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Under normal circumstances, World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) is usually closed for business when it comes to working with other wrestling promotions. WWE is the global leader when it comes to professional wrestling (or sports entertainment), and, rightfully, doesn't necessarily need to work with any other promotion.
However, in rare instances, WWE has worked with other companies from around the world. From major organizations to smaller, independent promotions, WWE has worked on things when it felt necessary.
Of course, the deals had to work in favor for WWE, so that is why they've always been very reluctant to "open shop," so to speak, similar to how AEW are doing now. AEW is currently working with numerous promotions such as IMPACT Wrestling, NJPW and NWA to open up the "forbidden door" of companies working with each other. But, all in a way that benefits them (which is totally understandable).
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That being said, let's take a look at five times WWE collaborated with other promotions, in no particular order.
#5 WWE collborated with ECW in 1996/1997
Extreme Championship Wrestling took the independent wrestling world by storm in the mid-90's. They hit the world stage larger-than-independent after gaining a loyal (to put it mildly) fanbase, that was dedicated to seeing hardcore wrestling. They pushed the envelope - and that envelope-pushing eventually influenced WWE's Attitude Era.
The Philadelphia-based promotion were making a name for themselves when they caught the notice of WWE management. It was at the King of the Ring pay-per-view in 1995 in Philadelphia where it all started. During the event, the fans in attendance, bored of the action in front of them, began chanting "ECW, ECW, ECW"
On commentary, Vince McMahon wasn't aware of what the fans were chanting and assumed it was in support of the match. In the end, the WWE Chairman learned all about the company and decided to put together a deal with the promotion. It even went as far as the two brands working together.
ECW wrestlers appeared on Monday Night RAW and WWE programming in an effort to gain some exposure for Paul Heyman's promotion. They even had one episode of Monday Night RAW dedicated to just ECW in the Manhattan Center in the heart of New York.
One focal superstar in the middle of it all was Jerry "The King" Lawler who, on-screen, was completely opposed to ECW. He even showed up at the ECW Arena and was booed out of the building. He described ECW as "Extreme Crappy Wrestling," which went down as one of his most memorable moments.
Eventually, the deal came to an end, and ECW continued their rise solo following their first-ever pay-per-view Barely Legal in August 1997. (Although rumors of Vince McMahon helping out ECW financially over the years still remain)
#4 WWE collaborated with IMPACT Wrestling/TNA in 2012
In 2012, WWE wanted to induct legendary wrestling faction The Four Horsemen into the WWE Hall of Fame. There was just one problem: long-time Horsemen leader Ric Flair was contracted to TNA. The company didn't want to do the ceremony without The Nature Boy, so they contacted TNA to strike a deal.
In the end, both companies agreed that for Ric Flair to appear, the Intercontinental Champion at the time, Christian, would be allowed to return to TNA for one-night only. Christian Cage performed for TNA between 2005 and 2008. TNA had Captain Charisma appear at their Slammiversary pay-per-view to announce the number one moment in the company's history.
#3 WWE collaborated with wXw, ICW, PROGRESS and Evolve
In the summer of 2020, WWE announced that they had agreed a deal with numerous independent promotions to showcase their shows on the WWE Network. The company announced that U.S. promotion EVOLVE, Scottish promotion ICW, UK promotion PROGRESS, and German promotion wXw would all join.
It was the first time ever that WWE had worked with current existing promotions and aired their shows on their platform. It showed the company's intent on being in tune with the most popular promotions outside of their own, and also utilizing them to acquire talent in the future.
#2 WWE collaborated with Mexico's AAA in 1997
When WWE opened up shop with ECW in the mid-90's, they also took a leap of faith with Mexican promotion Triple A. WWE's rivals, WCW, had introduced a brand-new cruiserweight division that was capturing a lot of excitement from fans. Vince McMahon wanted to rival this.
The initial idea saw plans to have the 1997 Royal Rumble become a collaboration event between WWE and AAA. Instead, AAA had a number of dark matches before the pay-per-view began, a match during the show, and their wrestlers appeared in the Royal Rumble match itself.
Following the event, the relationship between the two promotions was quietly dropped.
#1 WWE collaborated with NJPW and AJPW for The Wrestling Summit
Voted as the Best Major Wrestling Show in 1990 by the Wrestling Observer, The Wrestling Summit came to the Tokyo Dome. It was a major collaboration between WWE, New Japan Pro-Wrestling and All Japan Pro Wrestling. Vince McMahon's company already had a relationship with NJPW that stemmed from the 70's.
The first-event of its kind saw over 50,000 people attend. The main-event saw WWE's Hulk Hogan defeat AJPW's Stan Hansen, and stars such as Bret Hart, Tiger Mask, Jushin Liger and Andre The Giant appeared. No other large scale event involving multiple major promotions has been done since.
