WWE Heat

Did You Know?

• A PlayStation game based on the franchise was planned but cancelled due to poorer than expected sales of other PlayStation wrestling games; it would have featured regulars such as Al Snow and Val Venis.
• Heat has been taped in or broadcast from five different countries: the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Japan in 2005, and Italy in 2007.
• The first 52 episodes of WWE Heat were made available to stream on the WWE Network on May 7, 2018.

Format

The show originally aired on USA Network on August 2, 1998, as a one-hour Sunday night program taped earlier in the week after Raw. It functioned as the second primary WWF weekly show, supplementing Monday Night Raw by advancing ongoing feuds and heavily promoting the next night's Raw. On pay-per-view nights, a special edition of Heat was typically broadcast from the event venue as a pre-show with previews and preliminary matches. After SmackDown! debuted in August 1999, Heat briefly became a weekly summary show with occasional interviews and music videos, but soon returned to airing exclusive matches.

The debut of SmackDown! also caused Heat to be taped before SmackDown!, with matches for syndicated programs like Jakked/Metal taped before Raw. Special heavily promoted editions included a half-hour Halftime Heat during Super Bowl XXXIII in 1999. These specials ended after the show moved to MTV in 2000. When Heat aired on MTV in late 2000, it was broadcast live from WWF New York, with personalities appearing as guests and Michael Cole and Tazz providing commentary.

In April 2002, the show returned to its original filming schedule before Raw, and the live-from-WWF New York format was retired. With the brand extension, Heat became a B-show for the Raw brand focused on mid-card talent, while sister channel TNN picked up Velocity for SmackDown. In May 2002, the show was renamed WWE Sunday Night Heat due to the WWF rebranding.

Broadcast

In the United States, Heat aired on USA Network (1998–2000), MTV (2000–2003), and TNN/Spike TV (2003–2005), and on CTV Sportsnet in Canada. From 2005 to 2008, it was streamed on WWE.com on Friday afternoons for North American viewers. United Kingdom coverage began in January 2000 on Channel 4 at 4pm Sundays as part of T4, which also included four WWF pay-per-views a year. These one-hour shows were magazine-style, typically featuring three or four brief matches plus highlights from Raw and SmackDown!.

Exclusive matches taped before SmackDown! aired on this version, with a separate commentary team that referenced Raw and SmackDown! as taking place on Friday and Saturday respectively—the UK broadcast days on Sky Sports. The announce team included Kevin Kelly, Michael Cole, Michael Hayes, and Jonathan Coachman. By mid-2000, Heat moved around the Channel 4 schedule between afternoon and midnight, and by late 2000 it was permanently broadcast in the early hours of Monday mornings.

That time slot lasted until December 2001 when Channel 4's WWF deal expired. Heat returned to the UK and Ireland in January 2003 on Sky One (with repeats on Sky Sports), becoming Sky Sports exclusive in January 2005. Although a webcast in North America from 2005, Heat continued internationally on Channel 4 and later Sky Sports 3 in the UK, Fox8 in Australia, TEN Sports in India, Premiere Sport Portal in Germany, Action in France, Sportmania and C+ Deportes in Spain, ShowSports4 in the Middle East, Jack TV in the Philippines, and J Sports in Japan. The final episode was uploaded to WWE.com.

Notable championship matches

The WWF Championship changed hands on a special Halftime Heat during Super Bowl XXXIII on January 31, 1999, when Mankind defeated The Rock in an empty arena match to win the title; this episode received a 6.6 rating, the highest for Sunday Night Heat. The Light Heavyweight Championship changed hands on Heat three times: Essa Rios defeated Gillberg on February 13, 2000; Crash Holly defeated Dean Malenko on March 18, 2001; and Jerry Lynn defeated Crash Holly on a live edition before Backlash on April 29, 2001.

Commentators and hosts

Many commentators worked on Heat, including Jim Ross and Jerry Lawler. The show launched Shane McMahon's on-camera career as a commentator. In October 2000, Rebecca Budig and MTV VJ/rapper DJ Skribble hosted when the show moved to MTV. Wrestlers occasionally served as color commentators, including Al Snow, Tommy Dreamer, Raven, and D'Lo Brown. During the MTV run, Diva Lita commented after a major neck injury. Before the One Night Stand 2005 pay-per-view, a special Extreme Heat episode was hosted by Jonathan Coachman and Michael Cole.