Picture Of Wrestler

World Wrestling Federation / Titan Sports Inc. (1979-1999)

The Golden Era (1980-1992)

Main article: 1980s professional wrestling boom

In March of 1979, for marketing purposes, the World Wide Wrestling Federation was renamed the World Wrestling Federation (WWF).^[18] That same year, the son of Vincent J. McMahon, Vincent K. McMahon, founded Titan Sports, Inc.^[19] and was incorporated on February 21, 1980. On June 6, 1982, McMahon purchased CWC from his father and associates Arnold Skaaland, Gorilla Monsoon, and Phil Zacko.^[18] The elder McMahon had long since established the northeastern territory as one of the most vibrant members of the NWA. He had long since recognized that professional wrestling was more about entertainment than actual sport. Against his father's wishes, McMahon began an expansion process that fundamentally changed the industry.

McMahon's vision for his promotion was starting to become possible when he hired AWA talent Hulk Hogan, who had achieved popularity outside of wrestling, notably for his appearance in Rocky III as Thunderlips.^[20] McMahon signed Rowdy Roddy Piper as Hogan's rival, and then shortly afterward signed Jesse "The Body" Ventura. Other wrestlers took part of the roster, such as André the Giant, Jimmy "Superfly" Snuka, The Magnificent Muraco, Junkyard Dog, "Mr. Wonderful" Paul Orndorff, Greg "The Hammer" Valentine,Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat, Nikolai Volkoff and the Iron Sheik.

Vince McMahon, the owner of the WWE

With reasonable revenue being made, McMahon was able to secure television deals, and WWF was being shown across the United States. This angered other promoters and disrupted the well-established 'boundaries' of the different wrestling promotions. The syndication of WWF programming forced other promotions to come into direct competition. To make matters worse, McMahon used the income generated by advertising, television deals, and tape sales to poach talent from rival promoters.

The WWF would tour nationally in a venture that would required a huge capital investment; one that 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 concept, WrestleMania. WrestleMania was a major pay-per-view success; and was 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 runningStarrcade a few years prior. In McMahon's eyes, however, what separated WrestleMania from other supercards was that he wanted it 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.

The WWF business expanded significantly on the shoulders of McMahon and his babyfacehero, 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 ever been broadcast on network television since the 1950s. The 1980s 'Wrestling Boom' peaked withWrestleMania III at the Pontiac Silverdome in 1987, which set an attendance record of 93,173.^[21] 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, and is still the record for the most watched wrestling match in North America.^[22]

World Wide Wrestling Federation (1963-1979)

In early 1963, the World Wide Wrestling Federation (WWWF) was formed by McMahon and Mondt, following a dispute with the NWA over "Nature Boy" Buddy Rogers being booked to hold the NWA World Heavyweight Championship.^[15] 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 title to Bruno Sammartino a month later on May 17, 1963, after suffering a heart attack a week before the match.

The WWWF operated in a conservative manner compared to other pro wrestling territories;^[16] it ran its major arenas monthly rather than weekly or bi-weekly, usually featuring a babyface champion wrestling various heels in programs the consisted of one to three matches.^[17] Although the business was initially rather strong, the crowds in Madison Square Garden fell off due to a lack of television exposure. 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 the company 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 WWWF employee Jim Barnett all withdrew from the organization.^[15]

Capitol Wrestling Corporation (1952-1963)

Roderick James "Jess" McMahon was a successful boxing promoter who began working with Tex Rickard in 1926. With the help of Rickard, he began promoting boxing at the third Madison Square Garden. A few years prior, professional wrestler Joseph Raymond "Toots" Mondt had created a new challenge of professional wrestling that he called “Slam Bang Western Style Wrestling”. He convinced wrestler Ed Lewis and his manager Billy Sandow to implement this new solution into the wrestling industry. Following this, he formed a promotion with both men and persuaded many wrestlers to sign contracts with their Gold Dust Trio. After much success, a disagreement over power caused the trio to dissolve and, with it, their promotion. Mondt later formed partnerships with several other promoters, including Jack Curley in New York City. Mondt eventually took over the New York wrestling scene, due to the fact Curley was dying, with the aid of several bookers, one of whom was Jess McMahon.

Together, McMahon and Mondt created the Capitol Wrestling Corporation Ltd. (CWC), which later joined the National Wrestling Alliancein 1953. In November 1954, Jess McMahon died and Ray Fabiani, one of Mondt's associates, brought in Vincent James McMahon.^[14]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 created the World Wide Wrestling Federation (WWWF).

WWE

WWE, also known as World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc.,^[7][8] 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. Founded by Jess McMahon and Toots Mondt in 1952, it is currently the largest professional wrestling promotion in the world, reaching 13 million viewers in the U.S. and broadcasting its shows to more than 150 countries.^[9] Like other professional wrestling promotions, WWE's shows do not feature legitimate sporting contests. Instead, its programs feature storyline-driven combat sport matches with predetermined outcomes and fighting maneuvers that are worked, all promoted as legitimate bouts.^[10]

Vince McMahon is the majority owner, chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of the company. Together with his wife Linda McMahon, and their children Shane McMahon andStephanie McMahon, the McMahons hold approximately 70% of WWE's economicinterest and 96% of the voting power in the company. The company's headquarters are located in Stamford, Connecticut and also has offices in New York City, Los Angeles,London, Shanghai, Tokyo, Singapore, and Mumbai.^[11][12] The company previously bore the names, World Wide Wrestling Federation (WWWF), World Wrestling Federation (WWF) and World Wrestling Federation Entertainment. Since 2002, the company has been recognized as World Wrestling Entertainment and was simplified to WWE in 2011.^[13]