Jim Ross on WWE Using Sunday Night Heat as an Infomercial for PPV Events

– During a recent edition of his Grilling JR podcast, WWE Hall of Famer Jim Ross discussed the now defunct WWE show Sunday Night Heat, which debuted on USA Network and ran on Sunday nights starting in August 1998. Below are some highlights (via WrestlingInc.com):

Jim Ross on who came up with the idea for Sunday Night Heat: “I think it was a team effort, but [using ‘Heat’ to] preview the pay-per-views was a solid concept. USA [Network] wanted more programming, and when your partner, who is paying all these rights fees, wants more, what do you do? You give them more.”

On making Heat a preview show for the PPV events: “It made a good infomercial for the pay-per-view. It was the lead-in to the pay-per-view when we had one on Sunday. So [I] didn’t think it was a bad idea, and we made our partner happy. That’s [awfully] important.”

Sunday Night Heat ran on multiple networks from 1998 to 2005. It later switched to a webcast on WWE.com from 2005 to 2008 before it ended.