WOW – Women of Wrestling, is an American

women's professional wrestling Professional wrestling is a dramatic enactment of wrestling as a spectator sport. As is the norm for this sport, women's professional wrestling is organized by wrestling federations called promotions. Some promotions are exclusively for women ...

promotion Promotion may refer to: Marketing * Promotion (marketing), one of the four marketing mix elements, comprising any type of marketing communication used to inform or persuade target audiences of the relative merits of a product, service, brand or i ...

founded in 2000 by

David McLane David B. McLane is an American businessman, known primarily as a wrestling promoter and television producer. He was the creator of the GLOW- Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling and WOW-Women Of Wrestling (recognized as WOW! and WOW), both nationally ...

(who also founded Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling (GLOW)). WOW is based in

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

, and is owned by McLane and Los Angeles Lakers owner/president

Jeanie Buss Jeanie Marie Buss (born September 26, 1961) is an American sports executive who is the controlling owner and president of the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). A daughter of Jerry Buss, who owned the Lakers and oth ...

. Initially broadcasting in syndication during in the 2000–01 television season, WOW is a

sports entertainment Sports entertainment is a type of spectacle which presents an ostensibly competitive event using a high level of theatrical flourish and extravagant presentation, with the purpose of entertaining an audience. Unlike typical sports and games, whi ...

-styled product where its talent portrays heavily dramatized characters.

History

WOW has been recognized as one of the few nationally broadcast wrestling promotions featuring an all-female roster. Only twenty-four television episodes and a pay-per-view event were produced during its initial run. In 2002, McLane sought a partnership with

Kiss A kiss is the touch or pressing of one's lips against another person or an object. Cultural connotations of kissing vary widely. Depending on the culture and context, a kiss can express sentiments of love, passion, romance, sexual attraction, ...

frontman Gene Simmons to revive the promotion. In July 2011, WOW TV reruns began airing on the ABC affiliate

KTNV KTNV-TV (channel 13) is a television station in Las Vegas, Nevada, United States, affiliated with ABC. It is owned by the E. W. Scripps Company alongside Laughlin-licensed Ion Television owned-and-operated station KMCC (channel 34). KTNV-TV' ...

in Las Vegas. On May 29, 2012, McLane and Buss announced their intention to revive WOW and produce new episodes. Later that year, WOW reruns began airing on

The CW ''The'' () is a grammatical Article (grammar), article in English language, English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite ...

Las Vegas station

KVCW KVCW (channel 33) is a television station in Las Vegas, Nevada, United States, affiliated with The CW and MyNetworkTV. It is owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group alongside NBC affiliate KSNV (channel 3). Both stations share studios on Foremaster La ...

starting on December 9. In December 2014, WOW announced that it would be producing content for digital media in 2015. Marketed as "WOW Superheroes", its roster of characters are portrayed as empowered women from all different backgrounds and professions. A second season premiered on March 1, 2016, on

YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second mo ...

. Its fourth season premiered February 28, 2017. On April 20, 2017,

MGM Television MGM Television Worldwide Group and Digital (alternatively Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Television Group and Digital, commonly known as MGM Television and then-known as MGM/UA Television; common metonym: Lion) is an American television production/dis ...

announced that

Mark Burnett Mark Burnett (born 17 July 1960) is a television producer who is the former Chairman of MGM Worldwide Television Group. He is best known for creating and producing the reality shows ''The Apprentice'', '' Survivor'', ''The Voice'', and ''Sh ...

, MGM's President, Television Group & Digital, and Jeanie Buss formed a partnership to develop new WOW content across a range of unscripted programming and digital formats. In June 2018, it was announced that tapings for a new weekly program on

AXS TV AXS TV is an American cable television channel. Majority-owned by Anthem Sports & Entertainment, it is devoted primarily to music-related programming (such as concert films, documentaries, and reality series involving musicians) and combat spor ...

titled ''WOW: Women of Wrestling'' would begin on October 10, 2018 at the Belasco Theater in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

, with episodes airing in early 2019. WOW debuted that January 18 as part of AXS TV's "

Friday Night Fights The cable television network ESPN has occasionally broadcast boxing events over the majority of its history, as part of several arrangements, including contracts with specific promotions and consortiums such as Golden Boy Promotions, Premier Box ...

" lineup of shows. The AXS TV premiere marked WOW's first television broadcast of new content in almost eighteen years. ''WOW: Women of Wrestling'' ran for just two seasons on AXS TV. In June 2020, it was reported that AXS had cancelled the series. On October 6, 2021, it was announced that

ViacomCBS Paramount Global (doing business as Paramount) is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate owned and operated by National Amusements (79.4%) and headquartered at One Astor Plaza in Midtown Manhattan, New York. It ...

(now

Paramount Global Paramount Global ( doing business as Paramount) is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate owned and operated by National Amusements (79.4%) and headquartered at One Astor Plaza in Midtown Manhattan, New York. ...

) had entered into a multi-year distribution agreement for WOW that will see new episodes produced for weekend syndication on 160 U.S. TV stations (

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...

affiliates) owned by ViacomCBS or

Sinclair Broadcast Group Sinclair Broadcast Group, Inc. (SBG) is a publicly traded American telecommunications conglomerate that is controlled by the descendants of company founder Julian Sinclair Smith. Headquartered in the Baltimore suburb of Cockeysville, Maryland, ...

, with new episodes airing starting in Fall 2022. On October 7, WOW announced that

April Mendez April Jeanette Mendez (born March 19, 1987) is an American author and retired professional wrestler. She is best known for her time in WWE under the ring name AJ Lee. She is currently an executive producer and color commentator for WOW – Wo ...

(fka

AJ Lee April Jeanette Mendez (born March 19, 1987) is an American author and retired professional wrestler. She is best known for her time in WWE under the ring name AJ Lee. She is currently an executive producer and color commentator for WOW – Wo ...

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 vari ...

) joined the company as an executive producer and

color commentator A color commentator or expert commentator is a sports commentator who assists the main ( play-by-play) commentator, typically by filling in when play is not in progress. The phrase "colour commentator" is primarily used in Canadian English and ...

. On January 21, 2022, WOW announced in a press release that "never-before-seen" episodes from "season 7" would debut on

Pluto TV Pluto TV is a free, ad-supported video streaming service owned and operated by the Paramount Streaming division of Paramount Global. Co-founded by Tom Ryan, Ilya Pozin and Nick Grouf in 2013 and based in Los Angeles, California, in the United S ...

and

app starting January 22. On August 1, 2022, it was announced that new episodes of the series will begin airing on September 17, 2022 via

Paramount Global Content Distribution Paramount Global Distribution Group or Paramount Global Content Distribution is the international television distribution arm of American media conglomerate, Paramount Global, originally established in 1962 as the international distribution divis ...

. The series is carried in the U.S on CBS-owned-and-operated stations, Sinclair Communications,

Nexstar Broadcasting Nexstar Media Group, Inc. is an American publicly traded media company with headquarter offices in Irving, Texas; Midtown Manhattan; and Chicago, Illinois. The company is the largest television station owner in the United States, owning 197 tele ...

Hearst Television Hearst Television, Inc. (formerly Hearst-Argyle Television) is a broadcasting company in the United States owned by Hearst Communications. From 1998 to mid-2009, the company traded its common stock on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol ...

, TEGNA Media,

Weigel Broadcasting Weigel Broadcasting Co. is an American television broadcasting company based in Chicago, Illinois, alongside its flagship station WCIU-TV (Channel 26), at 26 North Halsted Street in the Greektown neighborhood. It currently owns 25 television s ...

, Gray Media and

Cox Television CMG Media Corporation (doing business as Cox Media Group) is an American media conglomerate principally owned by Apollo Global Management in conjunction with Cox Enterprises, which maintains a 29% minority stake in the company. The company prim ...

. It has also been licensed for broadcast in Canada, Australia and Indonesia.

Seasons

WOW Unleashed

WOW Unleashed was a

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 ...

pay-per-view from Women of Wrestling. It took place on February 4, 2001, from the

Great Western Forum Kia Forum (formerly The Forum) is a multi-purpose indoor arena in Inglewood, California, United States, adjacent to Los Angeles. Located between West Manchester Boulevard, across Pincay Drive and Kareem Court, it is north of SoFi Stadium and ...

in Inglewood, California. The PPV suffered from technical difficulties and a low buyrate. A second PPV, Spring Vengeance, was announced for April 8, 2001, during Unleashed, but never came to fruition. The announcers were Lee Marshall and former manager

Bobby "The Brain" Heenan Raymond Louis Heenan (November 1, 1944 – September 17, 2017) was an American professional wrestling manager, color commentator, wrestler, and comedian. He performed with the American Wrestling Association (AWA), the World Wrestling Federation ...

. Regular announcer

, also the promotion's President, served as Master of Ceremonies. ;Event results

Personnel

Wrestlers

Other on-air personnel

Broadcast team

The following section pertains to announcers who cover WOW broadcasts. This group includes presenters, ringside commentators, ring announcers and backstage interviewers.

Creative team

Championships

WOW World Championship

Inaugural battle royal (season 1) 2000

Vacant championship match (season 5) 2018

Reigns

List of combined reigns

WOW World Tag Team Championship

Inaugural tournament (season 1) 2000-2001

Vacant tag team championship tournament match (season 4) 2016

Vacant tag team championship tournament match (season 6) 2019

Vacant tag team championship tournament match (season 8) 2022

=Reigns

= As of , .

Combined reigns by team

As of , . CagedHeatWOWchamps

Combined reigns by wrestler

References

External links

*
Google Groups archive of press release announcing WOW
* *
Divas of Pro-WrestlingWomen Wrestling
{{DEFAULTSORT:Women Of Wrestling Independent professional wrestling promotions based in California 2000 American television series debuts Women's professional wrestling promotions 2000 establishments in the United States American professional wrestling television series Professional wrestling in the Las Vegas Valley