WWE
| World Wrestling Entertainment logo | |
| Acronym | WWE |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1953 |
| Style | American Wrestling |
| Headquarters | Stamford, Connecticut |
| Founder(s) | Vincent J. McMahon |
| Owner(s) | Vince McMahon Linda McMahon |
| Formerly | NWA Capitol Sports Capitol Wrestling Corporation World Wide Wrestling Federation World Wrestling Federation |
World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., or WWE, is a professional wrestling promotion, currently the largest in North America. The company was previously known as TitanSports, Inc. and has previously done business as the Capitol Wrestling Corporation, the World Wide Wrestling Federation (WWWF), and the World Wrestling Federation (WWF).
World Wrestling Entertainment is a publicly-traded company, but 70% of voting shares are owned by Chairman Vince McMahon, his wife, CEO Linda McMahon, his son, Executive Vice President of Global Media Shane McMahon, and his daughter, Vice President of Creative Writing Stephanie McMahon-Levesque. As of 2005, the headquarters of World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. are located in Stamford, Connecticut at 1241 East Main Street.
Early history
In 1915, Roderick James "Jess" McMahon, grandfather of current WWE Chairman Vince McMahon, co-promoted a boxing match between Jess Willard and Jack Johnson. In the fight, on April 5, 1915, Johnson lost his title to Willard in Havana. A decade later, in 1925, McMahon joined Tex Rickard in promoting boxing events from the old Madison Square Garden, in New York, starting with the December 11, 1925, light-heavyweight championship match between Jack Delaney and Paul Berlenbach. Jess McMahon's enterprise focused on boxing and live concert/music promotion.
It was not until 1935, coincidentally the same year Jim Crockett Promotions was formed, that the McMahon family moved into the wrestling business. His son, Vincent Jess McMahon, began to take an increasing role in the running of the business, especially on the wrestling side. However, the McMahon family was not able to promote wrestling matches at Madison Square Garden due to Rickard's dislike of the sport.
This "no wrestling at the Garden" policy ended in 1948, when Joseph Raymond "Toots" Mondt, backed by millionaire Bernarr McFadden, managed to promote a wrestling show at the famous arena. Mondt's doing so was facilitated, in part, by the elder McMahon. Ray Fabiani, who helped Mondt take control of the New York territory after the death of Jack Curley, was influential in drawing the younger McMahon into an alliance with Mondt.
World Wide Wrestling Federation
In 1963, "Nature Boy" Buddy Rogers was the NWA World Heavyweight Champion and his bookings were controlled by Mondt. The rest of the NWA was unhappy with Mondt because he rarely allowed Rogers to wrestle outside of the Northeast, which led to Mondt and the CWC leaving the NWA, creating the World Wide Wrestling Federation (WWWF) in the process. Mondt and the WWWF wanted Rogers to keep the NWA Championship, but Rogers was unwilling to sacrifice his $25,000 deposit on the belt (titleholders at the time had to pay a deposit to ensure they would honor their commitments as champion). Rogers lost the NWA Championship to Lou Thesz in Toronto, Ontario on January 24, 1963.
In mid-April, Rogers was awarded the new WWWF 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. After Mondt (born in 1886) died in 1976, the WWWF became the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) in mid-1979. The name change was purely cosmetic; the ownership and front office personnel remained unchanged during this period.
World Wrestling Federation
In 1980, Vincent K. McMahon founded Titan Sports, Inc., and in 1982 purchased the WWF from his father, Vincent J. McMahon. After discovering at age 12 that the wrestling promoter was his father, Vince became steadily involved in his father's wrestling business until the latter was ready to retire. The elder McMahon had already established the northeastern territory as one of the most vibrant members of the NWA by recognizing that pro wrestling was more about entertainment than 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 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.
Other promoters were furious when McMahon began syndicating WWF shows to stations across America. 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, Vincent Sr. 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 which 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 sports entertainment concept, WrestleMania. WrestleMania was a pay-per-view extravaganza (in some areas; most areas of the country saw WrestleMania available on Closed Circuit TV) that McMahon marketed as being the Super Bowl of professional wrestling.
The concept of a wrestling supercard 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 general 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
Vince's marketing strategies became an almost immediate success. Touring nationally was seen as a much better idea to see a star-studded line-up rather than go to a local event and see one main attraction as NWA's territory system worked. Vince thought big, and it certainly paid off.
During this era, everyone on the roster was well known. Anybody who wasn't was a jobber. Just about everyone on the roster could be in line for a shot at the world or intercontinental title.
Success was driven by home-grown characters like Hulk Hogan, Ultimate Warrior, Randy Savage, Ted DiBiase, Roddy Piper, André the Giant, King Kong Bundy, among plenty of others. But the real story of the Golden Age was "Hulkamania".
Hulkamania
On January 23, 1984, Hulk Hogan pinned The Iron Sheik to win his first WWF Championship. Vince McMahon's "Hulkamania" marketing strategy had been launched and gained almost immediate success. Hulk Hogan played the role of an honest and courageous hero, encouraging children to "train, say their prayers and take their vitamins".
Hogan would remain WWF Champion for four years and 13 days, overcoming such challengers as André the Giant, "Mr. Wonderful" Paul Orndorff, Rowdy Roddy Piper and King Kong Bundy, drawing record houses, PPV buyrates and TV ratings in the process. He co-hosted Saturday Night Live on March 30, 1985 and even had his own CBS Saturday morning cartoon during this lucrative run, titled Hulk Hogan's Rock 'n Wrestling, in which he was voiced by Brad Garrett.
On March 31, 1985, the inaugural WrestleMania took place at Madison Square Garden, featuring Hogan in a tag team main event, with Mr. T his partner. Hogan would go on to headline the first nine WrestleManias, from 1985 to 1993.
Macho Madness
"Macho Man" Randy Savage was one of the most popular WWF Superstars of the 1980's. Along with Hulk Hogan, Savage was one half of the Mega Powers. Savage would enjoy tremendous success in the WWF during the 1980's but would follow Hogan to WCW in 1994. Today, Savage had recorded a rap album aimed at Hulk Hogan in an attempt to raise money for charity. If he can patch differences with Vince McMahon, Savage is a sure contender for a position in the WWE Hall of Fame.
A decline in success
The new formula of what McMahon deemed Sports Entertainment was a resounding financial success at the original WrestleMania. 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 tired of Hulk Hogan's act and circus-like wrestling gimmicks (such as a clown and animal mascots).
The WWF hit a low point in the wake of allegations of steroid abuse and distribution against McMahon and the WWF in 1994; there were also allegations of sexual harassment by WWF employees. McMahon was eventually exonerated, but it was a public-relations debacle 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 wrestler's and front office personnel's pay, close to 40 percent in the later case. This helped drive many WWF wrestlers to WCW during the 1994-96 period.
Monday Night Wars
Under Eric Bischoff, World Championship Wrestling (WCW), the new name for NWA superterritory Jim Crockett Promotions after its purchase by Ted Turner, began using its tremendous financial resources to lure established talent away from the WWF. Beginning in 1994, these acquisitions included Hulk Hogan, "Macho Man" Randy Savage, Lex Luger, as well as Scott Hall and "Big Sexy" Kevin Nash in 1996 along with many others. In 1995, Bischoff upped the ante, creating WCW Monday Nitro, a cable show on Turner's TNT network, to directly compete with the WWF's flagship show, WWF Monday Night RAW. Eventually, on the strength of its newly-acquired WWF talent and the groundbreaking nWo storyline, WCW overtook the WWF in television ratings and popularity.
McMahon responded by stating that he could create new superstars to regain the upper hand in the ratings war, and at the same time tightening contracts to make it harder for WCW to raid WWF talent. Shawn Michaels and Bret Hart were elevated to the top of the card, gaining popularity based mostly on the excellence of their in-ring abilities, a far departure from the Hogan era. Despite this, the WWF was losing money at a rapid rate. WCW's reality-based storylines drew attention away from the WWF's outdated (and childish) rock and wrestling-era gimmicks.
In 2004, WWE published a DVD entitled The Monday Night War, which chronicles the monumental battle between the two organizations for ratings supremacy.
The Montreal Screwjob
The WWF/WCW feud reached a new heights in 1996, when WCW offered a contract to Bret "The Hitman" Hart worth up to a reported nine million dollars over the course of three years. The WWF and Vince McMahon countered with an offer worth much less, but for a much longer period of time, with greater creative control. Bret Hart took the offer, but after several months of financial hardship and sharply falling profits, McMahon alerted Hart of the situation prior to Hart's showdown with Micheals in Montreal, and allowed him to re-open negotiations with WCW. Despite a great sense of loyalty to the WWF, Hart took WCW's offer and was set to appear on their programming by the end of 1997.
While Hart's departure was not a surprise, the WWF was concerned about the fact that the man about to leave was the WWF Champion. Earlier in the WWF/WCW feud, the WWF Women's Champion, Alundra Blayze, signed with WCW while in possession of the belt and threw it in a trash can on WCW Nitro (imitating a heavily-publicized act by heavyweight boxing champion Riddick Bowe). The WWF's worst nightmare was for Hart to appear on WCW Nitro while wearing the WWF belt. Bret promised that no such thing would ever happen and put an agreement in place that the announcement of his departure would be delayed until the belt could be transitioned to a new champion. However, McMahon was concerned that the word would get out and he sought a way to get the belt off of Hart before the deal could be announced on WCW Monday Nitro.
Hart used his contractual control over his booking in the last 30 days of his deal, which would end with that year's Survivor Series PPV in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. He let it be known to WWF management that he would willingly drop the title, but not to rival "HBK" Shawn Michaels in Montreal. McMahon would deviate from the agreed finish of their match at Survivor Series to allow Shawn Michaels to win the title from Hart. During the match Shawn Michaels put Bret Hart in a Sharpshooter, which Hart was in the process of countering when the referee Earl Hebner, under instruction from Vince McMahon, told the timekeepers to ring the bell to end the match and announced Michaels the winner. Bret Hart was so infuriated at the fake victory he literally spat in McMahon's eye before leaving the ring. This event set the stage for the turning point in the WWF/WCW feud.
McMahon used the backlash from the event to cast himself as the evil company owner "Mr. McMahon" in WWF programming, a dictatorial ruler who favored heel wrestlers who were "good for business" over "misfits" like Stone Cold Steve Austin. This led to the Austin vs. McMahon feud, which was the cornerstone of the new WWF Attitude concept.
WWF Attitude
Running with the momentum from the Montreal Screwjob, McMahon, along with head writer Vince Russo, took the WWF in an edgier, reality-based direction he called WWF Attitude, and in the process created a new corporate logo. Borrowing many of the exciting wrestling and storyline styles from then-insurgent wrestling promotion ECW, the WWF Attitude Era was based largely on the growing popularity of the wrestler Stone Cold Steve Austin. Popular with the fans ever since winning the King of the Ring tournament as a heel in 1996, Austin's rough-and-redneck style won over enough fans that the WWF was forced to turn him into a fan favorite at WrestleMania 13 in spring 1997 (in a rare double-switch in which Bret Hart turned heel after a legendary match between the two wrestlers). During the summer and fall of 1997, Austin enhanced his status as a rebel willing to challenge any authority by giving his Stone Cold Stunner finishing move to WWF announcer Jim Ross, then-Commissioner Sgt. Slaughter, and eventually WWF owner Vince McMahon himself. Hints of the Austin-McMahon feud in WWF storylines began after Stone Cold won the 1998 Royal Rumble to become #1 Contender for the WWF Title at Wrestlemania. McMahon said in a pre-WrestleMania press conference that it was not in the WWF's best interest to have Austin as champion. The relationship would deteriorate over the next few years of WWF programming.
The Attitude era kicked off in earnest at WrestleMania XIV, when the controversial professional boxer Mike Tyson appeared as a special guest referee for the WWF championship match between Shawn Michaels and Stone Cold Steve Austin. The highlight was the verbal confrontation between Austin and Tyson from the months leading up to WrestleMania which ended with Austin flipping off Tyson come to nothing as Tyson (who was supposed to be in Michaels' corner) counted the 1, 2, 3 for Austin to win his very first WWF championship. Michaels and Tyson then had an argument which ended with Tyson punching Michaels' lights out. Fans who purchased the pay-per-view were amazed by what they saw; this certainly was not the childish Rock and Wrestling era they still expected from the WWF. Despite putting on a great show at WrestleMania XIV, Vince's company was still behind in the ratings, but one month later, RAW finally overcame its rival in the ratings war.
Over the coming year, the WWF would see new fan favorites. The Rock would become one of the most popular professional wrestlers in history. Mick Foley, as Mankind, became one of the most beloved figures in wrestling after the memorable Hell in a Cell match at 1998 King of the Ring, where Foley was thrown off the cage by The Undertaker, who remained one of the WWF's most enduring characters. D-Generation X, led by Triple H, had now taken the place of the nWo as the most interesting stable on television. Where earlier WCW's edgy WCW vs. nWo angle managed to almost lead the WWF to financial ruin, it was now becoming stale, and fans turned back to the WWF, drawn in by the popularity of Austin and the edgy nature of the television programming.
This change was not without critics. Many family groups were outraged at the graphic violence employed by the WWF. They, along with feminist groups, found the regular use of scantily-clad women to attract viewers as offensive. One group, the Parents Television Council, waged a sustained boycott campaign against the WWF. However, the controversial new presentation made the WWF more appealing than ever to its core audience.
The death of Owen Hart
Tragedy struck on May 23, 1999, in Kansas City. Owen Hart, as his "Blue Blazer" superhero character, was scheduled to make a dramatic appearance on that night's Over the Edge pay-per-view telecast, "flying" into the ring by being lowered from a harness attached to the roof of the arena. As Hart was being lowered into position in preparation for this entrance, his harness suddenly disengaged, sending him plummeting 78 feet to the ring below.
Those watching the Pay-per-view telecast at the time were spared the sight because the director cut away to a pretaped interview just before the accident occurred. Hart was rushed to a nearby hospital, where he was pronounced dead shortly after arrival. A stunned Jim Ross made the solemn announcement to the pay-per-view audience once word had reached the arena. The fans in attendance at the Kemper Arena were not informed of Owen's death. The decision to continue the event was (and still is) a controversial one.
The following night, the WWF dedicated its entire two-hour RAW telecast to Owen's memory, as various WWF performers and employees broke character and shared memories of their fallen friend.
Over the Edge 1999 was never issued as a video or DVD as a result of the death of Hart. In addition, many "Blue Blazer" action figures were removed from circulation. His brother, Bret, already having a bad relationship with Vince McMahon over the Montreal Screwjob, further attacked and blamed McMahon for Owen's death. Bret and Vince's relationship has warmed somewhat over the years, and in August 2005, Bret signed a contract with WWE to produce DVDs and other merchandise based on the Hitman's career.
In an interview on his 2005 DVD, Owen's brother, Bret says that he wishes he had been with the company when Owen's accident happened.
Business advances
On April 29, 1999, the WWF made its terrestrial television debut by launching a special program known as SmackDown! on the fledgling UPN network. The show became a weekly series on August 26, 1999. It has remained UPN's most successful program overall ever since. SmackDown! was moved to Friday nights with a one-hour special on September 9, 2005, ending its Thursday night broadcasts since the first one in 1999.
Off the back of the success of the Attitude era, on October 19, 1999 the WWF's parent company, Titan Sports (which is renamed World Wrestling Federation Entertainment, Inc. at this point) became a publicly traded company, offering 10 million shares priced at $17 each. WWF announced its desire to diversify into other businesses, including a nightclub in Times Square, film production and book publishing.
Despite losing Steve Austin to injury, the WWF continued to dominate the ratings and become a pop culture sensation due to The Rock emerging as a pop culture icon and movie actor, and Triple H becoming a certifiable main eventer. The defection of WCW talent such as The Big Show, Chris Jericho, Chris Benoit and Eddie Guerrero bolstered the talent roster, effectively killing off any chance WCW had of becoming a serious threat ever again. Head writer Vince Russo and his assistant Ed Ferrera were among the last WWF employees to "jump ship" to WCW, leaving the WWF in late 1999. They were replaced by the late Chris Kreski, known for his extensive use of storyboards to attain continuity.
In 2000 the WWF, in collaboration with television network NBC, announced the creation of the XFL, a new professional football league, but the league had dismal television ratings and NBC pulled the plug after a year.
Introduction of ECW
On February 5, 2001 Jim Ross confirmed in his "WWF Ross Report" that Extreme Championship Wrestling stars Justin Credible, Jerry Lynn, and World Champion Rhino has signed with the WWF. Lynn and Rhyno had verbal agreements while Credible signed a three year deal on January 26th. Bobby Eaton signed with the WWF on January 26th and will be used as an instructor in Memphis, Tennessee with Memphis Championship Wrestling to help develop talent for the WWF. Paul Heyman debuted as the new colour commentator on Monday Night RAW and Tazz on SmackDown! following the shocking departure of Jerry Lawler and wife The Kat. ECW went bankrupt in April that year.
Acquisition of WCW
With the massive success of Attitude, WCW's financial situation deteriorated significantly, and its newly-merged parent company AOL Time Warner looked to cut the division loose. In March 2001, WWF Entertainment, Inc. acquired WCW from AOL Time Warner for $5 million. During the final WCW Monday Nitro, Vince McMahon (as the character Mr. McMahon) took over the broadcast during the last half hour and Monday Night RAW was seen on TNT. Months later, McMahon and Bischoff reconciled their personal differences, and Bischoff signed with WWE to perform as the storyline General Manager of RAW, in a surreal moment that wrestling fans will remember for all time.
The end of the Attitude Era
The attitude era was believed to start declining at WrestleMania X-Seven. The writing team (led by Stephanie McMahon at this point) began to lose their creative originality, changing characters like Steve Austin from an anti-hero to a paranoid champion and Gregory Helms (though in need of a new character) to a superhero. In the meantime, Triple H and Chris Benoit, two of WWE's largest drawcards, were injured in May with a quadricep tear and in June with a nagging neck injury, respectively. In addition, The Rock left for a few months to film the movie The Mummy Returns.
Some people think the Attitude era ended at the end of WrestleMania X-Seven and others say November 2001 once the Invasion was finished or even the brand extension in April 2002. Others think that the Attitude era ended in late 1999, when corporate sponsor pressures, the actions of the PTC, and the departure of head writer Vince Russo caused the WWF to tone down many of its "risque" storylines. It is still a debate amongst wrestling fans.
The Invasion
Main Article: The Invasion
Since WCW's peak in the late 1990s, wrestling fans had dreamed about a feud between the two promotions. The original plan was to have WCW "take over" RAW, turning it back into WCW Monday Nitro. However, many big-name WCW stars such as Ric Flair, Lex Luger, Kevin Nash, Goldberg, and Sting were still contracted to AOL-Time Warner, WCW's former parent company (McMahon decided not to buy them out), and all chose to sit out the duration of their contracts rather than work for McMahon for less money. Some contracts would not work in McMahon's favor in the first place. For example, Hogan's contract gave him incredibly liberal creative control as well as a $250,000 per appearance fee, just to work a TV show and much more for a Pay-Per-View event. On the flipside was Rey Mysterio, for a guy who never won a major championship, made good money for his loyalty to WCW. He also had several injuries to work through, including a hurt knee requiring many surgeries and that will never heal properly. It worked in McMahon's favor to let Mysterio recover at home and recieve his WCW paychecks, then bringing him to the WWE much later for less money.
Despite this, the lack of major WCW star power, combined with McMahon deciding that WWF wrestlers generally should not lose to WCW wrestlers, ended the "InVasion" storyline quickly. Even the inclusion of ECW wrestlers and trademarks did not save it.
Many people believe that the story would have gone much better if WWE and McMahon waited a couple of years, as many WCW and ECW superstars joined after the end of the era. It is believed that he would have waited, however long term booking was based largely around two men: Triple H and Chris Benoit. On May 21, 2001, during a Monday Night RAW tag team match with Benoit and Jericho battling the tag team champions Triple H and Steve Austin, Helmsley planted his foot wrong and tore his left quadricep muscle. Remarkably, he finished the match. Unfortunately, this injury would put Triple H out of action until January 2002. Chris Benoit, on the other hand, had been wrestling for some time with an injured neck which finally required surgery after King of the Ring 2001, where he landed wrong after giving a belly-to-back suplex to Steve Austin from the second turnbuckle. The injury would shelve Benoit for the better part of a year. With two of the key characters in their long-term booking on the shelf, McMahon went ahead with the Invasion storyline prematurely. Ironically, Ric Flair, one of the major WCW names that would have helped the Invasion feud, debuted on RAW the night after the WWF defeated WCW at the Survivor Series 2001. The Invasion feud was a contributor to the company's decline in the ratings as well as in attendance and financially, although the company to this day still has a profitable quarter.
Undisputed Champion
Main Article: WWE Undisputed Championship
Following Survivor Series, WWF now had the WWF and WCW world titles available, but all other titles had been unified at Survivor Series. Mr. McMahon announced that at WWE Vengeance the two titles would be unified to form an undisputed champion. Co-owner Ric Flair suggested that The Rock should face Austin to unify the titles, but Mr. McMahon added Chris Jericho and Kurt Angle into the unification matches, much to the dismay of the fans. Rock would face Jericho, while Austin would fight Angle. The winners would then face-off for the undisputed title.
Steve Austin defeated Kurt Angle to retain his title and Jericho defeated The Rock in a big upset to win the World title, but the biggest upset was yet to come. Jericho managed to beat Austin, with some help from Booker T, to become the first undisputed champion since Lou Thesz did it in the 1950's.
New World Order
Main Article: nWo
After the WWF bought WCW in 2001 Vince McMahon brought back Hulk Hogan, Kevin Nash, and Scott Hall as the nWo, at the No Way Out PPV on February 17, 2002. In this storyline, the nWo was brought in as McMahon's allies in an attempt to "kill" the WWF so that McMahon would not have to share power with new WWF co-owner "Nature Boy" Ric Flair. However, Hogan left the group after he lost his WrestleMania X8 match with The Rock and was assaulted after that match by Hall & Nash. Hall & Nash brought back two nWo members afterwards, X-Pac (formerly known as Syxx), on March 21, 2002, at SmackDown! in Ottawa and The Big Show (formerly known as The Giant), on April 22, 2002.
The nWo reunion in the WWF would not last long. Hall was released in May due to drinking problems during a UK tour. Flair later became a semi-member of the nWo after turning on Stone Cold Steve Austin. As owner of RAW, Flair set up a lumberjack match with Austin against the newest member of the nWo. It turned out to be none other than Booker T. Nash introduced Shawn Michaels into the nWo on June 3, 2002. Michaels proceeded to literally kick Booker out of the nWo one week later.
Abruptly, the nWo was disbanded by McMahon on July 15, 2002, after he regained full control of WWE from Ric Flair. The final nail in the nWo coffin was X-Pac fainting on July 15 before the show and Nash tearing a quadricep muscle during a match one week prior to the disbandaning, taking him out of action for several months.
World Wrestling Entertainment
Following a 2000 lawsuit from the World Wildlife Fund (also WWF), the Federation changed its name to World Wrestling Entertainment, or WWE. Its parent company, World Wrestling Federation Entertainment, also chose to adopt this name. The lawsuit dealt with the wrestling company's breaching of an agreement with the Fund over use of the initials "WWF" in the United Kingdom. Rather than attempt a financial settlement with the Fund, McMahon changed the name of the company. The logo was altered, and a promotional campaign called "Get The F Out" was used to publicize this change. Also, all verbal and visual references to "WWF" and the World Wrestling Federation logo from the "Attitude" era were edited out from old broadcasts. Some observers saw the new name as further acknowledgement by the company on its emphasis towards the entertainment rather than athletic aspects of professional wrestling.
The Brand Extension
Main Article: WWE Brand Extension
Without WCW as competition, in 2002 WWE decided to split the promotion into two distinct brands based on its two largest television shows, RAW and SmackDown! Under this "split brands" arrangement, each brand maintains a separate and non-overlapping roster of wrestlers, has championships exclusive to that brand (example: the WWE Championship on RAW and the World Heavyweight Championship on SmackDown!), and is run by a different onscreen General Manager. The WWE Championship went to Smackdown! when Brock Lesnar left RAW, prompting the World Heavyweight Championship (WCW Heavyweight Championship) to be defended on RAW. In the 2005 draft, John Cena and Batista switched shows, thusly bringing the WWE Championship back to RAW. In June of 2003, WWE began the practice of alternating PPV. RAW one month, then SmackDown! the next, and so forth. The two brands join together as co-sponsors of each of the four original WWE pay-per-view cards: Royal Rumble, WrestleMania, SummerSlam, and Survivor Series. A yearly draft is scheduled sometime after WrestleMania, where 5 RAW and 5 SmackDown! superstars switch shows in order to "shake things up".
In late 2005, WWE began featuring a variation of the "Invasion" angle, where RAW superstars would invade Smackdown! shows and vice versa. This has led to some cross-promotional matches at pay-per-views and on regular television events.
Legends Program
In 2005, WWE has started a Legends program, continuing the tradition of inducting new members into the WWE Hall of Fame at WrestleMania weekend, and working with former legends such as "Rowdy" Roddy Piper and Superstar Billy Graham to issue new licensed merchandise such as apparel, action figures, video games, and DVDs. The Legends program began informally with the introduction of WWE 24/7, WWE's on-demand service and the success of career retrospective DVDs such as The Ultimate Ric Flair Collection. Recently added legends include Dusty Rhodes, Kamala, Goldust, Hulk Hogan, Jerry "The King" Lawler, "Rowdy" Roddy Piper, "Superfly" Jimmy Snuka, Sabu, Paul Bearer, Big Van Vader, Bret Hart and Jake "The Snake" Roberts.
The Death of Eddie Guerrero
See Also: Eddie Guerrero, Tributes to Eddie Guerrero
Six years after the death of Owen Hart, tragedy struck WWE once again. On the morning of November 13, 2005, Chavo Guerrero checked into the same hotel with his uncle, Eddie Guerrero, in Minneapolis where they were both scheduled to be a part of a planned WWE "Supershow" in which both RAW and SmackDown! would be filmed from. Chavo was alerted by hotel security that Eddie did not respond to a wake-up call, and after security opened the locked door to the room, Chavo found his uncle unconscious. Chavo attempted CPR, but Eddie was declared dead on the scene, sending shockwaves throughout the entire wrestling community.
Later that afternoon, Chavo appeared in a press conference with WWE Chairman Vince McMahon to address Eddie's death. They announced that both RAW and SmackDown! shows that week would be tributes to Guerrero, where WWE wrestlers and employees broke character and shared memories of their late friend.
On November 15, 2005, an autopsy announced on WWE.com by Vickie Guerrero (Eddie's wife), that he had died from massive heart failure. Although he had been sober for four years, his drug and alcohol problems took their toll on Guerrero, as well as his time spent in the ring. Since then, WWE has recently issued a new drug policy.
Guerrero was the first active WWE superstar to pass on since Owen Hart in 1999 (both were scheduled to win the titles they competed for before they died. Owen had the WWE Intercontinental Championship, and Eddie had the World Heavyweight Championship, and Eddie was also scheduled to compete in the 2005 Survivor Series), and the fifth former WWE Champion who has died (the others being "Nature Boy" Buddy Rogers, Stan Stasiak, André the Giant, and Yokozuna).
Perhaps as a response to questions about the death of Guerrero, Vince McMahon announced on November 21, 2005 a new drug policy where performers would be subject to random drug tests by an independent testing company[1].
Championships
Current champions
| Brand | Championship or accomplishment | Current champion(s) |
|---|---|---|
| RAW | WWE Champion | Edge |
| RAW | Intercontinental Champion | Ric Flair |
| RAW | Women's Champion | Trish Stratus |
| RAW | World Tag Team Champions | Kane and Big Show |
| SmackDown! | World Heavyweight Champion | Batista |
| SmackDown! | United States Champion | Vacant |
| SmackDown! | Cruiserweight Champion | Kid Kash |
| SmackDown! | WWE Tag Team Champions | MNM |
| RAW and SmackDown! | Royal Rumble winner | Batista |
| OVW | Heavyweight Champion | Matt Cappotelli |
| OVW | Television Champion | Aaron Stevens |
| OVW | Southern Tag Team Champions | Chet the Jet and Seth Skyfire |
| DSW | Deep South Heavyweight Champion | Derek Neikirk |
Defunct Championships and accomplishments
- WWE Undisputed Championship (2001-2002)
- King of the Ring (1993-2002)
- WWE European Championship (1997-2002)
- WWE Hardcore Championship (1998-2002)
- OVW Hardcore Championship (2000 - 2001)
- OVW Light Heavyweight Championship (1999-2001)
- WWE Light Heavyweight Championship (1981-2001)
- WWF Intercontinental Tag Team Championship (1991)
- WWF Women's Tag Team Championship (1983-1989)
- WWF New Japan Martial Arts Championship (1978-1985)
- WWF Junior Heavyweight Championship (1966-1986)
- WWF International Tag Team Championship (1965-1985)
- WWF International Heavyweight Championship (1958-1983)
- WWF North American Championship (1979-1981)
- WWWF United States Championship (1970-1976)
- WWWF United States Tag Team Championship (1958-1967)
See also
- Current World Wrestling Entertainment roster
- Deep South Wrestling, LLC
- List of WWE pay-per-view events
- List of video games based on licensed properties
- Ohio Valley Wrestling
- Previous World Wrestling Entertainment roster
- The Alliance
- WWE Draft
- WWE Hall of Fame
- WWE Programs