WWE Speed is an American professional wrestlingweb series produced by WWE. Premiering on April 3, 2024, the series features wrestlers from WWE's Raw, SmackDown, and NXTbrands competing in matches with three-minute time limits.
Speed premiered as part of a two-year deal with X (formerly Twitter), with new matches posted exclusively to WWE's account on Wednesdays. The WWE Speed Championship and Women's Speed Championship are contested in matches that air during special Friday editions of the series, which have an extended, five-minute time limit. Matches for WWE Speed are generally taped prior to the live broadcasts of Raw and SmackDown.
History
Prior to the December 15, 2023 broadcast of WWE SmackDown, WWE piloted matches with five-minute time limits as dark matches.[2] On February 6, 2024, it was reported that WWE had filed trademark applications for the title "WWE Speed";[2] on February 8 during the WrestleMania XL Kickoff press conference, WWE officially announced a partnership with X (formerly Twitter) to introduce WWE Speed, which would stream weekly on the social media platform.[3] The deal was confirmed for two years. It was also revealed that the matches would be filmed specifically for the program and not be repurposed from WWE's other programs, and that 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. 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]
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