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]
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]
#
Super Bowl
Date
City
Venue
Main Event
Ref.
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
Stamford, Connecticut
Titan Towers
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
Aleister Black , Ricochet , and Velveteen Dream vs. Johnny Gargano , Tommaso Ciampa , and Adam Cole
[ 18] [ 19]
^ "Super TV On Super Sunday?" . www.cbsnews.com . 28 January 1999. Archived from the original on 29 January 2019. Retrieved 28 January 2019 .
^ "CELEBRITY DEATHMATCH DEATHBOWL '99" . Sun-Sentinel.com . 31 January 1999. Archived from the original on 8 February 2019. Retrieved 28 January 2019 .
^ Lelinwalla, Mark (4 February 2016). "WWE Looks Back At Super Bowl 'Halftime Heat' With The Rock vs. Mankind" . Tech Times . Archived from the original on 29 January 2019. Retrieved 28 January 2019 .
^ "TORCH FLASHBACK (1999): Mankind wins the WWF Title at Halftime Heat during Super Bowl" . February 7, 2010. Archived from the original on March 17, 2016. Retrieved January 28, 2019 .
^ "WWF @ Baltimore, MD - Arena - January 25, 2000 (11,113; sell out)" . 16 January 2023. Archived from the original on 11 September 2015. Retrieved 28 January 2019 .
^ "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. Archived from the original on 29 January 2019. Retrieved 28 January 2019 .
^ "WWE to Return 'Halftime Heat' During Super Bowl Halftime for First Time in 20 Years" . www.yahoo.com . 28 January 2019. Archived from the original on 29 January 2019. Retrieved 28 January 2019 .
^ a b "WWE 'Halftime Heat' returns after 20 years" . SI.com . Archived from the original on 4 February 2019. Retrieved 28 January 2019 .
^ "WWE BRINGING BACK HALFTIME HEAT NEXT WEEKEND - PWInsider.com" . www.pwinsider.com . Archived from the original on 29 January 2019. Retrieved 28 January 2019 .
^ "WWE Halftime Heat to stream live during The Big Game" . WWE . Archived from the original on 29 January 2019. Retrieved 28 January 2019 .
^ a b Jeremy Thomas (January 31, 2019). "WWE News: Announcers Set For Halftime Heat, Daniel Bryan Gives Thanks for Hideo Itami" . 411Mania.com . Archived from the original on February 2, 2019. Retrieved February 2, 2019 .
^ a b 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 . Archived from the original on February 4, 2019. Retrieved February 3, 2019 .
^ Lambert, Jeremy (February 7, 2019). "Michael Cole Says Nearly 3 Million People Watched Halftime Heat; NXT Stars React" . Fightful . Archived from the original on March 4, 2021. Retrieved February 11, 2019 .
^ Grabianowski, Ed (13 January 2006). "How Pro Wrestling Works" . HowStuffWorks . Discovery Communications . Archived from the original on November 29, 2013. Retrieved March 5, 2012 .
^ "WWF Half-Time Heat « Events Database « CAGEMATCH - The Internet Wrestling Database" . www.cagematch.net . Archived from the original on 9 July 2017. Retrieved 28 January 2019 .
^ "The Rock vs. Mankind in an empty arena during Halftime Heat: This Week in WWE History, Feb. 4, 2016" . MSN . 28 January 2019. Archived from the original on 29 January 2019. Retrieved 28 January 2019 .
^ "Highlights" . Washington Post . January 29, 2000. Archived from the original on 7 March 2016. Retrieved 29 February 2016 .
^ "HALFTIME HEAT UPDATE, TRIBUTE TO MARVEL CHARACTER AT TAKEOVER, KEITH LEE AND MORE NXT NEWS - PWInsider.com" . www.pwinsider.com . Archived from the original on 30 January 2019. Retrieved 30 January 2019 .
^ "WWE to counter-program Super Bowl LIII halftime show with six-man tag-team bout" . 28 January 2019. Archived from the original on 29 January 2019. Retrieved 28 January 2019 .
^ a b "WWF @ Tucson, AZ - Convention Center - January 26, 1999 (6,986; sell out)" . The History of WWE . Archived from the original on June 11, 2020. Retrieved February 13, 2019 .
^ a b "HALFTIME HEAT UPDATE, TRIBUTE TO MARVEL CHARACTER AT TAKEOVER, KEITH LEE AND MORE NXT NEWS" . PWInsider . Archived from the original on January 30, 2019. Retrieved January 30, 2019 .
^ a b "WWE Halftime Heat to stream live during The Big Game" . WWE . Archived from the original on January 29, 2019. Retrieved January 28, 2019 .
^ Jeffrey Harris (January 26, 2019). "Huge Brawl Takes Place After NXT TakeOver: Phoenix Goes Off the Air" . 411Mania . Archived from the original on February 1, 2019. Retrieved January 31, 2019 .
^ "WWE BRINGING BACK HALFTIME HEAT NEXT WEEKEND" . PWInsider . Archived from the original on January 29, 2019. Retrieved January 28, 2019 .
^ Schoolcraft, Lisa R. (September 25, 2009). "Atlanta is bidding for WrestleMania" . Atlanta Business Chronicle . Archived from the original on July 7, 2015. Retrieved February 1, 2010 .