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WWE, the more common terminology for World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc.,[7][8][9] is an American publicly traded, privately controlled entertainment company that deals primarily in professional wrestling, with major revenue sources also coming from film, music, product licensing and direct product sales.
The WWE also refers to the professional wrestling promotion itself, founded by Jess McMahon and Toots Mondt in 1952 as Capitol Wrestling Corporation, and, as of 2014, the largest in the world, holding approximately 320 televised and non-televised events a year, and broadcasting to about 36 million viewers in more than 150 countries.[10]
As in other professional wrestling promotions, WWE shows are not legitimate sporting contests, but purely entertainment-based, featuring storyline-driven, scripted and choreographed matches, though they often include moves that can put performers at risk of injury if not performed correctly. WWE first acknowledged this publicly in 1981, breaking the gentlemen's agreement that previously existed among promoters.[11]
Vince McMahon is the majority owner, chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of the company. Together with his wife Linda, children Shane and Stephanie, and son-in-law Paul Levesque (Known professionally as Triple H), the McMahon family holds approximately 70% of WWE's equity and 96% of the voting power in the company. As of August 2014, due to ongoing problems with the company, Eminence Capital, a New York based hedge fund, acquired 9.6% stake of WWE while the McMahon family retains 90.4% interest.[12]
The current entity was previously known as Titan Sports, Incorporated on February 21, 1980 which acquired Capitol Wrestling Corporation (the holding company for the World Wrestling Federation) in 1982 and later formed a separate corporation in Delaware that may have initially been called WWF, Inc. before being renamed Titan Sports, Inc. which is then legally merged the Massachusetts corporation. Titan was renamed World Wrestling Federation, Inc. in 1998, then World Wrestling Federation Entertainment, Inc. in 1999 and finally World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. in 2002. Since 2011, the company has officially branded itself solely as "WWE", which is no longer an initialism, though the company's legal name was not changed.[9][13] The company's headquarters are located in Stamford, Connecticut, with offices in New York City, Los Angeles, London, Shanghai, Tokyo, Singapore, Munich, Mumbai, and Mexico City.[14][15]
WWE's origins can trace back as far as 1952 when Roderick James "Jess" McMahon and Toots Mondt created the Capitol Wrestling Corporation Ltd. (CWC), which later joined the National Wrestling Alliance in 1953. McMahon, who was a successful boxing promoter, began working with Tex Rickard in 1926. With the help of Rickard, he began promoting boxing at the third Madison Square Garden. In November 1954, Jess McMahon died and Ray Fabiani, one of Mondt's associates, brought in Vincent James McMahon.[16] 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 Northeast region. In 1963, McMahon and Mondt left the NWA and Capitol created the World Wide Wrestling Federation (WWWF), following a dispute with the NWA over "Nature Boy" Buddy Rogers being booked to hold the NWA World Heavyweight Championship.[17] Both men left the company in protest following the incident and formed the WWWF in the process, awarding Rogers the new WWWF World Championship in April of that year. He lost the championship to Bruno Sammartino a month later on May 17, 1963, after suffering a heart attack a week before the match.
Capitol operated the WWWF in a conservative manner compared to other pro wrestling territories;[18] it ran its major arenas monthly rather than weekly or bi-weekly, usually featuring a babyface champion wrestling various heels in programs that consisted of one to three matches.[19] After gaining a television program deal and turning preliminary wrestler Lou Albano as a manager for Sammartino’s heel opponents, the WWWF was doing sell out business by 1970.
Mondt left Capitol in the late sixties and although the WWWF had withdrawn from the NWA, Vince McMahon, Sr. quietly re-joined in 1971. At the annual meeting of the NWA in 1983, the McMahons and Capitol employee
In June 2014, Connor's Cure[91] is a non-profit charitable organization established by Triple H and Stephanie McMahon, which they have personally funded through Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh Foundation named in honor of Pittsburgh native Connor Mason "The Crusher" Michalek (2005 - April 25, 2014) who passed away two months earlier from Medulloblastoma, a rare tumor that affects the brain and spinal cord.[92][93][94][94]
[90] Since 2012, WWE partners with
In addition to licensing wrestling and performers' likenesses to companies such as Acclaim, THQ/2K Sports, and Mattel to produce video games and action figures, WWE has moved into other areas of interest in order to market their product.
Starting with the 1,000th episode of Raw in July 2012, the WWF "scratch" logo is no longer censored in archival footage due to WWE reaching a new settlement with the World Wide Fund for Nature.[87] In addition, the WWF initials are no longer censored when spoken or when written in plain text in archival footage. Since then, full-length matches and other segments featuring the WWF initials and "scratch" logo have been added to the WWE website and the WWE Classics on Demand service. This also includes WWE Home Video releases since October 2012 starting with the re-release of Brock Lesnar: Here Comes The Pain.[88] In exchange, WWE is no longer permitted to use the WWF initials or logo in any new, original footage, packaging, or advertising, with any old-school logos for retro-themed programming now using the original WWF logo, but modified without the F.[89]
Following the name change, the use of the WWF "scratch" logo became prohibited on all WWE properties. Additionally, past references to the WWF trademark and initials in 'specified circumstances' became censored.[85] Despite the litigation, WWE was still permitted use of the original WWF logo, which was used from 1979 through 1994 and had been explicitly exempted under the 1994 agreement, as well as the similar "New WWF Generation" logo, which was used from 1994 through 1998. Furthermore, the company could still make use of the full "World Wrestling Federation" and "World Wrestling Federation Entertainment" names without consequence. In 2003, WWE won a limited decision to continue marketing certain classic video games from THQ and Jakks Pacific that contained the WWF "scratch" logo.[86] However, the packaging on those games had all WWF references replaced with WWE.
In 2000, the World Wide Fund for Nature sued World Wrestling Federation Entertainment Inc. in the United Kingdom, alleging various violations of the 1994 agreement.[84] The Court of Appeal agreed that the promotion company had violated the 1994 agreement, particularly in regards to merchandising. The last televised event to market the WWF logo was the UK based pay-per-view Insurrextion 2002. On May 5, 2002, the company launched its "Get The F Out" marketing campaign and changed all references on its website from "WWF" to "WWE", while switching the URL from WWF.com to WWE.com.[39] The next day, a press release announced the official name change from World Wrestling Federation Entertainment, Inc. to World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., or WWE, and the change was publicized later that day during a telecast of Monday Night Raw, which was broadcast from the Hartford Civic Center in Hartford, Connecticut.
In 1994, Titan Sports had entered into an agreement with the [83]
On September 13, 2010, WWE updated their list of banned substances to include muscle relaxers.[82]
Because of the Wellness Policy, physicians were able to diagnose one of its performers with a heart ailment that would otherwise likely have gone unnoticed until it was too late. In August 2007, then-reigning United States Champion Montel Vontavious Porter (real name Hassan Assad) was diagnosed with Wolff–Parkinson–White syndrome,[81] which can be potentially fatal if gone undiagnosed. The ailment was discovered while Assad was going through a routine Wellness Policy checkup.
In August 2007, the program was defended by WWE and its employees in the wake of several illegal pharmacy busts that linked WWE performers to steroid purchases even after the policy was put into place. Ten professional wrestlers were suspended for violating the Wellness Policy after reports emerged they were all customers of Signature Pharmacy in Orlando, Florida. According to a statement attributed to WWE attorney Jerry McDevitt, an eleventh wrestler was later added to the suspension list.[78][79][80]
After the double murder and suicide committed by one of its performers, Chris Benoit, with a possible link to steroids abuse encouraged by WWE, the United States House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform requested that WWE turn over any material regarding its talent wellness policy.[77]
The Talent Wellness Program is a comprehensive drug, alcohol, and cardiac screening program initiated in February 2006, shortly after the sudden death of one of their highest profile talents, 38 year-old Eddie Guerrero.[76] The policy tests for recreational drug use and abuse of prescription medication, including anabolic steroids.[76] Under the guidelines of the policy, talent is also tested annually for pre-existing or developing cardiac issues. The drug testing is handled by Aegis Sciences Corporation. The cardiac evaluations are handled by New York Cardiology Associates P.C.[76]
The World Wrestling Federation had a drug-testing policy in place as early as 1987, initially ran by an in-house administrator. In 1991, wrestlers were subjected to independent testings for anabolic steroids for the first time.[74] The independent testing was ceased in 1996.[75]
As of 2014, the company’s Board of Directors has eight members: Vince McMahon, the company’s Chairman of the Board and CEO; Stuart U. Goldfarb, President of Fullbridge, Inc.; Patricia A. Gottesman, former President and CEO of Crimson Hexagon; David Kenen, the former Executive Vice President of the Hallmark Channel; Joseph H. Perkins, former President of Communications Consultants; Frank A. Riddick, III, CEO of Shale-Inland Group, Inc.; Jeffrey R. Speed, former Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Six Flags; Laureen Ong, former President of Travel Channel[73]
Lemelson Capital Management criticized WWE's executive management for what it said was "a period of ongoing losses, execution failures and material misstatements."[61][62] Several hours after the firm's announcement, former Louisiana Attorney General Charles Foti announced that his law firm would begin an investigation into whether WWE had violated state or federal securities law.[63] The firm simultaneously announced that it had covered its short position and taken a stake in the company at the substantially lower price.[61][62][62][64] The Lemelson Capital report also was followed by broad criticism of WWE's management by financial media.[65][66][67][68][69][70][71][72]
In 2014, WWE's stock value underwent a significant correction, losing 63.1 percent, or $1.4 billion, of its market capitalization after Lemelson Capital Management, an investment management firm, released a report on March 17, 2014 saying the stock was substantially overvalued and should be shorted. In its short thesis[50] and again on April 8, 2014,[51] the firm criticized what it said were deficiencies in the company’s executive management team and announced that it was short WWE stock. The report placed fair value of WWE shares (which closed that day at $30.37) between $8.25 and $11.88.[50] Following release of the Lemelson Capital report, WWE’s stock price plummeted 63.1 percent over eight weeks, closing at $11.27 on May 16, 2014, representing a $1.4 billion loss in the company's market capitalization.[52][53][54][55][56][57][58][59][60]
The company has actively marketed itself as a publicly traded company through presentations at investor conferences and other investor relations initiatives.[47] In June 2003, the company began paying a dividend on its shares of $0.04 per share.[48] In June 2011, the company cut its dividend from $0.36 to $0.12.[49]
On October 19, 1999, WWF, which had been owned previously by parent company Titan Sports, launched an initial public offering as a publicly traded company, trading on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) with the issuance of stock then valued at $172.5 million.[35] The company has traded on the NYSE since its launch under ticker symbol WWE.[36]
On February 24, 2014, WWE launched a 24/7 streaming network. The network includes past and present WWE shows, pay-per-views, and shows from the WWE Library.[46]
In 2013, the company built a sports medicine and training center in east Orange County, Florida in partnership with Full Sail University in Winter Park, Florida. The training facility is targeted at career development for wrestlers and athletic development.[45]
In July 2012, a lawsuit was filed by composer James D. Papa against WWE Music Group, Michael Hayes, and Jim Johnston over the use of some music from World Championship Wrestling citing redirected royalty payments to several wrestling related songs he either wrote or co-wrote by securing the rights to music unlawfully.[43] It was then settled in May 2014 before the March 23, 2015 trial date.[44]
Beginning with the August 29, 2011, episode of Raw, it was announced that Raw would feature talent from both Raw and SmackDown, and would be known as Raw Supershow (the "Supershow" suffix would be dropped on July 23, 2012). Championships previously exclusive to one show or the other were available for wrestlers from any show to compete for; the "Supershow" format would mark the end of the brand extension, as all programming and live events since the initial announcement was made have featured the full WWE roster.[42]
In March 2002, WWE decided to create two separate rosters, Raw and SmackDown due to the overabundance of talent left over from the Invasion storyline. This was dubbed as the WWE Brand Extension. Despite much of the originally drafted talent departing by 2004, WWE continued to separate the shows, taking on younger talent, and holding a Draft Lottery every year. On May 26, 2006, WWE announced the relaunch of Extreme Championship Wrestling as a WWE brand. The new ECW program aired until February 16, 2010.[41]
On April 7, 2011, WWE corporate announced that the company was ceasing use of the full name "World Wrestling Entertainment" and would henceforth refer to itself solely as "WWE", making the latter an orphan initialism. This was said to reflect WWE's global entertainment expansion away from the ring with the ultimate goal of acquiring entertainment companies and putting a focus on television, live events, and film production. WWE noted that their new company model was put into effect with the relaunch of Tough Enough, being a non–scripted program (contrary to the scripted nature of professional wrestling) and with the launch of the WWE Network (at the time scheduled to launch in 2012; later pushed back to 2014). However, the legal name of the company remains as "World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc."[13]
Harry "Slash" Grivas and Roderick Kohn had filed a lawsuit against the WWE in June 2003 due to the music being used for its programming and DVDs without consent or payment. It also stated that the rights to original music used by Extreme Championship Wrestling that WWE had been using also during the Invasion storyline of 2001. The case was resolved on both sides with a settlement that saw WWE purchase the catalogue outright in January 2005.[40]
On May 5, 2002, World Wrestling Federation Entertainment announced it was changing both its company name and the name of its wrestling promotion to World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). Although mainly caused by an unfavorable ruling in its dispute with the World Wide Fund for Nature regarding the "WWF" initialism, the company noted it provided an opportunity to emphasize its focus on entertainment.[39]
By the fall of 1999, The Attitude Era had turned the tide of the Monday Night Wars into WWF's favor. After Time Warner merged with AOL, Ted Turner's control over WCW was considerably reduced, and the newly merged company announced a complete lack of interest in professional wrestling as a whole, and decided to sell WCW in its entirety. Although Eric Bischoff, whom Time Warner fired as WCW president in October 1999, was nearing a deal to purchase the company, in March 2001 McMahon acquired the rights to WCW's trademarks, tape library, contracts and other properties from AOL Time Warner for a number reported to be around $7 million.[37] Shortly after WrestleMania X-Seven, the WWF launched the ill-fated Invasion storyline integrating the incoming talent roster from WCW and Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW). With this purchase, WWF now became by far the largest wrestling promotion in the world. The assets of ECW, which had folded after filing for bankruptcy protection in April 2001, were purchased by WWE in mid-2003.[38]
On October 19, 1999, World Wrestling Federation, Inc. launched an initial public offering as a publicly traded company, trading on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) with the issuance of stock then valued at $172.5 million.[35] The company has traded on the NYSE since its launch under ticker symbol WWE.[36]
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—competing directly with WCW's Thursday-night program Thunder on TBS. 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.[33] The league had 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 prime-time 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 being unable to reach a deal with UPN, McMahon shut down the XFL.[34]
On May 6, 1998, Titan Sports, Inc. was renamed World Wrestling Federation, Inc. It was renamed World Wrestling Federation Entertainment, Inc. a year later.
Prior to the Montreal Screwjob which took place at the 1997 Survivor Series, former WCW talent were being hired by the WWF, including Stone Cold Steve Austin, Mankind and Vader. Steve Austin was slowly brought in as the new face of the company despite being promoted as an anti-hero, starting with his Austin 3:16 speech shortly after defeating Jake Roberts in the tournament finals at the King of the Ring pay-per-view in 1996.[32]
1997 ended with McMahon facing real-life controversy following Bret Hart's controversial departure from the company, later known as the Montreal Screwjob.[31] This proved to be one of several founding factors in the launch of the Attitude Era as well as the creation of McMahon's on-screen character, "Mr. McMahon".
As the Monday Night Wars continued between Monday Night Raw and WCW's Monday Nitro, the WWF would transform itself from a family-friendly product into a more adult oriented product, known as The Attitude Era. The era was spearheaded by Vince McMahon and head writer Vince Russo, who drastically changed the way professional wrestling television was written.
In January 1993, the WWF broke new ground in televised professional wrestling with the debut of its cable program WWF Monday Night Raw. After becoming a runaway success, WCW countered in May 1995 with its own Monday night program, WCW Monday Nitro, which broadcast in the same timeslot as Raw.[29] The two programs would trade wins in the ensuing ratings competition (known as the "Monday Night Wars") until mid-1996. At this point, WCW expanded Monday Nitro to three hours and began a nearly two-year domination that was largely fueled by the introduction of The New World Order (nWo), a stable led by former WWF performers Hulk Hogan, Scott Hall (the former Razor Ramon), and Kevin Nash (the former Diesel).[30]
The WWF was hit with allegations of steroid abuse and distribution in 1992 and was followed by allegations of sexual harassment by WWF employees the following year.[28] McMahon was eventually exonerated, but it was a public relations nightmare for the WWF. The steroid trial cost the company an estimated $5 million at a time when revenues were at an all-time low. This helped drive many WWF wrestlers to the only major competition at the time, World Championship Wrestling (WCW), including former WWF Champion Hulk Hogan. During this period, the WWF promoted itself under the banner of "The New WWF Generation", featuring Shawn Michaels, Diesel, Razor Ramon, Bret Hart and The Undertaker, in an effort to promote and push young talent into the spotlight.
In 1985, Titan moved its offices to its present location in Stamford, Connecticut, before the present building was built nearby in 1991. 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.[27]
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 WrestleMania III at the Pontiac Silverdome in 1987, which set an attendance record of 93,173, a record that still stands today.[25] A rematch of the Wrestlemania III main event between WWF champion Hulk Hogan and André the Giant took place on The Main Event soon after and was seen by 33 million people, the most-watched wrestling match in North American television history.[26]
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 pay-per-view success, and was (and still is) marketed as the Super Bowl of professional wrestling. However, the concept of a wrestling supercard was nothing new in North America; the NWA had been 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 pop-culture and professional wrestling.
McMahon gained significant traction when he hired AWA talent Hulk Hogan, who had achieved popularity outside of wrestling, notably for his appearance in Rocky III as Thunderlips.[24] McMahon signed Roddy Piper as Hogan's rival, and then shortly afterward signed Jesse Ventura. Other wrestlers joined the roster, such as Jimmy Snuka, The Magnificent Muraco, The Iron Sheik, Nikolai Volkoff, Junkyard Dog, Paul Orndorff, Greg Valentine and Ricky Steamboat.
Upon taking over Capitol, McMahon immediately 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. 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:
The son of Vincent J. McMahon, Vincent K. McMahon along with his wife Linda McMahon, founded Titan Sports, Inc, originally in Massachusetts in 1979,[21][22] and 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 world, he began an expansion process that fundamentally changed the industry.[23] At the same time, it was initially headquartered in Greenwich, Connecticut.
[20] Capitol then renamed the World Wide Wrestling Federation to the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) in 1979.[17]
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