WWE Heat

WWE Heat(formerly known asSunday Night Heatand also known asHeat) is an Americanprofessional wrestlingtelevision programthat was produced byWorld Wrestling Entertainment(WWE) and aired from August 2, 1998 to May 30, 2008. Originally produced under the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) banner, it aired onUSA Network(1998–2000),MTV(2000–2003), andTNN/Spike TV(2003–2005) in the United States,CTV Sportsnetin Canada, andChannel 4,Sky1,andSky Sportsin the United Kingdom. From 2002, due to theWWE brand extension,Heatserved as a supplementary show to theRaw brand,focusing more exclusively on its mid-card performers and matches, and was recorded before the week's television taping ofRaw.

WWE Heat
Heatlogo used from October 1, 2000 – May 30, 2008
Created by	Vince McMahon
Starring	Raw Brand SmackDown brand (Before Smackdown PPVs)
Country of origin	United States
No.of episodes	513
Production
Running time	45 minutes (television) 35 minutes (webcast)
Original release
Network	USA Network
Release	August 2, 1998(1998-08-02)– September 24, 2000(2000-09-24)
Network	MTV
Release	October 1, 2000(2000-10-01)– March 30, 2003(2003-03-30)
Network	The New TNN/Spike TV
Release	February 23, 2003(2003-02-23)– September 25, 2005(2005-09-25)
Network	Webcaston WWE.com
Release	September 30, 2005(2005-09-30)– May 30, 2008(2008-05-30)
Related
WWE Vintage Collection

Heatwas most recently streamed on WWE.com on Friday afternoons for North American viewers from 2005 to 2008. However, the show was still televised internationally and showed in the United Kingdom onChannel 4and then later onSky Sports 3,Australia onFox8,India onTEN Sports,Germany on Premiere Sport Portal, France on Action, Spain on Sportmania and C+ Deportes -both channels fromDigital+,the Middle East on ShowSports4, thePhilippinesonJack TV,and Japan on J Sports. The final episode was uploaded to WWE.com.The show was replaced internationally withWWE Vintage Collection,a program featuring classic matches.

On May 7, 2018, the first 52 episodes ofWWE Heatwere made available to stream on theWWE Network.

History

Early format

Sunday Night Heat logo used from August 2, 1998 to September 24, 2000

The show was originally introduced on the USA Network on August 2, 1998 in the United States. The one-hour show would be broadcast on Sunday nights, being taped earlier in the week after Raw. It was the second primary program of the WWF's weekly television show line-up, serving as a supplement to theMonday Night Rawprogram.Heatwould feature a format similar to that ofMonday Night Raw,in that continuing feuds from the previous week would progress during the show, and the following day'sMonday Night Rawwould be heavily promoted. On scheduled WWF pay-per-view event nights,Heatwould also serve as a preview show to the events. The show was initially signed for only 6 episodes, but proved to be very popular and was continued.

1999–2002

Heat used the set as shown on SmackDown! until 2001

With the premiere ofSmackDown!in August 1999, coverage ofHeatwas significantly reduced in favor of the newer show. The debut ofSmackDown!also led toHeatbeing taped beforeSmackDown!with matches for WWF syndication programs likeJakked/Metalbeing taped beforeRawbroadcasts. WhenSmackDown!premiered,Heatbriefly became a complete weekly summary show, featuring occasional interviews and music videos. After only a few weeks following the format change,Heatbegan airing exclusive matches again.

Occasionally, special editions of the show aired heavily promoted. ForSuper Bowl XXXIIIin 1999,Heataired asHalftime Heaton the USA Network during halftime of the Super Bowl. These specials ended following the show's move toMTVin 2000. When the show started airing on MTV in late 2000, it was broadcast live fromWWF New York.WWF personalities and performers would appear at the restaurant as special guests whileMichael ColeandTazzprovided commentary to matches.

United Kingdom (2000–2001)

The United Kingdom's coverage Heat began in January 2000, whenChannel 4started broadcasting the show at 4pm on Sundays, as a part ofT4– which also included broadcasting four WWF PPVs a year. These one-hour shows were amagazine-type show, usually featuring three or four brief matches as well as highlights fromRawandSmackDown!.As with the North American airing, exclusive matches taped beforeSmackDown!were aired on this version of the show.

A separate commentary team was used on airings in the United Kingdom, with references aimed more at that specific audience. During commentary,RawandSmackDown!were referred to as taking place on Friday and Saturday respectively, which were the days they were broadcast in the United Kingdom onSky Sports– as opposed to the manner in which the two programs were often referred to by the North American broadcast dates of Monday and Thursday. The two-personannounceteam was a mix of individuals includingKevin Kelly,Michael Cole,Michael HayesandJonathan Coachman.During the middle of 2000,Heatstarted 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 whenChannel 4's deal with the WWF expired in the United Kingdom.

2002–2005

In April 2002, the show returned to its original filming schedule, again beforeRaw.Eventually, the live from WWF New York format was retired, and was replaced as being theRaw brand's second show. Ratings were still moderate forHeat,although the show lost some popularity onceSmackDown!began to air. This version also featured highlights from that week'sRaw,and the name change was introduced to the show in May 2002, when it became known asWWE Sunday Night Heat(the May 5, 2002 episode, along with theInsurrextionUnited Kingdom-exclusive pay-per-view held the same day, were the last broadcasts of any kind under the WWF name).Heatreturned 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 United States,Heatstayed with MTV until March 2003 when it was transferred over to The New TNN (later rebranded to Spike TV). It stayed in that timeslot until the contract withViacomexpired.

2005–2008

TheHeatversion of the universal WWE entrance set introduced in January 2008 for WWE'shigh-def broadcasting

HeatandVelocitywere not picked up by theUSA Networkwhen 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 tostreamthe shows on their website exclusively for the U.S. audience, with new editions posted every Friday afternoon. Additionally, prior to every PPV event, WWE would continue to air a live bonus 30-minuteHeatpre-show on the PPV channel.Backlash 2006would be the final PPV event to feature a liveHeatpre-show before that particular version ofHeatwas discontinued.Sunday Night Heatwas soon renamed toWWE Heat,as it no longer aired on Sundays.

Heatwas still shown internationally to fulfill international programming commitments. When WWE wenthigh definitionin January 2008,Heatbegan using the sameHDset asRaw,SmackDown,andECW.After 10 years of programming and 513 episodes, the final episode ofWWE Heatwas uploaded to WWE.com on May 30, 2008. It was the most watched episode ofHeatsince it debuted on WWE.com. The show was replaced internationally with a new show featuring classic matches, calledWWE Vintage Collection.

Legacy

Atthe 2019 Royal Rumbleit was announced that WWE would be bringing backHalftime Heatfeaturing superstars fromNXTduring theSuper Bowl LIIIhalftime show.

Notable championship matches

Though the majority of title changes would take place onRaw,SmackDown!,orpay-per-viewevents, theWWF Championshipchanged hands on a specialHalftime Heatthat aired during the half-time ofSuper Bowl XXXIIIon January 31, 1999 whenMankinddefeatedThe Rockin an empty arena match to win the title. This special episode received the highest rating ofSunday Night Heatwith a rating of 6.6.

Additionally, theLight Heavyweight Championshipchanged hands onHeaton three occasions.The first took place on the February 13, 2000 airing whenEssa Rios(in his first appearance under that name and with the debutingLita) defeatedGillberg.The second change sawCrash HollydefeatDean Malenkoon the March 18, 2001 episode. In the final change, the debutingJerry Lynndefeated Crash Holly on a live edition before theBacklashpay-per-view on April 29, 2001.

Commentators and hosts

There have been many commentators in the history ofHeat.Industry veterans andRawbroadcastersJim RossandJerry Lawlerhave done commentary on the show. The show was also the launchpad forShane 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 byRebecca Budigand MTV VJ/RapperDJ Skribblewhen it moved from USA Network to MTV.

Often wrestlers would take the role of color commentators on the show withAl Snow,Tommy Dreamer,Raven,andD'Lo Brownall holding this position mostly as a replacement for an announcer who was unavailable. During the show's run on MTV,DivaLitaalso served as a commentator following her major neck injury.

Before the WWE-producedExtreme Championship Wrestlingreunion pay-per-viewOne Night Stand 2005took place, a specialExtreme Heatepisode was broadcast and hosted byJonathan CoachmanandMichael Cole.

During one episode when Jonathan Coachman was unavailable, former ECW announcer (and then-leadRawannouncer)Joey Stylestook part in the show. Styles then quit instoryline,however, on the following Monday's'Raw,meaning Grisham ran the show alone.

See also

• WWE Superstars
• WWE Raw
• WWE Velocity
• WWE Bottom Line
• WWE Experience

External links

• WWE HeatatIMDb
• Media related toWWE Heatat Wikimedia Commons