World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. (WWE)

WWE, formerly World Wrestling Entertainment, is a multi-billion-dollar, publicly traded American entertainment company known largely for professional wrestling, despite a portfolio that also includes movies, real estate, consumer products, and other ventures. It rosters more than two hundred wrestlers (known in WWE’s terminology as “superstars”), hosts more than five hundred live events each year, and is available to more than 40 million viewers in more than one-hundred-fifty countries.

WWE Global Headquarters, which employs more than eight hundred people, is in Stamford, Connecticut. The WWE Performance Center is in Orlando, Florida. The company has affiliate offices in Los Angeles, Shanghai, Singapore, Dubai, Munich, and New York City. In 2024, WWE took in between $2.67 and 2.754 billion.

Brief History

WWE was initially known as the Capitol Wrestling Corporation, then the World Wrestling Federation (or WWF), and then World Wrestling Entertainment, ultimately shortened to WWE.

Capitol Wrestling Corporation, founded in 1953 by Jess McMahon and Toots Mondt, went on to become the largest pro wrestling company in the world. Vince McMahon became company chairman in 1980 and oversaw the company’s rise to international fame. His role in the company became less certain after a 2022 investigation into possible misconduct. His daughter Stephanie McMahon is also active in high-level management.

Under McMahon, WWE enjoyed its heyday throughout the 1980s, with colorful characters and storylines that built on rivalries between heroes (known in the industry as “faces”) and villains (known as “heels”). During that decade, WWE led the shift in professional wrestling from side-show attraction to mainstream entertainment. One of the standout rivalries was between Hulk Hogan and Andre the Giant. Other top performers included “Macho Man” Randy Savage, The Ultimate Warrior, “Rowdy” Roddy Piper, Jake “The Snake” Roberts, and The Iron Sheik. These stars wowed audiences with their maneuvers, including body slams, suplexes, clotheslines, and old-fashioned punches. Managers often accompanied the wrestlers to their bouts, sometimes becoming verbally or physically involved themselves; some standout managers of that era included Bobby “The Brain” Heenan and “The Mouth of the South” Jimmy Hart.

The end of the 1980s ushered in an era of increased gimmick matches, which served as comic interludes. WWE has no shortage of experiments in its history, and many gimmick matches that were considered serious failures have claimed a place in the catalog of WWE misses. The early 1990s saw a continuation of the colorful style of storytelling, often with a circus-like vibe with characters acting as clowns, police officers, escaped convicts, Native Americans, and Canadian Mounties. Some of the major headliners of that era included Bret “The Hitman” Hart, “The Nature Boy” Ric Flair, Shawn Michaels, The Undertaker, and “Mr. Perfect” Curt Hennig.

The late 1990s and early 2000s saw what has been called “The Attitude Era,” which featured a dramatic shift from the child-oriented atmosphere into storylines and characters better fit for PG-13 or R-rated entertainment. This period brought a strong increase in interest in the company as it attracted teenage and adult fans who had previously felt professional wrestling had nothing to offer them. It also attracted a large amount of controversy that eventually led to its end. This era produced some of the most popular headliners in wrestling history, including “Stone Cold” Steve Austin; Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson; and Paul Levesque, better known as HHH or “Triple H,” who would eventually marry Stephanie McMahon and enter WWE management.

The hardcore edge of the “Attitude Era” ultimately began to turn off audiences and restrict the appeal of the company. In response, in 2008, the company entered what is known as the “PG Era,” marked largely by a refocusing of content on younger viewers. Since that time, WWE content has used less violence, profanity, and sexual suggestions, thus restoring their generally kid-friendly atmosphere and TV ratings. Stars of this period included John Cena, Roman Reigns, Brock Lesnar, and CM Punk. Since that shift, WWE has produced somewhat edgier material but still intends it to appeal to PG audiences.

Overview

The most commonly debated question surrounding WWE throughout its tenure has been: “Is pro wrestling real or fake?” The answer is not straightforward. Matches do have pre-determined outcomes, and superstars portray fictional characters on television with scripted rivalries and scripted matches, as is the case with pro wrestling in general. Defenders of this model have maintained that the performance aspect does not diminish the fact that WWE is an athletic form of entertainment and that its superstars train like athletes.

In 1989, in a tax-related maneuver, Vince McMahon admitted to the Supreme Court that WWE (called WWF at the time) is a form of entertainment rather than a real sport. The term “sports entertainment” has since defined the company through several eras. In 2011, Vince McMahon announced the elimination of the word “wrestling” from the product and said the company would solely and formally be branded as WWE to better reflect its global entertainment offerings and position it for future growth.

The 2020s were largely characterized by scandals within WWE’s management, primarily focused around Vince McMahon. In June 2022, The Wall Street Journal reported that the WWE board had been looking into a $3 million settlement Vince McMahon agreed to pay to an employee with whom he allegedly had an affair. The Journal also reported that the board had uncovered previous nondisclosure agreements involving misconduct claims against him and a fellow executive. He was later involved in a sex-trafficking scandal. McMahon stepped down as CEO and chairman of WWE in June 2022, however, he remained affiliated with the company.

In early 2023, in what ESPN called a seismic shift in the combat sports landscape, WWE revealed plans to sell to Ari Emanuel’s Endeavor Group, the parent company of Ultimate Fighting Championship, or UFC. Via CNBC in May, Endeavor announced the merger combining UFC and WWE under a new company name, TKO Group Holdings, with Emanuel as chief executive officer and Vince McMahon as executive chairman. An announcement was made that Dana White would remain UFC president, while Nick Khan would remain WWE president. The merge was finalized in September 2023. McMahon returned to WWE as executive chairman in January 2023. In January 2024, McMahon officially cut ties with TKO and WWE after a former employee accused him of sexual assault. Despite these scandals, WWE continued to post record profits.

One of the main draws of modern WWE has been its enthusiastic embrace of women’s wrestling. In prior eras, women’s wrestling was never a focus, and most female performers were seen as managers or “divas,” often used in situations that emphasized their sexuality. Accomplished female athletes including Charlotte Flair, Alexa Bliss, Ronda Rousey, and Sasha Banks have helped to bring greater legitimacy to women’s wrestling.

WWE has two flagship television programs: Smackdown, which airs every Friday on Fox, and Monday Night Raw on the USA Network. Notably, WWE also produces NXT, a separate division of the company that features young, up-and-coming performers, as well as veterans looking to redesign their characters. NXT began in 2010 as a mixture of professional wrestling and reality television, and has since caught on with many fans for showcasing new talent and taking risks with its content that the larger WWE brands could not. WWE has also purchased several competing pro wrestling companies through the years, including World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW).

WWE also produces films and licenses its brand for video games and action figures. Every year, Wrestlemania and Summer Slam are its largest pay-per-view events. WWE content is available in more than a billion homes in more than one-hundred-eighty countries. The WWE Network includes premium live events, scheduled programming, and a huge video-on-demand library. In the United States, NBC Universal’s streaming service, Peacock, is the exclusive home of the WWE Network.

Many WWE superstars have gone on to become household names and international stars, both in wrestling and in other forms of entertainment. They have contributed to WWE’s increasing scope and profitability, making it into a modern media juggernaut and a prized partner for television deals and mergers.

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