WWE Libraries Inc. (branded as WWE Legacy Department) is a
WWE-owned subsidiary that consists of the largest collection of
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 or ...
videos and copyrights in the world.
It comprises not only past and current works by WWE (formerly the Capitol Wrestling Corporation, World Wide Wrestling Federation, World Wrestling Federation, and World Wrestling Entertainment) but also the works of now defunct professional wrestling promotions dating back to the 1940s.
As of 2014, the library stands at 150,000 hours of content including weekly television shows,
pay-per-view
Pay-per-view (PPV) is a type of pay television or webcast service that enables a viewer to pay to watch individual events via private telecast.
Events can be purchased through a multichannel television platform using their electronic program g ...
s, and recorded
house show
A house show or live event is a professional wrestling event produced by a major Professional wrestling promotion, promotion that is not televised, though they can be recorded. Promotions use house shows mainly to cash in on the exposure that t ...
s.
The collection represents a very significant portion of the visual history of modern professional wrestling in the United States and Canada. WWE has made their classic holdings available through numerous home-video releases, the ''
WWE Vintage
''WWE Vintage'' is a professional wrestling television program from WWE showcasing action from the extensive WWE video library. The show was hosted by Gene Okerlund and, later in its run, Renee Young. The current hosts is Scott Stanford and M ...
'' television program, and the
WWE Network
WWE Network is a subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and digital television
Digital television (DTV) is the transmission of television signals using digital encoding, in contrast to the earlier analog television t ...
.
The dates listed below for purchased organizations and libraries represent the duration of that company, and may not necessarily represent the extent of historical video owned.
Classic WWE holdings
The library includes all past and present WWE tapes dating back to the 1950s, including all previous forms of the company.
Although not wrestling content, the library's holdings also include footage from various documentaries, reality shows, and fictional works produced for home video, the WWE Network and other broadcasters, and any motion pictures produced by
WWE Studios. The footage saved from WWE's days as the Capitol Wrestling Corporation is also among the rare
surviving footage of broadcasts from the
DuMont Television Network
The DuMont Television Network (also known as the DuMont Network, DuMont Television, simply DuMont/Du Mont, or (incorrectly) Dumont ) was one of America's pioneer commercial television networks, rivaling NBC and CBS for the distinction of being ...
, as most of their footage was destroyed in the mid-1970s.
Non-WWE purchases
For years, WWE has engaged in a campaign of purchasing libraries of defunct wrestling promotions. The first significant purchase took place in 2001 when the company bought the complete historical archives of their former competitor
World Championship Wrestling
World Championship Wrestling, Inc. (WCW) was an American professional wrestling promotion founded by Ted Turner in 1988, after Turner Broadcasting System, through a subsidiary named Universal Wrestling Corporation, purchased the assets of Nati ...
.
The purchase of the
Extreme Championship Wrestling
HHG Corporation, doing business as Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW), was a professional wrestling promotion and media company that was based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The promotion was founded in 1992 by Tod Gordon as National Wrest ...
intellectual unit and library during its bankruptcy proceedings in 2003
gave the company the majority of all national professional wrestling content available at the time.
On 13 August 2020, WWE announced that shows from the libraries of
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 over ...
,
Westside Xtreme Wrestling
Westside Xtreme Wrestling, commonly shortened to wXw, is a German professional wrestling promotion based in Gelsenkirchen, North Rhine-Westphalia. wXw has been one of the leading professional wrestling promotions in Germany, and most of its eve ...
,
Progress Wrestling
Progress Wrestling (stylized as PROGRESS) is a British professional wrestling promotion that was established in 2011 by comedian Jim Smallman, events and comedy promoter Jon Briley, and later, actor Glen Robinson (professionally known as Glen ...
, and
Insane Championship Wrestling
Insane Championship Wrestling (ICW) is a professional wrestling promotion based in Glasgow, Scotland, founded by Mark Dallas in 2006. It mixes elements of traditional sports entertainment with hardcore wrestling; thus admittance is restricted to ...
, featuring matches from many current superstars, will begin airing on the WWE Network.
*
American Wrestling Association
The American Wrestling Association (AWA) was an American professional wrestling promotion based in Minneapolis, Minnesota that ran from 1960 until 1991. It was owned and founded by Verne Gagne and Wally Karbo. The territory was originally part ...
(1957–1991)
*
Georgia Championship Wrestling
Georgia Championship Wrestling was an American professional wrestling promotion based in Atlanta, Georgia. The promotion was affiliated with what had been the world's top sanctioning body of championship titles for decades before, the National W ...
(1944–1985)
*
Eastern/Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW)
(1992–2001)
*
World Wrestling Alliance (1998)
*
Power Pro Wrestling
Memphis Power Pro Wrestling (Power Pro Wrestling) was a Memphis, Tennessee based professional wrestling promotion that was founded by Randy Hales. It was affiliated with Memphis Championship Wrestling and World Wrestling Federation. It was the fi ...
(1998–2000)
*
International Wrestling Association (1999–2001)
*
Memphis Championship Wrestling
Memphis Championship Wrestling (MCW) was a professional wrestling promotion run by Terry Golden, based in Memphis, Tennessee. The promotion's first event was on February 20, 2000, and it remained active until mid-2001. It was employed as a Worl ...
(2000–2001)
*
Ohio Valley Wrestling
Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW) is an American professional wrestling promotion and former developmental promotion based in Louisville, Kentucky. The company is currently run by Al Snow and Matt Jones and Louisville mayor elect, Craig Greenberg.
...
(1998–2008)
*
Deep South Wrestling
Deep South Wrestling (DSW) is a professional wrestling promotion in the state of Georgia. Deep South worked in tandem with World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) as a developmental territory from September 1, 2005, until April 18, 2007. Deep Sout ...
(2005–2007)
*
Florida Championship Wrestling
Florida Championship Wrestling (FCW) was a professional wrestling promotion based on the former National Wrestling Alliance member promotion, Championship Wrestling from Florida, which operated from 1961 until 1987. From October 2007 to August ...
(2007–2012)
*
Heartland Wrestling Association (2001–2003)
*
Smoky Mountain Wrestling
Smoky Mountain Wrestling was a professional wrestling promotion that held events in the Appalachian area of the United States from October 1991 to December 1995, when it was run by Jim Cornette. The promotion was based in Knoxville, Tennessee, wit ...
(1992–1995)
*
Stampede Wrestling
Stampede Wrestling was a Canadian professional wrestling promotion based in Calgary, Alberta. For nearly 50 years, it was one of the main promotions in western Canada and the Canadian Prairies. Originally established by Stu Hart in 1948, the pro ...
(1948–1989)
*
Global Wrestling Federation
Global Wrestling Federation was an American professional wrestling promotion based in Dallas, Texas. It started in June 1991 and folded in September 1994. At one time its shows were presented on the ESPN television network. Often the promotion pr ...
(1991–1994, shared with
ESPN
ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...
)
*
World Championship Wrestling
World Championship Wrestling, Inc. (WCW) was an American professional wrestling promotion founded by Ted Turner in 1988, after Turner Broadcasting System, through a subsidiary named Universal Wrestling Corporation, purchased the assets of Nati ...
(WCW)
(1988–2001)
**
Jim Crockett Promotions
Jim Crockett Promotions Inc. is a family-owned professional wrestling promotion headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, United States, restarted by Jim Crockett's son and Jim Crockett Jr's brother, David Crockett. Founded in 1931, the promot ...
(1931–1988) which by the end included
***Eastern States Championship Wrestling (1945–1973)
***Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling (1973–1988)
***
Central States Wrestling
Heart of America Sports Attractions, also known as the Midwest Wrestling Association, Central States Wrestling and the World Wrestling Alliance, was an American professional wrestling promotion that ran shows mainly in Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska ...
(c. early 1950s–1986)
***
Championship Wrestling from Florida
Championship Wrestling from Florida (CWF) was the corporate and brand name of the Tampa, Florida wrestling office existing from 1961, when Eddie Graham first bought into the promotion, until 1987, when it closed down. It is also referred to as ...
(1961–1987)
***
Championship Wrestling from Georgia (1984–1985)
***
NWA Tri-State/Mid-South Wrestling/UWF (1950s–1987)
***Heartland Wrestling Association (1990s)
*
World Class Championship Wrestling
World Class Championship Wrestling (WCCW), later known as the World Class Wrestling Association (WCWA) (1986–1991) was an American professional wrestling promotion headquartered in Dallas and Fort Worth, Texas. Originally owned by promoter Ed ...
(1966–1988)
*
Maple Leaf Wrestling
Maple Leaf Wrestling was the unofficial name in the 1970s and 1980s of the professional wrestling promotion run by Frank Tunney in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
History
Queensbury Athletic Club
The promotion, initially known as the Queensbury Athl ...
(1930–1995)
*
World Wrestling Council
The World Wrestling Council (WWC) (Spanish: "Consejo Mundial de Lucha"), is a Puerto-Rican professional wrestling promotion based in Puerto Rico. It was originally established as Capitol Sports Promotions in 1973 by Carlos Colón Sr., Victor J ...
(1973–2018)
*
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 over ...
(2010–2020)
*
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 ...
(2009–2015)
:Former WWE
developmental territory
In sports, a farm team, farm system, feeder team, feeder club, or nursery club is generally a team or club whose role is to provide experience and training for young players, with an agreement that any successful players can move on to a highe ...
:
Angelo
Angelo is an Italian masculine given name and surname meaning "angel", or "messenger".
People People with the given name
*Angelo Accattino (born 1966), Italian prelate of the Catholic Church
* Angelo Acciaioli (bishop) (1298–1357), Italian Ro ...
and Mario Savoldi, the former owners of
International World Class Championship Wrestling
International World Class Championship Wrestling (IWCCW, originally known as International Championship Wrestling) was an independent professional wrestling promotion based in Boston, Massachusetts. It was promoted by Angelo Savoldi and his so ...
, own all post-1988 footage of WCCW and its successor promotions.
:While the promotion was bought by JCP, the video library was not part of the purchase. WWE bought the video library from the private owner.
:While WWE owns the library,
Bret Hart
Bret Hart (born July 2, 1957) is a Canadian-American retired professional wrestler, currently signed to WWE under a legend's contract. A member of the Hart wrestling family and a second-generation wrestler, he has an amateur wrestling back ...
owns the rights to the footage of his matches.
National Wrestling Alliance
Throughout its history, WWE has had a long relationship with the
National Wrestling Alliance
The National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) is an American professional wrestling promotion and former professional wrestling governing body operated by its parent company Lightning One, Inc.
Founded in 1948, the NWA began as a governing body for a ...
(NWA). For many decades, until the mid-1980s, the NWA acted as a
governing body
A governing body is a group of people that has the authority to exercise governance over an organization or political entity. The most formal is a government, a body whose sole responsibility and authority is to make binding decisions in a taken ...
of the many regional wrestling promotions, and membership allowed for decreased regional competition and the shared use of big-name stars for local events. WWE (as Capitol Wrestling) was a member of the NWA between 1953 and 1963, and again (as the WWWF) between 1971 and 1983. In 1998, WWE (as the WWF)
hosted NWA matches on its programming.
Jim Crockett Promotions
Jim Crockett Promotions Inc. is a family-owned professional wrestling promotion headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, United States, restarted by Jim Crockett's son and Jim Crockett Jr's brother, David Crockett. Founded in 1931, the promot ...
was an NWA member for its entire existence and by the end of the promotion's run ''was'', more or less, the NWA, thanks to its control of the largest regional NWA promotions. This was exemplified by the presence of all major
NWA titles in
World Championship Wrestling
World Championship Wrestling, Inc. (WCW) was an American professional wrestling promotion founded by Ted Turner in 1988, after Turner Broadcasting System, through a subsidiary named Universal Wrestling Corporation, purchased the assets of Nati ...
when Crockett Promotions morphed into WCW in the 1980s. WCW's relationship with the NWA was even more convoluted than WWE's until WCW left the NWA in 1993.
As a result of WWE's former membership in the NWA, through its ownership of WCW and its predecessor libraries, and through its ownership of
Extreme Championship Wrestling
HHG Corporation, doing business as Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW), was a professional wrestling promotion and media company that was based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The promotion was founded in 1992 by Tod Gordon as National Wrest ...
(which was an NWA member until it
suddenly severed ties in 1994) and other smaller regional promotions, WWE owns a vast amount of NWA footage, making up the majority of significant NWA matches from the 1970s, 1980s, and early 1990s.
Condition
Although professional wrestling has been on television throughout the medium's existence, not all broadcasts were recorded, nor necessarily saved, and most promotions did not have a regular television presence until the 1970s. Most broadcasts were taped over, so very little footage exists from pre-1970s promotions. This includes the WWE precursor
Capitol Wrestling Corporation
Capitol Wrestling Corporation Ltd. was an American sports promotion company. It was run by Vincent J. McMahon from 1953 to 1982. Operating as the Capitol Wrestling Corporation (CWC), the company was originally a professional wrestling and boxing ...
. The historical availability of individual, non-televised matches is also incomplete, as likely only the most significant bouts were recorded for posterity, and can be lost to time.
Several factors have adversely affected the quality of some surviving tapes. Upon taking control of the World Championship Wrestling library, it was noted that the tapes were unlabeled and not categorized. The condition of some WCW tapes is such that WWE could not air them on
WWE Classics on Demand, or on the
WWE Network
WWE Network is a subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and digital television
Digital television (DTV) is the transmission of television signals using digital encoding, in contrast to the earlier analog television t ...
.
Editing
WWE owns the unedited master tapes for all content in the library. However, due to a lawsuit over the "WWF" initials brought on by the
World Wide Fund for Nature
The World Wide Fund for Nature Inc. (WWF) is an international non-governmental organization founded in 1961 that works in the field of wilderness preservation and the reduction of human impact on the environment. It was formerly named the W ...
(WWF), from April 2002 until June 2012, they were not allowed to use the letters WWF or the "scratch" logo used between December 15, 1997, and April 29, 2002 (the pre-"scratch" logo was not covered under this lawsuit, with a variation of this being used in the November 15, 2010 WWE ''Raw'' Old School edition). As a result, any instances of someone saying "WWF" (though not World Wrestling Federation) were edited and shots of the "scratch" logo were either removed or blurred on re-airings or video releases released during that time frame, except for the UK exclusive
WWE Tagged Classics
WWE Tagged Classics was a series of two-disc DVD sets produced by Silver Vision and World Wrestling Entertainment for retail markets in Region 2 in PAL format. The majority of sets in the series feature a WWF/E pay-per-view event from one year ...
DVD range. In late July 2012, WWE reached a settlement with the WWF which once again allows them to use the "WWF" initials and scratch logo on archive footage. Unedited footage first appeared on ''
Raw 1000'' and since then has appeared in full-length matches posted to the WWE website and home video releases. In exchange, WWE is no longer permitted to use the WWF initials or logo in any new, original footage, with any old-school logos for retro-themed programming now using the original WWF logo, but modified without the F.
Music rights
Music licensing is the licensed use of copyrighted music. Music licensing is intended to ensure that the owners of copyrights on musical works are compensated for certain uses of their work. A purchaser has limited rights to use the work without ...
issues are also reasons for occasional editing by WWE of its library when airing or releasing videos. While most wrestlers'
entrance themes are done in-house (notably by composer
Jim Johnston), those whose music is not owned by WWE are often dubbed over with cheaper alternatives rather than providing the original audio, to save WWE paying licensing fees to the writers/performers of the original songs. Videos heavily affected in particular by these cost-cutting decisions are those featuring footage from
Extreme Championship Wrestling
HHG Corporation, doing business as Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW), was a professional wrestling promotion and media company that was based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The promotion was founded in 1992 by Tod Gordon as National Wrest ...
(ECW), which was famous for using recordings by mainstream music acts such as
Metallica
Metallica is an American heavy metal band. The band was formed in 1981 in Los Angeles by vocalist/guitarist James Hetfield and drummer Lars Ulrich, and has been based in San Francisco for most of its career. The band's fast tempos, instrume ...
,
AC/DC
AC/DC (stylised as ACϟDC) are an Australian rock band formed in Sydney in 1973 by Scottish-born brothers Malcolm and Angus Young. Their music has been variously described as hard rock, blues rock, and heavy metal, but the band calls it ...
, and
Dr. Dre
Andre Romelle Young (born February 18, 1965), known professionally as Dr. Dre, is an American rapper and record producer. He is the founder and CEO of Aftermath Entertainment and Beats Electronics, and previously co-founded, co-owned, and w ...
for their wrestlers' entrances, although AC/DC and Metallica have provided music for WWE
pay-per-view events as well. Exceptions to non-Johnston composed themes that WWE leaves in its archives are either songs that are in the
public domain
The public domain (PD) consists of all the creative work to which no exclusive intellectual property rights apply. Those rights may have expired, been forfeited, expressly waived, or may be inapplicable. Because those rights have expired ...
, such as the "Dawn" section of ''
Also sprach Zarathustra
', Op. 30 (, ''Thus Spoke Zarathustra'' or ''Thus Spake Zarathustra'') is a tone poem by Richard Strauss, composed in 1896 and inspired by Friedrich Nietzsche's philosophical 1883–1885 novel ''Thus Spoke Zarathustra''.[Ric Flair
Richard Morgan Fliehr (born February 25, 1949), known professionally as Ric Flair, is an American professional wrestler. Regarded by multiple peers and journalists as the greatest professional wrestler of all time, Flair has had a career spanni ...]
and ''
Pomp and Circumstance'', which was used by
Gorgeous George
George Raymond Wagner (March 23, 1915 – December 26, 1963) was an American professional wrestler known by his ring name Gorgeous George. In the United States, during the First Golden Age of Professional Wrestling in the 1940s–1950s, Gorgeous ...
and later
Randy Savage
Randall Mario Poffo (November 15, 1952 – May 20, 2011), better known by his ring name "Macho Man" Randy Savage, was an American professional wrestler best known for his time in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) and World Championship Wrestl ...
; or songs that the WWE acquired from its purchase of WCW, most notably the entrance music for
Booker T Booker T or Booker T. may refer to
* Booker T. Washington (1856–1915), African American political leader at the turn of the 20th century
** List of things named after Booker T. Washington, some nicknamed "Booker T."
* Booker T. Jones (born 1944 ...
. Additionally, wrestlers who worked for WWE but whose entrance music in other promotions may be owned by an outside company have had their songs in those promotions replaced by their WWE counterparts, such as
Chris Jericho
Christopher Keith Irvine (born November 9, 1970), better known by the ring name Chris Jericho, is an American-Canadian professional wrestler and singer. He is currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he is the leader of the Jerich ...
's WCW theme being replaced by his WWE theme.
Due to a
1991 lawsuit, matches featuring
Jesse Ventura
Jesse Ventura (born James George Janos; July 15, 1951) is an American politician, actor, and retired professional wrestler. After achieving fame in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF), he served as the 38th governor of Minnesota from 1999 to 2 ...
on commentary were dubbed over for subsequent home video releases. However, matches featuring Ventura commentating are shown with unaltered audio on the
WWE Network
WWE Network is a subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and digital television
Digital television (DTV) is the transmission of television signals using digital encoding, in contrast to the earlier analog television t ...
.
Since 2007, WWE has edited footage featuring
Chris Benoit
Christopher Michael Benoit (; May 21, 1967 – June 24, 2007) was a Canadian professional wrestler. He worked for various pro-wrestling promotions during his 22-year career including most notably the World Wrestling Federation/World Wrestlin ...
from repeat broadcasts, due to Benoit's
murder-suicide. WWE has released some footage of Benoit from its library as well as WCW and ECW in the years since, but all of these have been group shots not focused on Benoit (most notably the
2004 Royal Rumble
The 2004 Royal Rumble was the 17th annual Royal Rumble professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). It was held for wrestlers from the promotion's Raw and SmackDown! brand divisions. The even ...
). Benoit's wife
Nancy Benoit
Nancy Elizabeth Benoit (formerly Daus, Sullivan, née Toffoloni; May 17, 1964 – June 22, 2007) was an American professional wrestling manager and model. She was best known for her appearances with Extreme Championship Wrestling and World Champi ...
, who performed in a manager role in WCW under the stage name Woman, was also initially removed, but footage of her was later re-added. All archive footage of Chris Benoit has been available uncut on the
WWE Network
WWE Network is a subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and digital television
Digital television (DTV) is the transmission of television signals using digital encoding, in contrast to the earlier analog television t ...
since its launch in 2014.
When WWE Network programming began being moved to
Peacock
Peafowl is a common name for three bird species in the genera '' Pavo'' and '' Afropavo'' within the tribe Pavonini of the family Phasianidae, the pheasants and their allies. Male peafowl are referred to as peacocks, and female peafowl are r ...
in the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...
in 2021, WWE and
NBCUniversal
NBCUniversal Media, LLC is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate corporation owned by Comcast and headquartered at 30 Rockefeller Plaza in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, United States.
NBCUniversal is primar ...
began editing controversial content from WWE's past in order to meet NBCU's
standards and practices; this also applied to the standalone WWE Network feed that remained overseas.
See also
*
History of WWE
The history of WWE dates back to the early 1950s when it was founded in 1953 as Capitol Wrestling Corporation (CWC). It underwent several name changes throughout the years, from CWC to World Wide Wrestling Federation (WWWF) in 1963 to World Wres ...
*
WWE Home Video
WWE Home Video is a video distribution and production company that distributes WWE programming. A division of WWE formed on April 16, 1997 as WWF Home Video, it replaced a similar independent company owned by Evart Enterprises, Coliseum Video, ...
Notes
References
Notes
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wwe Video Library
Film archives in the United States
WWE
WWE Home Video
Television archives in the United States