World Wrestling Entertainment
World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. (
WWE) is a publicly traded
integrated media (focusing in
television,
internet, and live events),
sports, and
entertainment company dealing primarily in the
professional wrestling industry, with major revenue sources also coming from
movies,
music, product licensing, and direct product sales.
Vincent K. McMahon is the
owner and
Chairman of the company and his wife
Linda McMahon holds the position of
Chief Executive Officer (CEO). Together with their children, Executive Vice President of Global Media
Shane McMahon and Senior Vice President of Creative Writing
Stephanie McMahon-Levesque, the McMahons hold approximately 70% of WWE's economic interest and 96% of all voting power in the company. The company's global headquarters are located at 1241 East Main Street in
Stamford, Connecticut, with international offices in
Los Angeles,
New York City,
London, and
Toronto. The company was previously known as Titan Sports, Inc. before changing to World Wrestling Federation Entertainment, Inc., and most recently becoming World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc.
Professional wrestling is the company's main business module. WWE is currently the largest
professional wrestling promotion in the world, and holds an
extensive library of videos representing a significant portion of the visual history of professional wrestling. The promotion has previously existed as the Capitol Wrestling Corporation, preceded by the World Wide Wrestling Federation (WWWF), then the World Wrestling Federation (WWF). WWE has three brands splitting the full WWE roster;
RAW,
SmackDown! and
ECW. WWE is also home to three of the eight
internationally recognized world titles.
WWE's revenue in
fiscal 2006 (from
May 2005 to
April 2006) was approximately $400 million (US), with a net profit of approximately $47 million. As of May 2006, the company's
market capitalization is over $1 billion (US). Its stock is traded on the
NYSE as
WWE.
The beginning/Capitol Wrestling
Roderick James "Jess" McMahon was a boxing promoter whose achievements included co-promoting a boxing match in 1915 between
Jess Willard and
Jack Johnson. In 1925, while working with
Tex Rickard (who, ironically, despised wrestling to such a degree he prevented wrestling events from being held in Madison Square Garden between 1939 and 1948), he started promoting boxing in Madison Square Garden in New York. The first match during their partnership was a light-heavyweight championship match between
Jack Delaney and
Paul Berlenbach.
Around the same time, former professional wrestler
Joseph Raymond "Toots" Mondt had a revolutionary concept. He decided to take wrestling to a higher level, bringing it out of back alleys and rough areas into sporting arenas. He also made wrestling more exciting, with his "Slam Bang Western Style Wrestling." His next move was to form a promotion with Ed Lewis and Billy Sandow. They persuaded a lot of wrestlers to sign up contracts with the newly named 'Gold Dust Trio'. They also were the group that developed the concept of working. Of course that changed the course of professional wrestling history forever.
Eventually the trio dissolved and the promotion did also, after a disagreement over power. Mondt formed partnerships with several promoters. When Jack Curley was dying, Mondt knew that New York wrestling would fall apart. Realizing this he gained help from several bookers, one of these being Jess McMahon.
Together Jess and Mondt created the
Capitol Wrestling Corporation (CWC). There is not a lot of information on the early days of the CWC, but it is known that it joined the
National Wrestling Alliance in 1953.
In 1953, Ray Fabiani, one of Mondt's other associates, brought in
Vincent J. McMahon. He replaced his father Jess in 1953.
McMahon and Mondt were a great combination. Within a short time, they controlled around 70% of the NWA's booking, largely due to their dominance in the heavily populated Northeast. Considering what a landmark organization the NWA was, that is a considerable achievement. Mondt taught McMahon about booking and how to work in the wrestling industry.
World Wide Wrestling Federation
The NWA recognized an undisputed
NWA World Heavyweight Champion that went from wrestling company to wrestling company in the alliance and defended the belt around the world. In 1963, the champion was
"Nature Boy" Buddy Rogers.
The rest of the NWA was unhappy with Mondt because he rarely allowed Rogers to wrestle outside of the Northeast. Mondt and McMahon wanted Rogers to keep the NWA World Championship, but Rogers was unwilling to sacrifice his
$25,000 deposit on the belt (title holders at the time had to pay a deposit to insure they would honor their commitments as champion). Rogers lost the NWA World Championship to
Lou Thesz in a one-fall match in Toronto, Ontario on
January 24,
1963, which led to Mondt, McMahon and the CWC leaving the NWA in protest, creating the
World Wide Wrestling Federation (WWWF) in the process.
In mid-April, Rogers was awarded the new WWWF World Championship following an
apocryphal tournament in
Rio de Janeiro. he lost the title to
Bruno Sammartino a month later on
May 17, 1963 after supposedly suffering a heart attack shortly before the match.
Mondt left the company in the late sixties for unclear reasons, probably due to old age.
The WWWF rejoined NWA in 1971. This meant that the WWWF World Heavyweight Championship was downgraded (was no longer a world title) and was renamed the WWWF Heavyweight Title, though the champs during this NWA Membership the WWWF Champions were recognized World Champions retroactive by WWE today.
In March 1979, the WWWF became the World Wrestling Federation (WWF). The change was purely cosmetic, and the ownership and front office personnel remained unchanged during this period.
World Wrestling Federation
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The World Wrestling Federation logo (1984 - 1994) |
In 1980, the son of Vincent J. McMahon,
Vincent K. McMahon, founded Titan Sports, Inc. and in 1982 purchased Capitol Sports from his father. The elder McMahon had long since established the northeastern territory as one of the most vibrant members of the NWA. He had long since recognized that professional wrestling was more about
entertainment than actual sport. Against his father's wishes, McMahon began an expansion process that would fundamentally change the sport, and place both the WWF - and his own life - in jeopardy.
Leaving the NWA for a second time in itself was not that big of a step; the
American Wrestling Association (AWA) had long ago ceased being an official NWA member, and just over a decade earlier the WWWF itself had rejoined the NWA. But in neither instance did the defecting member attempt to undermine, and destroy, the
territory system that had been the foundation of the industry for more than half a century.
Other promoters were furious when McMahon began syndicating WWF television shows to
television stations across the
United States, in areas outside of the WWF's traditional northeastern stronghold. McMahon also began selling
videotapes of WWF events outside the Northeast through his
Coliseum Video distribution company. He effectively broke the unwritten law of regionalism around which the entire industry had been based. To make matters worse, McMahon would use the income generated by advertising, television deals, and tape sales to poach talent from rival promoters. Wrestling promoters nationwide were now in direct competition with the WWF.
According to several reports, the elder McMahon warned his son: "Vinny, what are you doing? You'll wind up at the bottom of a river." In spite of such warnings, the younger McMahon had an even bolder ambition: the WWF would tour nationally. However, such a venture required huge capital investment; one that placed the WWF on the verge of financial collapse.
The future of not just McMahon's experiment, but also the WWF, the NWA, and the whole industry came down to the success or failure of McMahon's groundbreaking concept,
WrestleMania. WrestleMania was a
pay-per-view extravaganza (in some areas; most areas of the country saw WrestleMania available on
closed-circuit television) that McMahon marketed as being the
Super Bowl of professional wrestling.
The concept of a wrestling super card was nothing new in North America; the NWA had been running
StarrCade a few years prior to WrestleMania, and even the elder McMahon had marketed large
Shea Stadium cards viewable in closed-circuit locations. However, McMahon wanted to take the WWF to the mainstream, targeting the public who were not regular wrestling fans. He drew the interest of the mainstream media by inviting celebrities such as
Mr. T and
Cyndi Lauper to participate in the event.
MTV, in particular, featured a great deal of WWF coverage and programming at this time, in what was termed the
Rock 'n' Wrestling Connection.
The Golden Age
The original
WrestleMania, held in 1985, was a resounding success. This event is sometimes credited as the debut of what McMahon called "sports entertainment." However, as mentioned above, his father had emphasized pro wrestling's entertainment value some years before. The WWF did incredible business on the shoulders of McMahon and his all-American
babyface hero,
Hulk Hogan, for the next several years, creating what some observers dubbed a second golden age for professional wrestling. However, by the 1990s the WWF's fortunes steadily declined as fans were tired of Hulk Hogan's ability to beat anyone and everyone whenever he wanted.
The New Generation
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The World Wrestling Federation logo (1995 - 1998) |
The WWF hit a low point in the wake of allegations of steroid abuse and distribution made against McMahon and the WWF in 1994; there were also allegations of
sexual harassment made by WWF employees. McMahon was eventually exonerated, but it was a public relations nightmare for the WWF. The
steroid trial cost the WWF an estimated $5 million at a time when revenues were at an all-time low. To compensate, McMahon cut the pay of both wrestlers and front office personnel - close to 40% in the latter case (and about 50% for top level managers such as Bobby Heenan and Jimmy Hart, who both left). This helped drive many WWF wrestlers to its only major competition,
WCW, between 1994 and 1996. During this time period, WWF promoted itself as "The New WWF Generation." Unlike the past, this was led by
Shawn Michaels,
Diesel,
Razor Ramon,
Bret Hart, and
The Undertaker.
The Attitude Era
Starting with
Stone Cold Steve Austin's speech, shortly after defeating
Jake "The Snake" Roberts of the KOTR finals at the 1996
King of the Ring PPV, the WWF moved away from its "family era" and began broadcasting more violence,
swearing, and more edgy angles in its attempt to compete with
WCW. After
Bret Hart left for WCW following the infamous
Montreal Screwjob incident, Vince McMahon used the resulting backlash in the creation of his "Mr. McMahon" character, a dictatorial and fierce ruler who favored
heels who were "good for business" over "misfit" faces like Austin. This, in turn, led to the Austin vs. McMahon feud, which, along with the formation of
D-Generation X, laid the foundation for the Attitude Era. The Attitude Era also featured the established
Monday Night Wars, where both WCW and the WWF had Monday night shows that competed against each other in the ratings.
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The World Wrestling Federation logo (1998 - 2002). This is the logo which WWE is prohibited from using after its agreement with the conservation organization WWF. |
=Business Advances
=On
April 29,
1999, the WWF made its return to
terrestrial television by launching a special program known as
SmackDown! on the fledgling
UPN network. The Thursday-night show became a weekly series on
August 26,
1999.
On the back of the success of the Attitude Era, on
October 19,
1999 the WWF's parent company, Titan Sports (by this time renamed World Wrestling Federation Entertainment, Inc.) became a publicly traded company, offering 10 million shares priced at $17 each. WWF announced its desire to diversify, including creating
a nightclub in Times Square,
producing feature films, and book publishing.
In 2000 the WWF, in collaboration with television network
NBC, announced the creation of the
XFL, a new professional
football league that debuted in 2001. The league had surprisingly high ratings for the first few weeks, but initial interest waned and its ratings plunged to dismally low levels (one of its games was the lowest-rated primetime show in the history of American television). NBC walked out on the venture after only one season, but McMahon intended to continue alone. However, after UPN demanded that SmackDown! be cut by half an hour, McMahon shut down the XFL.
Acquisition of WCW and ECW
With the success of
the Attitude Era, WCW's already shaky financial situation deteriorated even further. It only survived because
Ted Turner retained control over it as a result of
Turner Broadcasting System's merger with
Time Warner. However, after Time Warner merged with
AOL, Turner's power was considerably reduced, and the newly merged company decided to get out of the wrestling business. In March 2001, WWF Entertainment, Inc. acquired WCW from AOL Time Warner for $3 million.
Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW), which was at one point the number three promotion in North America after WWF and WCW, folded around the same time, with its assets being purchased by WWFE in October 2001. With this purchase, WWF became the largest professional wrestling promotion in the world, and virtually the only wrestling promotion in North America.
World Wrestling Entertainment
In
2000, the
World Wildlife Fund (also WWF), an environmental organization now called the World Wide Fund for Nature, sued McMahon and WWFE. A British court agreed that Titan Sports had violated a
1994 agreement not to use the WWF initials outside
North America. On
May 5 2002, the company quietly changed all references on its website from "WWF" to "WWE", while switching the
url from
wwf.com to
wwe.com. On
May 6 2002, a press release announced the official name change to World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., or WWE, and the change was publicized later that day during a telecast of
Monday Night Raw. For a short time, WWE used the slogan "Get The 'F' Out".
In April 2002, about a month before the name change, WWE decided to create two separate rosters, one on
RAW, the other on
SmackDown! due to the overabundance of talent left over from the
Invasion storyline (which involved talent from the absorbed ECW and WCW rosters interacting in WWF storylines). This is known as the
WWE Brand Extension. Following the Brand Extension, a yearly
Draft Lottery was instituted to exchange members of each roster and generally refresh the lineups.
On
May 26 2006, WWE revived Extreme Championship Wrestling as its third brand. The
new ECW program airs Tuesday nights, on the
Sci Fi Channel.
Current champions
| Brand | Championship | Current champion(s) | Held since | | RAW | WWE Champion | Edge | July 3, 2006 |
| WWE Intercontinental Champion | Johnny Nitro | June 25, 2006 |
| WWE Women's Champion | Mickie James | April 2, 2006 |
| World Tag Team Champions | Spirit Squad (Kenny, Johnny, Mitch, Nicky, and Mikey) | April 3, 2006 |
| SmackDown! | World Heavyweight Champion | King Booker | July 23, 2006
|
style="background: #EEEEFF;"| WWE United States Champion | Finlay | July 11, 2006
(aired July 14, 2006) |
| WWE Cruiserweight Champion | Gregory Helms | January 29, 2006 |
| WWE Tag Team Champions | Paul London and Brian Kendrick | May 21, 2006 |
| ECW | ECW World Heavyweight Champion | Big Show | July 4, 2006 |
† All five members of the Spirit Squad are recognized as the World Tag Team Champions, and any two members can defend the title. This type of title defense is known as the
Freebird Rule.
Accomplishments
Current developmental champions
Defunct championships and accomplishments
*
WWE Undisputed Championship (2001-2002)
*
WWE Hardcore Championship (1998-2002)
*
WWE European Championship (1997-2002)
*
WWF Light Heavyweight Championship (1981-2001)
*
WWF North American Championship (1979-1981)
*
WWWF United States Championship (1970-1976)
*
WWWF United States Tag Team Championship (1963-1967)
*
WWF Women's Tag Team Championship (1983-1989)
*
WWF International Heavyweight Championship (1959-1963, 1982-1985)
*
WWF International Tag Team Championship (1969-1985)
*
WWF Junior Heavyweight Championship (1967-1985)
*
WWF Intercontinental Tag Team Championship (1991)
*
WWF Million Dollar Championship (1989-1992, 1995-1996)
*
WWF New Japan Martial Arts Championship (1978-1985)
*
OVW Hardcore Championship (2000-2001)
*
OVW Light Heavyweight Championship (1999-2001)
*
World Wrestling Entertainment alumni*
World Wrestling Entertainment roster*
Ohio Valley Wrestling *
Deep South Wrestling, LLC *
List of WWE pay-per-view events*
List of video games based on licensed properties*
WWE Draft Lottery*
WWE Hall of Fame*
WWE programs*
WWE Films*
WWE Diva Search*
WWE Tough Enough*
2006 WWE television ratings*
WWE TV Schedules*
Official WWE website*
Official WWE Corporate website*
WWE Stock
