Televised Wrestling History Timeline

Red - World Wrestling Entertainment / Federation

Purple - World Championship Wrestling

Blue - Total Nonstop Action / Impact Wrestling

White - Miscellaneous promotions

 

1960   AWA All Star Wrestling debuts in syndication
January 1972   Georgia Championship Wrestling debuts on WTBS in Atlanta.
1978   WWWF Championship Wrestling debuts in syndication
September 1983   WWF All American Wrestling debuts on the USA Network.
May 29, 1984   WWF Tuesday Night Titans debuts on the USA Newtwork.
January 1, 1985   WWF Prime Time Wrestling debuts on the USA Network.
May 11, 1985   WWF Saturday Night's Main Event debuts a series of specials on NBC.
June 27, 1985   AWA Championship Wrestling debuts on ESPN.  This was a continuation of the ESPN program "Pro Wrestling USA," which was a co-operative venture from the AWA and several NWA regional territories.
November 7, 1985   WWF's first pay-per-view event is televised, the Wrestling Classic.
August 30, 1986   WWWF Championship Wreatling airs for the last time.
September 6, 1986   WWF Superstars debuts in Syndication.
September 7, 1986   WWF Wrestling Challenge debuts in Syndication.
September 17, 1986   WWF Tuesday Night Titans airs for the last time.
September 1986   G.L.O.W. Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling debuts in Syndication.
February 5, 1988   WWF The Main Event debuts a series of special events on NBC.
March 27, 1988   WCW Clash of the Champions debuts a series of special events on TBS.
October 29, 1988   Georgia Championship Wrestling airs for the last time under the GCW Name.
November 5, 1988   WCW Saturday Night debuts the WCW Name.
1990   AWA Championship Wrestling airs for the last time on ESPN
May 1990   G.L.O.W. Airs for the Last time.
June 1990   WCW World Wide debuts in Syndication.
1991   AWA All Star Wrestling airs for the last time
February 1, 1991   WWF the Main Event airs for the last time.
April 27, 1991   WWF Saturday Night's Main Event airs for the last time on NBC.
February 8, 1992   WWF Saturday Nights Main Event debuts on FOX .
November 8, 1992   WWF Saturday Nights Main Event airs for the second and last time.
January 4, 1993   WWF Primetime Wrestling airs for the last time.
January 9, 1993   WWF Mania debuts on the USA Network.
January 11, 1993   WWF Monday Night Raw debuts live from the Manhattan Center in New York City on the USA Network.
October 23, 1994   WWF Action Zone debuts on the USA Network
February 20, 1995   WWF Monday Night Raw airs 100th Episode.
September 4, 1995   WCW Monday Nitro debuts live from the Mall of America in Minnesota  on TNT, directly competing with WWF Monday Night RAW (on a night when RAW was pre-empted)
January 1996   WWF Superstars airs for the last time in syndication.
January 1996   WWF Superstars moves to the USA Network
1996   WWF Wrestling Challenge airs for the last time.
September 14, 1996   WWF Mania airs for the last time
September 15, 1996   WWF Action Zone airs for the last time
September 21, 1996   WWF Livewire debuts on the USA Network in place of WWF Mania.
January 4, 1997   WWF Shotgun Saturday Night debuts in syndication.
February 3, 1997   WWF Monday Night Raw Changes format to two hours, up from one hour.
March 10, 1997   WWF Monday Night Raw renamed Raw is War / War Zone (each hour of the two-hour program gets a differnet moniker). 
August 21, 1997   WCW Clash of the Champions airs for the last time.
August 25, 1997   WCW Monday Nitro airs 100th Episode.
January 8, 1998   WCW Thunder debuts on TBS.
August 2, 1998   WWF Sunday Night Heat debuts on the USA Network.
November 22, 1998   WWF Super Astros debuts in syndication on Spanish language television in the United States.
November 28, 1998   WWF Shotgun Saturday Night airs 100th Episode.
April 29, 1999   WWF Smackdown! airs as a special on UPN.
August 21, 1999   WWF Shotgun Saturday Night airs for the last time.
August 26, 1999   WWF Smackdown debuts in its permanent time slot on UPN.
August 27, 1999   ECW on TNN debuts on TNN.
August 28, 1999   WWF Jakked / Metal replaces Shotgun Saturday Night in Syndication.
September 5, 1999   WWF Super Astros airs for the last time.
January 12, 2000   WCW Thunder moves to Wednesday night time slot on TBS.
June 24, 2000   WCW Saturday Night airs for the last time.
July 1, 2000   WCW Saturday Morning debuts on TBS.
July 2,. 2000   WWF Sunday Night Heat debuts on the USA Network.
August 19, 2000   WCW Saturday Morning airs for the last time.
September 25, 2000   WWF Raw is War Moves to TNN.
Fall 2000   WWF Superstars moves to TNN.
October 1, 2000   WWF Sunday Night Heat moves to MTV.
October 6, 2000   ECW on TNN airs for the last time.
October 7-8, 2000   WOW Women of Wrestling debuts in Syndication.
December 30, 2000   ECW Hardcore airs for the last time.
March 10-11, 2001   WOW Women of Wrestling airs for the last time.  The show only lasts for one season.
March 21, 2001   WCW Thunder airs for the last time.
March 24-25, 2001   WCW World Wide airs for the last time.
March 26, 2001   WCW Nitro airs for the last time.
July 19, 2001   WWF Smackdown! airs 100th Episode.
August 18, 2001   WWF Livewire airs for the last time.
August 19, 2001   WWF Superstars of Wrestling airs for the last time on TNN
August 25, 2001   WWF Excess debuts on TNN.
October 8, 2001   WWF Raw is War renamed to WWF RAW.
April 1, 2002   WWF RAW debuts brand extension.
April 4, 2002   WWF Smackdown debuts brand extension.
May 18, 2002   WWE Excess airs for the last time.
May 18, 2002   WWE Jakked / Metal airs for the last time.
May 25, 2002   WWE Afterburn / Bottom Line Debut in syndication replacing Jakked / Metal.
May 25, 2002   WWE Velocity debuts on TNN.
May 25, 2002   WWE Confidential debuts on TNN.
June 19, 2002   NWA TNA Pay-Per-Views debut on Pay-Per-View.
October 5, 2002   NWA TNA Explosion debuts in syndication.
March 23, 2003   WWE Sunday Night Heat debuts on TNN
April 10, 2004   WWE Velocity airs 100th episode
April 24, 2004   WWE Launches Video On Demand (VOD) Service WWE 24/7
May 2, 2004   WWE The Experience debuts on TNN
June 4, 2004   NWA TNA Impact debuts on FOX Sports Net.
September 8, 2004   NWA TNA Pay-Per-View Airs for the Last Time
May 27, 2005   TNA Impact Airs for the Last Time on FSN.
September 2005   WWE Afterburn / Bottom Line airs for the last time in the United States (it still airs internationally)
September 1, 2005   WWE Smackdown! airs for the last time on Thursday nights on UPN.
September 9, 2005   WWE Smackdown! changes name to "Friday Night Smackdown!" and moves to Friday nights still on UPN.
September 24, 2005   WWE Velocity airs for the last time. on Spike TV
September 25, 2005   WWE Heat airs for the last time on Spike TV
September 26, 2005   WWE RAW airs on Spike TV for the last time
October 1, 2005   TNA Impact debuts on Spike TV
October 2005   WWE Heat is dropped from TV in the US, and is shown as a web show on WWE.com, premiering on Friday afternoons. 
October 3, 2005   WWE RAW moves back to the USA Network from Spike TV, after a five year stay.
October 8, 2005   WWE AM RAW debuts on USA Network, replacing WWE Experience (although Experience still airs internationally).
October 9, 2005   WWE RAW replays in Spanish on Telemundo and mun2.
March 18, 2006   WWE Saturday Night's Main Event is revived, this time back on NBC and in prime time.
April 13, 2006   TNA Impact changes days from Saturday night at 11:00 PM to Thursday night at 11:00 PM
May 14, 2006   WWE AM RAW changes time from 9:00 AM on Saturday morning to 2:00 AM Sunday morning, changing ratings from TV-PG to TV-14.
June 13, 2006   WWE's version of ECW debuts on Sci-Fi Channel Tuesdays at 10:00 PM.
November 16, 2006   TNA Impact changes timeslot to 9:00 PM
October 4, 2007   TNA Impact goes from one hour to two.
January 21, 2008   WWE Raw begins broadcasting in High Definition on USA Network
January 22, 2008   ECW on Sci-Fi begins broadcasting in high definition on Sci-Fi
January 25, 2008   WWE Smackdown! begins broadcasting in high definition on the CW.
September 30, 2008   ECW on Sci-Fi moves timeslots to Tuesdays at 9:00 PM est.
October 2, 2008   My Network TV airs a one hour special edition of WWE's WrestleMania XXIV, just one night before Smackdown! moves to that network.
October 3, 2008   WWE Smackdown! moves from the CW to My Network TV, still on Friday nights
October 23, 2008   TNA Impact airs for the first time in High Definition and also the first time not shot in Orlando, but in Las Vegas.
April 16, 209   WWE Superstars (no relation to the 80's/90's version) begins broadcasting on WGN America.
April 28, 2009   ECW on Sci-Fi moves back to its original timeslot of 10:00 PM est.
January 4, 2010   TNA Impact airs a special edition on Monday, directly competing with WWE RAW, it's first direct, head to head competition in nearly nine years.
February 16, 2010   The final episode of ECW on Syfy (Sci-Fi Channel changed its name).  It was announced three weeks earlier by Vince McMahon.
February 23, 2010   WWE debuts WWE NXT on Syfy (taking over the timeslot of ECW on Syfy).  It features less wrestling and more features on upcoming wrestlers from WWE's developmental territory of Florida Championship Wrestling.
March 1, 2010   Wrestlelicious debuts (?) as a syndicated program, hosted by Leyla and Jimmy Hart (originally supposed to start in the fall of 2009)
March 8, 2010   TNA Impact moves to a new time of Monday nights from 9:00 PM to 11:10 PM est on Spike TV.  (One week live, followed by the next week taped (which was taped on the following Tuesday.))
April 5 , 2010   TNA Impact moves one hour earlier to start at 8:00 Pm eastern.  It still lasts for about 2 hours on Spike TV. 
May 3, 2010   TNA Impact airs for the last time on Monday night.  They are moving next week back to Thursday night. The move only lasted two months.
May 13, 2010   TNA Impact moves back to its original day of Thursdays at 9:00 PM on Spike TV.
September 28, 2010   WWE NXT airs its last episode on US television on Syfy (as Smackdown! was moving to that network). It continues to air internationally and on WWE.com for the United States.
October 1, 2010   WWE Smackdown!'s first episode on  Syfy network.  This will be the fourth channel that it has brodcast on, but the first cable channel.
April 4, 2011   WWE Tough Enough is brought back to television, this time on USA network at 11 PM
April 7, 2011   WWE Superstars last episode airs on WGN. It is still shown internationally and is shown on WWE.com only.
September 22, 2011   WWE Superstars is taken off WWE.com due to low viewership
October 5, 2011   WWE Superstars is put back on WWE.com, uploaded weekly on Thursdays at 4 PM
May 31, 2012   TNA Impact airs live (throughout the summer of 2012) at its new time slot of 8 PM
August 25, 2012   WWE Saturday Morning Slam debuts on CW network Satudays at 10 AM. This is a half hour show aimed at children, which features one match and taped backstage segments.
October 3, 2012   WWE Main Event debuts on ION TV, replacing WWE Superstars (which will be airing on television in the United States for the first time in a year and a half).
October 2012   WWE starts a partnership with Hulu Plus, broadcasting Superstars and NXT for the US, and also repays of Smackdown!, RAW and Main Event.
May 11, 2013   WWE Saturday Morning Slam airs for the last time on CW as it is canceled
January 8, 2014   WWE announces the formation of the WWE Network, which will be a subscription based, streaming network in the US. It will air NXT and Superstars for the US and also include all twelve pay-per-views.
February 24, 2014   WWE Network debuts online at 9 AM (est) with the first show "WrestleMania Rewind" about WrestleMania 1. WWE is offering a one week free trial of the network. Included is the network and access to all former pay-per-views from WWE, WCW, and ECW for US$9.99 with a six month subscription.
April 2, 2014   WWE Main Event airs for the last time on Ion Television. It continues to air live on WWE Network
August 12, 2014   WWE Network becomes available in dozens of international countries
January 4, 2015   Global Force Wrestling, the new promotion headed by Jeff Jarrett, debuts on pay-per-view with a cross-promotion event of New Japan Pro Wreslting live at 1 AM est from Tokyo, Japan.
January 7, 2015   Impact Wrestling debuts on its new channel of Destination America (after a month of best of 2014 episodes on its former channel of Spike TV). It aired on a Wednesday night just once, as it will have its debut on Friday, January 16, 2015.
January 14, 2015   NXT moves to a new night of Wednesdays, still on the WWE Network in the US.
January 15, 2015   WWE Smackdown! moves to Thursday nights, still on Syfy Network, still at 8:00 PM.
January 16, 2015   New Japan Pro Wreslting debuts in America on AXS TV on Friday nights at 9:00 PM for a thirteen episode series.
January 19, 2015   WWE Network is now available in the United Kingdom and Ireland.
June 3, 2015  

Ring of Honor debuts on national television for the first time on Destination America at 8 PM, with a replay at 11 PM.
June 3, 2015   Impact Wrestling changes nights from Friday to Wednesday, still at 9 PM on Destination America
July 4, 2015   Paragon Pro Wrestilng debuts on Pop on Saturdays at 6:00 AM.
July 29, 2015   Ring of Honor changes times from 8 PM to 11 PM, still on Wednesday nights on Destination America.
October 3, 2015   Paragon Pro Wrestling changes timeslots from Saturdays at 6:00 AM to 8:00 AM, still on Pop
December 2, 2015   Ring of Honor changes networks from Destination America to Comet TV, Wednesdays at midnight, which takes if off of national television.
January 5, 2016   Impact Wrestling is changing networks and days from Wednesdays on Destination America to Tuesday nights on POP.
January 7, 2016   WWE Smackdown changes networks from Syfy to USA Network. This will make both it and RAW on the same network for the first time ever.
July 19, 2016   WWE Smackdown moves to Tuesday nights, shown live from 8 pm to 10 pm est. It also changes its name to Smackdown Live.
July 21, 2016   Impact moves from Tuesday night to Thursday night, still on Pop.
November 29, 2016   WWE 205 Live debuts on the WWE Network, shown live at 10 pm est, filmed after Smackdown finishes.
October 25, 2018   Impact Wrestling changes times on Thursday nights on Pop to 10 PM est.
January 11, 2019   Impact Wrestling changes networks from POP on Thursdays to Pursuit on Fridays at 10 PM. This is a very small national network. The show also streams on Twitch at the same time
January 18, 2019   WOW-Women of Wrestling returns to TV after an almost eighteen year absence, with the same creators as the 2000-era series. It will air Friday nights on AXS TV.
September 18, 2019   WWE NXT returns to television on USA Netwrork on Wednesday nights from 8pm to 10 pm est. (However, the first two weeks were one hour on TV and the second hour on WWE Network.)
October 2019   Impact Wrestling will move to AXS TV, as their parent company bought a majority stake in the channel.
October 2, 2019   All Elite Wrestling's first television program debuts on TNT at 8pm to 10 pm est on Wednesday nights
October 4, 2019   WWE Smackdown moves to Friday nights on FOX network from 8pm to 10 pm. This
October 4, 2019   WWE 205 Live moves to Friday nights at 10 pm on WWE Network, filmed live after Smackdown.
March 28, 2021
WWE moves its WWE Network (in the US only) to NBC Universal's Peacock streaming service.
April 8, 2021
Impact Wrestling will move to Thursday nights at 8 PM est, still on AXS TV