WWE Unforgiven was an annual
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 ...
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 guid ...
(PPV) event produced by
World Wrestling Entertainment
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 ...
(WWE), a
Connecticut
Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its cap ...
-based
professional wrestling promotion
A professional wrestling promotion is a company or business that regularly performs shows involving professional wrestling that has little relationship to the rules of the amateur olympic form. "Promotion" also describes a role which entails man ...
. It was first held as the 21st
In Your House
In Your House (known as NXT TakeOver: In Your House in 2020 and 2021 and then NXT In Your House beginning in 2022) is a professional wrestling series of events created by WWE, a professional wrestling promotion based in Connecticut. The events or ...
PPV in April 1998. Unforgiven returned as its own PPV in September 1999 and continued as the annual September PPV until the final event in 2008. From its first event up through the 2001 event, the PPV was held when the promotion was still called the World Wrestling Federation (WWF).
Unforgiven: In Your House was notable for featuring the very first
Inferno match
Many types of wrestling matches, sometimes called "concept" or "gimmick matches" in the jargon of the business, are performed in professional wrestling. Some gimmick matches are more common than others and are often used to advance or conclude a ...
, as well as the first
evening gown match. After WWE introduced the
brand extension
Brand extension or brand stretching is a marketing strategy in which a firm marketing a product with a well-developed image uses the same brand name in a different product category. The new product is called a spin-off.
Organizations use this ...
in 2002, Unforgiven from 2003 to 2006 was held exclusively for the
Raw
Raw is an adjective usually describing:
* Raw materials, basic materials from which products are manufactured or made
* Raw food, uncooked food
Raw or RAW may also refer to:
Computing and electronics
* .RAW, a proprietary mass spectrometry dat ...
brand. Following
WrestleMania 23
WrestleMania 23 was the 23rd annual WrestleMania professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). It was held for wrestlers from the promotion's Raw, SmackDown!, and ECW brand divisions. The event ...
in April 2007, brand-exclusive PPVs were discontinued, thus the 2007 and 2008 events also featured the
SmackDown
''WWE SmackDown'', also known as ''Friday Night SmackDown'' or simply ''SmackDown'', is an American professional wrestling television program produced by WWE that as of currently airs live every Friday at 8 p.m. ET on Fox. Fox Deportes simulc ...
and
ECW ECW may refer to:
Professional wrestling
* Extreme Championship Wrestling (originally Eastern Championship Wrestling), a professional wrestling promotion that operated from 1992 to 2001
* The Alliance (professional wrestling) (originally the WCW/E ...
brands. In 2009, Unforgiven was discontinued and replaced by
Breaking Point.
History
Unforgiven was first held as an
In Your House
In Your House (known as NXT TakeOver: In Your House in 2020 and 2021 and then NXT In Your House beginning in 2022) is a professional wrestling series of events created by WWE, a professional wrestling promotion based in Connecticut. The events or ...
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 guid ...
(PPV) event. In Your House was a series of monthly PPVs first produced by the
World Wrestling Federation
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 ...
(WWF, now WWE) in May 1995. They aired when the promotion was not holding one of its major PPVs and were sold at a lower cost.
Unforgiven: In Your House was the 21st In Your House event and took place on April 26, 1998, at the
Greensboro Coliseum Complex
The Greensboro Coliseum Complex, commonly referred to as Greensboro Coliseum (the first and biggest building on the site), is an entertainment and sports complex located in Greensboro, North Carolina. Opened in 1959, the complex holds eight venu ...
in
Greensboro, North Carolina
Greensboro (; formerly Greensborough) is a city in and the county seat of Guilford County, North Carolina, United States. It is the third-most populous city in North Carolina after Charlotte and Raleigh, the 69th-most populous city in the Un ...
. This inaugural Unforgiven event was notable for introducing the
Inferno match
Many types of wrestling matches, sometimes called "concept" or "gimmick matches" in the jargon of the business, are performed in professional wrestling. Some gimmick matches are more common than others and are often used to advance or conclude a ...
, as well as the first
evening gown match.
[
After the In Your House branding was retired following February 1999's St. Valentine's Day Massacre: In Your House, Unforgiven branched off as its own PPV that September.][ Unforgiven then continued as the promotion's annual September PPV until 2008.] After the 2008 event, Unforgiven was discontinued and replaced by Breaking Point in 2009.
In May 2002, the WWF was renamed to World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) as a result of a lawsuit from the World Wildlife Fund
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 Wo ...
over the "WWF" initialism. Also around this time, the promotion held a draft
Draft, The Draft, or Draught may refer to:
Watercraft dimensions
* Draft (hull), the distance from waterline to keel of a vessel
* Draft (sail), degree of curvature in a sail
* Air draft, distance from waterline to the highest point on a vessel ...
that split its roster into two distinctive brands
A brand is a name, term, design, symbol or any other feature that distinguishes one seller's good or service from those of other sellers. Brands are used in business, marketing, and advertising for recognition and, importantly, to create an ...
of wrestling, Raw
Raw is an adjective usually describing:
* Raw materials, basic materials from which products are manufactured or made
* Raw food, uncooked food
Raw or RAW may also refer to:
Computing and electronics
* .RAW, a proprietary mass spectrometry dat ...
and SmackDown!
''WWE SmackDown'', also known as ''Friday Night SmackDown'' or simply ''SmackDown'', is an American professional wrestling television program produced by WWE that as of currently airs live every Friday at 8 p.m. ET on Fox. Fox Deportes simulc ...
, where wrestlers exclusively performed—a third brand, ECW ECW may refer to:
Professional wrestling
* Extreme Championship Wrestling (originally Eastern Championship Wrestling), a professional wrestling promotion that operated from 1992 to 2001
* The Alliance (professional wrestling) (originally the WCW/E ...
, was added in 2006. To coincide with the brand extension, Unforgiven was held exclusively for wrestlers of the Raw brand from 2003 to 2006. Following WrestleMania 23
WrestleMania 23 was the 23rd annual WrestleMania professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). It was held for wrestlers from the promotion's Raw, SmackDown!, and ECW brand divisions. The event ...
in April 2007, WWE discontinued brand-exclusive PPVs, thus the 2007 and 2008 events featured wrestlers from the Raw, SmackDown, and ECW brands.
Events
See also
*List of WWE pay-per-view events
This is a list of WWE pay-per-view and WWE Network events, detailing all professional wrestling cards promoted on pay-per-view (PPV) and the WWE Network by WWE. Due to the American version of the WWE Network merging under Peacock, and with the ...
References
External links
Official website
{{WWEPPV, Unforgiven
Recurring events established in 1998
Recurring events disestablished in 2008
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