USA Network will premiere the one-hour documentary WWE: Made in America on May 29 immediately following a new episode of SmackDown, the network and WWE announced. Joe Tessitore will host the special, which the network will re-air throughout June and again on July 4.
The program is built around a clear claim: WWE described the film as "the evolution of a regional business into a global powerhouse, examining how the company mirrored the American spirit across five decades — from the patriotic heroes of the 1980’s all the way through to the newest generation of superstars continuing to further WWE’s American legacy." Tessitore anchors that through-line as the special stitches together archival interviews and new conversations with names across eras.
Among those interviewed are Paul "Triple H" Levesque, Cody Rhodes, Jimmy Hart, The Undertaker, Booker T, Sgt. Slaughter, Kane, Matt Cardona, Carmelo Hayes, Nattie, Je’Von Evans, Lilian Garcia and Erielle Reshef. The special also includes rarely seen interviews from the WWE archives and will feature Lilian Garcia performing "America the Beautiful" live from Nashville, TN.
Paul "Triple H" Levesque frames WWE’s relationship to the country in plain terms: "WWE and the USA go hand in hand because, in many ways, I feel like we are America’s greatest export." The quote sits at the center of the production, signaling that the documentary’s purpose is both historical and promotional — an account of the company’s rise presented as part of a national story.
Matt Braine directed WWE: Made in America. Levesque, Lee Fitting and Ben Houser serve as executive producers on behalf of WWE, with Brian Decker and Marc Pomarico as co‑executive producers. The special is scheduled as part of USA Network’s broader America 250 celebration and is timed to run on Memorial-week programming and patriotic air dates later this summer.
Industry reporting first disclosed the premiere date and WWE later confirmed it; USA Network’s placement of the hour directly after SmackDown gives the piece an audience funnel that will reach the core WWE television viewership. Encore presentations throughout June and on July 4 extend the reach beyond a single broadcast window, positioning the documentary as both event television and a promotional statement tied to national observance.
The friction in that scheduling is plain: the documentary promises to examine how WWE mirrored the American spirit across five decades while also functioning as a branded celebration produced and executive‑produced by company figures. The guest list — a mix of 1980s patriotic figures and contemporary stars — underscores the production’s attempt to claim continuity, but it also raises the question the film implicitly answers: whose version of "American spirit" is being told, and through what lens?
That question is the point. By pairing archival material with interviews from legacies and current names, and by putting the special on usa network during the America 250 run, WWE and the network are not merely recalling history; they are curating it. The scheduling, the roster of interviewees and the production credits make the intention plain: this is an organized effort to cement WWE’s place in a certain national narrative, and the documentary’s placement on May 29 with encores in June and on July 4 ensures that claim will reach both longtime fans and a broader patriotic audience.
