WWF Shotgun Saturday Night

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WWF Shotgun Saturday Night
Created byWorld Wrestling Federation
Country of originUnited States
No. of episodes(list of episodes)
Production
Running time60 minutes
Original release
NetworkSyndication
ReleaseJanuary 4, 1997 (1997-1-4) –
August 21, 1999 (1999-8-21)
Related

WWF Shotgun Saturday Night is a

television program that was produced by the World Wrestling Federation (WWF). It aired from January 4, 1997, through August 21, 1999, as a syndicated broadcast. Shotgun Saturday Night was replaced by WWF Jakked
in 1999.

History

The show's original concept was unusual for its time; it aired on late Saturday nights from various New York City nightlife locations. The promotion pushed the program as an "edgier" product than its normal weekly offerings.[1]

Shotgun Saturday Night debuted on January 4, 1997, from the Mirage Nightclub in New York. One of the most memorable moments of the debut episode occurred when

for the tone of WWF programming for the next several years
.

Later episodes of Shotgun Saturday Night were broadcast from the

All-Star Cafe in Times Square, the Mirage Nightclub in Manhattan, and New York Penn Station
.

There were several unique elements to the show that did not appear on any other WWF programming at the time. For example, due to the confining nature of the locales it was initially broadcast from, Shotgun Saturday Night used a somewhat smaller ring than a standard 20-foot by 20-foot WWF ring. All three ring ropes were taped yellow; something that was not replicated until

NXT
debuted in 2010.

Shortly after the show's debut, the nightclub theme was dropped and the show's matches began being taped in an arena before or after the live

Monday Night Raw show. It soon replaced WWF Superstars of Wrestling
as the 'B' Show, being used to recap the now two-hour Raw show with original matches featuring lower-level talent.

The show originally featured commentary by Vince McMahon and Sunny, with Jim Ross and Brian Pillman performing the same duties until mid-1997, when Pillman was pulled from commentary after beating up a (planted) fan on the June 28, 1997 episode.[2] Kevin Kelly, Michael Cole, Jim Cornette and Vince Russo also served as commentators. Stone Cold Steve Austin also served as a surprise guest commentator on one episode along with Owen Hart.

Alternate versions

The WWF also aired a similar syndicated show at the time called WWF Shotgun Challenge, which aired in earlier time slots (replacing

WWF Metal in 1999. From 1997 until 1999, matches from WWF Shotgun were aired on the international version of WWF Superstars with commentary by Michael Cole and Kevin Kelly, and in January 1999, Gorilla Monsoon
joined them.

In the New York

WLNY
. It was shown late at night, airing at 2:00 a.m., Eastern time (WPXN aired the series on Saturday mornings).

In February 1998, the WWF aired 11:Alive which aired the matches in the same order as WWF New York, but with different commentary that made fewer references to New York. The show aired on Saturday mornings and only ran for two months before being discontinued. The final episode was hosted by Michael Hayes as a preview show to WrestleMania XIV.

WWF Shotgun had its origins in the Wisconsin market, which initially started airing on WLUK-TV in late 1997 before being picked up by other syndicated channels. In a similar manner to WWF New York, the commentary for WWF Shotgun made references to the Green Bay area, as well as exclusive wrestler promos for house shows throughout the state. Versions in other states would make fewer references to Green Bay and not have these promos.

References

  1. ISBN 978-0-7566-4190-0
    .
  2. ASIN B00RWUNSRS
    .
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