WWE Libraries

The Legacy Department's library includes all past and present WWE tapes dating back to the 1950s, including the footage from previous forms of the company.

Although not wrestling content, the library's holdings also include footage from various documentaries, reality shows, and fictional works produced for home video, the WWE Network and other broadcasters, and any motion pictures produced by WWE Studios. The footage saved from WWE's time as the Capitol Wrestling Corporation is among the rare surviving footage of broadcasts from the DuMont Television Network, as most of their footage was destroyed in the mid-1970s.[7][8]

For years, WWE has engaged in a campaign of purchasing libraries of defunct wrestling promotions. The first significant purchase took place in 2001 when the company bought the complete historical archives of their former competitor World Championship Wrestling.[9] The purchase of the Extreme Championship Wrestling's intellectual proprieties and video library during its bankruptcy proceedings in 2003[10] gave WWE control over the majority of all national professional wrestling footage available at the time.

On August 13, 2020, WWE announced that shows from the libraries of active independent wrestling promotions Evolve, Westside Xtreme Wrestling, Progress Wrestling, and Insane Championship Wrestling would begin airing on the WWE Network.[11] As part of the agreement, all the respective promotions would continue to own their footage and remain separate entities from WWE. However, later in 2020, WWE purchased Evolve and Dragon Gate USA, its defunct sister promotion, after which Evolve ceased operations.[1]

The dates listed below for purchased organizations and libraries represent the duration of footage that WWE owns and may not necessarily represent the entire extent of the promotion's existence.

• American Wrestling Association[lower-alpha 1] (1933–1991, shared with ESPN)[5]
• Georgia Championship Wrestling (1944–1984)[lower-alpha 2]
• Extreme Championship Wrestling[lower-alpha 3] (1992–2001)[10]
• Memphis Championship Wrestling (2000–2001)
• Ohio Valley Wrestling (1999–2008)[lower-alpha 4]
• Deep South Wrestling (2005–2007)[lower-alpha 5]
• Florida Championship Wrestling (2007–2012)
• Heartland Wrestling Association (2001–2003)[lower-alpha 6]
• Smoky Mountain Wrestling (1992–1995)[5]
• Stampede Wrestling[lower-alpha 7] (1948–2008)[5][12][lower-alpha 8]
• Global Wrestling Federation[lower-alpha 9] (1991–1994, shared with ESPN)
• World Championship Wrestling[9] (1988–2001)
  • Jim Crockett Promotions[lower-alpha 10] (1931–1988), which by the end of its existence included:
    • Central States Wrestling (1948–1986)[lower-alpha 11]
    • Championship Wrestling from Florida (1949–1987)[lower-alpha 12]
    • Championship Wrestling from Georgia (1984–1985)
    • Universal Wrestling Federation[lower-alpha 13] (1950s–1987)[lower-alpha 14]
• World Class Championship Wrestling (1966–1988)[13][lower-alpha 15]
• Maple Leaf Wrestling[lower-alpha 16] (1930–1984)
• Ultimate Pro Wrestling (1999–2007)
• World Wrestling Council[lower-alpha 17] (1973–2018)[14][lower-alpha 18]
• Evolve (2010–2020)[15]
• Dragon Gate USA (2009–2015)[15]
• International Championship Wrestling (1978–1984)[16]

Throughout its history, WWE has had a long relationship with the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA). For many decades, from its founding in 1948 until the mid-1980s, the NWA acted as a governing body of America's many regional wrestling promotions, and membership in the NWA allowed for the shared use of big-name stars for local wrestling events. WWE (as the CWC) was a member of the NWA between 1950s and 1963, and again (as the WWWF/WWF) between 1971 and 1983. In 1998, WWE (as the WWF) hosted NWA matches on its programming.

Jim Crockett Promotions (JCP) was an NWA member for its entire post-1948 existence and by the end of the promotion's run was widely regarded as the NWA itself, due to its purchases and control of the largest regional NWA promotions. This was exemplified by the presence of all major NWA titles in World Championship Wrestling (WCW) when JCP morphed into WCW in 1988. WCW's relationship with the NWA continued until 1993, when the promotion pulled out of the NWA.

As a result of WWE's former membership in the NWA, through its ownership of WCW and its predecessor, and through its ownership of Extreme Championship Wrestling (which was an NWA member until it suddenly severed ties in 1994) and other smaller regional promotions, WWE owns a vast amount of NWA footage, making up the majority of significant NWA matches from the 1970s, 1980s, and early 1990s. While WWE owns the majority of the video libraries of the NWA's previous notable members, WWE does not own the NWA itself, which is currently owned by Billy Corgan's Lightning One, Inc. company. As such, the WWE Legacy Department is not allowed to use the NWA name or logo to promote their video libraries.

Although professional wrestling has been on television throughout the medium's existence, not all broadcasts were recorded, nor necessarily saved, and most promotions did not have a regular television presence until the 1970s. Most broadcasts were taped over, so very little footage exists from pre-1970s promotions. The historical availability of individual, non-televised matches is also incomplete, as likely only the most significant bouts were recorded for posterity, and can be lost to time.

Several factors have adversely affected the quality of some surviving tapes. Upon taking control of the World Championship Wrestling library, it was noted that the tapes were unlabeled and not categorized.[17] The condition of some WCW tapes is such that WWE could not air them on WWE Classics on Demand, or on the WWE Network.[18]

• History of WWE
• WWE Home Video