WWE

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to navigationJump to search

World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc.

WWE logo since August 2014

WWE headquarters in Stamford, Connecticut, in 2012

Trading name WWE

Formerly Titan Sports, Inc.

World Wrestling Federation, Inc.
World Wrestling Federation Entertainment,
Inc.

Type Public

 NYSE: WWE
Traded as
 S&P 400 component

ISIN US98156Q1085
Industry  Professional wrestling
 Sports entertainment
 Streaming media

Predecessor Capitol Wrestling Corporation Ltd.

Founded  January 7, 1952; 67 years ago

(as Capitol Wrestling Corporation Ltd.)[1]
 February 21, 1980; 39 years ago
(as Titan Sports, Inc.)

Founders  Jess McMahon

 Toots Mondt
(as Capitol Wrestling Corporation Ltd.)
 Linda McMahon
 Vince McMahon
(as Titan Sports, Inc.)

Headquarters 1241 East Main Street

Stamford, Connecticut 06902[2]
,
United States

Area served Worldwide

Key people  Vince McMahon

(Chairman and CEO)
 George Barrios[3]
(Co-President)
 Michelle D. Wilson[3]
(Co-President)

Products  Television
 Publishing
 Films
 Finance
 Music
 Merchandise
 Streaming network service
 Home video
 Live events

Services Licensing

Revenue US$729.2 million (2016)[4]

 Operating income US$55.6 million (2016)[4]

Net income US$33.8 million (2016)[4]

Total assets US$600.9 million (2016)[4]

Total equity US$239.7 million (2016)[4]

Owner Vince McMahon (42%)[5]

Number of employees approximately 800 (2016)[6]

Divisions Divisions[show]
[7]

Subsidiaries Subsidiaries[show]

Website www.wwe.com

World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., d/b/a WWE, is an American integrated media and
entertainment company[8][9] that is primarily known for professional wrestling. WWE has also
branched out into other fields, including movies, real estate, and various other business ventures.
The WWE name also refers to the professional wrestling promotion itself, founded by Jess
McMahon and Toots Mondt in 1952 as the Capitol Wrestling Corporation. As of 2019, it is the largest
wrestling promotion in the world, holding over 500 events a year, with the roster divided up into
various globally traveling brands,[10] and is available to about 36 million viewers in more than 150
countries. The company's global headquarters is located in Stamford, Connecticut, with offices in
major cities across the world.[11][12]
As in other professional wrestling promotions, WWE shows are not legitimate contests, but
purely entertainment-based, featuring storyline-driven, scripted, and choreographed matches,
though matches often include moves that can put performers at risk of injury if not performed
correctly. This was first publicly acknowledged by WWE's owner Vince McMahon in 1989 to avoid
taxes from athletic commissions. Since the 1980s, WWE publicly has branded their product
as sports entertainment, acknowledging the product's roots in competitive sport and dramatic
theater.
The company's majority owner is its chairman and CEO, Vince McMahon, who retains a 42%
ownership of the company's outstanding stock and 83% of the voting power.[5]
The current entity, incorporated on February 21, 1980, was previously known as Titan Sports, Inc.,
which was founded that same year in South Yarmouth, Massachusetts. It acquired Capitol Wrestling
Corporation Ltd., the holding company for the World Wrestling Federation, in 1982. Titan was
renamed World Wrestling Federation, Inc. in 1998, then World Wrestling Federation
Entertainment, Inc. in 1999, and finally the current World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. in 2002.
Since 2011, the company has officially branded itself solely as WWE though the company's legal
name was not changed.[13][14]

Contents

 1Company history
o 1.1Prior to Titan Sports
 o 1.2Titan Sports, Inc.
 1.2.1Golden Age
 1.2.2New Generation (1993–1997)
 1.2.3The Attitude Era (1997–2002)
o 1.3World Wrestling Federation, Inc. / World Wrestling Federation Entertainment, Inc.
 1.3.1Acquisition of WCW and ECW
o 1.4World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. / WWE
 1.4.1Brand extension
 1.4.1.1Original
 1.4.1.2Reunification
 1.4.1.3Second brand split
 2Terminology
 3WWE Network and distribution deals
 4WWE stock and corporate governance
 5Contracts
 6Wellness Program
 7Legal disputes and controversies
o 7.11990s drugs scandal
o 7.2Disputes with rival companies
o 7.3Owen Hart's death
o 7.4USA Network-Viacom programming bids
o 7.5WWF name dispute
o 7.6Harry Slash and the Slashstones lawsuit
o 7.7Ultimate Warrior related disputes
o 7.8Bullying and hazing allegations
o 7.9Domestic violence and criminal related issues
 8Expansion beyond wrestling
o 8.1Subsidiaries
 8.1.1Active
 8.1.2Defunct
o 8.2Tapout
o 8.3TSI Realty Co.
o 8.4Investments
o 8.5Charities
 9Partnerships
 10Championships and accomplishments
o 10.1Championships
 10.1.1Current
 10.1.1.1Raw
 10.1.1.2SmackDown
 10.1.1.3Unbranded
 10.1.1.4205 Live
 10.1.1.5NXT
 10.1.1.6NXT UK
 10.1.2Defunct
o 10.2Other accomplishments
 11References
 12External links

Company history
Main article: History of WWE
Prior to Titan Sports
Main article: Capitol Wrestling Corporation
WWE's origins can be traced back as far as 1952 when Roderick James "Jess" McMahon and Toots
Mondt created the Capitol Wrestling Corporation Ltd. (CWC),[15][16] which joined the National Wrestling
Alliance (NWA) in 1953.[17] McMahon, who was a successful boxing promoter, began working
with Tex Rickard in 1926. With the help of Rickard, he began promoting boxing and wrestling at the
third Madison Square Garden.[18]
In November 1954, McMahon died and Ray Fabiani, one of Mondt's associates, brought
in McMahon's son Vincent James.[19] The younger McMahon and Mondt were very successful and
soon controlled approximately 70% of the NWA's booking, largely due to their dominance in the
heavily populated Northeastern United States. In 1963, McMahon and Mondt had a dispute with the
NWA over "Nature Boy" Buddy Rogers being booked to hold the NWA World Heavyweight
Championship.[20] Both men left the company in protest and formed the WWWF in the process.[citation
needed]
Mondt left Capitol in the late 1960s and although the WWWF had withdrawn from the NWA,
Vince McMahon, Sr. quietly re-joined in 1971. Capitol renamed the World Wide Wrestling Federation
to the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) in 1979.[21]
Titan Sports, Inc.
Golden Age
Main article: 1980s professional wrestling boom

Vince McMahon, the owner, chairman and CEO of the WWE since 1980

Vincent J. McMahon's son, Vincent K. McMahon, and his wife Linda, established Titan Sports, Inc.,
in 1980 in South Yarmouth, Massachusetts.[22][23] The company was incorporated on February 21,
1980, in the Cape Cod Coliseum offices. The younger McMahon bought Capitol from his father in
1982, effectively seizing control of the company. Seeking to make the WWF the premier wrestling
promotion in the country, and eventually, the world, he began an expansion process that
fundamentally changed the wrestling business.[24]
At the annual meeting of the NWA in 1983, the McMahons and former Capitol employee Jim
Barnett all withdrew from the organization.[20] McMahon also worked to get WWF programming on
syndicated television all across the United States. This angered other promoters and disrupted the
well-established boundaries of the different wrestling promotions, eventually ending the territory
system, which was in use since the founding of the NWA in the 1940s. In addition, the company
used income generated by advertising, television deals, and tape sales to secure talent from rival
promoters.
In an interview with Sports Illustrated, McMahon noted:
In the old days, there were wrestling fiefdoms all over the country, each with its own little lord in
charge. Each little lord respected the rights of his neighboring little lord. No takeovers or raids were
allowed. There were maybe 30 of these tiny kingdoms in the U.S. and if I hadn't bought out my dad,
there would still be 30 of them, fragmented and struggling. I, of course, had no allegiance to those
little lords.[24]
McMahon gained significant traction when he hired American Wrestling Association (AWA)
talent Hulk Hogan, who had achieved popularity outside of wrestling, notably for his appearance in
the film Rocky III.[25]McMahon signed Roddy Piper as Hogan's rival, and then shortly afterward Jesse
Ventura as an announcer. Other wrestlers joined the roster, such as Jimmy Snuka, Don
Muraco, The Iron Sheik, Nikolai Volkoff, Junkyard Dog, Paul Orndorff, Greg Valentine, and Ricky
Steamboat. Many of the wrestlers who would later join the WWF were former AWA or NWA talent.
The WWF would tour nationally in a venture that would require a huge capital investment, one that
placed the WWF on the verge of financial collapse. The future of McMahon's experiment came down
to the success or failure of McMahon's groundbreaking concept, WrestleMania. WrestleMania was a
major success, and was (and still is) marketed as the Super Bowl of professional wrestling. The
concept of a wrestling supercard was nothing new in North America; the NWA had begun
running Starrcade a few years prior. In McMahon's eyes, however, what separated WrestleMania
from other supercards was that it was intended to be accessible to those who did not watch
wrestling. He invited celebrities such as Mr. T, Muhammad Ali, and Cyndi Lauper to participate in the
event, as well as securing a deal with MTV to provide coverage. The event and hype surrounding it
led to the term Rock 'n' Wrestling Connection, due to the cross-promotion of popular culture and
professional wrestling.
The WWF business expanded significantly on the shoulders of McMahon and his babyface hero
Hulk Hogan for the next several years. The introduction of Saturday Night's Main Event on NBC in
1985 marked the first time that professional wrestling had been broadcast on network television
since the 1950s, when the now-defunct DuMont Television Network broadcast matches of Vince
McMahon Sr.'s Capitol Wrestling Corporation. The 1980s "Wrestling Boom" peaked with
the WrestleMania III pay-per-view at the Pontiac Silverdome in 1987, which set an attendance
record of 93,173, a record that stood for 29 years until WrestleMania 32.[26] A rematch of the
WrestleMania III main event between WWF champion Hulk Hogan and André the Giant took place
on The Main Event in 1988 and was seen by 33 million people, the most-watched wrestling match in
North American television history.[27]
In 1985, Titan moved its offices to Stamford, Connecticut, though the current building was built in
1981. Subsequently, a new Titan Sports, Inc. (originally WWF, Inc.) was established in Delaware in
1987 and was consolidated with the Massachusetts entity in February 1988.[28]