WWE's Tape Library

[spman 0]

Ok, I was thinking about this today, and it had me wondering. Now I'm sure WWEs complete video archive in Stamford is probobly expansive beyond our wildest imagination, but what exactly do the companies save, and what do they discard? WWE has several cameras taping the action during TV Tapings, and even stuff like dark matches and commercial breaks are filmed. Obviously what is caught by all the different cameras is edited and spliced to provide the best possible view on television. But once WWE is done with the live footage from their events, do they discard it and only leave the finished product that airs on TV for their archive? It wouldn't seem logical to me that they'd have two tapes of every show, a live version and a TV version. Also, do thye keep archives of other stuff like clip shows, foreign shows, and other crap with little to no value? I'm just trying to conceive how WWE must have all this stuff archived and catalouged, it just seems impossible to be that they have 30 years of footage from 4 different promotions all organized and catalouged. That must take up like an entire warehouse.

[Epic Reine 0]

I was always let on that they keep EVERYTHING.

[Hunter's Torn Quad 0]

I would think they'd keep everything, so they'd have an official record of everything they've done, wherever it was aired.

[Guest LooneyTune]

Anything that has ever been video taped they have, unless the tapes are unusable/destroyed by other means/etc. etc. It would be like being a kid in a candy store if I were to witness how huge the library is (probably all transfered to a more convenient source than VHS of course.)

[Fökai 0]

They keep everything.

 

Recently, they've been using pre-show and post-show incidents, some of little significance, as extras on their DVD products.

[MillenniumMan831 0]

I'm sure they keep everything . . . they even had clips of Benoit's WWF tryout matches in 1995.

[Guest Trivia247]

I wonder then if you could get those WM and other PPV's with the Dark matches intact?

[MillenniumMan831 0]

I'm almost positive they have them in the vault . . . but WWE releasing them is another story.

[JJMc 0]

I'm sure they keep everything . . . they even had clips of Benoit's WWF tryout matches in 1995.

Did they show any clips of these on the DVD or whatever?

 

Also, at a house show I went to in '98, they inexplicably taped it with multiple cameras, and I kept watching for footage to be shown on TV for whatever reason, but it never was. Weird.

[BHK 0]

Access to the WWE tape library for one day would be the ultimate contest prize.

[Jericholic82 0]

they must have had to build a bigger room with all the footage theve acquired lately.

 

Wish I worked in that department

 

I would love to be in charge of putting together the dvds and such

 

and since Im in with them maybe I could make some personal videos for myself lol

 

doubt it

[Fökai 0]

I'm sure they keep everything . . . they even had clips of Benoit's WWF tryout matches in 1995.

Did they show any clips of these on the DVD or whatever?

Benoit v. Holly was shown for a few seconds in the main feature.

[Guest Stunt Granny]

I heard the only footage they have ever disguarded was the Owen Hart accident, becuase they were afraid of it getting out somehow.

[Guest The Shadow Behind You]

I'm almost certain there was some rumor that Vince personally took that footage of Owen's fall and placed it in his own home Vault.

 

However; I can't even fathom the WWE vault's size much less the library with the WCW, ECW, AWA, NWA and the other stuff they own. It has to be in a giant warehouse.

 

I'm sure most is converted to a more conveient source but they have to keep the original stuff.

[DrVenkman PhD 0]

Considering they seem to have a fan cam video of the 96 MSG curtain call incident on file for whenever it's needed for a DVD what have you, I'd think they keep all of their own stuff, especially now that they use it on 24/7.

[Eclipse 0]

It would be a dream come true to access and view their extensive tape collection. Though, they must have some great organizational structure to things concerning the tape collection. I agree though, that I DOUBT the WWE has the Owen fall in that archive.

[spman 0]

It would be a dream come true to access and view their extensive tape collection. Though, they must have some great organizational structure to things concerning the tape collection. I agree though, that I DOUBT the WWE has the Owen fall in that archive.

I'm pretty sure I had read that Vince had the tape of the actual fall destroyed so he could never be subpoened and forced to submit it as evidence during a trial. I do remebmer reading though that he did have one camera completely fixed on Owen while he was in the ring and the paramedics worked on him for his own liablity.

[Guest AdamF]

RE: Vince destroying the tape...

 

 

I've also heard this.

 

In the Martha Hart book, she talks about the whole time the doctors were trying to revive poor Owen, there was a WWF/E camera right in his face.

 

That footage, if ever leaked (or used in court), would prove highly disturbing, incredibly damning, and prove the company to have displayed a general lack of taste.

 

The fact that the event itself was never released in any form (even though nothing was seen by the audience at home) says enough.

[Guest LooneyTune]

If I was able to get possesion of the tape in question, i'd smash it with a sledgehammer, burn it, and throw the ashes in someones face. Sounds like a Russo-booked Main Event finish.

[Slickster 0]

I thought that a WWE rep had told the Harts that their copies had been destroyed.

 

I doubt it, however. I'm fairly confident that they kept a copy of the tape for liability purposes/any future problems.

 

Like it or not, you can't just erase Owen's death from history, which is what destroying the tapes would signify. I'm not expecting to see the footage on WWE 24/7 or anything (any more than I would expect to see highlights of some random episode of 'WWF Spotlight' from 1993), but I don't feel it's right to omit that part of history.

 

It's like when the families of 9/11 victims asked that the networks stop showing impact footage ad infinitum. The networks complied (in mid-November 2001, IIRC), but they didn't destroy the impact footage because, like it or not, it has some historical value. I'm not comparing Owen's death to 9/11, mind you, but in both cases tragedy was caught on film via multiple cameras and the tapes were saved.

[Hunter's Torn Quad 0]

While there may be footage of Owen after his fall, there is no footage of the fall itself.

[Slickster 0]

While there may be footage of Owen after his fall, there is no footage of the fall itself.

What makes you so sure? Bear in mind, people have posted rehearsal footage from PPVs and pyro tests, so I don't know if this is out of the question. Theoretically, couldn't at least one cameraman have been pointing at Owen up in the rafters, waiting to film his entrance?

[Art Sandusky 0]

I'm sure they keep everything . . . they even had clips of Benoit's WWF tryout matches in 1995.

Did they show any clips of these on the DVD or whatever?

 

Also, at a house show I went to in '98, they inexplicably taped it with multiple cameras, and I kept watching for footage to be shown on TV for whatever reason, but it never was. Weird.

This happened at a house show in Greenville I went to in August 2000 also. It seemed to me to be just for purposes of showing something on the big screens since the Bi-Lo Center was sold out and the view from the rafters was good but didn't offer much in the way of details.

[Slickster 0]

I'm sure they keep everything . . . they even had clips of Benoit's WWF tryout matches in 1995.

Did they show any clips of these on the DVD or whatever?

 

Also, at a house show I went to in '98, they inexplicably taped it with multiple cameras, and I kept watching for footage to be shown on TV for whatever reason, but it never was. Weird.

This happened at a house show in Greenville I went to in August 2000 also. It seemed to me to be just for purposes of showing something on the big screens since the Bi-Lo Center was sold out and the view from the rafters was good but didn't offer much in the way of details.

Happened for me, too, at an Ottawa house show in March of 2000. It was primarily for the big screens, methinks.

[Hunter's Torn Quad 0]

While there may be footage of Owen after his fall, there is no footage of the fall itself.

What makes you so sure? Bear in mind, people have posted rehearsal footage from PPVs and pyro tests, so I don't know if this is out of the question. Theoretically, couldn't at least one cameraman have been pointing at Owen up in the rafters, waiting to film his entrance?

Any such footage would have leaked out long ago. It doesn't exist.

[Guest LooneyTune]

I've heard all the Kazaa "videos" are just fakes, so incase anyone mentions that they have videos of Owens "death", they are false. A dickhead friend of mine downloaded it because he wanted to see it. I obviously would've punched him in the face if I didn't suck at fighting.

[Nightfall 0]

I'm 99.9% sure they had a camera on Owen. What else would they do, wait 3 seconds before he was supposed to descend and then throw a camera on to him? If you watch close, you can always see that a camera guy will turn to the ramp a good 10 seconds before someone does a run in that they're going to show. Why wouldn't they have a camera on Owen at the time? Plus, with him being so high up, they'd need more time to focus and get stable.

[Guest Fook_Theta]

I should have saved them, but I know there is several peoples personal cameras that have caught the fall from several different viewpoints including the rafters.

 

Now, here is the interesting thing for 'if I could work in the library.' Has anyone ever seen comps in tape trading circles that could have possibly come from the library? My best guess is no, which leads me to believe the people that work on this stuff aren't that big of fans(marks) for the footage.

 

Goes along with company policy not to favor anyone that is even remotely markish.

What makes you so sure? Bear in mind, people have posted rehearsal footage from PPVs and pyro tests, so I don't know if this is out of the question. Theoretically, couldn't at least one cameraman have been pointing at Owen up in the rafters, waiting to film his entrance?

I did forget about this. However, it is fairly rare for such things to be released. Last thing I remember was Paul Bearer getting "killed."

[ChrisMWaters 0]

I'm picturing the WWE Tape Library set up like a regular library...everything transferred to DVD by now. A periodic system set up to catalog everything.

 

...and Stacy dressed like Ms. Hancock sitting at the reception desk.

[Guest LooneyTune]

I'm picturing the WWE Tape Library set up like a regular library...everything transferred to DVD by now. A periodic system set up to catalog everything.

 

...and Stacy dressed like Ms. Hancock sitting at the reception desk.

You can have her, I'd rather live in the vault with all that glorious footage.