WWE

World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., doing business as WWE, is an American professional wrestling promotion. A global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into other fields, including film, American football, and various other business ventures. The company is additionally involved in licensing its intellectual property to companies to produce video games and action figures.

World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc.

Headquarters in Stamford, Connecticut. 2012.
Trade name	WWE
Formerly	Titan Sports, Inc. (1980–1999) World Wrestling Federation Entertainment, Inc. (1999–2002)
Type	Public
Traded as	NYSE: WWE S&P 400 component
ISIN	US98156Q1085
Industry	Professional wrestling Streaming media
Predecessor	Capitol Wrestling Corporation Ltd.
Founded	January 1953; 70 years ago (1953-01) (as Capitol Wrestling Corporation Ltd.) April 1963; 59 years ago (1963-04) (rebranding as the World Wide Wrestling Federation) February 1980; 43 years ago (1980-02) (founding of Titan Sports, Inc.) June 1982; 40 years ago (1982-06) (purchase of Capitol Wrestling Corporation Ltd. by Titan Sports)
Founder	Jess McMahon or Vincent J. McMahon (as Capitol Wrestling Corporation Ltd.) Vince McMahon and Linda McMahon (as Titan Sports, Inc.)
Headquarters	1241 East Main Street Stamford, Connecticut 06902 , United States
Area served	Worldwide
Key people	Vince McMahon (Executive Chairman) Nick Khan (CEO) Frank A. Riddick III (President and CFO) Paul "Triple H" Levesque (CCO)
Products	Films Finance Home video Live events Merchandise Music Publishing Streaming network service Television
Services	Licensing
Revenue	US$1.095 billion (2021)^[1]
Operating income	US$259 million (2021)^[1]
Net income	US$180.4 million (2021)^[1]
Total assets	US$1.204 billion (2021)^[1]
Total equity	US$381.3 million (2021)^[1]
Owner	Vince McMahon^[a]
Number of employees	~870 (2021)^[3]
Divisions	WWE Books WWE Libraries WWE Music Group WWE Network WWE Podcast Network WWE Performance Center WWE Shop WWE Studios^[4]
Subsidiaries	Tapout (50%)^[5] Alpha Entertainment TSI Realty Company WCW Inc. WWE Asia Pacific WWE Australia WWE Canada WWE Germany WWE Jet Services WWE Latin America WWE Middle East and Africa WWE Properties International
Website	wwe.com

The promotion was founded in 1953 as the Capitol Wrestling Corporation. It is the largest wrestling promotion in the world with its main roster divided up into two primary touring groups, along with a developmental roster based in Orlando, Florida (referred to by WWE as "brands"). Overall, WWE is available in more than 1 billion homes worldwide in 30 languages. The company's global headquarters is located in Stamford, Connecticut,^[6] with offices in New York, Los Angeles, Mexico City, Mumbai, Shanghai, Singapore, Dubai and Munich.^[7]

As in other professional wrestling promotions, WWE shows are not legitimate contests but entertainment-based performance theater, featuring story line-driven, scripted, and partially-choreographed matches; however, matches often include moves that can put performers at risk of injury, even death, if not performed correctly. The pre-determined aspect of professional wrestling was publicly acknowledged by WWE's owner Vince McMahon in 1989 in order to avoid taxes from athletic commissions. WWE brands its product as sports entertainment, acknowledging wrestling's roots in competitive sport and dramatic theater.

The company's majority owner is its executive chairman, third-generation wrestling promoter Vince McMahon, who retains a 38.6% ownership of the company's outstanding stock and 81.1% of the voting power. The current entity, which was originally named Titan Sports, Inc., was incorporated on February 21, 1980, in South Yarmouth, Massachusetts. It acquired Capitol Wrestling Corporation Ltd., the holding company for the World Wrestling Federation (WWF), previously known as the World Wide Wrestling Federation (WWWF), in 1982. Titan was renamed World Wrestling Federation Entertainment, Inc. in 1999, and then World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. in 2002. Since 2011, the company has branded itself solely with the initials WWE, though the legal name has not changed since 2002.^[8]

Company history

Main article: History of WWE

Before Titan Sports (1953–1980)

Main article: Capitol Wrestling Corporation

WWE's origins can be traced back as far as the 1950s when on January 7, 1953, the first show under the Capitol Wrestling Corporation (CWC) was produced. There is uncertainty as to who the founder of the CWC was. Some sources state that it was Vincent J. McMahon,^[9][10][11] while other sources cite McMahon's father Jess McMahon as founder of CWC.^[12][13][14] The CWC later joined the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) and famous New York promoter Toots Mondt soon joined the promotion.

 

Vincent J. McMahon with Verne Gagne and Bruno Sammartino in 1975.

Vincent J. McMahon and Toots Mondt were very successful and soon controlled approximately 70% of the NWA's booking power, largely due to their dominance in the heavily populated Northeastern United States. In 1963, McMahon and Mondt had a dispute with the NWA over "Nature Boy" Buddy Rogers being booked to hold the NWA World Heavyweight Championship.^[15] Mondt and McMahon were not only promoters but also acted as his manager and were accused by other NWA promoters of withholding Rogers making defenses in their cities versus only defending in Mondt and McMahon's own cities thus maintaining a monopoly on the world title. In a now infamous situation, the NWA sent former five-time world champion and legitimate wrestler Lou Thesz to Toronto to face Rogers on January 24, 1963. Thesz recalls this was not planned and prior to the match remembered telling Buddy "we can do this the easy way or the hard way." Rogers agreed to lose the fall and title in a one fall match versus the traditional two out of three fall matchup that most world title matches were defended. Once word reached back to Mondt and McMahon, at first they simply ignored the title change. From January until April 1963, Rogers was promoted as the NWA World Champion, or simply the World Heavyweight Champion, in their area. The World Wide Wrestling Federation (WWWF) was not an immediate creation after Rogers's one fall loss to Thesz. Mondt and McMahon both eventually left the NWA in protest and formed the WWWF in the process. They brought along with them Willie Gilzenberg, long time boxing and wrestling promoter in New Jersey. In April 1963, the WWWF World Heavyweight Championship was created, with the promotion claiming that inaugural champion Rogers had won a tournament in Rio de Janeiro on April 25, 1963, defeating long time Capitol Sports favorite Antonino Rocca in the finals. In reality, Rocca was no longer in the area, as he was working for Jim Crockett Sr. in the Carolinas. Rogers also had already suffered what would later be a career ending heart attack on April 18 in Akron, Ohio, and was in an Ohio hospital during the time the alleged tournament took place.^[16] Rogers lost the championship to Bruno Sammartino a month later on May 17, with the promotion beginning to be built around Sammartino shortly after.^[17]

In June 1963, Gilzenberg was named the first president of the WWWF.^[18] Mondt left the promotion in the late 1960s and although the WWWF had previously withdrawn from the NWA, McMahon quietly re-joined in 1971. The WWWF was renamed to the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) in 1979.

Titan Sports, Inc. (1980–1999)

Early years (1980–1982)

Vincent J. McMahon's son, Vincent K. McMahon, and his wife Linda, established Titan Sports, Inc., in 1980 in South Yarmouth, Massachusetts and applied trademarks for the initials "WWF".^[19][20] The company was incorporated on February 21, 1980, in the Cape Cod Coliseum offices, then moved to the building on Holly Hill Lane in Greenwich, Connecticut.

Boom period (1982–1992)

Main article: 1980s professional wrestling boom

 

Vince McMahon, the owner of the WWE since 1982. He was the chairman and CEO until 2022.

The younger McMahon bought Capitol from his father in 1982, effectively seizing control of the company. The actual date of sale is still unknown but the generally accepted date is June 6, 1982; however this was likely only the date the deal was struck but not finalized. On WWF television, Capitol Wrestling Corporation maintained copyrights and ownership past the June 1982 date. The World Wrestling Federation was not solely owned by Vincent J. McMahon but also by Gorilla Monsoon, Arnold Skaaland and Phil Zacko. The deal between the two McMahons was a monthly payment basis where if a single payment was missed, ownership would revert to the elder McMahon and his business partners. Looking to seal the deal quickly, McMahon took several loans and deals with other promoters and the business partners (including the promise of a job for life) in order to take full ownership by May or June 1983 for an estimated total of roughly $1 million with the three business partners receiving roughly $815,000 among them and Vincent J. McMahon receiving roughly $185,000.^[21] Seeking to make the WWF the premier wrestling promotion in the country, and eventually, the world, he began an expansion process that fundamentally changed the wrestling business.^[22]

At the annual meeting of the NWA in 1983, the McMahons and former Capitol employee Jim Barnett all withdrew from the organization.^[15] McMahon also 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, eventually ending the territory system, which was in use since the founding of the NWA in the 1940s. In addition, the company used income generated by advertising, television deals, and tape sales to secure talent from rival promoters, to which McMahon discussed in an interview with Sports Illustrated. McMahon was quoted as saying: "In the old days, there were wrestling fiefdoms all over the country, each with its own little lord in charge. Each little lord respected the rights of his neighboring little lord. No takeovers or raids were allowed. There were maybe 30 of these tiny kingdoms in the U.S. and if I hadn't bought out my dad, there would still be 30 of them, fragmented and struggling. I, of course, had no allegiance to those little lords."^[22]

McMahon gained significant traction when he hired American Wrestling Association (AWA) talent Hulk Hogan, who had achieved popularity outside of wrestling, notably for his appearance in the film Rocky III.^[23] McMahon signed Roddy Piper as Hogan's rival, and then shortly afterward Jesse Ventura as an announcer. Other wrestlers joined the roster, such as The Iron Sheik, Nikolai Volkoff, Junkyard Dog, Paul Orndorff, Greg Valentine, and Ricky Steamboat, joining existing stars such as Jimmy Snuka, Don Muraco, Sgt. Slaughter and André the Giant. Many of the wrestlers who would later join the WWF were former AWA or NWA talent.

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 success and was (and still is) marketed as the Super Bowl of professional wrestling. The concept of a wrestling supercard was nothing new in North America; the NWA had begun 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 popular culture and professional wrestling.

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 Vincent J. McMahon's Capitol Wrestling Corporation. The 1980s "Wrestling Boom" peaked with the WrestleMania III pay-per-view at the Pontiac Silverdome in 1987, which set an attendance record of 93,173, a record that stood for 29 years until WrestleMania 32.^[24] A rematch of the WrestleMania III main event between WWF champion Hulk Hogan and André the Giant took place on The Main Event I in 1988 and was seen by 33 million people, the most-watched wrestling match in North American television history.^[25]

In 1983, Titan moved its offices to Stamford, Connecticut, though the current building was built and opened on May 13, 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.^[26]

New Generation (1992–1997)

Main article: Monday Night Wars

The WWF was hit with allegations of steroid abuse and distribution in 1992. This was followed by allegations of sexual harassment by WWF employees the following year.^[27][28] McMahon was eventually exonerated, but the allegations brought bad public relations for the WWF, and an overall bad reputation. The steroid trial cost the company an estimated $5 million at a time of record low revenues. This helped drive many WWF wrestlers over to rival promotion World Championship Wrestling (WCW), including 1980s babyface hero Hulk Hogan. During this period, the WWF promoted wrestlers of a younger age comprising "The New Generation", featuring Shawn Michaels, Diesel, Razor Ramon, Bret Hart, and The Undertaker, in an effort to promote new talent into the spotlight.

In January 1993, the WWF debuted its flagship cable program Monday Night Raw. WCW countered in September 1995 with its own Monday night program, Monday Nitro, which aired in the same time slot as Raw.^[29] The two programs would trade wins in the ensuing ratings competition (known as the "Monday Night Wars") until mid-1996. At that point, Nitro began a nearly two-year ratings 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]

Start of the Attitude Era (1997–1999)

Main article: Attitude Era

See also: Montreal Screwjob

As the Monday Night Wars continued between Raw Is War and WCW's 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 WWF VP Shane McMahon (son of owner Vince McMahon) and head writer Vince Russo.

1997 ended with McMahon facing real-life controversy following Bret Hart's controversial departure from the company, dubbed 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".

Before 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. Austin was slowly brought in as the new face of the company despite being promoted as an antihero, 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]

On April 29, 1999, the WWF made its return to terrestrial television, airing 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 titled Thunder on TBS.

World Wrestling Federation Entertainment, Inc. (1999–2002)

Initial public offering (1999)

In the summer of 1999, Titan Sports, Inc. was renamed World Wrestling Federation Entertainment, Inc. On October 19, 1999, World Wrestling Federation Entertainment, 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.^[33] The company is traded on the NYSE under ticker symbol WWE.^[34]

Victory in the Monday Night Wars and end of the Attitude Era (1999–2002)

Main article: The Invasion (professional wrestling)

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 America Online (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.^[35] Shortly after WrestleMania X-Seven, the WWF launched the Invasion storyline, integrating the incoming talent roster from WCW and Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW). With this purchase, WWF now became by far the sole largest wrestling promotion in North America and in the world. The assets of ECW, which had folded after filing for bankruptcy protection in April 2001, were purchased by WWE in 2003.^[36]

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.^[37] 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.^[38] WWE maintained control of the XFL trademark^[39][40] before McMahon reclaimed the XFL brand, this time under a separate shell company from WWE, in 2017^[41] with intent to relaunch the XFL in 2020.^[42]

On June 24, 2002, episode of Raw, Vince McMahon officially referred to the start of the next era, called the "Ruthless Aggression" era.^[43][44]

World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. (2002–present)

Lawsuit and renaming (2002)

 

WWE Chairwoman and CEO Stephanie McMahon (right) with her husband WWE CCO and Head of Creative Triple H (left).

On May 6, 2002, the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) changed both its company name and the name of its wrestling promotion to World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) after the company lost a lawsuit initiated by the World Wildlife Fund over the WWF trademark.^[45][46] Although mainly caused by an unfavorable ruling in its dispute with the World Wildlife Fund regarding the "WWF" initialism, the company noted it provided an opportunity to emphasize its focus on entertainment.^[47]

First brand split (2002–2011)

Main articles: WWE brand extension and WWE Draft

In March 2002, WWE decided to create two separate rosters, with each group of wrestlers appearing on one of their main programs, Raw and SmackDown!, due to the overabundance of talent left over from the Invasion storyline. This was dubbed as the "brand extension".

Beginning in 2002 a draft lottery was held nearly every year to set the rosters, with the first draft to determine the inaugural split rosters, and subsequent drafts designed to refresh the rosters of each show. WWE expanded the brand extension by relaunching ECW as a third brand on May 26, 2006.^[48] Two years later, WWE adapted a more family-friendly format and their programming received a TV-PG rating.^[49] The final ECW program aired on February 16, 2010, after which it was replaced with NXT.^[50]

On April 7, 2011, WWE, via the WWE Corporate website, 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 still remains as World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc.^[8]

Brand reunification (2011–2016)

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).^[51] 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 from when the original announcement was made until July 2016 featured the full WWE roster.^[52]

In 2013, the company built the sports medicine and training facility WWE Performance Center in the east Orange County, Florida in partnership with Full Sail University from Winter Park, Florida. The training facility is targeted at career and athletic development for the company's wrestlers.^[53] Full Sail is also home base to WWE's NXT brand,^[54] which served as a developmental territory for WWE.^[55]

Beginning in 2015 WWE started to push Roman Reigns as their face of the company since having him win the 2015 Royal rumble match, amidst mixed reception. By 2017 Roman Reigns became their highest merchandise seller.^[56]

Launch of second brand split (2016–2020)

 

 

Raw and SmackDown have been WWE's two main brands since the brand extension concept was first initiated in 2002.

On May 25, 2016, WWE announced a relaunch of the brand extension, billed as the "New Era". Following that announcement, Raw and SmackDown now each feature their unique rosters, announcers, ring sets/ropes, and championships. A draft took place to determine which wrestlers would appear on what show. SmackDown also moved from Thursdays to Tuesday nights, which began on July 19 (the night of the aforementioned draft), and airs live instead of the previous pre-recorded format.^[57]

On November 29, 2016, WWE introduced a new program specifically for their cruiserweight division (wrestlers 205 lbs. and under) called WWE 205 Live.^[58] The program focuses exclusively on those wrestlers who qualify for the division.^[59][60] The cruiserweights – who first became a fixture in WWE with the Cruiserweight Classic tournament – were originally exclusive to the Raw brand at the onset of the 2016 brand extension, before landing their own brand.^[61]

On December 15, 2016, it was announced that WWE was establishing a new WWE United Kingdom Championship, with the winner being decided by a 16-man tournament to air on WWE Network featuring wrestlers from the UK and Ireland during January 2017. WWE executive Paul "Triple H" Levesque said the eventual plan with the new title and tournament was to establish a UK-based brand with its own weekly television show.^[62][63] WWE subsequently launched its UK-based brand as an offshoot of NXT, NXT UK, in June 2018, with Johnny Saint serving as inaugural general manager.^[64]

Starting in September 2019, NXT had a weekly, live, two-hour show Wednesday nights on the USA Network and WWE began promoting NXT as their "third brand".^[65][66] However, in 2021 NXT was moved to Tuesday nights, having conceded the Wednesday Night Wars to rival promotion All Elite Wrestling (AEW), and in September of that year was reinstated to its original function as the developmental brand for the main roster (Raw and SmackDown), under the name "NXT 2.0".

COVID-19 pandemic and return to touring (2020–2022)

Further information: Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on sports

In March 2020, WWE began to be impacted by the American onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. In mid-March, three of the four major sports leagues had announced that they would close locker rooms to the media as a precautionary measure. As other sports cancellations and postponements were being announced, WWE officially announced on March 12 that its weekly programs, beginning with the following night's episode of SmackDown, would be filmed at the Performance Center without spectators and with only essential staff present – the March 11 episode of NXT had been recorded at the Performance Center with paying fans, thus being WWE's last event to have ticketed fans in attendance before the pandemic took full effect.^[67][68] WrestleMania 36 was scheduled to take place on April 5 at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa; on March 16, WWE announced that the event would also be held behind closed doors in Orlando.^[69][70] WrestleMania, as well as Raw and SmackDown for a period before and after WrestleMania, shifted from live broadcasts to a pre-recorded format.^[71] NXT continued to air from Full Sail University, but under similar restrictions.^[72][73]

Live broadcasts returned on April 13, with the existing arrangements continuing; WWE stated to ESPN.com that "we believe it is now more important than ever to provide people with a diversion from these hard times", and that the company's programming "bring[s] families together and deliver a sense of hope, determination and perseverance".^[72][73] It was subsequently reported that Florida Governor Ron DeSantis had deemed WWE a business critical to the state's economy, and had added an exception under the state's stay-at-home order for employees of a "professional sports and media production" that is closed to the public and has a national audience.^[74][75] The decision was met with criticism from media outlets, with several media outlets pointing out that DeSantis's actions happened on the same day a pro-Donald Trump political action committee led by Linda McMahon, who was previously a part of Trump's cabinet, pledged to spend $18.5 million in advertising in Florida, and that, also on the same day, Vince McMahon was named part of an advisory group created by Trump to devise a strategy in re-launching US economy.^{[76][77][78][79]}

On April 15, WWE announced a series of cuts and layoffs in response to the pandemic, including releasing a number of performers (Karl Anderson, Kurt Angle, Aiden English, EC3, Epico, Luke Gallows, Curt Hawkins, No Way Jose, Sarah Logan, Mike Kanellis, Maria Kanellis, Primo, Erick Rowan, Rusev, Lio Rush, Zack Ryder, Heath Slater, and Eric Young), three producers (Dave Finlay, Shane Helms and Lance Storm), referee Mike Chioda, and multiple NXT/Performance Center trainees and staff. WWE executives also took a pay cut, and the company has also suspended construction on its new headquarters for at least six months.^[80] The firings caused significant backlash by fans; with Business Insider calling them "livid." Both fans and several media outlets pointed out that while WWE claimed that these actions were "necessary due to the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic", the WWE also claimed to have "substantial financial resources. Available cash and debt capacity currently total approximately $0.5 billion". DeSantis's claimed WWE was "essential", which meant that the company's revenues loss would be limited.^[76][81]

In August 2020, WWE relocated from the Performance Center to Orlando's Amway Center for a long-term residency, broadcasting episodes of Raw, SmackDown, and pay-per-views through a virtual fan viewing experience called WWE ThunderDome. Inside the ThunderDome, drones, lasers, pyro, smoke, and projections were utilized to enhance the wrestlers' entrances on a level similar to that of pay-per-view productions pre-pandemic. Nearly 1,000 LED boards were installed to allow for rows and rows of virtual fans. It was free of charge for fans to virtually attend the events, though they had to reserve their virtual seat ahead of time.^[82][83][84] WWE remained at the Amway Center up through early December before relocating the ThunderDome to Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida.^[85][86] The ThunderDome relocated to Yuengling Center, located on the campus of the University of South Florida in Tampa, beginning with the April 12, 2021, episode of Raw.^[87][88] In October 2020, NXT events were relocated from Full Sail University to the Performance Center in a similar setup dubbed the Capitol Wrestling Center. It had many of the same features as the ThunderDome, but with a small crowd of select live fans included, in addition to the virtual fans. The name is also an homage to WWE's predecessor, the Capitol Wrestling Corporation.^[89][90] On May 21 WWE announced that they would be bringing back fans full time, beginning with a 25-city tour, thus ending the ThunderDome residency. The July 16 episode of SmackDown started WWE's return to the road, taking place at the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas.

In January 2021, WWE announced that WrestleMania 37, which was originally to be held in Inglewood, California on March 28, would be held at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida – WrestleMania 36's original location – as a two-night event on April 10 and 11 and would have fans in attendance, though to a limited capacity.^[91] This marked WWE's first event during the pandemic to have ticketed fans in attendance with a maximum of 25,000 spectators for each night with COVID-19 protocols in place.^[92] Also around this time, WWE announced that the WWE Network in the United States would become exclusively distributed by Peacock on March 18, 2021 (ahead of Fastlane and WrestleMania 37). The merger of the WWE Network and Peacock did not affect the service outside of the United States.^[93] NXT was moved to a Tuesday night timeslot in 2021 and was rebooted as NXT 2.0 later that year, reinstituting its original function as a developmental territory. The Performance Center became NXT's permanent home base, replacing Full Sail. Maximum capacity crowds resumed and the Capitol Wrestling Center name was phased out.^[94] In February 2022, the 205 Live brand was dissolved and the 205 Live show was replaced by a new NXT show called Level Up.^[95]

On February 24, 2022, WWE announced a partnership with On Location, a company known for providing premium hospitality experiences for marquee events. Through the partnership, spectators will have access to hospitality packages for WWE's five biggest events, including WrestleMania, SummerSlam, Royal Rumble, Survivor Series, and Money in the Bank. The 2022 Money in the Bank was WWE's first event to offer the premium hospitality packages. These ticket and travel packages include premier seating, premium hospitality offerings, and meet-and-greets with current WWE wrestlers and legends.^[96]

Change in leadership (2022–present)

On June 17, 2022, amidst an investigation by WWE's Board of Directors into reported "hush money" paid to a former employee by Vince McMahon following an affair, Mr. McMahon stepped down as chairman and CEO of WWE and was replaced by his daughter, Stephanie McMahon, as the interim chairwoman of WWE.^[97][98] Despite the change Vince McMahon came out on WWE SmackDown, that night opening the show with a brief speech, the highlights of which "then, now, forever and most importantly together" was quoted by various news media as Vince letting people know that he was still in creative control from behind the scenes.^[99][100] On July 22, 2022, Vince McMahon officially announced his retirement on Twitter, stating, "At 77, time for me to retire. Thank you, WWE Universe. Then. Now. Forever. Together."^[101] Following Vince's retirement announcement, Stephanie McMahon was officially named chairwoman while she and Nick Khan were named co-CEOs of WWE.^[102] Triple H would take over as head of creative, while resuming his position as Executive Vice President of Talent Relations and later being promoted to Chief Content Officer.^[103][104] Commentators have highlighted the significance of McMahon's retirement, saying that it marked the historic start of a new period in WWE's history.^{[105][106][107][108][109][110][111]} The 2022 SummerSlam event held on July 30, 2022, was the first WWE pay-per-view event to be held under the leadership of Stephanie McMahon and Triple H.^[112][113] On August 18, 2022 WWE Hall of Famer Shawn Michaels was promoted to WWE Vice President of Talent Development Creative.^[114]

In January 2023, Vince McMahon announced intentions to return to the company ahead of media rights negotiations. WWE's media rights with Fox and USA Network are set to expire in 2024.^[115] That same month, JPMorgan were hired to handle a possible sale of the company, with companies such as Comcast (owners of NBCUniversal and long-time partners of WWE), Fox Corp (broadcaster of SmackDown), Disney (owners of ESPN), Warner Bros. Discovery (broadcasters of rival promotion AEW), Netflix, Amazon, Endeavor Group Holdings (owners of UFC), and Liberty Media being in the speculation for buying the company,^[116] with CAA and Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund also on the list.^[117] On January 10, 2023 Stephanie McMahon resigned as Chairwoman and co-CEO, also on the same day Vince McMahon assumed the role of executive Chairman of the WWE while Nick Khan became the sole CEO of the WWE.^[118]

Championships and accomplishments

Current championships

Main article: List of current champions in WWE

Main roster

• The WWE and Universal Championships - while maintaining their separate lineages - are jointly defended across both brands as the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship
• The Raw and SmackDown Tag Team Championships - while maintaining their separate lineages - are jointly defended across both brands as the Undisputed WWE Tag Team Championship
• The WWE Women's Tag Team Championship is defended across both brands.

Championship	Current champion(s)		Reign	Date won	Days held	Location	Notes	Ref.
WWE Championship		Roman Reigns	4	April 3, 2022	308	Arlington, Texas	Defeated Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania 38 Night 2 in a Winner Takes All match in which Reigns defended SmackDown's Universal Championship. With both championships, Reigns is recognized as the Undisputed WWE Universal Champion.	^[119]
Universal Championship			2	August 30, 2020	889	Orlando, Florida	Defeated previous champion "The Fiend" Bray Wyatt and Braun Strowman, who Reigns pinned, in a No Holds Barred Triple Threat match at Payback in 2020. After winning Raw's WWE Championship at WrestleMania 38 Night 2 on April 3, 2022, Reigns is recognized as the Undisputed WWE Universal Champion.	^[120]
Raw Tag Team Championship		The Usos  (Jey Uso and Jimmy Uso)	3	May 20, 2022	261	Grand Rapids, Michigan	Defeated RK-Bro (Randy Orton and Riddle) on SmackDown in a Winners Take All match in which The Usos defended the SmackDown Tag Team Championship. With both championships, The Usos are recognized as the Undisputed WWE Tag Team Champions.	^[121]
SmackDown Tag Team Championship			5	July 18, 2021	567	Fort Worth, Texas	Defeated Rey Mysterio and Dominik Mysterio on the Money in the Bank Kickoff pre-show. After winning the Raw Tag Team Championship on the May 20, 2022, episode of SmackDown, The Usos are recognized as the Undisputed WWE Tag Team Champions.	^[122]
WWE Women's Tag Team Championship		Damage CTRL  (Dakota Kai and Iyo Sky)	2	November 5, 2022	92	Riyadh, Saudi Arabia	Defeated Alexa Bliss and Asuka at Crown Jewel.	^[123]

Raw

Championship	Current champion(s)		Reign	Date won	Days held	Location	Notes	Ref.
Raw Women's Championship		Bianca Belair	1	April 2, 2022	309	Arlington, Texas	Defeated Becky Lynch on WrestleMania 38 Night 1.	^[124]
United States Championship		Austin Theory	2	November 26, 2022	71	Boston, Massachusetts	Defeated previous champion Seth "Freakin" Rollins and Bobby Lashley in a triple threat match at Survivor Series WarGames.	^[125]

SmackDown

Championship	Current champion(s)		Reign	Date won	Days held	Location	Notes	Ref.
SmackDown Women's Championship		Charlotte Flair	7	December 30, 2022	37	Tampa, Florida	Defeated Ronda Rousey on SmackDown.	^[126]
Intercontinental Championship		Gunther	1	June 10, 2022	240	Baton Rouge, Louisiana	Defeated Ricochet on SmackDown.	^[127]

Developmental

NXT

Championship	Current champion(s)		Reign	Date won	Days held	Location	Notes	Ref.
NXT Championship		Bron Breakker	2	April 4, 2022	307	Dallas, Texas	Defeated Dolph Ziggler on Raw.	^[128]
NXT Women's Championship		Roxanne Perez	1	December 13, 2022	54	Orlando, Florida	Defeated Mandy Rose on NXT.	^[129]
NXT North American Championship		Wes Lee	1	October 22, 2022	106	Orlando, Florida	Defeated Carmelo Hayes, Von Wagner, Nathan Frazer, and Oro Mansah in a five-man ladder match for the vacant title at Halloween Havoc. Previous champion Solo Sikoa was stripped of the title as he was not originally booked in the match in which he won it.	^[130]
NXT Tag Team Championship		Gallus (Mark Coffey and Wolfgang)	1	February 4, 2023	1	Charlotte, North Carolina	Defeated former champions The New Day (Kofi Kingston & Xavier Woods), Chance University (Andre Chase & Duke Hudson), and Pretty Deadly (Elton Prince & Kit Wilson) in a fatal four-way tag team match at NXT Vengeance Day.	^[131]
NXT Women's Tag Team Championship		Fallon Henley and Kiana James	1	February 4, 2023	1	Charlotte, North Carolina	Defeated Katana Chance and Kayden Carter at NXT Vengeance Day.	^[131]

Contracts

Main article: List of WWE personnel

WWE signs most of its talent to exclusive contracts, meaning talent can appear or perform only on WWE programming and events. They are not permitted to appear or perform for another promotion unless special arrangements are made beforehand. WWE keeps all wrestlers' salary, employment length, benefits, and all other contract details strictly private.^[132]

WWE classifies its professional wrestlers as independent contractors and not as employees. A study by the University of Louisville Law Review found that after applying the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) 20-factor test, 16 factors "clearly indicate that wrestlers are employees". However, as a result of WWE terming them as independent contractors, "the wrestlers are denied countless benefits to which they would otherwise be entitled".^[133]

In September 2020, WWE reportedly told wrestlers that they could no longer "engage with outside third parties", such as Cameo, and claimed that the WWE "owns the real names of talent, not just their character names".^[134]

In December 2021, WWE revealed a new recruitment contract for athletes who are currently attending college. The NCAA-approved name, image, and likeness contracts are referred to by WWE as "next in line agreements".^[135]

Stock and corporate governance

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.^[33] The company has traded on the NYSE since its launch under ticker symbol WWE.^[34]

The company has actively marketed itself as a publicly traded company through presentations at investor conferences and other investor relations initiatives.^[136] In June 2003, the company began paying a dividend on its shares of $0.04 per share.^[137] In June 2011, the company cut its dividend from $0.36 to $0.12.^[138] In 2014, concerns about the company's viability caused wide fluctuations in its share price.^[139]

Notable executives:

• Vince McMahon - Majority owner, Co-Founder, and Executive Chairman
• Nick Khan - CEO^[140]
• Paul "Triple H" Levesque - Chief Content Officer^[141]

Legal disputes and controversies

1990s drug scandal

Main article: United States v. McMahon

During the 1980s and 1990s, Dr. George Zahorian was thought to have routinely distributed steroids and other drugs to WWF wrestlers, supposedly with the approval of WWF owner Vince McMahon.^{[142][unreliable source?]} In 1993, McMahon was indicted in federal court after the steroid controversy engulfed the promotion, forcing him to temporarily cede control of the WWF to his wife Linda.^[143] The case went to trial in 1994, where McMahon himself was accused of distributing steroids to his wrestlers.^[144] One notable prosecution witness was Nailz (real name: Kevin Wacholz), a former WWF performer who had been fired after a violent confrontation with McMahon. Nailz testified that McMahon had ordered him to use steroids, but his credibility was called into question during his testimony as he repeatedly stated that he "hated" McMahon.^[145][146] The jury would later acquit McMahon of the charges and he resumed his role in the day-to day operations of the WWF.^{[citation needed]}

Disputes with rival companies

In 1996, Titan Sports, the parent company of the World Wrestling Federation, sued World Championship Wrestling (WCW) over WCW implying that Scott Hall and Kevin Nash (Razor Ramon and Diesel) were invading WCW on the WWF's behalf. This led to a series of lawsuits filed by both companies as the Monday Night War heated up. The lawsuit went on for years, ending with a settlement in 2000. One of the terms gave then WWF the right to bid on WCW's assets if the company were liquidated. AOL Time Warner, the then-parent company of WCW, cancelled WCW's television shows in March 2001 and sold the company assets to the WWF.^{[147][unreliable source?]}

On May 23, 2012, Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA, now Impact Wrestling) sued former employee Brian Wittenstein and WWE. The suit alleged that Wittenstein violated a non-disclosure agreement and shared confidential information with the WWE which represented a comparative advantage in negotiating with wrestling talent under contract with TNA. He was subsequently hired by WWE, after which TNA asserted that Wittenstein violated the agreement by downloading confidential TNA trade secrets and providing that information to WWE. Although WWE fired Wittenstein and alerted TNA officials as to the disclosure of the information, TNA claimed that WWE had access to the information for three weeks prior to disclosure and in this time, the WWE used secret contract information and attempted to poach their talent in violation of Tennessee's Uniform Trade Secrets Act.^[148] The lawsuit was formally withdrawn without prejudice, by the plaintiff, TNA, on January 15, 2013, under a "Notice of Voluntary Nonsuit" which offers no ruling on the merits of the suit and allows TNA to potentially refile at a later date.^[149]

On January 11, 2022, Major League Wrestling (MLW) filed an anti-trust lawsuit against WWE, accusing them of interfering in television and streaming deals and poaching talent. Through the lawsuit, it was disclosed that a streaming deal with Fox Corporation-owned Tubi was terminated due to WWE allegedly threatening to pull their programming from the sibling Fox broadcast network. The suit also alleges that WWE pressured Vice TV to withdraw from negotiations with MLW.^[150][151]

Owen Hart's death

On May 23, 1999, Owen Hart fell to his death in Kansas City, Missouri during the Over the Edge pay-per-view event in a stunt that went wrong. WWF broke kayfabe by having television commentator Jim Ross repeatedly tell those watching live on pay-per-view that what had just transpired was not a wrestling angle or storyline and that Hart was hurt badly, emphasizing the seriousness of the situation.^[152] While several attempts to revive him were made, he died from his injuries. The cause of death was later revealed to be internal bleeding from blunt force trauma. The WWF management controversially chose to continue the event.^[153] Later, Jim Ross announced the death of Hart to the home viewers during the pay-per-view, but not to the crowd in the arena.^[154] While the show did go on, it has never been released commercially by WWF Home Video. In 2014, fifteen years after his death, the WWE Network aired the event for the first time. A small photo tribute is shown before the start informing fans that Hart died during the original broadcast. All footage of Hart was edited out of the event. The statement reads: "In Memory of Owen Hart May 7, 1965 – May 23, 1999 who accidentally passed away during this broadcast."^{[citation needed]} Four weeks after the event, the Hart family sued the WWF over how dangerous and poorly planned the stunt was, and that the harness system was defective.^[155] After over a year and a half into the case, a settlement was reached on November 2, 2000, which saw the WWF give the Hart family US$18 million.^{[156][157][158]}

Dispute with USA Network

In April 2000, USA Networks had filed a lawsuit against World Wrestling Federation Entertainment Inc. in a bid to keep Raw is War and all WWF programming after the WWF opened up a bidding a month prior.^[159] Viacom's proposed bid included a $30-million to $50-million equity investment in the company and carriage on broadcast, billboards and radio of both wrestling matches along with the then-launched XFL.

On June 27, 2000, the Delaware Supreme Court ruled in favor of the WWF.^[160] The next day, Viacom won the rights to all WWF programming for $12.6 million including Raw is War on TNN/Spike TV, a revamped Sunday Night Heat on MTV and retained SmackDown! on UPN after the merger with CBS in 1999. The lawsuit centered on USA's contention that it did not have to match every aspect of a Viacom offer to satisfy a right of first refusal clause in its contract that allowed its deal with the WWF to continue.^{[161][162][163]} In 2005, WWE's programming (excluding SmackDown!) moved back to USA Network (now owned by NBCUniversal) and maintains its relationship to this day.^[164]

WWF name dispute

In 1994, Titan Sports had entered into an agreement with the World Wide Fund for Nature (also trademarked WWF), an environmental organization, regarding Titan's use of the "WWF" acronym, which both organizations had been using since at least March 1979. Under the agreement, Titan had agreed to cease using the written acronym "WWF" in connection with its wrestling promotion, and to minimize (though not eliminate) spoken uses of "WWF" on its broadcasts, particularly in scripted comments. In exchange, the environmental group (and its national affiliates) agreed to drop any pending litigation against Titan, and agreed not to challenge Titan's use of the full "World Wrestling Federation" name or the promotion's then-current logo.^[165]

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.^[166] 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.^[47] 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 Raw, which was broadcast from the Hartford Civic Center in Hartford, Connecticut.

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.^[167] 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.^[168] However, the packaging on those games had all WWF references replaced with WWE.

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.^[169] In addition, the F in 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 and eventually the WWE Network service. This also includes WWE Home Video releases since October 2012, starting with the re-release of Brock Lesnar: Here Comes The Pain.^[170] Although the WWF initials and logo are no longer censored in archival footage, WWE cannot use the WWF initials or logo in any new, original footage, packaging, or advertising.^[171]

Harry Slash and the Slashtones lawsuit

Harry "Slash" Grivas and Roderick Kohn filed a lawsuit against WWE in June 2003 due to the music being used for its programming and DVDs without consent or payment. It also asserted a violation of the rights to original music used by ECW that WWE had been using during the Invasion storyline of 2001. The case was resolved on both sides with a settlement that saw WWE purchase the catalog outright in January 2005.^[172]

Ultimate Warrior-related disputes

In 1993, Jim Hellwig, known in the WWF as "The Ultimate Warrior", legally changed his name to the mononym Warrior.^[173][174] This one-word name appears on all legal documents pertaining to Warrior, and his children carry the Warrior name as their legal surname.^[175] Warrior and the WWF engaged in a series of lawsuits and legal actions in 1996 and 1998,^[176] where both parties sought a declaration that they owned the characters, Warrior and Ultimate Warrior, under both contract and copyright law. The court ruled that Warrior was legally entitled to use the gimmick, costuming, face paint designs, and mannerisms of the "Warrior" character.^[177]

On September 27, 2005, WWE released a DVD documentary focusing on Warrior's retrospective wrestling career, titled The Self-Destruction of the Ultimate Warrior. The DVD featured clips of his more notable feuds and matches along with commentary from WWE stars past and present (most of which are unflattering). The DVD has provoked some controversy due to Warrior's allegations of libel by WWE against him. Originally, Warrior was asked to help with the production of the DVD, but as he refused to work with WWE, there had been some resulting animosity between Warrior and WWE over the Warrior claiming bias on the part of WWE.^[178] In January 2006, Warrior filed another lawsuit against WWE in an Arizona court over the depiction of his wrestling career in The Self-Destruction of the Ultimate Warrior DVD.^[179] On September 18, 2009, Warrior's lawsuit in Arizona was dismissed.

Warrior returned to WWE to be inducted into the Hall of Fame. During his induction, he mentioned that WWE should create an award to honor those behind the scenes called the Jimmy Miranda Award, named after a long time WWE employee who died. Warrior died three days after being inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame. WWE decided to create the Warrior Award, an award for people "who embodied the spirit of the Ultimate Warrior." The award was later given to Connor Michalek (a child who died from cancer), Joan Lunden (a journalist who was diagnosed with cancer), and Eric LeGrand (a former college football player who became a quadriplegic after an in-game injury). In October 2017, WWE used the tagline "Unleash Your Warrior" when promoting Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Since Warrior's death, WWE has been accused of whitewashing and ignoring Warrior's bigoted and controversial past comments.^[180] Pro Wrestling Torch described Warrior in real-life having made public "vile, bigoted, hateful, judgmental comments", citing as an example that regarding Bobby Heenan's cancer diagnosis, Warrior said, "Karma is just a beautiful thing to behold."^[181] Vice wrote that "completely whitewashing his past and elevating his likeness to a bland symbol of corporate altruism is shockingly tone-deaf, especially for a company that's at least outwardly trying to appear progressive, inclusive and diverse."^[180]

Morals clause violations

Under Section 9.13(a) of WWE's booking contract, commonly known as the "morals clause", the company has a zero-tolerance policy involving domestic violence, child abuse and sexual assault. Upon arrest and conviction for such crimes, a WWE talent shall be immediately suspended and their contract terminated.^[182]

• On May 10, 1983, Nancy Argentino, the girlfriend of Jimmy Snuka, then 39 years old, died in their hotel room, hours after Snuka defeated José Estrada at a WWF TV taping at the Lehigh County Agricultural Hall in Allentown, Pennsylvania. Snuka was arrested 32 years later on September 1, 2015, and charged with third-degree murder and involuntary manslaughter for Argentino's death.^[183][184] This eventually led WWE to suspend his Legends contract (a long-term deal to make infrequent, non-wrestling appearances) and removed his Hall of Fame page from its website.^[185] However, Snuka never stood trial due to his poor health, and he died on January 15, 2017.^{[186][unreliable source?]}
• In June 2003, Eddie Fatu (then known as "Jamal" and later "Umaga") was released after his involvement in a bar fight.^[187]
• In the aftermath of Chris Benoit's murder of his wife and son, along with his suicide in June 2007, the WWE removed mentions of Benoit in its broadcasts and its merchandise.^[188][189]
• On November 30, 2012 Thom Latimer, then known as Kenneth Cameron, was charged with battery of a law enforcement officer and disorderly intoxication in St. Petersburg, Florida which led him being released from his NXT contract by the WWE. Latimer had previously been arrested in January 2011 for driving under the influence.^[190]
• On December 10, 2017, Rich Swann was arrested in Gainesville, Florida on charges of battery and kidnapping/false imprisonment.^[191][192] The victim was identified as his wife, Vannarah Riggs. According to the arrest report, Swann and Riggs had gotten into an argument over Swann critiquing Riggs's performance at a show that night. When Riggs tried to get away from Swann, witnesses state that he grabbed her in a headlock and dragged her back into his car.^[193][194] WWE suspended Swann indefinitely and was released on February 15, 2018.^[195] He was originally scheduled to face Drew Gulak in a match to determine the number one contender to the Cruiserweight Championship, Enzo Amore, the following night on Raw, but the match was cancelled in light of his domestic violence arrest.^[194]
• On January 22, 2018, the Phoenix Police Department confirmed that Eric Arndt (Enzo Amore) was under investigation for an alleged sexual assault that was reported to authorities in October 2017.^[196][197] Later that day, Arndt was suspended by WWE due to violating their zero tolerance policy for matters involving sexual harassment and sexual assault. WWE released a statement indicating that he would remain suspended until the matter was resolved.^[198] In an interview on January 23, a woman accused Arndt of raping her in a Phoenix, Arizona, hotel room on October 19, 2017.^[199] As a result, his scheduled title defense against Cedric Alexander at the Royal Rumble was cancelled.^[200] Arndt was fired from WWE the next day and the title was vacated.^[201][202] On Twitter, Arndt "fully and unequivocally" denied the allegations against him.^[203] On May 16, 2018, the Phoenix Police Department ceased their investigation due to insufficient evidence.^[204]

Concussion lawsuit

Starting in 2014, numerous former WWE talent filed multiple lawsuits against WWE alleging that WWE did not protect and hid information from their talent about concussions and CTE. The former talent claimed physical and mental health issues as a result physical trauma they experience in WWE. The lawsuits were filed by attorney Konstantine Kyros. US District Judge Vanessa Lynne Bryant dismissed many of the lawsuits in September 2018.^[205] In September 2020, the lawsuits were dismissed by the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.^[206] The Supreme Court of the United States subsequently declined to hear the case in April 2021.^[207]

Relationship with Saudi Arabia

Main article: WWE in Saudi Arabia

The events promoted in Saudi Arabia by WWE have been subjected to criticism due to allegations of sportswashing. WWE has been accused of contributing to Saudi Arabia's discrimination of LGBT people and women by holding events in the country.^[208][209]

WWE's relation with Saudi Arabia has been condemned by activist groups such as Code Pink and several politicians.^{[210][211][212][213]}

Misconduct allegations involving Vince McMahon

One of the first allegations against Vince McMahon was made on April 3, 1992, when Rita Chatterton, a former referee noted for her stint as Rita Marie in the WWF in the 1980s and for being the first female referee in the WWF (possibly in professional wrestling history),^[214] made an appearance on Geraldo Rivera's show Now It Can Be Told. She claimed that on July 16, 1986, McMahon tried to force her to perform oral sex on him in his limousine; when she refused, he raped her.^[215] Former wrestler Leonard Inzitari has corroborated Chatterton's allegation.^[216] Several years later, on February 1, 2006, McMahon was accused of sexual harassment by a worker at a tanning bar in Boca Raton, Florida.^[217] At first, the charge appeared to be discredited because McMahon was in Miami for the 2006 Royal Rumble at the time. It was soon clarified that the alleged incident was reported to police on the day of the Rumble, but actually took place the day before.^[218] On March 25, it was reported that no charges would be filed against McMahon as a result of the investigation.^[219] Both Chatterton and the 2006 accuser would eventually file civil sex abuse lawsuits against McMahon in late 2022.^[220]

In 2014 activist investor Emmanuel Lemelson stated that he believed the company had made material misrepresentations in its financial reporting^[221][222] and called for new leadership or a sale of the company.^[223] Lemelson's analysis was credited with an $800 million drop in the market capitalization of the stock.^{[224][225][226][227]}

In April 2022, the WWE board began investigating a $3 million hush-money settlement that McMahon paid over an alleged affair with a former employee of the company. The investigation also revealed other nondisclosure agreements related to misconduct claims by other women in the company against McMahon and executive John Laurinaitis, totaling $12 million.^{[228][229][230]} This eventually led to McMahon retiring from all of his positions on July 22, 2022, and a change in leadership of the WWE for the first time in 40 years since 1982.^{[231][232][233]}

The company would eventually report $19.6 million in unrecorded payments made by Vince McMahon between 2006 and 2022.^[234]

Terminology

WWE uses a variety of special terms in promoting their product, such as describing the wrestling industry as sports entertainment. The fan base is referred to as the "WWE Universe" for the main roster shows, while for NXT shows, they are also referred to as the "NXT Universe". Main roster wrestlers are designated a "WWE Superstar", while those in NXT are also referred to as an "NXT Superstar". Retired wrestlers are described as "WWE Legends", while those who have been inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame are called "Hall of Famers".^[235]

WWE Network and distribution deals

Main article: WWE Network

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.^[236] The network reached 1,000,000 subscribers on January 27, 2015, in less than one year of its launch, with WWE claiming that it was thus "the fastest-growing digital subscription service ever".^[237]

In May 2014, WWE and NBCUniversal agreed to a new contract that would see both Raw and SmackDown continue on NBC owned networks the USA Network and Syfy.^[238] In January 2016, SmackDown would change networks to the USA Network. The contract with NBCUniversal expires in 2019.^[239] On November 17, 2016, WWE and Sky Deutschland signed a multi-year agreement to distribute WWE's premier pay-per-view events and broadcast Raw and SmackDown Live on SKY Sports starting in April 2017.^[240] On April 10, 2017, WWE and DAZN, announced that Raw and SmackDown would be available live in Japan with Japanese commentary for the first time ever.^[241] On April 27, 2017, WWE and TV5, announced a new agreement to broadcast one-hour editions of SmackDown.^[242] On May 12, 2017, WWE and Saran Media, announced a new multi-year agreement to televise Raw and SmackDown.^[243] On July 10, 2017, WWE and AB 1, extended their partnership into its 18th year with a new, multi-year agreement to broadcast WWE programming.^[244] On July 20, 2017, WWE and SuperSport, announced a new, multi-year agreement to broadcast WWE programming live for the first time in more than 50 countries.^[245] On August 1, 2017, WWE and Foxtel, extend their partnership into its 18th year with a new agreement to broadcast WWE programming.^[246] On August 8, 2017, WWE and Canal 1, a new agreement to broadcast One-hour editions of Raw and SmackDown.^[247] On August 16, 2017, WWE and Nine Network announced a broadcast agreement to air weekly one-hour versions of Raw and SmackDown.^[248] On August 24, 2017, WWE and Flow announced a multi-year agreement to televise WWE's flagship programmes Raw and SmackDown.^[249] On September 7, 2017, WWE and TVA Sports announced a multi-year agreement to air a weekly, one-hour only edition of Raw, in French in Canada.^[249] On October 24, 2017, WWE and Sport TV announced a multi-year agreement to air Raw and SmackDown.^[250] On December 15, 2017, WWE and IB SPORTS, they will extend their partnership with a new agreement to broadcast WWE programming live for the first time in South Korea.^[251] On December 18, 2017, WWE and SPS HD, announced an agreement to broadcast Raw and SmackDown on SPS Sports for the first time in Mongolia.^[252]

On December 13, 2017, WWE and Facebook announced a new Internet in-ring series called WWE Mixed Match Challenge that will stream live in the U.S. exclusively on Facebook Watch. Premiering on January 16, 2018, the 12-episode series will feature wrestlers from both the Raw and SmackDown rosters competing in a single-elimination mixed tag-team tournament to win $100,000 to support the charity of their choice. Each episode will be 20 minutes long and will air at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT.^[253]

In early 2021, WWE announced that the WWE Network in the United States would become exclusively distributed by Peacock starting on March 18, 2021 (ahead of Fastlane and WrestleMania 37). The merger of the WWE Network and Peacock did not affect the service outside of the United States.^[93]

Expansion beyond wrestling

Subsidiaries

Active

• TSI Realty Co. (1997–present): In 1997, WWE established a real estate brokerage and investment firm called TSI Realty Company.^[254]
• WWE Archives (2010–present): Warehouses where WWE holds classic wrestling gears, props, and equipment.
• WWE Books (2002–present): A book series that often publishes biographies of WWE personalities, behind-the-scenes guides to WWE, illustrated books, calendars, young adult books, and other nonfiction books.
• WCW Inc. (2000–present): A WCW subsidiary that was originally created as W. Acquisition Company in 2000. It was renamed WCW Inc. in 2001 following the WWF's purchase of WCW and owns the rights to the video library and intellectual property for World Championship Wrestling.
• WWE Legacy Department (2001–present): A collection of professional wrestling videos and copyrights.
• WWE Studios (2002–present): A subsidiary that creates and develops feature film properties. In November 2017, WWE announced that WWE Studios will now include scripted, non-scripted, family and animated television and digital content. Formerly known as WWE Films.
• WWE Music Group (2006–present): A music group that specializes in compilation albums of WWE wrestlers' entrance themes. The group also releases titles that have been performed by WWE wrestlers.
• WWE Jet Services, Inc. (2013–present): A subsidiary formed to manage the financing and operations of the company's fleet of private jets.
• WWE Performance Center (2013–present): A subsidiary that serves as the usual training center for future employees.
• WWE Network (2014–present): A subscription-based video streaming service that uses the infrastructure of Endeavor Streaming.
• WWEShop.com (2015–present): A website established as the place to buy officially licensed WWE-related apparel, gear, and several other of the merchandise's products.
• Alpha Entertainment (2018–present): A limited liability company that was established in 2018 by Vince McMahon for the purpose of being the parent company of the new XFL. While McMahon stated that the XFL would remain as a separate company from WWE, it was revealed through WWE's 2018 10-K that the company holds a minority stake in Alpha Entertainment.^[255]
• WWE Podcast Network (2019–present): A podcast network that features several WWE wrestlers hosting their own podcasts. WWE partnered with Endeavor Audio to launch the network.^[256]
• WWE Moonsault (2022–present): It is WWE's official NFT marketplace. Moonsault was launched in conjunction with FOX Entertainment's Web3 studio Blockchain Creative Labs.^[257]

Defunct

• World Bodybuilding Federation (1990–1992): A subsidiary of Titan Sports which promoted professional bodybuilding through a television show, magazine, and annual pay-per-view events.
• Radio WWF (1993) A syndicated radio station hosted by Jim Ross and Johnny Polo. The station featured shows that would cover ongoing WWF storylines and behind the scenes incidents. Radio WWF hosts also provided commentary for two pay-per-views.
• Wrestle Vessel (1996–1999): A series of WWF-themed cruise ship experiences.
• XFL (2000–2001): An partially-owned subsidiary of the WWF which comprised eight league-owned professional football teams. The league included television broadcasts on NBC (the other co-owners of the league), UPN, and TNN.
• The World Entertainment (1999–2003): A subsidiary of World Wrestling Federation/Entertainment that operated a restaurant, nightclub, and memorabilia shop in New York City. World originally opened as "WWF New York", and was renamed to "The World". Hard Rock Cafe took over the location in 2005.
• WWE Niagara Falls (2002–2011): A retail store that was located in Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada. The store featured autograph signings and appearances by WWE wrestlers, alumni, and Hall of Famers.
• WWE Classics on Demand (2004–2014): A subscription video-on-demand television service. Classics had footage from WWE's archive footage, including World Championship Wrestling, Extreme Championship Wrestling, and others. Classics offered around 40 hours of rotating programming per month, arranged into four programming buckets, and often centered on a specific theme.
• WWE Kids (2008–2014): A website and comic set, aimed at the children's end of the wrestling market. WWE Kids' comics were produced bi-monthly.
• WWE Universe (2008–2011): A social media website which was managed and operated by WWE. Its original name was "WWE Fan Nation" and was renamed as "WWE Universe".
• WWE Magazine (1983–2014): WWE's magazine – originally released bi-monthly, it later switching to a monthly schedule, before being discontinued in 2014.
• WWE Home Video (1997–present): A home video subsidiary that specialized in distributing VHS, DVD, and Blu-ray Disc copies of WWE pay-per-view events, compilations of WWE wrestlers' performances and entrances, and biographies of WWE performers.

Investments

• Tout: A social media 15-second video service. In 2012, WWE invested $5,000,000 and entered into a two-year partnership. Stephanie McMahon was named a part of the Tout Board of Directors. The agreement between the two companies ended in 2014.^[258]
• Marvel Experience: Marvel Experience is an interactive live event with Marvel characters appearing. WWE invested in the experience in 2013.^[259]
• Phunware: A business that creates mobile apps. WWE invested in Phunware in 2014 and^[260] uses the company for their app.
• FloSports: An over-the-top sport streaming service that WWE originally invested into in 2016. In 2019, WWE once again invested into FloSports. The sports that are available in FloSports include amateur wrestling, professional wrestling, track, grappling, mixed martial arts, boxing, softball, gymnastics, basketball, tennis, volleyball, cheerleading, and eSports.^[261]
• Avid Technology: A technology and multimedia company. Avid specializes in audio and video; specifically digital non-linear editing systems, management and distribution services. WWE invested in Avid in 2016.^[262]
• Drone Racing League: A league that contains remote-controlled lightweight aircraft races and appears as a spectator sport. WWE invested in Drone in 2017.^[263]
• Cloud9: An eSports organization, which has teams compete in many different video games including a WWE sponsor, Rocket League. WWE invested in Cloud9 in 2017.^[264]
• DraftKings: WWE's fantasy sports partner.^[265]
• Rad: A company that has a streaming platform focusing on non-fungible token technology for film, TV, and celebrities. WWE invested in Rad in 2021.^[266]
• Jomboy Media: A multimedia company that produces a baseball show. WWE invested in Jomboy Media in 2022.^[267]
• Premier Lacrosse League: A professional lacrosse league in the United States and Canada. WWE invested in the Premier Lacrosse League in 2022.^[268]

Charities

• WWE has had a partnership with the Make-A-Wish Foundation that spans three decades.^[269] Multi-time WWE champion John Cena has granted more wishes than any other celebrity in history, having completed his 500th wish in August 2015.^[270]
• In 2011, WWE launched its anti-bullying campaign, Be A S.T.A.R (Show Tolerance and Respect). The campaign targets children. The campaign consists of an interactive ceremony with WWE Superstars visiting children at their schools and lecture the children on bullying.^[271]
• Since 2012, WWE has partnered with Susan G. Komen for the Cure to raise awareness of breast cancer during the month of October. Their partnership includes offering special charity-related wrestler merchandise, as well as adding a pink color scheme to the sets and ring ropes; 20% of all October purchases of WWE merchandise go to the organization.^[272]
• Since 2012, WWE has partnered with Hire Heroes USA to donate and implement a veterans hiring initiatives through WWE's partners.^[273] Multiple times a year, WWE hosts a panel for companies and veterans to come together and discuss career opportunities.^[274]
• In June 2014, Connor's Cure^[275] – a non-profit charitable organization – was established by Triple H and Stephanie McMahon, who have personally funded it through the Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh Foundation. It is named in honor of Pittsburgh native Connor Mason Michalek (October 17, 2005 – April 25, 2014) who had died two months earlier from medulloblastoma, a rare tumor that affects the brain and spinal cord. Beginning in 2015, WWE began recognizing September as Pediatric Cancer Awareness Month, adding a gold color scheme to the sets and ring ropes, and offering special Connor's Cure merchandise, with the proceeds going to charity.^[276][277]
• In 2014, WWE entered into an international partnership with the Special Olympics.^[278]
• In 2016, WWE entered into a multiyear agreement with Boys & Girls Clubs of America.^[279]
• In October 2018, a week before the Evolution pay-per-view, the WWE and the United Nations Foundation's Girl Up created Sports for a Purpose program aiming to create a culture of sports participation for girls around the world. The program launched in fall 2019. Stephanie McMahon stated, "WWE is proud to partner with Girl Up to create Sports for a Purpose, a new program designed to help our youth achieve gender equality in sports. Playing sports has a positive impact on girls' leadership skills, confidence and self-esteem, and we are excited to work with Girl Up to create this meaningful program."^[280]
• In 2019, WWE announced a partnership with Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. The partnership will feature using their platform to drive WWE awareness and support for the research of leukemia. WWE Superstar and leukemia survivor Roman Reigns will be featured in the campaign.^[281]
• In November 2021, WWE announced a multi-year partnership with National Medal of Honor Museum Foundation. The partnership will honor those who were awarded the Metal of Honor and WWE will raise funds through ticket sales.^[282]

Relationship with Tapout

Main article: Tapout (clothing brand)

In March 2015, WWE announced a partnership with Authentic Brands Group to relaunch Tapout, formerly a major MMA-related clothing line, as a more general "lifestyle fitness" brand. The apparel, for men and women, was first released in spring of 2016. WWE markets the brand through various products, including beverages, supplements, and gyms.^[283] WWE will hold a 50% stake in the brand, and so will advertise it regularly across all its platforms, hoping to give it one billion impressions a month, and take some of the fitness market from Under Armour. WWE wrestlers and staff have been shown wearing various Tapout gear since the venture began.^[284]

Partnerships

Though an infrequent occurrence, during its history WWE has worked with other wrestling promotions in collaborative efforts.

During the 1970s, 1980s, and early 1990s, WWE had working relationships with the Japanese New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), Universal Wrestling Federation (UWF), Universal Lucha Libre (FULL), and the Mexican Universal Wrestling Association (UWA). These working relationships led to the creations of the WWF World Martial Arts, Light Heavyweight and Intercontinental Tag Team championships.^{[285][286][287][288]}

During the period of 1992–1996, WWE had talent exchange agreements with the United States and Japanese independent companies Smokey Mountain Wrestling (SMW),^[289][290] Super World of Sports (SWS),^[291] WAR,^[292] and the United States Wrestling Association (USWA).^[293]

In 1997, the company did business with Mexico's AAA promotion, bringing in a number of AAA wrestlers for the Royal Rumble event and namesake match.^[294][295]

In 1997, WWE would also do business with Japan's Michinoku Pro Wrestling (MPW), bringing in MPW talent to compete in the company's light heavyweight division and in their 1997 Light Heavyweight Championship tournament.^[296]

In 2015, WWE entered a partnership with Evolve – a U.S. independent promotion that WWE uses as a scouting group for potential signees for the NXT brand.^[297] In 2020, WWE would purchase Evolve for an undisclosed amount.^[298]

In 2016, WWE partnered with England's Progress Wrestling with Progress hosting qualifying matches for WWE's Cruiserweight Classic.^[299] In 2017, Progress talent would participate in the WWE United Kingdom Championship Tournament^[300] and at WWE's WrestleMania Axxess events.^[301] Three years later in 2020, Progress programming began airing on the WWE Network.

In 2017, WWE partnered with Scotland's Insane Championship Wrestling (ICW) with some ICW talent appearing in the WWE United Kingdom Championship Tournament and at WWE's WrestleMania Axxess events.^[301] In 2017, WWE explored a deal to bring ICW programming onto the WWE Network^[302] – ICW programming began airing on the WWE Network in 2020.

In 2018, WWE partnered with Germany's Westside Xtreme Wrestling (wXw).^[303] In October 2018, WWE hosted German tryouts at the wXw Wrestling Academy.^[304] In 2020, wXw programming began airing on the WWE Network.

Throughout the company's history, WWE has had past arrangements with independent companies from the contiguous United States (such as Ohio Valley Wrestling) and Puerto Rico (such as the International Wrestling Association) with the companies serving as developmental territories.^[305]

In 2023, WWE (specifically their NXT brand) announced a partnership with the Texas based independent promotion Reality of Wrestling (ROW), which is owned by WWE Hall of Famer and NXT commentator Booker T.^[306]

Talent wellness program

The World Wrestling Federation had a drug-testing policy in place as early as 1987, initially run by an in-house administrator. In 1991, wrestlers were subjected to independent testing for anabolic steroids for the first time.^[307] The independent testing was ceased in 1996, being deemed too expensive as the company was going through financial duress at the time as a result of their competitors, World Championship Wrestling, being so overwhelmingly more popular and hurting the federation's business.^[308]

The Talent Wellness Program is a comprehensive drug, alcohol, and cardiac screening program initiated in February 2006, three months after the sudden death of one of their highest-profile and most popular talents, Eddie Guerrero, who died at 38-years-old.^[309] The policy tests for recreational drug use and abuse of prescription medication, including anabolic steroids.^[309] 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.^[309] The Wellness Policy requires that all talent "under contract to WWE who regularly perform in-ring services as a professional sports entertainer" undergo testing; however, part-time competitors are exempt from testing.^[310]

After the double-murder and suicide committed by one of its performers, Chris Benoit, with a possible link to steroid 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.^[311]

In August 2007, WWE and its employees defended the program in the wake of several busts of illegal pharmacy 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.^{[312][313][314]}

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,^[315] which can be potentially fatal if gone undiagnosed. The ailment was discovered while Assad was going through a routine Wellness Policy checkup.

On September 13, 2010, WWE updated their list of banned substances to include muscle relaxers.^[316]

Notes

1. Vince McMahon owns 38.6% of the outstanding stock of WWE and 81.1% of the voting power^[2]

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Further reading

• Fargiorgo, Joseph (2014). WWE: Wrestling, Wellness & Entertainment – An Analysis of Work and Health in Professional Wrestling (MA). Department of Sociology and Anthropology, University of Guelph. Retrieved September 7, 2021 – via The Atrium at University of Guelpgh.
• Olson, Cristopher; Reinhard, Carrie Lynn D. (2021). "Wrestling with Eating Disorders: Transmedia Depictions of Body Issues in WWE's Women's Professional Wrestling". In Johnson, Malynnda; Olson, Cristopher (eds.). Normalizing Mental Illness and Neurodiversity in Entertainment Media (1st E-book ed.). London: Routledge. doi:10.4324/9781003011668-15. ISBN 9781003011668. S2CID 233598773.
• Verma, D. S. (2020). Wresting Fans as Players, Performers as Characters: Conceptualizing WWE Storytelling and Production in Terms of Games and Play (Master). Faculty of Humanities Theses, Utrecht University. hdl:1874/399263. Retrieved September 7, 2021 – via Utrecht University Repository.

External links

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