- WWF LiveWire
"WWF LiveWire" was a World Wrestling Federation television program that aired Saturday mornings on the
USA Network from 1996 to 2000 and on TNN from 2000 to 2001. It was a revamp of the WWF's previous Saturday morning show, "WWF Mania ", and was hosted byTodd Pettengill , who had previously been the host of "Mania". Sunny was Pettengill's co-host for its first few months.Initial format
In its initial format, "LiveWire" was broadcast live, and took fans' phone calls, letters, and faxes and respond to them on the air. This was the first WWF program to feature such an "interactive" element. The show was used to summarize the past week in the WWF and/or conduct interviews with current WWF stars, and allowed the fans to give their own opinions on what they saw, or ask questions of the in-studio guests.
Notable callers
Vince Russo made his WWF television debut on "LiveWire", under the alias "Vic Venom" (thepseudonym under which he wrote articles for "WWF Magazine"). On another occasion, during a short-lived cross-promotional angle involving ECW-contracted talent "invading" WWF shows,Paul Heyman called in to "LiveWire" to deliver a (worked) shoot promo on the state of the WWF at the time. Faarooq also debuted the concept of theNation of Domination on "LiveWire".Change in format
Eventually, due to various factors (including an apparent inability by the WWF to decide whether they wanted the audience-participation elements to break
kayfabe or not), "LiveWire" reverted to becoming a standard "week-in-review" recap show, similar to what "Mania" had been before it. After Pettengill left the WWF, Michael Cole began hosting "LiveWire" up until its cancellation.A similar show, "AM Raw", debuted on
USA Network on Saturday mornings in 2006. It is limited to recaps of the week's RAW-branded events.United Kingdom
Livewire also replaced Mania in the United Kingdom, in 1997. The UK Version aired Saturdays at 1.00PM on Sky One, recapping RAW is WAR. In 1999, Livewire continued recapping RAW IS WAR, and also began recapping Smackdown!, as well as Livewire's sister show, Superstars were the only two places where UK Viewers could watch the matches from Smackdown!, until January 2000. Although Livewire and Superstars merged together to create WWF Excess, which was also shown in the UK, Livewire continued to air in the UK until being replaced by a new RAW Highlight show, The Bottom Line.
Legacy
In some ways, the original "LiveWire" format was carried on by the WWE's
webcast , "Byte This!" (currently on hiatus), which included live call-in segments during in-studio interviews.
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