#8 WWF / WWE Heat (1998-2008)
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WWF Sunday Night Heat was a big part of my childhood and a big part of building the Pay-Per-View events of the Attitude Era especially. When it first launched in 1998, Shane McMahon was at the helm as an excited, fresh-faced commentator.
This was to get him ready for more of an authoritarian role on WWE TV as part of the Corporation headed by his Father, Vince McMahon.
Anyone who’s watched any old Pay-Per-View on the WWE Network will have been treated to highlights from the show that preceded it. It kind of replaced the WWF Free for All show that was broadcast before certain Pay-Per-View events in the early nineties.
However, this featured more mid-card talent and allowed for last minute matches to be added if there was to be an event later on in the evening. It was like a little taster to entice more people to purchase the production. You could liken it to the Pre-Shows we’re now used to.
The weekly broadcast, however, was more of a C-Show as it had mid-card matches on it and never any real talent after the first couple of years especially. Unfortunately, Heat declined in popularity as fewer big names were making appearances on it, and in 2008 production on the show stopped for the very last time.
513 episodes of the show are missing here and it’s a big part of WWE history. However, with the show only being an hour long, we could potentially see 4 years at a time being added, which means the drop could be done in under 3 months. Hopefully, we’ll see this in 2017 as it will be a fantastic extension, especially to the Attitude Era PPV events.
