entertainment
(WWE). Originally produced under the World Wrestling Federation banner (WWF), it aired on USA Network
, MTV
and Spike TV in the United States
, Channel 4
, Sky1 & Sky Sports
in the United Kingdom
and CTV Sportsnet
in Canada.
Heat 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.
The show was originally introduced as WWF SuNDAY NiGHT HeAT on the USA Network on August 2, 1998 in the United States. The one hour show would be broadcast on Sunday nights, it would be live most weeks but sometimes would be taped. It was the second primary program of the WWF's weekly television show line-up, serving as a supplement to the Monday Night Raw
program. Heat would feature a format similar to that of Monday Night Raw in that continuing feuds from the previous week would progress during the show, and the following day's Monday Night Raw would be heavily promoted. On scheduled WWF pay-per-view event nights, Heat would also serve as a preview show to the events.
being filmed before Raw
broadcasts. When SmackDown! premiered, also Heat briefly became a complete weekly summary show, featuring occasional interviews and promotional material. After only a few weeks following the format change, Heat began airing exclusive matches again.
The United Kingdom's coverage of Heat began in January 2000, when Channel 4
started broadcasting the show at 4pm on Sundays, as a part of T4
. These one-hour shows were a magazine
-type show, usually featuring three or four brief matches as well as highlights from Raw and SmackDown!. Exclusive matches taped before Smackdown! were aired on this version of the show, the weeks of a PPV. The reason for this was that in North America, Heat was aired live from the site of that night's PPV.
A separate commentary team was used on airings in the United Kingdom, with references aimed more at that specific audience. A unique quirk was that during the commentary, Raw and SmackDown were referred to as taking place on Friday and Saturday respectively, which were the days they were broadcast in the United Kingdom on Sky Sports
- as opposed to the manner in which the two programs were often referred to by the North America
n broadcast dates of Monday and Thursday. The two-person announce
team was a mix of individuals including Kevin Kelly
, Michael Cole
, Michael Hayes
and Jonathan Coachman
. During the middle of 2000 Heat started to get moved around the Channel 4 schedule, usually between the afternoon and midnight. Towards the end of 2000 the show was permanently moved to being broadcast in the early-hours of Monday mornings. The show stayed in the time-slot until December 2001 when Channel 4
's deal with the World Wrestling Federation expired in the United Kingdom.
Occasionally, special editions of the show aired heavily promoted. For Super Bowl XXXIII
in 1999, Heat aired as Halftime Heat on the USA Network during halftime of the Super Bowl. These specials ended following the show's move to MTV
in 2000. When the show started airing on MTV in late 2000, it was broadcast live from WWF New York
. WWF personalities and performers would appear at the restaurant as special guests while Michael Cole
and Tazz
provided commentary to matches.
. Eventually, the live from WWF New York format was retired, and was replaced as being the Raw brand's second show. Ratings were still moderate for HeAT, although the show lost some popularity once Smackdown! began to air. This version also featured highlights from that week's Raw, and the name change was introduced to the show in May 2002, when it became known as WWE Sunday Night HeAT.HeAT returned to the United Kingdom and Ireland in January 2003 on Sky One (with repeats on Sky Sports), though the coverage became Sky Sports exclusive in January 2005 along with most of WWE's programming. In the US, Heat stayed with MTV until March 2003 when it was transferred over to The New TNN/Spike TV. It stayed in that timeslot until the contract with Viacom was up.
Heat and Velocity
were not picked up by the USA Network
when WWE moved its programming over to that network in October 2005, leaving Americans no way to watch WWE weekend shows on television. To solve this problem, WWE decided to stream
the shows on their website exclusively for the U.S. audience, with new editions posted every Friday afternoon. However, only HeAT would be streamed, as Velocity got cancelled in 2006 due to poor ratings. Sunday Night Heat was soon renamed to WWE Heat, as it no longer aired on Sundays.
Heat was still shown internationally to fulfill international programming commitments. When WWE went high definition
in January 2008, Heat began using the same HD
set as Raw, SmackDown, and ECW.
After 10 years of programming and 513 episodes, the final episode of WWE Heat was uploaded to WWE.com on May 30, 2008. The show was replaced internationally with a new show featuring classic matches, called WWE Vintage Collection
. It was the most watched episode of HeAT since it debuted on WWE.com.
events, the WWF Championship
changed hands on a special "Halftime Heat" that aired during the half-time of Super Bowl XXXIII
on January 31, 1999 when Mankind
defeated The Rock in an empty arena match to win the title. This special episode received the highest rating of Sunday Night Heat with a rating of 6.6.
Additionally, the Light Heavyweight Championship
changed hands on Heat on three occasions. The first took place on the February 13, 2000 airing when Essa Rios
(in his first appearance under that name and with the debuting Lita
) defeated Gillberg
. The second change saw Crash Holly
defeat Dean Malenko
on the March 15, 2001 episode. In the final change, the debuting Jerry Lynn
defeated Crash Holly on a live edition before the Backlash pay-per-view on April 29, 2001.
and Jerry Lawler
have done commentary on the show. The show was also the launchpad for Shane McMahon
's on-camera career in WWE, originally placed in the role of a commentator for the program. In October 2000, the show was hosted by Rebecca Budig
and MTV VJ/Rapper DJ Skribble
when it moved from USA Network to MTV.
During pay-per-view events and often outside the venue, hosts introduce segments of the show, recently the hosts of The WWE Experience
(Ivory
and Todd Grisham
) perform these duties. If a SmackDown brand pay-per-view takes place, Velocity's announcers host the in-ring commentary for the show.
Often wrestlers would take the role of color commentators on the show with Al Snow
, Tommy Dreamer
, Raven
, and D'Lo Brown
all holding this position mostly as a replacement for an announcer who was unavailable. During the show's run on MTV, Diva
Lita
also served as a commentator following her major neck injury.
Before the WWE-produced, Extreme Championship Wrestling
reunion pay-per-view, One Night Stand 2005
took place, a special Extreme Heat episode was broadcast and hosted by Jonathan Coachman
and Michael Cole
.
During one episode when Jonathan Coachman was unavailable, former ECW announcer (and then-lead Raw announcer) Joey Styles
took part in the show. Styles then quit in storyline
, however, on the following Monday's' Raw, meaning Grisham ran the show alone.
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...
(WWE). Originally produced under the World Wrestling Federation banner (WWF), it aired on 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...
, 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
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, 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...
, Sky1 & 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...
in the 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...
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.
Heat 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.
Early format
WWE RAW
WWE Raw ) is a sports entertainment television program for WWE that currently airs on the USA Network in the United States...
program. Heat would feature a format similar to that of Monday Night Raw in that continuing feuds from the previous week would progress during the show, and the following day's Monday Night Raw would be heavily promoted. On scheduled WWF pay-per-view event nights, Heat would also serve as a preview show to the events.
1999-2002
With the premiere of SmackDown! in August 1999, coverage of Heat was significantly reduced in favor of the newer show. The debut of SmackDown! also led to Heat being filmed before SmackDown! with matches for WWF syndication programs like Jakked/MetalWWE Jakked/Metal
WWE Jakked and WWE Metal were professional wrestling television programs produced by World Wrestling Entertainment . Both shows aired syndicated weekly from 1999 until 2002 and replaced WWF Shotgun Saturday Night...
being filmed before 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. When SmackDown! premiered, also Heat briefly became a complete weekly summary show, featuring occasional interviews and promotional material. After only a few weeks following the format change, Heat began airing exclusive matches again.
The United Kingdom's coverage of Heat began in January 2000, when 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...
started broadcasting the show at 4pm on Sundays, as a part of T4
T4 (Channel 4)
T4 is a scheduling slot on Channel 4 from about 09:00 until 14:00 on Saturdays and 17:00 on Sundays. It also airs on weekdays in the school holidays. The slot has a separate station identification on screen graphic from Channel 4 and E4. The logo of T4 is noticeably the top right segment of the...
. These one-hour shows were a magazine
Magazine
Magazines, periodicals, glossies or serials are publications, generally published on a regular schedule, containing a variety of articles. They are generally financed by advertising, by a purchase price, by pre-paid magazine subscriptions, or all three...
-type show, usually featuring three or four brief matches as well as highlights from Raw and SmackDown!. Exclusive matches taped before Smackdown! were aired on this version of the show, the weeks of a PPV. The reason for this was that in North America, Heat was aired live from the site of that night's PPV.
A separate commentary team was used on airings in the United Kingdom, with references aimed more at that specific audience. A unique quirk was that during the commentary, Raw and SmackDown were referred to as taking place on Friday and Saturday respectively, which were the days they were broadcast in the United Kingdom 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...
- as opposed to the manner in which the two programs were often referred to by the North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
n broadcast dates of Monday and Thursday. The two-person announce
Announcer
An announcer is a presenter who makes "announcements" in an audio medium or a physical location.-Television and other media:Some announcers work in television production , radio or filmmaking, usually providing narrations, news updates, station identification, or an introduction of a product in...
team was a mix of individuals including Kevin Kelly
Kevin Kelly (announcer)
Kevin Foote is an American professional wrestling manager, pundit, sportscaster and ring announcer, better known by his ring name, Kevin Kelly...
, 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....
, Michael Hayes
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...
and 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...
. During the middle of 2000 Heat started to get moved around the Channel 4 schedule, usually between the afternoon and midnight. Towards the end of 2000 the show was permanently moved to being broadcast in the early-hours of Monday mornings. The show stayed in the time-slot until December 2001 when 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...
's deal with the World Wrestling Federation expired in the United Kingdom.
Occasionally, special editions of the show aired heavily promoted. For Super Bowl XXXIII
Super Bowl XXXIII
Super Bowl XXXIII was an American football game played on January 31, 1999, at Pro Player Stadium in Miami, Florida to decide the National Football League champion, following the 1998 regular season. The American Football Conference champion Denver Broncos defeated the National Football...
in 1999, Heat aired as Halftime Heat on the USA Network during halftime of the Super Bowl. These specials ended following the show's move to 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....
in 2000. When the show started airing on MTV in late 2000, it was broadcast live from WWF New York
The World (WWE)
The World was a WWE-themed restaurant/nightclub in Times Square in New York City, in the Paramount Theater building on the corner of Broadway and 43rd Street...
. WWF personalities and performers would appear at the restaurant as special guests while 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 Tazz
Tazz
Peter Senerchia is a retired American professional wrestler and current color commentator best known by his ring name Tazz, originally Tazmaniac and later shortened to simply Taz...
provided commentary to matches.
2002-2005
In April 2002, the show returned to its original filming schedule, again before RawWWE RAW
WWE Raw ) is a sports entertainment television program for WWE that currently airs on the USA Network in the United States...
. Eventually, the live from WWF New York format was retired, and was replaced as being the Raw brand's second show. Ratings were still moderate for HeAT, although the show lost some popularity once Smackdown! began to air. This version also featured highlights from that week's Raw, and the name change was introduced to the show in May 2002, when it became known as WWE Sunday Night HeAT.HeAT returned to the United Kingdom and Ireland in January 2003 on Sky One (with repeats on Sky Sports), though the coverage became Sky Sports exclusive in January 2005 along with most of WWE's programming. In the US, Heat stayed with MTV until March 2003 when it was transferred over to The New TNN/Spike TV. It stayed in that timeslot until the contract with Viacom was up.
2005-2008
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...
were not picked up by 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...
when WWE moved its programming over to that network in October 2005, leaving Americans no way to watch WWE weekend shows on television. To solve this problem, WWE decided to stream
Webcast
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...
the shows on their website exclusively for the U.S. audience, with new editions posted every Friday afternoon. However, only HeAT would be streamed, as Velocity got cancelled in 2006 due to poor ratings. Sunday Night Heat was soon renamed to WWE Heat, as it no longer aired on Sundays.
Heat was still shown internationally to fulfill international programming commitments. When WWE went high definition
High-definition video
High-definition video or HD video refers to any video system of higher resolution than standard-definition video, and most commonly involves display resolutions of 1,280×720 pixels or 1,920×1,080 pixels...
in January 2008, Heat began using the same HD
High-definition television
High-definition television is video that has resolution substantially higher than that of traditional television systems . HDTV has one or two million pixels per frame, roughly five times that of SD...
set as Raw, SmackDown, and ECW.
After 10 years of programming and 513 episodes, the final episode of WWE Heat was uploaded to WWE.com on May 30, 2008. The show was replaced internationally with a new show featuring classic matches, called 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...
. It was the most watched episode of HeAT since it debuted on WWE.com.
Notable championship matches
Though the majority of title changes would take place on Raw, SmackDown!, or pay-per-viewPay-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, 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...
changed hands on a special "Halftime Heat" that aired during the half-time of Super Bowl XXXIII
Super Bowl XXXIII
Super Bowl XXXIII was an American football game played on January 31, 1999, at Pro Player Stadium in Miami, Florida to decide the National Football League champion, following the 1998 regular season. The American Football Conference champion Denver Broncos defeated the National Football...
on January 31, 1999 when Mankind
Mick Foley
Michael Francis "Mick" Foley, Sr. is an American semi-retired professional wrestler, author, comedian, actor, voice actor and former color commentator. He has worked for many wrestling promotions, including WWE, WCW, ECW and TNA. He is often referred to as "The Hardcore Legend", a nickname he...
defeated The Rock in an empty arena match to win the title. This special episode received the highest rating of Sunday Night Heat with a rating of 6.6.
Additionally, the Light Heavyweight Championship
WWF Light Heavyweight Championship
The World Wrestling Federation Light Heavyweight Championship was a professional wrestling championship. The title was challenged by light heavyweights at a maximum weight of 220 lbs.- History :...
changed hands on Heat on three occasions. The first took place on the February 13, 2000 airing when Essa Rios
Mr. Águila
José Seldano is a Mexican professional wrestler or luchador currently working for Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre...
(in his first appearance under that name and with the debuting Lita
Amy Dumas
Amy Christine Dumas , known by her primary stage name Lita, is the lead singer for the band The Luchagors as well as a retired professional wrestler and WWE Diva active from 1999 to 2006....
) defeated Gillberg
Duane Gill
Duane Gill is an American professional wrestler. He is best known for his stint in the World Wrestling Federation as Gillberg, a parody of then-rival promotion World Championship Wrestling's top star Goldberg. During his tenure in the WWF, Gill became a one time Light Heavyweight Champion...
. The second change saw Crash Holly
Mike Lockwood
Michael John "Mike" Lockwood was an American professional wrestler best known for his time with World Wrestling Federation / Entertainment under the ring name Crash Holly....
defeat Dean Malenko
Dean Malenko
Dean Simon is a retired professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Dean Malenko. He is currently signed to WWE working as a road agent. He is best known for his time with Extreme Championship Wrestling , New Japan Pro Wrestling and World Championship Wrestling...
on the March 15, 2001 episode. In the final change, the debuting Jerry Lynn
Jerry Lynn
Jeremy "Jerry" Lynn is an American professional wrestler who is currently signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling ....
defeated Crash Holly on a live edition before the Backlash pay-per-view on April 29, 2001.
Commentators and hosts
There have been many commentators in the history of Heat. Industry veterans and Raw broadcasters Jim RossJim 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...
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...
have done commentary on the show. The show was also the launchpad for Shane McMahon
Shane McMahon
Shane Brandon McMahon is an American executive, currently serving as the Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of YOU On Demand. A former executive and professional wrestler for World Wrestling Entertainment , he is the son of WWE Chairman and CEO Vince McMahon and former US Senate candidate Linda...
's on-camera career in WWE, originally placed in the role of a commentator for the program. In October 2000, the show was hosted by Rebecca Budig
Rebecca Budig
Rebecca Jo Budig is an American actress and television presenter, best known for her role as Greenlee Smythe Lavery on the ABC soap opera All My Children.-Early life:...
and MTV VJ/Rapper DJ Skribble
DJ Skribble
DJ Skribble is an Italian-American DJ, producer, remixer, radio personality and actor.In the early 1990s he teamed up with Kamron, ATA, Firstborn, and Tommy Never in Young Black Teenagers, who released two albums before splitting up.In 1996 he worked with Bill Irwin on the musical Hip Hop Wonderland...
when it moved from USA Network to MTV.
During pay-per-view events and often outside the venue, hosts introduce segments of the show, recently the hosts of The WWE Experience
The WWE Experience
The WWE Experience, is a television program produced by WWE, Inc. which recaps events taking place on WWE Raw, and WWE SmackDown that started in May 2004.-History:...
(Ivory
Lisa Moretti
Lisa Moretti is a retired American professional wrestler. She is best known for her appearances with World Wrestling Entertainment between 1999 and 2005 under the ring name Ivory...
and 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...
) perform these duties. If a SmackDown brand pay-per-view takes place, Velocity's announcers host the in-ring commentary for the show.
Often wrestlers would take the role of color commentators on the show with Al Snow
Al Snow
Allen Ray Sarven is an American professional wrestler and actor better known by his ring name of Al Snow. He is best known for his work in Extreme Championship Wrestling and World Wrestling Entertainment and currently works for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling as a road agent.-Early career:Sarven...
, Tommy Dreamer
Tommy Dreamer
Thomas James "Tom" Laughlin is an American professional wrestler better known by his ring name Tommy Dreamer. He is currently working for various promotions on the independent circuit. He is best known for his time spent with Extreme Championship Wrestling and World Wrestling Entertainment...
, Raven
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...
, and D'Lo Brown
D'Lo Brown
Accie Julius Connor better known by his ring name D'Lo Brown , is an American professional wrestler. Well known for his appearances with World Wrestling Entertainment, he is currently working as an agent for Impact Wrestling.Connor has held forty-eight championships in various promotions during...
all holding this position mostly as a replacement for an announcer who was unavailable. During the show's run on MTV, Diva
WWE 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....
Lita
Amy Dumas
Amy Christine Dumas , known by her primary stage name Lita, is the lead singer for the band The Luchagors as well as a retired professional wrestler and WWE Diva active from 1999 to 2006....
also served as a commentator following her major neck injury.
Before the WWE-produced, Extreme Championship Wrestling
Extreme 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...
reunion pay-per-view, One Night Stand 2005
ECW One Night Stand (2005)
ECW One Night Stand was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment . It was held on June 12, 2005 at the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York, New York. The main event was a tag team match between The Dudley Boyz and the team of Tommy Dreamer and The Sandman...
took place, a special Extreme Heat episode was broadcast and 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 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....
.
During one episode when Jonathan Coachman was unavailable, former ECW announcer (and then-lead Raw announcer) Joey Styles
Joey Styles
Joseph Carmine Bonsignore better known by his ring name Joey Styles, is an American professional wrestling play-by-play commentator and former professional in the field of advertising sales...
took part in the show. Styles then quit in storyline
Kayfabe
In professional wrestling, kayfabe is the portrayal of events within the industry as "real" or "true". Specifically, the portrayal of professional wrestling, in particular the competition and rivalries between participants, as being genuine or not of a worked nature...
, however, on the following Monday's' Raw, meaning Grisham ran the show alone.
Commentators
| Commentator | Year(s) active |
|---|---|
| Shane McMahon Shane McMahon Shane Brandon McMahon is an American executive, currently serving as the Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of YOU On Demand. A former executive and professional wrestler for World Wrestling Entertainment , he is the son of WWE Chairman and CEO Vince McMahon and former US Senate candidate Linda... |
1998–1999 |
| Jim Cornette Jim Cornette James Mark "Jim" Cornette is an American professional wrestling manager, commentator, promoter, and booker. As a manager, he has worked for Jim Crockett Promotions, World Championship Wrestling and World Wrestling Federation and from 1991 to 1995, was the owner of Smoky Mountain Wrestling... |
1998–1999 |
| 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.... |
1998–2002, 2005 |
| Kevin Kelly Kevin Kelly (announcer) Kevin Foote is an American professional wrestling manager, pundit, sportscaster and ring announcer, better known by his ring name, Kevin Kelly... |
1998–2000 |
| Michael Hayes 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... |
1999–2002 |
| Dan Jackson | 1999 |
| Tazz Tazz Peter Senerchia is a retired American professional wrestler and current color commentator best known by his ring name Tazz, originally Tazmaniac and later shortened to simply Taz... |
2000–2001 |
| 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... |
2001–2007 |
| Raven 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... |
2001–2002 |
| Al Snow Al Snow Allen Ray Sarven is an American professional wrestler and actor better known by his ring name of Al Snow. He is best known for his work in Extreme Championship Wrestling and World Wrestling Entertainment and currently works for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling as a road agent.-Early career:Sarven... |
2001–2004 |
| Chris Leary Chris Leary Chris Leary is a national television and radio show personality, who has been hosting the Fox All Access syndicated radio show since 1994.-Radio and television career:... |
2001 |
| Marc Lloyd | 2002–2005 |
| D'Lo Brown D'Lo Brown Accie Julius Connor better known by his ring name D'Lo Brown , is an American professional wrestler. Well known for his appearances with World Wrestling Entertainment, he is currently working as an agent for Impact Wrestling.Connor has held forty-eight championships in various promotions during... |
2002–2003 |
| Lita Amy Dumas Amy Christine Dumas , known by her primary stage name Lita, is the lead singer for the band The Luchagors as well as a retired professional wrestler and WWE Diva active from 1999 to 2006.... |
2002–2003 |
| 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... |
2004–2008 |
| Lisa Moretti Lisa Moretti Lisa Moretti is a retired American professional wrestler. She is best known for her appearances with World Wrestling Entertainment between 1999 and 2005 under the ring name Ivory... |
2004–2005 |
| Joey Styles Joey Styles Joseph Carmine Bonsignore better known by his ring name Joey Styles, is an American professional wrestling play-by-play commentator and former professional in the field of advertising sales... |
2006 |
| Steve Romero Todd Romero Todd Romero, from Denver, Colorado, is a former employee of World Wrestling Entertainment, who worked as a backstage interviewer and a back-up commentator for the SmackDown brand under the name Steve Romero... |
2006 |
| 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... |
2007–2008 |
| Josh Mathews | 2007–2008 |
Television and internet schedules
- United States
- USA NetworkUSA NetworkUSA 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...
- Sunday Nights (1998- 2000) - MTVMTVMTV, 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....
- Sunday Nights (2000- 2003) - The New TNN/Spike TVSpike TVSpike is an American cable television channel. It launched on March 7, 1983 as The Nashville Network , a joint venture of WSM, Inc...
(2003- 2005) - WWE.Com - Thursdays (2005- 2008)
- United Kingdom
- Channel 4Channel 4Channel 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...
- Sunday Afternoons (2000) - Channel 4 - Sunday Nights (2000- 2001)
- Sky OneSky OneSky1 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...
- Sunday Mornings & Sky SportsSky SportsSky 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...
- Sunday Nights (2003- 2004) - Sky Sports - Sunday Mornings/Sunday Nights (2005)
- Sky Sports - Sunday Mornings (2005- 2008)
See also
- WWE RawWWE RAWWWE Raw ) is a sports entertainment television program for WWE that currently airs on the USA Network in the United States...
- WWE VelocityWWE VelocityWWE 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...
- WWE Bottom LineWWE Bottom LineWWE 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...
- WWE Experience