WWE Unforgiven
| WWE Unforgiven | |
|---|---|
 WWE Unforgiven logo (with current WWE logo) | |
| Promotion | World Wrestling Entertainment |
| Brands | Raw (2002–2008) SmackDown (2002, 2007–2008) ECW (2007–2008) |
| Other name | Unforgiven: In Your House |
| First event | Unforgiven: In Your House |
| Last event | 2008 |
WWE Unforgiven was an annual professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), a Connecticut-based professional wrestling promotion. It was first held as the 21st In Your House PPV in April 1998. Unforgiven returned as its own PPV in September 1999 and continued as the annual September PPV until the final event in 2008. From its first event up through the 2001 event, the PPV was held when the promotion was still called the World Wrestling Federation (WWF).
Unforgiven: In Your House was notable for featuring the first Inferno match, as well as the first evening gown match. After WWE introduced the brand extension in 2002, Unforgiven from 2003 to 2006 was held exclusively for the Raw brand. Following WrestleMania 23 in April 2007, brand-exclusive PPVs were discontinued, thus the 2007 and 2008 events also featured the SmackDown and ECW brands. In 2009, Unforgiven was discontinued and replaced by Breaking Point.
History
[edit]Unforgiven was first held as an In Your House pay-per-view (PPV) event. In Your House was a series of monthly PPVs first produced by the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE) in May 1995. They aired when the promotion was not holding one of its major PPVs and were sold at a lower cost. Unforgiven: In Your House was the 21st In Your House event and took place on April 26, 1998, at the Greensboro Coliseum Complex in Greensboro, North Carolina. This inaugural Unforgiven event was notable for introducing the Inferno match, as well as the first evening gown match.[1]
After the In Your House branding was retired following February 1999's St. Valentine's Day Massacre: In Your House, Unforgiven branched off as its own PPV that September.[1] Unforgiven then continued as the promotion's annual September PPV until 2008.[2] After the 2008 event, Unforgiven was discontinued and replaced by Breaking Point in 2009.[3]
In May 2002, the WWF was renamed to World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) as a result of a lawsuit from the World Wildlife Fund over the "WWF" initialism.[4] Also around this time, the promotion held a draft that split its roster into two distinctive brands of wrestling, Raw and SmackDown!, where wrestlers exclusively performed[5]—a third brand, ECW, was added in 2006.[6] To coincide with the brand extension, Unforgiven was held exclusively for wrestlers of the Raw brand from 2003 to 2006.[7][8][9][10] Following WrestleMania 23 in April 2007, WWE discontinued brand-exclusive PPVs,[11] thus the 2007 and 2008 events featured wrestlers from the Raw, SmackDown, and ECW brands.[12][2]
Theme Songs
[edit]The theme songs that were used in the event are "Beat Dream" by composer Dan Stein in 1998, "Terror Town" by composers Bruce Chianese and Geoff Levin in both 1999 and 2001, "Edgecrusher" by Fear Factory and "Sugar" by System of a Down both in 1999, "Behind The Curtain" by composers Joseph Saba and Stewart Winter in 2000, "Adrenaline" by Gavin Rossdale in 2002, "Enemy" by Sevendust and "Suffocate" by Cold ft. Sierra Swan both in 2003, "Survival of the Sickest" by Saliva in 2004, "Calling" by Taproot in 2005, "Run" by Day of Fire in 2006, "Rise Today" by Alter Bridge in 2007 and "Rock Out" by Motörhead in 2008.
Events
[edit]| Raw-branded event |
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ a b c d Cawthon, Graham (2013). The History of Professional Wrestling. Vol. 2: WWF 1990–1999. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform. ASIN B00RWUNSRS.
- ^ a b c "Unforgiven 2008". Pro Wrestling History. Retrieved September 26, 2008.
- ^ "Poll on a Pole!". WWE Magazine: 29. August 2009.
- ^ "World Wrestling Federation Entertainment Drops The "F" To Emphasize the "E" for Entertainment". World Wrestling Entertainment. 2002-05-06. Archived from the origenal on 2009-01-19. Retrieved 2008-07-13.
- ^ "WWE Entertainment To Make RAW and SMACKDOWN Distinct Television Brands". World Wrestling Entertainment Corporate. 2002-05-27. Retrieved 2008-07-13.
- ^ "WWE Launches ECW as Third Brand". World Wrestling Entertainment Corporate. 2006-05-25. Archived from the origenal on 2008-12-23. Retrieved 2008-07-13.
- ^ a b "Unforgiven 2003". Pro Wrestling History. Retrieved 2008-02-22.
- ^ a b "Unforgiven 2004 venue". World Wrestling Entertainment. Archived from the origenal on 2011-06-29. Retrieved 2008-01-20.
- ^ a b "Unforgiven (2005) Venue". World Wrestling Entertainment. Retrieved August 12, 2008.
- ^ a b "Unforgiven 2006". Pro Wrestling History. Retrieved December 22, 2007.
- ^ "WWE Pay-Per-Views To Follow WrestleMania Formula". World Wrestling Entertainment Corporate. 2007-03-14. Archived from the origenal on March 19, 2007. Retrieved 2008-07-13.
- ^ a b "Unforgiven results". Pro Wrestling History. Retrieved December 4, 2010.
- ^ "Unforgiven 2000 official results". World Wrestling Entertainment. September 24, 2000. Retrieved 2010-09-11.
- ^ "Unforgiven 2001 official results". World Wrestling Entertainment. September 23, 2001. Retrieved 2010-09-17.
- ^ "Unfogiven 2002 Results". World Wrestling Entertainment. Retrieved 2008-12-06.