WWF LiveWire is a professional wrestling

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 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...

 (WWF). It aired from 1996 to 2001 on the USA Network

USA Network

USA Network is an American cable television channel launched in 1971. Once a minor player in basic cable, the network has steadily gained popularity because of breakout hits like Monk, Psych, Burn Notice, Royal Pains, Covert Affairs, White Collar, Monday Night RAW, Suits, and reruns of the various...

 and later TNN.

History

Premiering on September 21, 1996, in its initial format, LiveWire was broadcast live and allowed viewers to phone-in and participate in the show. This was the first WWF program to feature such an "interactive" element. The show was used to summarize the weekly events in WWF programming and featured interviews with WWF personalities and allowed the fans to phone-in and ask questions to in-studio guests.

One of the more notable calls occurred during a brief cross-promotional angle involving 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...

 and the World Wrestling Federation. Paul Heyman

Paul Heyman

Paul Heyman is an American entertainment producer, best known for his career in professional wrestling as a promoter, manager, commentator and journalist. He is also an occasional actor in film....

, using the alias "Bruce from Connecticut," called in to LiveWire to express his discontent with boring WWF programming and the state of the promotion. Faarooq

Ron Simmons

Ronald "Ron" Simmons is an American semi-retired professional wrestler and retired American football player. He is recognised as being the first Black world heavyweight champion in professional wrestling and the first of only two African Americans to win the WCW World Heavyweight Championship,...

 also debuted the concept of the Nation of Domination

Nation of Domination

The Nation of Domination was a professional wrestling stable in World Wrestling Federation from November 18, 1996 to November 28, 1998. The Rock was a 1 time Intercontinental Champion and D'Lo Brown was a 2 time European Champion while in the group.-United States Wrestling Association :The...

 on LiveWire.

LiveWire later became exclusively a weekly summary show in similar style to that of WWF Mania

WWF Mania

WWF Mania is a professional wrestling television program produced by the World Wrestling Federation . It aired on Saturday mornings on the USA Network between 1993 and 1996 and summarized the weekly events in WWF programming. In its earlier years, Mania usually featured a show exclusive wrestling...

. The show was originally hosted

Presenter

A presenter, or host , is a person or organization responsible for running an event. A museum or university, for example, may be the presenter or host of an exhibit. Likewise, a master of ceremonies is a person that hosts or presents a show...

 by Todd Pettengill

Todd Pettengill

Todd Clark Pettengill is a radio disc jockey for WPLJ 95.5 in the New York area. He is perhaps best known for his tenure in the World Wrestling Federation as an on-screen interviewer in the mid-to-late 1990s.-Radio career:...

. 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....

 later took over as host until July 2000 when he was succeeded 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...

. Both commentators would occasionally host the show together until the discontinuation of WWF LiveWire on August 18, 2001. A former co-host of the this show was Marissa Mazzola

Marissa Mazzola-McMahon

Marissa McMahon is an American film producer and former public relations agent and television host.She is the wife of former World Wrestling Entertainment Executive Vice President of Global Media Shane McMahon, and is considered the fourth generation of the McMahon family dynasty of professional...

 who is the wife of 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...

.