''WWF LiveWire'' was 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 ...

television program Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, e ...

that was 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). It aired from 1996 to 2001 on the

USA Network USA Network (simply USA) is an American basic cable television channel owned by the NBCUniversal Television and Streaming division of Comcast's NBCUniversal through NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment. It was originally launched in 1977 as Madison ...

and later TNN.

History

Premiering on Saturday September 21, 1996, in its initial format, ''LiveWire'' was broadcast live and allowed viewers to

phone-in In broadcasting, a phone-in or call-in is a programme format in which viewers or listeners are invited to air their live comments by telephone, usually in respect of a specific topic selected for discussion on the day of the broadcast. On radio ( ...

and participate in the show. This was the first WWF program to feature such an "interactive" element. The show was used to summarize the weekly events in WWF programming and featured interviews with WWF personalities and allowed the fans to phone-in and ask questions to in-studio guests. One of the more notable calls occurred during a brief cross-promotional angle involving

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 ...

and the World Wrestling Federation. On the October 5, 1996 episode of ''LiveWire'',

Paul Heyman Paul Heyman (born September 11, 1965) is an American professional wrestling manager, former promoter, photographer, and executive. He is currently signed to WWE, appearing on the SmackDown brand as manager for Undisputed WWE Universal Heavyweight ...

, using the alias "Bruce from Connecticut," called in to ''LiveWire'' to express his discontent with boring WWF programming and the state of the promotion.

Faarooq Ronald Nasir Simmons (born May 15, 1958) is an American retired professional wrestler and football player. He performed for World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) under his real name, and in the World Wres ...

also debuted the concept of the

Nation of Domination The Nation of Domination (NOD) was a professional wrestling heel faction who competed in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) from November 17, 1996 to November 28, 1998. The group was formed by newcomer Faarooq in 1996 and remained an influencin ...

on ''LiveWire''. In February 1997, ''LiveWire'' later became exclusively a weekly summary show in similar style to that of ''

WWF Mania ''WWF Mania'' is a professional wrestling television program that was produced by the World Wrestling Federation (WWF). It aired on Saturday mornings on the USA Network between 1993 and 1996 and summarized the weekly events in WWF programming. In ...

''. The show was hosted by

Todd Pettengill Todd Clark Pettengill (born April 18, 1966) is a former American radio disc jockey who most recently worked for WPLJ 95.5 in the New York area. From 1993 to 1997, he also served as an on-screen backstage interviewer for the World Wrestling Federa ...

and Sunny. Michael Cole later took over as host until July 2000 when he was succeeded by

Jonathan Coachman Jonathan William Coachman (born August 12, 1973), also known as "The Coach", is an American sports analyst and former professional wrestling personality currently signed to WWE and XFL. Early life Before embarking on an announcing career in pro ...

. Both commentators would occasionally host the show together until the discontinuation of ''WWF LiveWire'' on August 18, 2001. A former co-host of this show was

Marissa Mazzola Shane Brandon McMahon (; born January 15, 1970) is an American businessman and professional wrestler. He is best known for his tenure in WWE, where he was a wrestler, producer and minority owner. He is the founder and executive chairman of Idea ...

, who is the wife of

Shane McMahon Shane Brandon McMahon (; born January 15, 1970) is an American businessman and professional wrestler. He is best known for his tenure in WWE, where he was a wrestler, producer and minority owner. He is the founder and executive chairman of Idean ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wwf Livewire Livewire WWE Raw Spike (TV network) original programming USA Network original programming 1996 American television series debuts 2001 American television series endings