Hardcore wrestling is a form of professional wrestling that eschews traditional concepts of match rules in favor of matches that take place in unusual environments, using foreign objects that are not normally permitted.[1] Although hardcore wrestling is a staple among some wrestling promotions, where they are used at the climaxes of feuds, some promotions (such as Big Japan Pro Wrestling and Combat Zone Wrestling) specialized in hardcore wrestling, with many matches performed in this manner.
Hardcore wrestling became acknowledged as a major wrestling style first in Japan with promotions such as FMW and W*ING. It then became successful in America with Extreme Championship Wrestling. The World Wrestling Federation capitalizing on the success and introduced the WWF Hardcore Championship. The WWF soon began to turn the matches into comedy skits, illustrating the ridiculousness they involved. Hardcore is in sound contrast to traditional mat-based wrestling, where solid technical skills are preferred over stuntwork, blood, and sheer shock value.
The term garbage wrestling is attributed to Japanese wrestler Giant Baba who used it originally to describe a style of wrestling which required little wrestling athletic ability and often involved no wrestling at all, which is rather common in much of hardcore wrestling. Some in the United States consider it a derogatory term. Many fans of traditional professional wrestling, or simply wrestling in general, find the pure hardcore style appalling and unworthy of the title of professional wrestling, considering it little more than glorified streetfighting with weapons. Aside from Giant Baba coining the term "garbage wrestling" (which is rather characteristic, as many hardcore matches start and/or end with garbage items filling the ring), multi-time World Champion Ric Flair has also criticized exclusively hardcore performers like Mick Foley of being "glorified stuntmen" due to the radical spots he has performed throughout his career combined with his self-admitted lack of ability to do any other sort of match in the ring.[22] The critics of hardcore wrestling do not necessarily reject the idea of hardcore matches or spots in professional wrestling. What they react most negatively to is poor or unskilled wrestlers incapable of wrestling any other style making careers out of being hardcore wrestlers.
The hardcore wrestling style also tended to burn itself out if used too much. Each spotfest raised expectations for the next one leading to excess and eventually self-parody. In the World Wrestling Federation, the concept of hardcore wrestling became by company plan a parody of itself. Not long after the birth of the WWF Hardcore Championship, and the 24/7 rule it constituted, the title became the subject of comedic scenarios and exchanged hands more than any other championship, quickly degrading whatever value it had as a championship belt.[23] A similar event took place in World Championship Wrestling with Norman Smiley and manager Jimmy Hart approaching hardcore bouts, suited up in football gear and Medieval plate armor, while pushing shopping carts filled with foreign objects to the ring.
In terms of ring psychology, many fans consider the worst examples of hardcore wrestling to be "spotfests" and claim that the matches have no direction. This is attributed to the idea that they rely heavily on drastic spots with no transition between them aside from often unrealistically setting up the next spot and with little concern over the actual result of the match. Matches may find themselves in awkward looking moments due to the difficulty in setting up a highly dangerous spot, as evident when New Jack and Vic Grimes clinched onto one another, hesitantly preparing to fall off a 20-foot scaffold. The spot resulted in both men falling to the concrete floor and New Jack receiving both brain damage and permanent blindness in his right eye.
Performance which takes place between these major spots is often subject to elementary brawling or usage of less "damaging" weapons like a crutch or flimsy aluminum tray and, as aforementioned, may be restricted to obscure situations of spot preparation. This is in stark contrast to conventional wrestling which requires a practice and technique to accomplish the various stages of a match and maintain the effect of a real battle.
The "anything goes" ruling may also require an even greater suspension of disbelief than mat wrestling due to the fact that, in kayfabe, the performers may use absolutely any items they choose as weapons. The matches can fall into almost cartoonish levels of violence where weapons that should cause serious injury in the real world do no harm at all. They also often avoid weapons that could help win a match in favor of those that allow for the theatrical suffering or mutilation of their opponent such as a staple gun, broken glass, cacti, or even small biting animals. Many such elements are embellished even further in the "deathmatch" style virtually unseen in mainstream western promotions, with heavy emphasis on blood, mutilation, and shock value. These elements introduce perhaps a much darker side to the world of professional wrestling with its constant aim to please fans. In 1980, the son of Vincent J. McMahon, Vincent Kennedy McMahon, founded Titan Sports, Inc. and in 1982 purchased Capitol Wrestling Corporation from his father. 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 sport.
The WWF was not the only promotion to have broken ranks with the NWA; the American Wrestling Association (AWA) had long ago ceased being an official NWA member (although like the WWF, they seldom left their own territory). But in neither instance did the defecting member attempt to undermine the territory system that had been the foundation of the industry for more than half a century.
Other promoters were furious when McMahon began syndicating WWF television shows to television stations across the United States, in areas outside of the WWF's traditional northeastern stronghold. McMahon also began selling videotapes of WWF events outside the Northeast through his Coliseum Video distribution company. He effectively broke the unwritten law of regionalism around which the entire industry had been based. To make matters worse, McMahon used the income generated by advertising, television deals, and tape sales to poach talent from rival promoters. Wrestling promoters nationwide were now in direct competition with the WWF.
Hulk Hogan, due to his appearance in Rocky III had a national recognition that few other wrestlers could offer, which is what led McMahon to sign him. Roddy Piper was brought in, as well as Jesse Ventura (although Ventura rarely wrestled in the WWF at that point due to the lung disorder that caused his retirement, moving to the commentator booth alongside Gorilla Monsoon). André the Giant, Jimmy Snuka, Don Muraco, Paul Orndorff, Greg Valentine, Ricky Steamboat and the Iron Sheik rounded out the roster. Hogan was clearly McMahon's biggest star, but there was debate as to whether the WWF could've achieved national success without him.
According to several reports, the elder McMahon warned his son: "Vinny, what are you doing? You'll wind up at the bottom of a river." In spite of such warnings, the younger McMahon had an even bolder ambition: the WWF would tour nationally. However, such a venture required huge capital investment; one 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 pay-per-view extravaganza (in some areas; most areas of the country saw WrestleMania available on closed-circuit television) that McMahon marketed as being the Super Bowl of professional wrestling.
The concept of a wrestling super card was nothing new in North America; the NWA had been running Starrcade a few years prior to WrestleMania, and even the elder McMahon had marketed large Shea Stadium cards viewable in closed-circuit locations. However, McMahon wanted to take the WWF to the mainstream, targeting the public who were not regular wrestling fans. He drew the interest of the mainstream media by inviting celebrities such as Mr. T and Cyndi Lauper to participate in the event. MTV, in particular, featured a great deal of WWF coverage and programming at this time, in what was termed the Rock 'n' Wrestling Connection.
Golden Age
The original WrestleMania, held in 1985, was a resounding success. This event is sometimes credited as the debut of what McMahon called "sports entertainment", in contrast to his father's preference of pure wrestling. The WWF did incredible business on the shoulders of McMahon and his all-American babyface hero, Hulk Hogan, for the next several years, creating what some observers dubbed a second golden age for professional wrestling. The introduction of Saturday Night's Main Event on NBC in mid-1985 marked the first time that professional wrestling had been broadcast on network television since the 1950s. However, by the 1990s the WWF's fortunes steadily declined as fans were tired of Hulk Hogan's ability to beat anyone and everyone whenever he wanted.[citation needed]
New Generation
The WWF hit a low point in the wake of allegations of steroid abuse and distribution made against it in 1994; there were also allegations of sexual harassment made by WWF employees. McMahon was eventually exonerated, but it was a public relations nightmare for the WWF. The steroid trial cost the WWF an estimated $5 million at a time when revenues were at an all-time low. To compensate, McMahon cut the pay of both wrestlers and front office personnel – close to 40% in the latter case (and about 50% for top level managers such as Bobby Heenan and Jimmy Hart, who both left). This helped drive many WWF wrestlers to its only major competition, World Championship Wrestling (WCW), between 1993 and 1996. During this period, the WWF promoted itself under the banner of "The New WWF Generation," featuring Shawn Michaels, Diesel, Razor Ramon, Bret Hart, and The Undertaker. In an effort to promote them and other young talent as the new superstars of the ring, the WWF began to play on the age restrictions which former WWF wrestlers such as Hulk Hogan and Randy Savage (who by now were working for WCW) now faced. This is best seen in the "Billionaire Ted" parodies of early 1996 (a reference to WCW's owner and patron, media mogul Ted Turner) which culminated in a "rasslin'" match during the warm-up to WrestleMania XII.
Attitude Era
Steve Austin became the new face of the company, starting with his Austin 3:16 speech, shortly after defeating Jake Roberts in the tournament finals at the 1996 King of the Ring pay-per-view.[3] The WWF began broadcasting more violence, swearing, and more edgy angles in its attempt to compete with World Championship Wrestling. After Bret Hart left for WCW following the Montreal Screwjob incident,[4] Vince McMahon used the resulting backlash in the creation of his "Mr. McMahon" character, a dictatorial and fierce ruler who favored heels who were "good for business" over "misfit" faces like Austin. This, in turn, led to the Austin vs. McMahon feud, which, along with the formation of D-Generation X, laid the foundation for the Attitude Era. The Attitude Era also featured the established Monday Night Wars, where both WCW and the WWF had Monday night shows that competed against each other in the ratings.
Business advances
On April 29, 1999, the WWF made its return to terrestrial television by launching a special program known as SmackDown! on the fledgling UPN network. The Thursday-night show became a weekly series on August 26, 1999.
On the back of the success of the Attitude Era, on October 19, 1999 the WWF's parent company, Titan Sports (by this time renamed World Wrestling Federation Entertainment, Inc.) became a publicly traded company, offering 10 million shares priced at $17 each.[5] WWF announced its desire to diversify, including creating a nightclub in Times Square, producing feature films, and book publishing.
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.[6] The league had surprisingly 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 primetime 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.[7]
Acquisition of WCW and ECW
WCW was in dire straits with the WWF consistently beating them in the ratings war. It only survived because Ted Turner retained control over it as a result of Turner Broadcasting System's merger with Time Warner. However, after Time Warner merged with AOL, Turner's power was considerably reduced, and the newly merged company decided to get rid of WCW entirely. In March 2001, WWF Entertainment, Inc. acquired World Championship Wrestling, Inc. from AOL Time Warner for a number reported to be around $7 million.[8] With this purchase, WWF was now the largest wrestling promotion in the world, and the only one in North America with mainstream exposure. It remained so until the launch of Total Nonstop Action Wrestling in 2002.
The assets of Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW), which had folded after filing for bankruptcy protection in April 2001, were purchased by WWE in mid-2003.
World Wrestling Entertainment
In 2000, the World Wildlife Fund (also WWF), an environmental organization now called the World Wide Fund for Nature, sued the World Wrestling Federation. A British court agreed that Titan Sports had violated a 1994 agreement which had limited the permissible use of the WWF initials overseas, particularly in merchandising.[9] On Sunday May 5, 2002, the company quietly changed all references on its website from "WWF" to "WWE", while switching the URL from WWF.com to WWE.com. 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 Monday Night RAW, which emanated from the Hartford Civic Center in Hartford, Connecticut. For a short time, WWE used the slogan "Get The 'F' Out".[10] The company had also been ordered by court to stop using the old WWF Attitude logo on any of its properties and to censor all past references to WWF, as they no longer owned the trademark to the initials WWF in 'specified circumstances'.[11] However, despite litigation, WWE is still permitted use of the original WWF logo, which was used from 1984 through 1997, as well as the "New WWF Generation" logo, which was used from 1994 through 1998. Furthermore, the company may still make use of the full "World Wrestling Federation" and "World Wrestling Federation Entertainment" names without consequence.
In April 2002, about a month before the name change, WWE decided to create two separate rosters, one on RAW, the other on SmackDown! due to the overabundance of talent left over from the Invasion storyline (which involved talent from the absorbed ECW and WCW rosters interacting in WWF storylines). This is known as the WWE Brand Extension. Following the Brand Extension, a yearly Draft Lottery was instituted to exchange members of each roster and generally refresh the lineups.
WWE superstars performing for the Coalition troops at Camp VictoryIn late 2005 WWE RAW returned after a brief 5-year stint on TNN (now Spike TV) to its original home USA Network. In the TNN days, WWE got all advertising revenue during commercial breaks into their own pockets, now on USA Network, USA Network gets all advertising revenue. So, WWE had to invest into other lines of products introducing WWE 24/7, an on-demand subscription-only channel which shows classic wrestling matches from WWE's vast video library (more than 80,000 hours) and WWE produced content other than wrestling.
In 2006, due to contracts with NBC Universal, parent company of USA Network, WWE had the chance to revive its classic Saturday night show WWE Saturday Night's Main Event (SNME) on NBC after a 13-year hiatus. WWE had so the chance to promote the company on a national network and not only on cable channels like The CW and USA Network. SNME airs occasionally on NBC as a WWE special series.
On May 26, 2006, WWE revived Extreme Championship Wrestling as its third brand. The new ECW program airs Tuesday nights, on the Sci Fi Channel.[12] On September 26, 2007, it was announced that WWE would be expanding its international operations. Alongside the current international offices in London and Toronto, a new international office would be established in Sydney.[13]
Wellness Program
The WWE Talent Wellness Program is a comprehensive drug, alcohol, and cardiac screening program exclusive to World Wrestling Entertainment, initiated in February 2006, shortly after the sudden death of one of their highest profile talents, 38 year old Eddie Guerrero.[14] The policy tests for recreational drug use and abuse of prescription medication, including anabolic steroids.[14] 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.[14]
The program has recently been defended heavily by WWE and its employees in the wake of several illegal pharmacy busts that link WWE performers to steroid purchases even after the policy was put into place. WWE openly suspended/released 11 performers immediately following release of their names in conjunction with anabolic steroid purchases.[15][16] The program has fallen under intense scrutiny from branches of the media and professionals in the field of doping,[Who?] who claim that not only has WWE overlooked, if not, encouraged steroid use prior to these pharmacy busts, but that the steroid testing itself is blatantly misleading. Under WWE drug testing policy, positive test thresholds for anabolic steroids are more than twice that of all other major sporting outfits including the Olympic committee.
WWE is currently under investigation by the United States House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform regarding their talent wellness policy, after the death of one of their performers, Chris Benoit, possibly being linked to steroid abuse.[17]
In August 2007, WWE made the decision to suspend ten professional wrestlers for violating their Wellness Policy after it 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.[18]
Expansion beyond wrestling
In addition to licensing wrestling and performers' likenesses to video game companies such as Electronic Arts and THQ to capitalize on the market for their entertainment dollar, WWE has moved into other areas of interest in order to market their product.
WWE Films: A subsidiary of WWE created in 2002 to create and develop feature film properties for the professional wrestlers within the company.
WWE Niagara Falls: A retail and entertainment establishment that is located in Niagara Falls, Ontario and owned by WWE.
WWE Records: A subsidiary that specializes in compilation albums of WWE wrestlers' entrance themes. Also releases titles that have been actually performed by the wrestlers themselves.
WWE Home Video: A subsidiary that specializes in distributing compilation VHS and DVD copies of WWE pay-per-view events, compilations of WWE wrestlers' performances, and biographies of WWE performers.
WWE Books: A subsidiary of WWE that serves to publish autobiographies of and fiction based on WWE personalities, behind-the-scenes guides to WWE, illustrated books, calendars, young adult books, and other general nonfiction books.
Hardcore wrestling is a form of professional wrestling that eschews traditional concepts of match rules in favor of matches that take place ...all »Hardcore wrestling is a form of professional wrestling that eschews traditional concepts of match rules in favor of matches that take place in unusual environments, using foreign objects that are not normally permitted.[1] Although hardcore wrestling is a staple among some wrestling promotions, where they are used at the climaxes of feuds, some promotions (such as Big Japan Pro Wrestling and Combat Zone Wrestling) specialized in hardcore wrestling, with many matches performed in this manner.
Hardcore wrestling became acknowledged as a major wrestling style first in Japan with promotions such as FMW and W*ING. It then became successful in America with Extreme Championship Wrestling. The World Wrestling Federation capitalizing on the success and introduced the WWF Hardcore Championship. The WWF soon began to turn the matches into comedy skits, illustrating the ridiculousness they involved. Hardcore is in sound contrast to traditional mat-based wrestling, where solid technical skills are preferred over stuntwork, blood, and sheer shock value.
The term garbage wrestling is attributed to Japanese wrestler Giant Baba who used it originally to describe a style of wrestling which required little wrestling athletic ability and often involved no wrestling at all, which is rather common in much of hardcore wrestling. Some in the United States consider it a derogatory term. Many fans of traditional professional wrestling, or simply wrestling in general, find the pure hardcore style appalling and unworthy of the title of professional wrestling, considering it little more than glorified streetfighting with weapons. Aside from Giant Baba coining the term "garbage wrestling" (which is rather characteristic, as many hardcore matches start and/or end with garbage items filling the ring), multi-time World Champion Ric Flair has also criticized exclusively hardcore performers like Mick Foley of being "glorified stuntmen" due to the radical spots he has performed throughout his career combined with his self-admitted lack of ability to do any other sort of match in the ring.[22] The critics of hardcore wrestling do not necessarily reject the idea of hardcore matches or spots in professional wrestling. What they react most negatively to is poor or unskilled wrestlers incapable of wrestling any other style making careers out of being hardcore wrestlers.
The hardcore wrestling style also tended to burn itself out if used too much. Each spotfest raised expectations for the next one leading to excess and eventually self-parody. In the World Wrestling Federation, the concept of hardcore wrestling became by company plan a parody of itself. Not long after the birth of the WWF Hardcore Championship, and the 24/7 rule it constituted, the title became the subject of comedic scenarios and exchanged hands more than any other championship, quickly degrading whatever value it had as a championship belt.[23] A similar event took place in World Championship Wrestling with Norman Smiley and manager Jimmy Hart approaching hardcore bouts, suited up in football gear and Medieval plate armor, while pushing shopping carts filled with foreign objects to the ring.
In terms of ring psychology, many fans consider the worst examples of hardcore wrestling to be "spotfests" and claim that the matches have no direction. This is attributed to the idea that they rely heavily on drastic spots with no transition between them aside from often unrealistically setting up the next spot and with little concern over the actual result of the match. Matches may find themselves in awkward looking moments due to the difficulty in setting up a highly dangerous spot, as evident when New Jack and Vic Grimes clinched onto one another, hesitantly preparing to fall off a 20-foot scaffold. The spot resulted in both men falling to the concrete floor and New Jack receiving both brain damage and permanent blindness in his right eye.
Performance which takes place between these major spots is often subject to elementary brawling or usage of less "damaging" weapons like a crutch or flimsy aluminum tray and, as aforementioned, may be restricted to obscure situations of spot preparation. This is in stark contrast to conventional wrestling which requires a practice and technique to accomplish the various stages of a match and maintain the effect of a real battle.
The "anything goes" ruling may also require an even greater suspension of disbelief than mat wrestling due to the fact that, in kayfabe, the performers may use absolutely any items they choose as weapons. The matches can fall into almost cartoonish levels of violence where weapons that should cause serious injury in the real world do no harm at all. They also often avoid weapons that could help win a match in favor of those that allow for the theatrical suffering or mutilation of their opponent such as a staple gun, broken glass, cacti, or even small biting animals. Many such elements are embellished even further in the "deathmatch" style virtually unseen in mainstream western promotions, with heavy emphasis on blood, mutilation, and shock value. These elements introduce perhaps a much darker side to the world of professional wrestling with its constant aim to please fans. In 1980, the son of Vincent J. McMahon, Vincent Kennedy McMahon, founded Titan Sports, Inc. and in 1982 purchased Capitol Wrestling Corporation from his father. 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 sport.
The WWF was not the only promotion to have broken ranks with the NWA; the American Wrestling Association (AWA) had long ago ceased being an official NWA member (although like the WWF, they seldom left their own territory). But in neither instance did the defecting member attempt to undermine the territory system that had been the foundation of the industry for more than half a century.
Other promoters were furious when McMahon began syndicating WWF television shows to television stations across the United States, in areas outside of the WWF's traditional northeastern stronghold. McMahon also began selling videotapes of WWF events outside the Northeast through his Coliseum Video distribution company. He effectively broke the unwritten law of regionalism around which the entire industry had been based. To make matters worse, McMahon used the income generated by advertising, television deals, and tape sales to poach talent from rival promoters. Wrestling promoters nationwide were now in direct competition with the WWF.
Hulk Hogan, due to his appearance in Rocky III had a national recognition that few other wrestlers could offer, which is what led McMahon to sign him. Roddy Piper was brought in, as well as Jesse Ventura (although Ventura rarely wrestled in the WWF at that point due to the lung disorder that caused his retirement, moving to the commentator booth alongside Gorilla Monsoon). André the Giant, Jimmy Snuka, Don Muraco, Paul Orndorff, Greg Valentine, Ricky Steamboat and the Iron Sheik rounded out the roster. Hogan was clearly McMahon's biggest star, but there was debate as to whether the WWF could've achieved national success without him.
According to several reports, the elder McMahon warned his son: "Vinny, what are you doing? You'll wind up at the bottom of a river." In spite of such warnings, the younger McMahon had an even bolder ambition: the WWF would tour nationally. However, such a venture required huge capital investment; one 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 pay-per-view extravaganza (in some areas; most areas of the country saw WrestleMania available on closed-circuit television) that McMahon marketed as being the Super Bowl of professional wrestling.
The concept of a wrestling super card was nothing new in North America; the NWA had been running Starrcade a few years prior to WrestleMania, and even the elder McMahon had marketed large Shea Stadium cards viewable in closed-circuit locations. However, McMahon wanted to take the WWF to the mainstream, targeting the public who were not regular wrestling fans. He drew the interest of the mainstream media by inviting celebrities such as Mr. T and Cyndi Lauper to participate in the event. MTV, in particular, featured a great deal of WWF coverage and programming at this time, in what was termed the Rock 'n' Wrestling Connection.
Golden Age
The original WrestleMania, held in 1985, was a resounding success. This event is sometimes credited as the debut of what McMahon called "sports entertainment", in contrast to his father's preference of pure wrestling. The WWF did incredible business on the shoulders of McMahon and his all-American babyface hero, Hulk Hogan, for the next several years, creating what some observers dubbed a second golden age for professional wrestling. The introduction of Saturday Night's Main Event on NBC in mid-1985 marked the first time that professional wrestling had been broadcast on network television since the 1950s. However, by the 1990s the WWF's fortunes steadily declined as fans were tired of Hulk Hogan's ability to beat anyone and everyone whenever he wanted.[citation needed]
New Generation
The WWF hit a low point in the wake of allegations of steroid abuse and distribution made against it in 1994; there were also allegations of sexual harassment made by WWF employees. McMahon was eventually exonerated, but it was a public relations nightmare for the WWF. The steroid trial cost the WWF an estimated $5 million at a time when revenues were at an all-time low. To compensate, McMahon cut the pay of both wrestlers and front office personnel – close to 40% in the latter case (and about 50% for top level managers such as Bobby Heenan and Jimmy Hart, who both left). This helped drive many WWF wrestlers to its only major competition, World Championship Wrestling (WCW), between 1993 and 1996. During this period, the WWF promoted itself under the banner of "The New WWF Generation," featuring Shawn Michaels, Diesel, Razor Ramon, Bret Hart, and The Undertaker. In an effort to promote them and other young talent as the new superstars of the ring, the WWF began to play on the age restrictions which former WWF wrestlers such as Hulk Hogan and Randy Savage (who by now were working for WCW) now faced. This is best seen in the "Billionaire Ted" parodies of early 1996 (a reference to WCW's owner and patron, media mogul Ted Turner) which culminated in a "rasslin'" match during the warm-up to WrestleMania XII.
Attitude Era
Steve Austin became the new face of the company, starting with his Austin 3:16 speech, shortly after defeating Jake Roberts in the tournament finals at the 1996 King of the Ring pay-per-view.[3] The WWF began broadcasting more violence, swearing, and more edgy angles in its attempt to compete with World Championship Wrestling. After Bret Hart left for WCW following the Montreal Screwjob incident,[4] Vince McMahon used the resulting backlash in the creation of his "Mr. McMahon" character, a dictatorial and fierce ruler who favored heels who were "good for business" over "misfit" faces like Austin. This, in turn, led to the Austin vs. McMahon feud, which, along with the formation of D-Generation X, laid the foundation for the Attitude Era. The Attitude Era also featured the established Monday Night Wars, where both WCW and the WWF had Monday night shows that competed against each other in the ratings.
Business advances
On April 29, 1999, the WWF made its return to terrestrial television by launching a special program known as SmackDown! on the fledgling UPN network. The Thursday-night show became a weekly series on August 26, 1999.
On the back of the success of the Attitude Era, on October 19, 1999 the WWF's parent company, Titan Sports (by this time renamed World Wrestling Federation Entertainment, Inc.) became a publicly traded company, offering 10 million shares priced at $17 each.[5] WWF announced its desire to diversify, including creating a nightclub in Times Square, producing feature films, and book publishing.
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.[6] The league had surprisingly 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 primetime 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.[7]
Acquisition of WCW and ECW
WCW was in dire straits with the WWF consistently beating them in the ratings war. It only survived because Ted Turner retained control over it as a result of Turner Broadcasting System's merger with Time Warner. However, after Time Warner merged with AOL, Turner's power was considerably reduced, and the newly merged company decided to get rid of WCW entirely. In March 2001, WWF Entertainment, Inc. acquired World Championship Wrestling, Inc. from AOL Time Warner for a number reported to be around $7 million.[8] With this purchase, WWF was now the largest wrestling promotion in the world, and the only one in North America with mainstream exposure. It remained so until the launch of Total Nonstop Action Wrestling in 2002.
The assets of Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW), which had folded after filing for bankruptcy protection in April 2001, were purchased by WWE in mid-2003.
World Wrestling Entertainment
In 2000, the World Wildlife Fund (also WWF), an environmental organization now called the World Wide Fund for Nature, sued the World Wrestling Federation. A British court agreed that Titan Sports had violated a 1994 agreement which had limited the permissible use of the WWF initials overseas, particularly in merchandising.[9] On Sunday May 5, 2002, the company quietly changed all references on its website from "WWF" to "WWE", while switching the URL from WWF.com to WWE.com. 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 Monday Night RAW, which emanated from the Hartford Civic Center in Hartford, Connecticut. For a short time, WWE used the slogan "Get The 'F' Out".[10] The company had also been ordered by court to stop using the old WWF Attitude logo on any of its properties and to censor all past references to WWF, as they no longer owned the trademark to the initials WWF in 'specified circumstances'.[11] However, despite litigation, WWE is still permitted use of the original WWF logo, which was used from 1984 through 1997, as well as the "New WWF Generation" logo, which was used from 1994 through 1998. Furthermore, the company may still make use of the full "World Wrestling Federation" and "World Wrestling Federation Entertainment" names without consequence.
In April 2002, about a month before the name change, WWE decided to create two separate rosters, one on RAW, the other on SmackDown! due to the overabundance of talent left over from the Invasion storyline (which involved talent from the absorbed ECW and WCW rosters interacting in WWF storylines). This is known as the WWE Brand Extension. Following the Brand Extension, a yearly Draft Lottery was instituted to exchange members of each roster and generally refresh the lineups.
WWE superstars performing for the Coalition troops at Camp VictoryIn late 2005 WWE RAW returned after a brief 5-year stint on TNN (now Spike TV) to its original home USA Network. In the TNN days, WWE got all advertising revenue during commercial breaks into their own pockets, now on USA Network, USA Network gets all advertising revenue. So, WWE had to invest into other lines of products introducing WWE 24/7, an on-demand subscription-only channel which shows classic wrestling matches from WWE's vast video library (more than 80,000 hours) and WWE produced content other than wrestling.
In 2006, due to contracts with NBC Universal, parent company of USA Network, WWE had the chance to revive its classic Saturday night show WWE Saturday Night's Main Event (SNME) on NBC after a 13-year hiatus. WWE had so the chance to promote the company on a national network and not only on cable channels like The CW and USA Network. SNME airs occasionally on NBC as a WWE special series.
On May 26, 2006, WWE revived Extreme Championship Wrestling as its third brand. The new ECW program airs Tuesday nights, on the Sci Fi Channel.[12] On September 26, 2007, it was announced that WWE would be expanding its international operations. Alongside the current international offices in London and Toronto, a new international office would be established in Sydney.[13]
Wellness Program
The WWE Talent Wellness Program is a comprehensive drug, alcohol, and cardiac screening program exclusive to World Wrestling Entertainment, initiated in February 2006, shortly after the sudden death of one of their highest profile talents, 38 year old Eddie Guerrero.[14] The policy tests for recreational drug use and abuse of prescription medication, including anabolic steroids.[14] 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.[14]
The program has recently been defended heavily by WWE and its employees in the wake of several illegal pharmacy busts that link WWE performers to steroid purchases even after the policy was put into place. WWE openly suspended/released 11 performers immediately following release of their names in conjunction with anabolic steroid purchases.[15][16] The program has fallen under intense scrutiny from branches of the media and professionals in the field of doping,[Who?] who claim that not only has WWE overlooked, if not, encouraged steroid use prior to these pharmacy busts, but that the steroid testing itself is blatantly misleading. Under WWE drug testing policy, positive test thresholds for anabolic steroids are more than twice that of all other major sporting outfits including the Olympic committee.
WWE is currently under investigation by the United States House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform regarding their talent wellness policy, after the death of one of their performers, Chris Benoit, possibly being linked to steroid abuse.[17]
In August 2007, WWE made the decision to suspend ten professional wrestlers for violating their Wellness Policy after it 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.[18]
Expansion beyond wrestling
In addition to licensing wrestling and performers' likenesses to video game companies such as Electronic Arts and THQ to capitalize on the market for their entertainment dollar, WWE has moved into other areas of interest in order to market their product.
WWE Films: A subsidiary of WWE created in 2002 to create and develop feature film properties for the professional wrestlers within the company.
WWE Niagara Falls: A retail and entertainment establishment that is located in Niagara Falls, Ontario and owned by WWE.
WWE Records: A subsidiary that specializes in compilation albums of WWE wrestlers' entrance themes. Also releases titles that have been actually performed by the wrestlers themselves.
WWE Home Video: A subsidiary that specializes in distributing compilation VHS and DVD copies of WWE pay-per-view events, compilations of WWE wrestlers' performances, and biographies of WWE performers.
WWE Books: A subsidiary of WWE that serves to publish autobiographies of and fiction based on WWE personalities, behind-the-scenes guides to WWE, illustrated books, calendars, young adult books, and other general nonfiction books.
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