The World Wrestling Network is an American

professional wrestling Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring o ...

organization known for and branded after its

video streaming service Streaming media is multimedia that is delivered and consumed in a continuous manner from a source, with little or no intermediate storage in network elements. ''Streaming'' refers to the delivery method of content, rather than the content it ...

, WWNLive. WWNLive hosts content both from WWN's "brands", including

Full Impact Pro Full Impact Pro (FIP) is an American professional wrestling promotion. It is currently part of the World Wrestling Network (WWN) along with Shine Wrestling. Sal Hamaoui founded the company and serves as the President while Trevin Adams is the ...

(FIP) and

Shine Wrestling Shine Wrestling (stylized as SHINE Wrestling and often referred to simply as SHINE) is an American, New York based independent women's professional wrestling promotion. It is the sister promotion to Shimmer Women Athletes and airs events on Int ...

, as well as content from third-party organizations.

History

World Wrestling Network was founded by Sal Hamaoui and Tony Valamontes in 2001 as a DVD company before it later evolved into an internet streaming and

video on demand Video on demand (VOD) is a media distribution system that allows users to access videos without a traditional video playback device and the constraints of a typical static broadcasting schedule. In the 20th century, broadcasting in the form of o ...

business. In 2003, WWNLive began producing FIP DVDs. In November 2014,

Evolve Wrestling Evolve Wrestling (stylized as EVOLVE) was an American professional wrestling promotion founded in 2010 by former Ring of Honor booker and Dragon Gate USA vice president, Gabe Sapolsky. The company featured a roster of wrestlers from all ove ...

Dragon Gate USA Dragon Gate USA (DGUSA) was an American professional wrestling promotion founded in 2009 as an international expansion of the Japanese promotion Dragon Gate. Gabe Sapolsky, former head booker of Ring of Honor, served as the promotion's Vice P ...

(DGUSA),

(FIP) and

held a tour of

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

under the WWNLive banner. The following month, WWNLive announced a long-term deal with Great-Wall International Sports Management for regular tours of Asia, starting in the spring of 2015. In 2015, WWNLive opened a training facility in

Trinity, Florida Trinity is a census-designated place (CDP) in Pasco County, Florida, United States. The population was 10,907 in 2010, according to the most recent census. The Trinity Community is named after Trinity College of Florida, a Bible college founded i ...

named the "World Wrestling Network Academy". That year, Evolve began a partnership with

WWE World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., d/b/a as WWE, is an American professional wrestling promotion. A global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into other fields, including film, American football, and vario ...

. Evolve's wrestlers were featured on WWE.com, while

NXT NXT may refer to: Professional wrestling * ''WWE NXT'', a professional wrestling television program produced by WWE that began in 2010 ** NXT (WWE brand), WWE's Florida-based brand and former developmental territory * ''NXT UK'', the British spin- ...

wrestlers

Sami Zayn Rami Sebei ( ar, رامي سبعي; born July 12, 1984) is a Canadian professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the SmackDown brand under the ring name Sami Zayn, and is a member of The Bloodline. Prior to join ...

Chad Gable Charles Edward Betts (born March 8, 1986) is an American professional wrestler and former amateur wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw brand under the ring name Chad Gable. He is a four-time tag team champion in ...

and

Jason Jordan Nathan Everhart (born September 28, 1988) is an American professional wrestler better known by the ring name Jason Jordan. He is currently signed to WWE, where he works as a Producer (professional wrestling), producer. He has not wrestled sinc ...

took part in Evolve events in non-wrestling roles. In January 2016, NXT General Manager

William Regal Darren Kenneth Matthews (born 10 May 1968), better known by the ring name William Regal, is an English retired professional wrestler. He is known for his over 20 years spent in WWE, as both a performer and an on-screen authority, and for his ti ...

and WWE COO

Triple H Paul Michael Levesque (born July 27, 1969), better known by the ring name Triple H, is an American business executive, actor, and retired professional wrestler currently serving as the chief content officer for WWE. He is widely regarded as on ...

attended Evolve 54. As part of the relationship, it was announced in March 2016 that Evolve would hold qualifying matches for WWE's

Cruiserweight Classic The Cruiserweight Classic, formerly the Global Cruiserweight Series, was a professional wrestling tournament and WWE Network event produced by WWE. All participants were billed at a weight of 205 lbs or less to determine the inaugural WWE Cruis ...

. On October 24, 2016, WWNLive and FloSports announced a new streaming service to launch on November 4. Through the service, subscribers can access both live streaming events as well as events from WWNLive's on-demand library, dating back to 2003. On November 22, 2016, it was announced that WWNLive would be debuting a new promotion named

Style Battle Style Battle was an American professional wrestling promotion founded in 2017 by former Ring of Honor booker and Dragon Gate USA vice president, Gabe Sapolsky. On November 22, 2016, it was announced that WWNLive would be debuting a new promotion ...

on January 7, 2017. Also announced was the creation of the

WWN Championship The WWN Championship was a professional wrestling championship promoted by the WWNLive governing body. The inaugural champion was crowned on April 1, 2017, when Matt Riddle defeated five other men for the title. Like most professional wrestling ...

on April 1, 2017. On September 21, 2017, it was reported that FloSports had filed a $1 million lawsuit against WWNLive for breach of contract and alleged misrepresentation of iPPV and VOD buyrates. WWNLive, meanwhile, claimed that FloSports had failed to live up to their contractual obligations. Because of the lawsuit, FloSports pulled all future WWNLive events from its streaming service. The following December, WWNLive launched a replacement streaming service,

Club WWN The World Wrestling Network is an American professional wrestling organization known for and branded after its video streaming service, WWNLive. WWNLive hosts content both from WWN's "brands", including Full Impact Pro (FIP) and Shine Wrestlin ...

. In July 2020, Evolve's assets were sold to WWE and Sapolsky left WWN. A few weeks later, WWN announced the creation of Grindhouse, a new brand promoted by

Eddie Kingston Edward Moore (born December 12, 1981), better known by his ring name Eddie Kingston, is an American professional wrestler currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW). Kingston started his wrestling career in 2002, and has wrestled for numerous ...

Brands

Active

Defunct

Championships

;Active ;Defunct

References

External links

* {{VOD services American professional wrestling promotions Evolve (professional wrestling) Organizations established in 2001 2001 establishments in the United States Internet television channels Subscription video streaming services Professional wrestling streaming services