WWF Championship Wrestling was aprofessional wrestlingtelevision program produced by theWorld Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE) that aired from 1971 to August 30, 1986, and was the original television show of the WWF. Originally produced under the World Wide Wrestling Federation (WWWF) banner,Championship Wrestling featured all the stars of the WWF, interviews and championship matches. It was the flagship program of the WWWF/WWF's syndicated programming until it was replaced bySuperstars of Wrestling in 1986.

Select episodes are available for streaming on theWWE Network.

This was the first WWF program to be shown on national broadcast television. Vincent J. McMahon built thesyndicated network in part by persuading local stations to pay for the rights to air the program. Stations likeKPLR-TV inSt. Louis and KHJ-TV (nowKCAL) inLos Angeles reportedly paid $100,000 to air the show.^[1]

In its early years, the show was taped at thePhiladelphia Arena and later at the Allentown Agricultural Hall inAllentown, Pennsylvania. Typically, three weeks of television were taped in one night. The final taping in Allentown took place on June 19, 1984, with the episodes airing June 30, July 7, and July 14. The tapings then moved to theMid-Hudson Civic Center inPoughkeepsie, New York until the final taping took place on August 5, 1986, with the final episode airing on August 30. The final taping featured the coronation of KingHarley Race.

The following week,WWF Superstars of Wrestling replacedChampionship Wrestling as the WWF's new flagship syndicated program. In contrast to Championship Wrestling, the tapings for Superstars of Wrestling moved around the country and took place at larger arenas.

• Bill Cardille (1971–1972) (1976) (Bill Cardille subbed for Vince McMahon for 3 weeks in the summer of 1976)
• Vincent K. McMahon andAntonino Rocca (1972–1976)
• Vincent K. McMahon andBruno Sammartino (1976–1980)
• Vince McMahon andPat Patterson (1980–1983) (Bruno Sammartino occasionally substituted for Patterson)
• Vince McMahon and"Mean" Gene Okerlund (1984)
• Vince McMahon andTony Garea (1984)
• Vince McMahon and "Living Legend" Bruno Sammartino (1984–1986) (Jesse "The Body" Ventura occasionally substituted for Sammartino)

Ray Stevens (wrestler) andAndré the Giant both guested as announcers alongside McMahon.

The longtimering announcer wasJoe McHugh, who did the ring announcing and introductions of everyone on staff at the beginning of every broadcast since the 1970s. When the WWF relocated their tapings in 1984, he was replaced byHoward Finkel. Buddy Wagner preceded McHugh in the mid-1970s when the cards were taped at the Philadelphia Arena.

The interviewer position was filled mostly by McMahon with Pat Patterson also assisting in some cases, until the hire of Gene Okerlund in 1984 which gave him the full-time slot of interviewing wrestlers backstage or at ringside.Jack Reynolds,Freddie Miller,Kal Rudman, andKen Resnick also did interviews alongside Okerlund until the show's cancellation in 1986.

• Vince McMahon (1972–83)
• Pat Patterson (1980–83)
• Gene Okerlund (1984–86)
• Freddie Miller (1984–85)
• Jack Reynolds (1984–85)
• Kal Rudman (1984–85)
• Ken Resnick (1986)

Probably the most well-remembered theme music ofChampionship Wrestling is "Scheherazade" by jazz trumpeterMaynard Ferguson. This instrumental piece was used from 1978 and well into 1981. From March 1984 to 1986, an instrumental version ofMichael Jackson's "Thriller" was used. This song was accompanied by the image footage ofHulk Hogan winning the WWF title fromThe Iron Sheik. Other theme music included "Cruise Control" by theDixie Dregs (October 1981 — March 1984) with footage ofBob Backlund being mobbed and picked up by jubilant fans while holding up the Championship belt. The instrumental "Crater" by Alan Parker was used during the championship reign ofSuperstar Billy Graham, and accompanied a slow-motion montage in which both he andBruno Sammartino were featured prominently. "One Fine Morning" by Canadian jazz-rock ensembleLighthouse was also used (approx. 1974–1975).

Various pop and rock songs were used for commercial bumpers starting in late 1982, including "Start Me Up" byThe Rolling Stones, "Dirty Laundry" byDon Henley, "Cars" byGary Numan, "Private Eyes" and "Out of Touch" byDaryl Hall & John Oates, "The Song Remains the Same" byLed Zeppelin, "Eminence Front" byThe Who, "Sleeping Bag" byZZ Top, "When the World Is Running Down, You Make the Best of What's Still Around", "Every Breath You Take", and "Wrapped Around Your Finger" byThe Police, "Too Much Time on My Hands" byStyx, "Pressure" byBilly Joel, "Stand Back" byStevie Nicks, "Is There Something I Should Know?" byDuran Duran, "Rhythm of the Night" byDebarge, "Let's Dance" byDavid Bowie, "In the Mood" byRobert Plant, "Jump" byVan Halen, "Dancing in the Dark" byBruce Springsteen, "Walk of Life" byDire Straits, "She Bop" and "Money Changes Everything" byCyndi Lauper, "Conga" byMiami Sound Machine, "Freeway of Love" byAretha Franklin, "Everybody Wants to Rule the World" byTears for Fears, "Things Can Only Get Better" byHoward Jones, and "The Power of Love" and "Back in Time" byHuey Lewis and the News.

The inauguralWrestleMania was broadcast inAustralia in May 1985 on theTen Network. Ten had a tentative deal in place with the WWF to then showWWF Championship Wrestling on a weekly basis depending on the ratings for WrestleMania. With WrestleMania being a ratings success, Ten brought weekly professional wrestling back to Australian television for the first time since the late 1970s and the show was telecast on Thursday nights, usually in the 10:30 or 11 PM time slot.

• Television series by WWE
• First-run syndicated television programs in the United States
• 1972 American television series debuts
• 1986 American television series endings

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