WWE Heat is an American professional wrestling television program that was produced by World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) and aired from August 2, 1998, to May 30, 2008. It began under the name Sunday Night Heat (initially stylized as SuNDAY NiGHT HeAT) on USA Network as a secondary television show to the company's Monday Night Raw program, with storylines to the previous week's Raw being advanced. When the brand extension was introduced on March 25, 2002, Heat would serve as the supplementary show exclusive to the Raw brand, placing more focus on its mid-card performers and matches, and would be recorded before the week's television taping of Raw. In 2005, the show was repackaged as Heat and was streamed as a webcast in North America, with new episodes every Friday, while continuing on television in other regions.
Format
The show was originally introduced on the USA Network on August 2, 1998, in the United States. The one-hour show would be broadcast on Sunday nights, being taped earlier in the week after Raw. It was the second primary program of the WWF's weekly television show line-up, serving as a supplement to the Monday Night Raw program. Heat would feature a format similar to that of Monday Night Raw, in that continuing feuds from the previous week would progress during the show, and the following day's Monday Night Raw would be heavily promoted. On nights when the WWF was holding a pay-per-view event, a special edition of Heat was generally broadcast from the event's venue as a pre-show, featuring previews and preliminary matches.