''WWE Confidential'' 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 or ...
television program 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 va ...
(WWE). It aired on
TNN/Spike TV late Saturday nights, following ''
Velocity
Velocity is the directional speed of an object in motion as an indication of its rate of change in position as observed from a particular frame of reference and as measured by a particular standard of time (e.g. northbound). Velocity i ...
'', from May 25, 2002 to April 24, 2004. It was hosted by
Gene Okerlund
Eugene Arthur Okerlund (December 19, 1942 – January 2, 2019), better known by his ring name "Mean Gene" Okerlund, was an American professional wrestling interviewer, announcer and television host. He was best known for his work in the World Wre ...
.
As of May 18, 2020, the first 61 episodes of ''WWE Confidential'' were made available to stream 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 ...
.
Format
''Confidential'' was a unique program for the company, in that it was not a standard "live event" or "recap" show. Rather, it offered an exclusive, "behind the scenes" look into WWE and its talent, both in-ring and otherwise.
[ The show also periodically broke ]kayfabe
In professional wrestling, kayfabe, as a noun, is the portrayal of staged events within the industry as "real" or "true", specifically the portrayal of competition, rivalries, and relationships between participants as being genuine and not staged ...
and used professional wrestling slang
Professional wrestling has accrued a considerable amount of jargon throughout its existence. Much of it stems from the industry's origins in the days of carnivals and circuses. In the past, professional wrestlers used such terms in the presence o ...
. ''Confidential'' was discontinued in 2004 and was replaced with '' The WWE Experience'', a more traditional weekly summary show.
A similar show to ''Confidential'' eventually returned under the name ''WWE Outside the Ring'', but in a shortened version. The online show debuted February 2012 on WWE's YouTube channel, with new episodes uploaded on Thursdays.
Notable and typical features
* An interview with Shawn Michaels about his life and career. This interview, an early highlight of ''Confidential'', featured Michaels's first public admission that he was in on the Montreal Screwjob
The Montreal Screwjob (also called the Montreal Incident; French: ''Le Coup Tordu de Montréal'' lit. Montreal's Twisted Coup) was an infamous unscripted professional wrestling incident that occurred on November 9, 1997, at the Survivor Series ...
, after years of denying any involvement in it.
* An analysis of why Stone Cold Steve Austin
Steve Austin (born Steven James Anderson; December 18, 1964), better known by his ring name "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, is an American media personality, actor, and retired professional wrestler. Widely regarded as one of the greatest and most ...
abruptly left the company in mid-2002.[
* A history of the World Heavyweight Championship, featuring interviews with past titleholders (and in the process making the disputed-by-many claim that this title shares its lineage with the WCW version).
* Segments detailing life on the road for WWE stars, including overseas tours.]Monday Night Wars
The Monday Night Wars or Monday Night War was an era of mainstream televised American professional wrestling, from September 4, 1995 to March 26, 2001, in which the World Wrestling Federation's (WWF, now WWE) ''Monday Night Raw'' (later ''Raw I ...
.
* Wrestlers going out of character and using their real names for interviews.
* A report on the death of Miss Elizabeth
Elizabeth Ann Hulette (November 19, 1960 – May 1, 2003), best known in professional wrestling circles as Miss Elizabeth, was an American professional wrestling manager, occasional professional wrestler and professional wrestling TV announcer. S ...
.
* Stiffing of Matt Cappotelli
Matthew Lee Cappotelli (November 12, 1979 – June 29, 2018) was an American professional wrestler. After co-winning '' Tough Enough III'' with John Hennigan, he worked in Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW), the primary developmental territory for WWE ...
by Hardcore Holly
Robert William Howard (born January 29, 1963) is an American professional wrestler, actor, and former auto racer and wrestling trainer/ host, better known by the ring name Hardcore Holly or Bob Holly. He is best known for his 16-year career wit ...
on an episode of ''Tough Enough III
''WWE Tough Enough'' was an American professional wrestling Reality competition#Reality competition or game shows, reality competition series that was produced by WWE, wherein participants undergo glossary of professional wrestling terms#S, profes ...
''.
DVD compilation
A DVD compilation of segments from this show, ''The Best of WWE Confidential, Vol. 1'', was released in early 2003.
See also
* List of former WWE television programming
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wwe Confidential
2002 American television series debuts
2004 American television series endings
Television series by WWE
Spike (TV network) original programming