View source for WCW All Nighter (found professional wrestling compilation show; 1994-1995)

{{InfoboxFound
|title=<center>WCW All Nighter</center>
|image=Wcwallnighter1.jpg
|imagecaption=''WCW All Nighter'' logo.
|status=<span style="color:green;">'''Found'''</span>
|datefound=14 Mar 2023
|foundby=[https://archive.org/details/@agrdn3 agrdn3]
}}

'''''WCW All Nighter''''' (also known as '''''WCW Wrestling All-Nighter''''') is a professional wrestling compilation show. Produced by World Championship Wrestling (WCW), the show aired on TBS during late-night slots, showcasing classic WCW and National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) matches.

==Background==
Hosted by a variety of wrestling personalities, including Tony Schiavone, Bobby Heenan and Gene Okerlund, ''WCW All Nighter'' presented a marathon of classic NWA and WCW wrestling matches throughout the night.<ref>[https://blogofdoom.com/index.php/2011/12/17/wcw-all-nighters/ ''Scott's Blog of Doom'' detailing ''WCW All Nighter'' and the matches showcased.] Retrieved 18 Dec '21</ref> Two shows were broadcast on TBS on 6th March 1994 and 21st January 1995 from 12:05-6:05 AM. Both shows primarily focused on showcasing matches from ''Clash of the Champions'' events, with the 1995 show listing the top 10 best ''Clash of the Champions'' matches up to that point in the company's history, with a few bonus fights in-between.<ref>[https://kbwrestlingreviews.com/2021/10/04/hidden-gem-wcw-all-nighter-2-a-wrestling-kids-dream/ ''KB's Wrestling Reviews'' reviewing the 1995 show.] Retrieved 18 Dec '21</ref> Additionally, themed skits featuring the personalities were shown, including the crew drawing on Bobby Heenan's face when he fell asleep during the marathon.<ref>[https://ringthedamnbell.wordpress.com/2019/10/01/the-geeks-come-out-at-night-remembering-the-wcw-all-nighter-specials/ ''Ring the Damn Bell'' detailing the two ''WCW All Nighter'' shows.] Retrieved 18 Dec '21</ref>

The unique selling point of ''WCW All Nighter'' was that since WCW's home video releases were limited back then, fans could seldom watch classic NWA and WCW matches. Therefore, the marathons enabled fans to watch some of the best matches shown by both promotions from the 1980s and 1990s.<ref>[https://merchandiseandmemories.com/remembering-the-wcw-all-nighter ''Merchandise and Memories'' detailing ''WCW All Nighter'' and its unique selling point.] Retrieved 18 Dec '21</ref> The Nielsen ratings reflected this, with the 1994 show drawing a 1.2 (originally assumed to be 1.5), inspiring TBS to consider running it as an annual event.<ref>21st March 1994 edition of ''Wrestling Observer Newsletter'', where the 1994 show's ratings were detailed. Retrieved 18 Dec '21</ref> Dave Meltzer of ''The Wrestling Observer'' praised ''WCW All Nighter'' for the classic matches it showcased, and for the humorous skits shown in-between.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20200706052105/https://members.f4wonline.com/wrestling-observer-newsletter/march-21-1994-observer-newsletter-tonya-harding-and-wrestling-hoganwcw Archived ''Wrestling Observer Newsletter'' reviewing the 1994 show.] Retrieved 18 Dec '21</ref>

==Availability==
Because of the show airing in late-night slots, as well as a lack of repeats, little footage of ''WCW All Nighter'' was publicly accessible prior to 2019. In fact, one of the few pieces of recovered media included a promotion for the 1994 show, as well as the Heenan face drawing skit. Neither show was even available on the WWE Network until 13th September 2019, when WWE showcased the 1995 show as part of its Hidden Gems collection.<ref>[https://wwenetworknews.com/2019/09/12/exclusive-latest-wwe-network-hidden-gem-set-to-go-obscure-with-late-night-wcw-marathon/ ''WWE Network News'' reporting on the 1995 show being included on the WWE Network.] Retrieved 18 Dec '21</ref> The 1994 show meanwhile would be uploaded onto BiliBili on 24th April 2019 by MRDragonLord. However, the 1994 edition is partially missing, as its introduction was omitted from the upload, instead joining midway through the Ric Flair vs Sting match at ''Clash of the Champions I'', the first match showcased in the special.

On March 14th, 2023, Internet Archive user [https://archive.org/details/@agrdn3 agrdn3] uploaded the full 1994 show that includes the four missing matches that were aired but not included to MrDragonLord's upload of the show on Bilibili, rendering the 1994 show, found.

==Gallery==
{{Video|perrow  =2
  |service1     =youtube
  |id1          =Wo_IPVUvi9w
  |description1 =Bobby Heenan face drawing skit.
  |service2     =youtube
  |id2          =JtT8djAtwGE
  |description2 =Promotion for ''WCW All Nighter'', referred to as ''WCW Wrestling All-Nighter''.
}}

==See Also==
*[[AJ Styles vs Kenny Omega (lost footage of professional wrestling match; 2006)]]
*[[Alberto Del Rio vs CM Punk vs Dolph Ziggler vs Jack Swagger vs John Cena (partially found master tape footage of untelevised Hell in a Cell match; 2011)]]
*[[Awesome Kong vs Melissa Anderson (lost footage of professional wrestling match; 2009)]]
*[[Bill Longson vs Whipper Billy Watson (lost footage of professional wrestling match; 1947)]]
*[[Blood Circus (partially found Santo Gold film; 1985)]]
*[[Braden Walker's "Knock Knock" promo (lost original pre-tapes of WWE backstage segment; 2008)]]
*[[Bradshaw vs Christian (lost footage of professional wrestling match; 2001)]]
*[[Bret Hart-Hulk Hogan photoshoot (lost professional wrestling promotional photos; 1993)]]
*[[Bret Hart vs Tom Magee (found untelevised professional wrestling match; 1986)]]
*[[Catch-As-Catch-Can Wrestling (lost early BBC televised professional wrestling matches; 1938-1939; 1946-1947)]]
*[[Celebrity Wrestling (partially found ITV professional wrestling reality show; 2005)]]
*[[Chowdaheads (partially found unaired professional wrestling cartoon show; 1999)]]
*[[Collision in Korea (found professional wrestling event in North Korea; 1995)]]
*[[Collision in Korea wrestler sketches (lost North Korean pencil sketch portraits of professional wrestlers; 1995)]]
*[[Cultaholic (found debut video of professional wrestling YouTube channel; 2017)]]
*[[ECW Anarchy Rulz (lost build of cancelled Nintendo 64 port of professional wrestling game; existence unconfirmed; 2000)]]
*[[ECW at E3 2000 (partially found footage of professional wrestling at gaming trade event; 2000)]]
*[[ECW Hardcore TV final episodes (lost episodes of Professional Wrestling Show; 2001)]]
*[[FMW at E3 2000 (partially found footage of professional wrestling at gaming trade event; 2000)]]
*[[The Game (partially found Disturbed cover of professional wrestling theme song; mid 2000s)]]
*[[GFW Amped (partially found unaired professional wrestling show; 2015)]]
*[[The Giant's moonsault (lost footage of professional wrestling move; existence unconfirmed; 1990s)]]
*[[Girls Gone Wild: Live from Spring Break (found WWE/Girls Gone Wild crossover special; 2003)]]
*[[GLOW (lost unfinished final season of Netflix comedy-drama series; 2019-2020)]]
*[[Goldberg's pre-television debut matches (lost footage of professional wrestling dark matches; 1997)]]
*[[Gotch-Hackenschmidt Match Film (lost world championship match; 1908)]]
*[[Gotch-Hackenschmidt Match Film (lost world championship match; 1911)]]
*[[Jake "The Snake" Roberts DDTs Hulk Hogan (lost Snake Pit segment; 1986)]]
*[[Johnny Gargano vs Velveteen Dream (lost footage of alternate finish to professional wrestling match; 2019)]]
*[[Kurt Angle vs Owen Hart (lost footage of professional wrestling match; 1999)]]
*[[The Last Battle of Atlanta (found untelevised professional wrestling steel cage match; 1983)]]
*[[Lita's training matches (partially found training videos of professional wrestler; late 1990s-2000)]]
*[[Low Ki & Mercury vs Ric Blade & TCK (partially lost footage of hardcore wrestling tag team match; 2000)]]
*[[Mark Jindrak in Evolution (partially found unaired vignettes of professional wrestling stable; 2003)]]
*[[Pat Tanaka vs Rocco Rock (lost footage of "Body Count" professional wrestling match; 1993)]]
*[["Plane Ride From Hell" (lost photographs of drunk wrestler incidents; 2002)]]
*[[Radio WWF (lost professional wrestling radio show; 1993-1994; late 1990s-2000)]]
*[[Screwed: The Bret Hart Story (lost unfinished wrestling documentary film; 2005)]]
*[[Sex University (lost WWE webshow; 2006)]]
*[[Shin Nihon Pro Wrestling Gekitou Densetsu (lost build of unreleased Virtual Boy wrestling game; 1995)]]
*[[Strange Kentucky People (lost recording of Chris Jericho "tribute"; 1994)]]
*[[TNA Impact! 2 (lost build of unfinished professional wrestling game; 2009)]]
*[[TNA International and TNA Wrestling Collection (completely lost pro-wrestling TV shows; 2006)]]
*[[TNA Xplosion (partially found TV series; 2002-2016)]]
*[[WCW 2000 (lost work on unfinished PlayStation 2 game; 2000)]]
*[[WCW Classics (partially found professional wrestling compilation show; 2000-2001)]]
*[[WCW Internet-only Special Events and PPVs (lost audio streams; 1997-1998)]]
*[[WCW/nWo Live (lost build of cancelled PlayStation professional wrestling game; 1998)]]
*[[WWE 24x7 (lost professional wrestling compilation show; 2007)]]
*[[WWE Brawl (lost build of cancelled fighting game based on professional wrestling; 2012)]]
*[[WWE Crush Hour (lost build of cancelled Xbox port of vehicular combat game; 2002)]]
*[[WWE SmackDown vs Raw Online (lost build of cancelled online professional wrestling PC game; 2010-2011)]]
*[[WWE Wrestlemania 36 (lost footage of alternate finishes to professional wrestling matches; 2020)]]
*[[WWF Attitude (lost professional wrestling recap show; 2001-2002)]]
*[[WWF Backlash (non-existent unfinished Nintendo 64 professional wrestling game; 2001)]]
*[[WWF Excess (partially found professional wrestling talk show; 2001-2002)]]
*[[WWF In Your House 8: Beware Of Dog (partially found untelevised professional wrestling matches; 1996)]]
*[[WWF Livewire (partially found professional wrestling recap and talk show; 1996-2001)]]
*[[WWF No Mercy (lost Game Boy Color games based on Nintendo 64 wrestling game; 2000)]]
*[[WWF Shotgun (partially found July to December season of syndicated wrestling show; 1997)]]
*[[WWF Xperience (found pay-per-view event footage; 1996)]]

==External Links==
*[https://archive.org/details/wcw-all-nighter-94 The 1994 show uploaded to the Internet Archive.]
*[https://watch.wwe.com/episode/171862 The 1995 show on WWE Network.]
*[https://bilibili.com/video/BV1n441187rN/ BiliBili video containing most of the 1994 show.]

==References==
{{reflist}}

[[Category:Found media]]
[[Category:Found TV]]