Halftime Heat

Halftime Heat was a series of professional wrestling broadcasts produced by WWE (originally known as the World Wrestling Federation (WWF)) used as Super Bowl counterprogramming. They aired during their respective year's halftime of the Super Bowl.

Halftime Heat
Halftime Heat logo used in 1999
Promotion(s)WWE
Brand(s)NXT (2019)
First event1999
Last event2019

History

Originally produced under the World Wrestling Federation banner (WWF), Halftime Heat aired during a 20-minute block[1] on USA Network during Super Bowl XXXIII in 1999,[2] as a special episode of Sunday Night Heat. The inaugural Halftime Heat featured an Empty arena match between The Rock and Mankind. The match was also accompanied by a Super Bowl ad purchased by the WWF, tying into their Attitude Era branding.[3] During the match, Mankind won his second WWF Championship.[4]

Halftime Heat returned the following year, featuring highlights from The Hardy Boyz taking on The Dudley Boyz as well as the bikini contest, both from that year's Royal Rumble. It concluded with an Interview with Jim Ross and Stone Cold Steve Austin, which discussed an injury update and his engagement to Debra McMichael.[5]

It was announced in January 2019 that it would be brought back as a special event on the WWE Network,[6] YouTube, Facebook and Twitter.[7] During the pre-show of the Royal Rumble footage was shown of what happened after NXT TakeOver: Phoenix went off the air, which led to the announcement of Aleister Black, Ricochet, and Velveteen Dream taking on Adam Cole, Johnny Gargano, and Tommaso Ciampa, during the returning Halftime Heat.[8][9] Shawn Michaels was also announced as part of the announce team,[10] and was joined by Vic Joseph.[11] During the match, the team of Black, Ricochet and Dream were victorious.[12] WWE personnel later announced that the match had 3 million viewers, making it the most watched NXT match in history.[13]

Events

The events included matches that resulted from scripted storylines, where wrestlers portrayed villains, heroes, or less distinguishable characters in scripted events that built tension and culminated in a wrestling match or series of matches, with results predetermined by WWE's writers.[14]

No. Super Bowl Date City Venue Main event
1 XXXIII January 31, 1999 Tucson, Arizona Tucson Convention Center The Rock (c) vs. Mankind in an Empty Arena match for the WWF Championship[15][16]
2 XXXIV January 30, 2000 Titan Towers Stamford, Connecticut In-studio show
(interview with Stone Cold Steve Austin as he recovered from neck surgery)[17]
3 LIII February 3, 2019 Orlando, Florida WWE Performance Center[18] Aleister Black, Ricochet and Velveteen Dream vs. Johnny Gargano, Tommaso Ciampa and Adam Cole[19]

1999
Halftime Heat (1999)
PromotionWorld Wrestling Federation
DateJanuary 26, 1999
(Aired January 31, 1999)
CityTucson, Arizona
VenueTucson Convention Center
Attendance0

Halftime Heat (1999) was a professional wrestling show produced by World Wrestling Federation (WWF). The event was pre-recorded and aired on January 31, 1999, the night of Super Bowl XXXIII, at the Tucson Convention Center in Tucson, Arizona.

On January 26, 1999 WWF recorded their episode of February 1 Raw. Prior to the recording the empty arena match was filmed, that aired as Halftime Heat.[20]

No. Results Stipulations Times[20]
1 Mankind defeated The Rock (c) Empty Arena match for the WWF Championship 17:19
  • (c) – refers to the champion(s) heading into the match

2019
Halftime Heat (2019)
Promotional poster featuring (from left to right): Aleister Black, Velveteen Dream, Ricochet, Johnny Gargano, Tommaso Ciampa, and Adam Cole
PromotionWWE
Brand(s)NXT
DateFebruary 3, 2019
CityOrlando, Florida
VenueWWE Performance Center[21]
WWE Network event chronology
← Previous
Worlds Collide		 Next →
Elimination Chamber
Halftime Heat chronology
← Previous
2000		 Next →
—

Halftime Heat (2019)[22] was a professional wrestling show and WWE Network event produced by WWE for their NXT brand. The event took place on February 3, 2019, the night of Super Bowl LIII, at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida.[21]

After NXT TakeOver: Phoenix went off the air, Aleister Black, Ricochet, and Velveteen Dream would brawl with Adam Cole, Johnny Gargano, and Tommaso Ciampa.[23] The brawl led to a six-man tag team match between the wrestlers was scheduled for Halftime Heat.[8][24]

No. Results Stipulations Times[12]
1 Aleister Black, Ricochet and Velveteen Dream defeated Adam Cole, Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa Six-man tag team match 16:15

Other on screen personnel
Ring name Real name Notes
Shawn Michaels Michael Hickenbottom Color commentator[22]
Hall of Famer[25][26]
Vic Joseph Victor Travagliante Lead commentator[11]
Jessika Carr Jessika Heiser Referee
Greg Hamilton Greg Hutson Ring announcer
gollark: Anyway, `--gc:orc` switches from the normal garbage collector to vaguely rustacean automatic destructor insertion plus cycle detection.
gollark: If you do things for no explicable reason, and they don't seem to lead to good outcomes, I will enbadden them.
gollark: Anwyay, <@154361670188138496>ous form, it does need to be explained if you want your decision to be considered good.
gollark: ++delete <@154361670188138496> with bees.
gollark: I can't see any obvious bit which looks like it might be leaking descriptors. Try compiling with `--gc:orc`.

References
  1. "Super TV On Super Sunday?". www.cbsnews.com. Retrieved 28 January 2019.
  2. "CELEBRITY DEATHMATCH DEATHBOWL '99". Sun-Sentinel.com. Retrieved 28 January 2019.
  3. "WWE Looks Back At Super Bowl 'Halftime Heat' With The Rock vs. Mankind". Tech Times. 4 February 2016. Retrieved 28 January 2019.
  4. "TORCH FLASHBACK (1999): Mankind wins the WWF Title at Halftime Heat during Super Bowl". February 7, 2010. Retrieved January 28, 2019.
  5. "WWF @ Baltimore, MD - Arena - January 25, 2000 (11,113; sell out)".
  6. "WWE Halftime Heat returning with NXT six-man tag match". WON/F4W - WWE news, Pro Wrestling News, WWE Results, UFC News, UFC results. 27 January 2019. Retrieved 28 January 2019.
  7. "WWE to Return 'Halftime Heat' During Super Bowl Halftime for First Time in 20 Years". www.yahoo.com. Retrieved 28 January 2019.
  8. "WWE 'Halftime Heat' returns after 20 years". SI.com. Retrieved 28 January 2019.
  9. "WWE BRINGING BACK HALFTIME HEAT NEXT WEEKEND - PWInsider.com". www.pwinsider.com. Retrieved 28 January 2019.
  10. "WWE Halftime Heat to stream live during The Big Game". WWE. Retrieved 28 January 2019.
  11. Jeremy Thomas (January 31, 2019). "WWE News: Announcers Set For Halftime Heat, Daniel Bryan Gives Thanks for Hideo Itami". 411Mania.com. Retrieved February 2, 2019.
  12. Powell, Jason. "2/3 Powell's NXT Halftime Heat live review: Velveteen Dream, Ricochet, and Aleister Black vs. Tommaso Ciampa, Johnny Gargano, and Adam Cole opposite the Super Bowl halftime show". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved February 3, 2019.
  13. "NXT Halftime Heat Viewership, Tommaso Ciampa And Ricochet React - Fightful Wrestling". www.fightful.com. Retrieved 11 February 2019.
  14. Grabianowski, Ed. "How Pro Wrestling Works". HowStuffWorks. Discovery Communications. Archived from the original on November 18, 2013. Retrieved March 5, 2012.
  15. "WWF Half-Time Heat « Events Database « CAGEMATCH - The Internet Wrestling Database". www.cagematch.net. Retrieved 28 January 2019.
  16. "The Rock vs. Mankind in an empty arena during Halftime Heat: This Week in WWE History, Feb. 4, 2016". MSN. Retrieved 28 January 2019.
  17. "Highlights". Washington Post. January 29, 2000. Retrieved 29 February 2016.
  18. "HALFTIME HEAT UPDATE, TRIBUTE TO MARVEL CHARACTER AT TAKEOVER, KEITH LEE AND MORE NXT NEWS - PWInsider.com". www.pwinsider.com. Retrieved 30 January 2019.
  19. "WWE to counter-program Super Bowl LIII halftime show with six-man tag-team bout". 28 January 2019. Retrieved 28 January 2019.
  20. "WWF @ Tucson, AZ - Convention Center - January 26, 1999 (6,986; sell out)". The History of WWE. Retrieved February 13, 2019.
  21. "HALFTIME HEAT UPDATE, TRIBUTE TO MARVEL CHARACTER AT TAKEOVER, KEITH LEE AND MORE NXT NEWS". PWInsider. Retrieved January 30, 2019.
  22. "WWE Halftime Heat to stream live during The Big Game". WWE. Retrieved January 28, 2019.
  23. Jeffrey Harris (January 26, 2019). "Huge Brawl Takes Place After NXT TakeOver: Phoenix Goes Off the Air". 411Mania. Retrieved January 31, 2019.
  24. "WWE BRINGING BACK HALFTIME HEAT NEXT WEEKEND". PWInsider. Retrieved January 28, 2019.
  25. Schoolcraft, Lisa R. (September 25, 2009). "Atlanta is bidding for WrestleMania". Atlanta Business Chronicle. Retrieved February 1, 2010.
  26. "WWE Magazine". August 2010: 69. Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
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