A history of the WWE

WWE is the leading company in televised wrestling today, broadcasting its shows in 30 languages in more than 145 countries. It holds an extensive library of videos that represent a significant portion of the history of professional wrestling. This article gives a quick overview of the history of the WWE.

History overview

Title history The company itself began in 1952 under the name World Wide Wrestling Federation or WWWF.
The company was sold in 1982 to Titan Sports, who changed the name to World Wrestling Federation Entertainment. Finally, in 2002, it became World Wrestling Entertainment, simplified to WWE in 2011.
The company now operates under two brands called Raw and Smackdown. Different wrestlers are associated with the different brands.

History expansion

WWF wrestling In 1980, Vincent McMahon founded Titan Sports Inc. and in 1982, proceeded to buy the rights to the sport of wrestling from his father and other shareholders who had long promoted it within the north-east of America under the company, Capitol Wrestling Corporation. He had recognised that professional wrestling was more about entertainment than sport and so, despite his father's objections, he began to expand the company in order to reach more audiences. All wrestling was governed by the National Wrestling Association companies that put on shows and had their own specific area in which to operate. Vincent McMahon broke this by expanding outside the area and essentially cut ties with the governing body. The attitude era In 1997, following a string of poor marketing decisions and financial difficulties meant that the fans started to turn off and watch the competing company WCW. WWF began broadcasting more violence, swearing, and more edgy angles in its attempt to win back viewers. This was later referred to as the attitude era. This became the start of the new style of televised wrestling that still stands today.

Belts and famous wrestlers

There are different belts awarded for different achievements within the world of wrestling. Here are a few title belts: - World Heavyweight belt
- WWE Championship belt
- Women's Championship belt
- Intercontinental belt
- Tag team belts There have been a number of famous wrestlers making a reputation through the franchise. These include: - Hulk Hogan
- Andre The Giant
- Bret Hart
- The Undertaker
- The Rock
- Stone Cold Steve Austin
- Chyna

More information

The WWE franchise has a vast and long history spanning over 50 years. This is why only the basics could be touched upon in this article. In order to find out more about WWE wrestling, here are some useful sites: WWE Champions Thehistoryofwwe.com WWE wiki En.wikipedia.org (wiki WWE) Old wrestlers Pwwew.net (people wwflist) WWE website Wwe.com WWE films/shows Wweo.net