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WWE Speed

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WWE Speed
Created byPaul "Triple H" Levesque
Starring
Opening theme"Conquered It All" by def rebel
(from WWE Music Group)
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons1
No. of episodes38
Production
Executive producerPaul "Triple H" Levesque
ProducerPete Dunne[1]
Camera setupMulti-camera setup
Running time3–5 minutes
Original release
NetworkX
ReleaseApril 3, 2024 (2024-04-03) –
present
Related

WWE Speed is an American professional wrestling streaming television program produced by WWE. It airs on the social media platform X and premiered with two episodes on April 3, 2024. Speed features wrestlers from WWE's Raw, SmackDown, and NXT brands. Episodes have one match each with a time limit of three minutes for regular episodes and five minutes for special episodes featuring title defenses of the WWE Speed Championship and the WWE Women's Speed Championship. Matches for Speed are taped in conjunction with WWE's main weekly television programs, Monday Night Raw and Friday Night SmackDown, and generally occur before the start of said programs.

History

[edit]

On February 7, 2024, the American professional wrestling promotion WWE filed to trademark the name "WWE Speed" for an in-ring program in which the concept would be that the professional wrestling matches would have a five-minute time limit. The concept was first tested as dark matches before the December 15, 2023, taping of SmackDown.[2] On February 8 during the WrestleMania XL Kickoff press conference, WWE announced a partnership with X to introduce WWE Speed, which would stream weekly on the social media platform.[3] The deal between WWE and X was confirmed for two years. It was also revealed that the matches for each episode would be exclusive to the platform and would not be repurposed from WWE's other programs, and it would feature wrestlers from all three of WWE's brands: Raw, SmackDown, and NXT.[4]

On March 27, WWE commentator Corey Graves announced that Speed would premiere on Wednesday, April 3, but matches would instead be three minutes in length. Also announced was a tournament to crown the inaugural WWE Speed Champion for men.[5] The debut episode, which was uploaded at 12 p.m. Eastern Time (ET), saw Ricochet defeat Dragon Lee. Roughly 30 minutes later, WWE uploaded a second episode in which Bronson Reed defeated Cedric Alexander. Graves served as the sole commentator for the episodes.[6] On May 1, 2024, WWE Chief Content Officer Paul "Triple H" Levesque confirmed that the program would also eventually feature women's matches;[7] this led to the announcement of the WWE Women's Speed Championship on August 9, 2024, which began on September 4, 2024.[8]

While the program typically airs on Wednesdays, a special Friday airing occurred on May 3, 2024. This episode, which was the seventh episode overall, saw Ricochet defeat Johnny Gargano to become the inaugural Speed Champion. This episode also confirmed that championship matches would air on Fridays and would have a five-minute time limit instead of the regular three.[9][10] During the Speed tapings on October 4, 2024 (aired October 9), Candice LeRae defeated Iyo Sky to become the inaugural Women's Speed Champion.[11][12]

Champions

[edit]
Championship Current champion(s) Reign Date won Days
held 		Days
rec. 		Location Notes Ref.
WWE Speed Championship Andrade ‡ 1 June 7, 2024 155 148 Louisville, Kentucky Defeated Ricochet on Speed.
WWE recognizes Andrade's reign as beginning on June 14, 2024, when the match aired on tape delay. 		[13][14]
WWE Women's Speed Championship Candice LeRae ‡ 1 October 4, 2024 36 31 Nashville, Tennessee Defeated Iyo Sky in a tournament final to become the inaugural champion on Speed.
WWE recognizes LeRae's reign as beginning on October 9, 2024, when the match aired on tape delay. 		[15][16]

On-air personalities

[edit]

Commentators

[edit]
Commentators Tenure
Corey Graves April 3, 2024 (2024-04-03) – present

Ring announcers

[edit]
Ring announcers Date started
Mike Rome, Samantha Irvin, and Alicia Taylor April 3, 2024 (2024-04-03) – October 21, 2024 (2024-10-21)
Mike Rome and Alicia Taylor October 21, 2024 (2024-10-21) – present

References

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  1. ^ Sapp, Sean Ross (March 31, 2024). "Pete Dunne Produced Recent WWE Speed Matches". Fightful. Archived from the original on April 23, 2024. Retrieved April 23, 2024.
  2. ^ Lee, Joseph (February 8, 2024). "WWE Files Trademarks For 'WWE Speed' and 'Je'Von Evans'". 411Mania. Archived from the original on March 28, 2024. Retrieved March 28, 2024.
  3. ^ Defelice, Robert (February 8, 2024). "WWE Speed To Air On X (Twitter) Beginning In Spring 2024". Fightful. Archived from the original on March 28, 2024. Retrieved March 28, 2024.
  4. ^ Defelice, Robert (February 9, 2024). "Report: WWE Inks 2-Year Deal With X (Twitter) To Bring 'WWE Speed' To Platform". Fightful. Archived from the original on April 4, 2024. Retrieved April 3, 2024.
  5. ^ Rose, Bryan (March 27, 2024). "WWE Speed premiere date revealed, tournament will crown champion". Wrestling Observer Figure Four Online. Archived from the original on March 28, 2024. Retrieved March 28, 2024.
  6. ^ Defelice, Robert (April 3, 2024). "Ricochet And Bronson Reed Advance In WWE Speed Championship Tournament, JD McDonagh vs. Axiom Set For 4/10 WWE Speed". Fightful. Archived from the original on April 3, 2024. Retrieved April 3, 2024.
  7. ^ Lowson, Thomas (May 1, 2024). "WWE Speed Will Feature Women's Division Matches, Triple H Confirms". SE Scoops. Archived from the original on May 2, 2024. Retrieved May 2, 2024.
  8. ^ "IYO SKY Advances In WWE Speed Women's Championship Tournament". Yahoo Entertainment. 2024-09-04. Retrieved 2024-09-05.
  9. ^ Lee, Joseph (May 3, 2024). "Ricochet Becomes First-Ever WWE Speed Champion, Special Friday Episode Airs". 411Mania. Archived from the original on May 3, 2024. Retrieved May 3, 2024.
  10. ^ Lowson, Thomas (May 3, 2024). "Ricochet Celebrates WWE Speed Title Win After Becoming First-Ever Champion". SE Scoops. Archived from the original on May 3, 2024. Retrieved May 3, 2024.
  11. ^ Lambert, Jeremy (October 4, 2024). "Spoiler: Inaugural WWE Women's Speed Champion Crowned". Fightful. Retrieved October 5, 2024.
  12. ^ Currier, Joseph (October 9, 2024). "Candice LeRae crowned first WWE Speed Women's Champion". Wrestling Observer Figure Four Online. Retrieved October 9, 2024.
  13. ^ Cite error: The named reference Speed was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  14. ^ Powell, Jason (June 14, 2024). "WWE Speed – Ricochet vs. Andrade for the WWE Speed Title". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved June 14, 2024.
  15. ^ Cite error: The named reference spoilers was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  16. ^ Currier, Joseph (October 9, 2024). "Candice LeRae crowned first WWE Speed Women's Champion". Wrestling Observer Figure Four Online. Retrieved October 9, 2024.
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