Want more wrestling news, rumors, and results? Be sure to visit PWInsider.com and PWInsiderXtra.com.
Dave Marquez's United Wrestling Network and The National Wrestling Alliance will be launching a new, weekly 90-minute live PPV series titled United Wrestling Network's Primetime Live, airing on Tuesday nights from California's Thunder Studio on all PPV providers and FITE.TV.
The PPV series is slated to air Tuesday nights at 9 PM EST/6 Pacific, debuting 9/15. We are told the expected weekly price for the PPV will be around $13-$15 per week. We are told FITE.TV will offer a monthly subscription that covers all of the live events and VOD replays. It will be the first attempt at a weekly PPV series since the early days of Impact Wrestling launched with weekly $9.99 PPVs, later morphing into a more traditional PPV model.
PWInsider.com is told that the primary booking team for the endeavor will be NWA Champion Nick Aldis, Marquez and Aron Stevens (aka the former Damian Sandow in WWE) and will effectively bring back fresh NWA content after the promotion paused production on NWA Powerrr. Obviously, NWA President Billy Corgan will have a say in the NWA-centric content and matches. One would think NWA Championship matches will be a major part of the presentation for the PPV series.
The Primetime Live PPV series will be presented in an empty arena setting with Thunder Studios setting the COVID-19 safety protocols, according to the press release issued today.
The Primetime Live PPV series will be the biggest undertaking in the history of Marquez's career in professional wrestling, which has included promoting events all over the world, including China and overseeing the United Wrestling Network's umbrella of "Championship Wrestling From..." promotions, most notably the Championship Wrestling from Hollywood series, which will resume production of new episodes later this month as well.
The official PPV series press release reads:
PRIMETIME LIVE IS COMING
Hollywood, CA (August 10, 2020) - United Wrestling Network (UWN), National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) and Thunder Studios today announced that they will partner to launch an all-new, live weekly professional wrestling pay-per-view series on national cable / satellite television and streaming on FITE. “United Wrestling Network’s Primetime LIVE” is set to be 90-minutes of hard-hitting, can't miss action, premiering Tuesday Sept. 15 at 9P EST and will originate LIVE from Thunder’s Long Beach Studios. This unprecedented new series will be a grand showcase of acclaimed talent and competitors from all regions and different promotions across the globe in their quest to settle real-life feuds and attain championship glory – with an emphasis on the NWA and UWN Championships. Each week on UWN: Primetime LIVE anything can happen, in the ring and behind-the-scenes.
“I’m pleased that we are finally able to announce some good news, and in partnering with United Wrestling Network we’ll be able to get back to work with what promises to be top-tier matchups, and soon. It goes without saying that 2020 has been a challenging year for everyone, and our goal in re-establishing in-ring NWA action was to make sure that our talent would be protected working within the now established safety protocols, as well as delivering consistent, high quality content like our vaunted shows NWA POWERRR, and ‘Ten Pounds of Gold’. But this will be more than just a weekly, live PPV broadcast, as we plan on shooting additional content for the NWA YouTube channel and our Patreon subscribers. My goal here is simple: to provide the best contests possible with the greatest talent available, carrying on the great legacy of the National Wrestling Alliance as an independent governing body. And in that we hope to feature at least one championship match on every live broadcast.” states NWA Owner, William Patrick Corgan.
“To me, ‘UWN: Primetime LIVE’ is a pro wrestling fan's dream come true. I’ve always wanted to produce a joint program that would feature the baddest and best pro wrestlers from different promotions on the same broadcast. This fan first way of thinking should allow us to present match-ups that you might not normally ever see on weekly television. There may be a time when you see someone from Championship Wrestling from Hollywood go against someone from Chicago’s Freelance Wrestling, or even fighters out of the NJPW LA Dojo versus West Coast Pro Wrestling. A major goal we have is to take newer up-and-coming athletes and present them in a way that hasn’t been done on a nationally televised show before. With this incredible new platform and opportunity to let the greatest talent shine on a worldwide stage, we are poised to create new superstars! Factor in the NWA Champions and the stars of NWA POWERRR and beyond, all converging for some of the most exciting programming possible. In my 30 years in both television production and promoting wrestling, this project will be the biggest of my career.” said UWN: Primetime LIVE Executive Producer David Marquez.
The health and safety of our athletes, cast, staff and crew are extremely important to us and we’ll be following Thunder Studio’s COVID-19 protocol. Every member of this production will undergo testing, temperature checks and all other local and national medical requirements. UWN: Primetime LIVE will utilize Thunder’s Zoning System identifying parts of the studio where we are authorized to enter. We will also have an onsite physician to supervise all testing. To learn more about Thunder Studio’s COVID-19 protocols please visit http://www.thunderstudios.com/news/thunder-studios-covid-19-safe-ready-open- .
This broadcast will be available in Spanish. In the coming weeks we will have more information available including the matchmaking and the levels and methods to purchasing this new series. For more information on the National Wrestling Alliance please visit NationalWrestlingAlliance.com and follow them @NWA. United Wrestling Network information can be found at UnitedWrestlingTV.com and @unitedWrestling or @CWFHollywood.
ABOUT THUNDER STUDIOS
Thunder Studios is a fully integrated emerging media company operating from its 150,000 square foot Long Beach California media campus that produces content in all its all forms and provides broad production services to the entertainment, gaming and live event industries across the USA and Northern Mexico. Thunder is passionately pursuing opportunities at the intersection of the three categories in which millennial consumers spend 75% of their time on mobile devices; Gaming, Social Media and Entertainment. Our operating divisions consist of Thunder Studios, Thunder Studios Broadcasting, Thunder Gaming and Thunder technology. Thunder Studios and Thunder Studios Broadcasting consists of our Industry Services businesses and includes our stage, equipment and production supply rental businesses, our catering company, our 3rd party production company and our Broadcasting business. Our production facilities include 10 main stages, an esports arena, live broadcast news stage, 2 live streaming studios and production offices. Our fleet of mobile broadcast trucks operate throughout the USA and Northern Mexico broadcasting diverse live events including Baseball, Soccer, High School football, MMA, esports, concerts and corporate events.
If you enjoy PWInsider.com you can check out the AD-FREE PWInsider Elite section, which features exclusive audio updates, news, our critically acclaimed podcasts, interviews and more by clicking here!
Bang On Casino
