Changes

   

   

==History==

==History==

The World Wide Wrestling Federation (WWWF) was born in 1963 when Vincent J. McMahon, the principal owner of [[National Wrestling Alliance]]-affiliated Northeastern promotion Capitol Wrestling, split off his company from the larger NWA, an umbrella organization of "mom and pop" wrestling territories with each promotion staying in its own territory.  The company was renamed the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) in 1979.  Under Vince McMahon, Vincent J. McMahon's son, the WWF would start to go national in the 1980s, breaking the unwritten rule of not encroaching on the turf of other regional wrestling territories.  As his revenue increased, he also started to sign the best known names from other promotions, including the [[American Wrestling Association]] (AWA) and the NWA's flagship promotion, [[Jim Crockett Promotions]] (JCP).   

The World Wide Wrestling Federation (WWWF) was born in 1963 when Vincent J. McMahon, the principal owner of [[National Wrestling Alliance]]-affiliated Northeastern promotion Capitol Wrestling, split off his company from the larger NWA, an umbrella organization of "mom and pop" wrestling territories with each promotion staying in its own territory.  The company rejoined the NWA as a member in 1971 and was renamed the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) in 1979.  Under Vince McMahon, Vincent J. McMahon's son, the WWF broke from the NWA again in 1983 and would start to go national in the 1980s, breaking the unwritten rule of not encroaching on the turf of other regional wrestling territories and angering many other NWA and non-NWA promoters in the process.  As his revenue increased, he also started to sign the best known names from other promotions, including the [[American Wrestling Association]] (AWA) and the NWA's flagship promotion, [[Jim Crockett Promotions]] (JCP).   

The breakthrough signing that became the first nationally recognized superstar was former AWA wrestler [[Hulk Hogan]] who, due to his appearance in the movie ''Rocky III'', had a national recognition that few other wrestlers could manage. Other big named wrestlers were brought in including [[Andre the Giant]].  Superstardom hit paydirt with the production of the first nationwide Pay per view [[WrestleMania]] in 1985.  Incorporating well known actors such as [[Mr. T]] into the production helped to turn the WWF and WrestleMania into a mainstream hit.

The breakthrough signing that became the first nationally recognized superstar was former AWA wrestler [[Hulk Hogan]] who, due to his appearance in the movie ''Rocky III'', had a national recognition that few other wrestlers could manage. Other big named wrestlers were brought in including [[Andre the Giant]].  Superstardom hit paydirt with the production of the first nationwide Pay per view [[WrestleMania]] in 1985.  Incorporating well known actors such as [[Mr. T]] into the production helped to turn the WWF and WrestleMania into a mainstream hit.

Allegations of steroid abuse hit the WWF in 1994 as well as sexual harassment claims.  They were a costly public relations nightmare that led to big cuts in salary for the wrestlers and staffs and saw many wrestlers leave to [[Ted Turner]]'s [[World Championship Wrestling]] (the former JCP, which Turner bought in 1988), including Hulk Hogan.

Allegations of steroid abuse hit the WWF in 1994 as well as sexual harassment claims.  They were a costly public relations nightmare that led to big cuts in salary for the wrestlers and staffs and saw many wrestlers leave to [[Ted Turner]]'s [[World Championship Wrestling]] (the former JCP, which Turner bought in 1988), including Hulk Hogan.

Due to the steroid allegations, as well as WCW signing away many wrestlers from WWE, the company began promoting what they called the New Generation around 1994.  This era focused less on wrestlers with bodybuilder physiques and more on performance.  The two big names during this time were Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels, who were smaller, but were known to be great performers.  Other wrestlers who were prominent during this time included the Undertaker, Diesel, and Razor Ramon.  Talent who would become prominent in the Attitude Era also began to be shown during this time.  Most notably, Stone Cold Steve Austin, Mick Foley, The Rock, and Triple H. In 1996, Diesel (Kevin Nash) and Razor Ramon (Scott Hall) would leave for WCW.  Their last night with the company has been known as the "Curtain Call."  At a house show at Madison Square Garden, Hall and Nash, along with Hunter Hearst Helmsley (Triple H) and Shawn Michaels broke character to bid each other farewell.  The four were part of a backstage group known as "The Kliq," which also consisted of Sean Waltman, who was not with the company at the time.  As a result, since Hall and Nash were leaving for WCW and Shawn Michaels was the WWE Champion at the time, only Triple H was punished for the incident.  Originally, Triple H was to win the 1996 King of the Ring, but did not.  Instead, Stone Cold Steve Austin would win, leading to his now famous Austin 3:16 line and his eventual rise in the company.  However, Triple H would win in 1997.  Meanwhile, Hall and Nash would start appearing on WCW television in the summer of 1996.  Eventually, they would form the New World Order, or nWo, with Hulk Hogan.

Due to the steroid allegations, as well as WCW signing away many wrestlers from the WWF, the company began promoting what they called the New Generation around 1994.  This era focused less on wrestlers with bodybuilder physiques and more on performance.  The two big names during this time were Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels, who were smaller, but were known to be great performers.  Other wrestlers who were prominent during this time included the Undertaker, Diesel, and Razor Ramon.  Talent who would become prominent in the Attitude Era also began to be shown during this time.  Most notably, Stone Cold Steve Austin, Mick Foley, The Rock, and Triple H. In 1996, Diesel (Kevin Nash) and Razor Ramon (Scott Hall) would leave for WCW.  Their last night with the company has been known as the "Curtain Call."  At a house show at Madison Square Garden, Hall and Nash, along with Hunter Hearst Helmsley (Triple H) and Shawn Michaels broke character to bid each other farewell.  The four were part of a backstage group known as "The Kliq," which also consisted of Sean Waltman, who was not with the company at the time.  As a result, since Hall and Nash were leaving for WCW and Shawn Michaels was the WWE Champion at the time, only Triple H was punished for the incident.  Originally, Triple H was to win the 1996 King of the Ring, but did not.  Instead, Stone Cold Steve Austin would win, leading to his now famous Austin 3:16 line and his eventual rise in the company.  However, Triple H would win in 1997.  Meanwhile, Hall and Nash would start appearing on WCW television in the summer of 1996.  Eventually, they would form the heel stable the New World Order, or nWo, with Hulk Hogan.

Stone Cold [[Steve Austin]] rose as a star in the late 1990s in what is known as The Attitude Era, which saw a movement away from family fun to attacking authority, more violence, and swearing. The WWF and WCW went head to head during this time, including having competing wrestling shows on Monday nights.  As a response to the nWo, WWE formed their own faction in D-Generation X, or DX for short.  In contrast to the nWo, which had more of a gang mentality, DX took a more juvenile prankster approach.  The group was originally composed of Shawn Michaels, Triple H, and Chyna.  After WrestleMania XIV, Michaels would retire from in-ring action, although he would occasionally be apart of WWE storylines.  He would actually return to in-ring action on March 21, 2000, at an event in Texas for independent promotion the Texas Wrestling Alliance (a promotion attached to Michaels' wrestling school, the Shawn Michaels Wrestling Academy); at that card's main event, Michaels defeated ECW star Justin Credible to win the TWA Heavyweight Championship, only to vacate the title soon afterward.<ref>[https://www.wrestlingdata.com/index.php?befehl=titles&kategorie=2&liga=157&titel=195 Texas Wrestling Alliance Heavyweight Championship history]</ref>  However, his return to WWE would occur at SummerSlam 2002, in a match with Triple H.  Triple H took control of DX, and added Sean Waltman, who had been known as the 1-2-3 Kid years prior in WWE, and was known as Syxx in WCW as X-Pac.  The New Age Outlaws (Road Dogg and Billy Gunn), who had already been associated with DX formed the DX Army.  At SummerSlam 1997, Austin suffered a neck injury during a match with Owen Hart in which Hart botched a piledriver.  At Survivor Series 1999, he was written out of WWE storylines in order to have neck surgery that would keep him out of action for the majority of 2000.  During Austin's absence, fellow WWE superstar The Rock would begin to rise in popularity.  Eventually, he would become just as big as Austin was, becoming the top babyface in the company during Austin's absence.  Although some would argue that The Rock became an even bigger star than Austin.  It was also during this time another superstar began to rise in Triple H, who had become the top heel in the company.  In September 2000, Austin returned to the WWE at the Unforgiven pay-per-view.  However, it would be another month or so before he would begin competing in matches on a regular basis.  In March 2001, the WWF bought selected assets of WCW (see Going Public below), ending the Monday Night Wars, as well as The Attitude Era.  In the years following, many talent from WCW would have runs in WWE.  These include Booker T, Buff Bagwell, and Diamond Dallas Page, who were arguably three of the biggest names WWE brought over in the immediate months following the purchase.  Bagwell was released in July 2001, while Booker T and Page would be apart of the Invasion storyline, which ran for the better part of 2001.  Other WCW talent who would come over to WWE included Ric Flair, Hulk Hogan, Scott Hall, Kevin Nash, Scott Steiner, and Rey Mysterio.  On March 31, 2003, Goldberg, who was WCW's most famous home-grown talent made his debut in the WWE, he left a year later at WrestleMania XX.

Stone Cold [[Steve Austin]] rose as a star in the late 1990s in what is known as The Attitude Era, which saw a movement away from family fun to attacking authority, more violence, and swearing. The WWF and WCW went head to head during this time, including having competing wrestling shows on Monday nights.  As a response to the nWo, the WWF formed their own faction in D-Generation X, or DX for short.  In contrast to the nWo, which had more of a gang mentality, DX took a more juvenile prankster approach.  The group was originally composed of Shawn Michaels, Triple H, and Chyna.  After WrestleMania XIV, Michaels would retire from in-ring action, although he would occasionally be apart of WWF storylines.  He would actually return to in-ring action on March 21, 2000, at an event in Texas for independent promotion the Texas Wrestling Alliance (a promotion attached to Michaels' wrestling school, the Shawn Michaels Wrestling Academy); at that card's main event, Michaels defeated ECW star Justin Credible to win the TWA Heavyweight Championship, only to vacate the title soon afterward.<ref>[https://www.wrestlingdata.com/index.php?befehl=titles&kategorie=2&liga=157&titel=195 Texas Wrestling Alliance Heavyweight Championship history]</ref>  However, his return to WWE would occur at SummerSlam 2002, in a match with Triple H.  Triple H took control of DX, and added Sean Waltman, who had been known as the 1-2-3 Kid years prior in WWE, and was known as Syxx in WCW as X-Pac.  The New Age Outlaws (Road Dogg and Billy Gunn), who had already been associated with DX formed the DX Army.  At SummerSlam 1997, Austin suffered a neck injury during a match with Owen Hart in which Hart botched a piledriver.  At Survivor Series 1999, he was written out of WWF storylines in order to have neck surgery that would keep him out of action for the majority of 2000.  During Austin's absence, fellow WWF superstar The Rock would begin to rise in popularity.  Eventually, he would become just as big as Austin was, becoming the top babyface in the company during Austin's absence.  Although some would argue that The Rock became an even bigger star than Austin.  It was also during this time another superstar began to rise in Triple H, who had become the top heel in the company.  In September 2000, Austin returned to the WWF at the Unforgiven pay-per-view.  However, it would be another month or so before he would begin competing in matches on a regular basis.  In March 2001, the WWF bought selected assets of WCW (see Going Public below), ending the Monday Night Wars, as well as The Attitude Era.  In the years following, many talent from WCW would have runs in WWE.  These include Booker T, Buff Bagwell, and Diamond Dallas Page, who were arguably three of the biggest names the WWF brought over in the immediate months following the purchase.  Bagwell was released in July 2001, while Booker T and Page would be apart of the Invasion storyline, which ran for the better part of 2001.  Other WCW talent who would come over to the WWF included Ric Flair, Hulk Hogan, Scott Hall, Kevin Nash, Scott Steiner, and Rey Mysterio.  On March 31, 2003, Goldberg, who was WCW's most famous home-grown talent made his debut in WWE, but he left a year later at WrestleMania XX when his contract expired.

In the summer of 2001, WWE attempted to negotiate with WCW wrestler, Sting.  However, a segment on ''SmackDown'' featuring The Rock and Booker T convinced him to decline.  For the next 13 years, WWE tried to get Sting, but were unsuccessful.  A noticeable attempt was made in 2011, leading up to WrestleMania XXVII, with the 2.21.11 promotion.  Many believed this to be Sting, however, it was a promo for the Undertaker.  In July 2014, Sting signed a deal with WWE, and anyone who pre-ordered the game WWE 2K15 would receive a code in which they could play as Sting.  On November 23, 2014, at Survivor Series, Sting finally made his official WWE debut, 13 years after the purchase of WCW.  His first match was at WrestleMania 31, where he lost to Triple H.

In the summer of 2001, the WWF attempted to negotiate with WCW wrestler, Sting.  However, a segment on ''SmackDown'' featuring The Rock and Booker T convinced him to decline.  For the next 13 years, WWE tried to get Sting, but were unsuccessful.  A noticeable attempt was made in 2011, leading up to WrestleMania XXVII, with the 2.21.11 promotion.  Many believed this to be Sting, however, it was a promo for the Undertaker.  In July 2014, Sting signed a deal with WWE, and anyone who pre-ordered the game WWE 2K15 would receive a code in which they could play as Sting.  On November 23, 2014, at Survivor Series, Sting finally made his official WWE debut, 13 years after the purchase of WCW.  His first match was at WrestleMania 31, where he lost to Triple H.

From 2002-2008, WWE entered the Ruthless Aggression Era.  It retained many aspects of the Attitude Era, but also focused more on in-ring action.  Talent who would become prominent during this time period included Brock Lesnar, John Cena, Batista, Randy Orton, CM Punk, and Edge, who had already been with the company for a while but was a mid-carder.  Lesnar, Cena, Batista, and Orton all made their television debuts within 2002.

From 2002-2008, WWE entered the Ruthless Aggression Era.  It retained many aspects of the Attitude Era, but also focused more on in-ring action.  Talent who would become prominent during this time period included Brock Lesnar, John Cena, Batista, Randy Orton, CM Punk, and Edge, who had already been with the company for a while but was a mid-carder.  Lesnar, Cena, Batista, and Orton all made their television debuts within 2002.

In 2008, WWE started the PG Era.  With no competition to worry about, as well as the unwanted attention garnered by the Chris Benoit double murder/suicide, WWE decided to go back to more family-friendly programming similar of the late 1980s to early 1990s.  Talent such as Daniel Bryan, Seth Rollins, Roman Reigns, Dean Ambrose, Bray Wyatt, Ryback, and Dolph Ziggler would become major names.

In 2008, WWE started the PG Era.  With no competition to worry about, as well as the unwanted attention garnered by the Chris Benoit double murder/suicide, WWE decided to go back to more family-friendly programming similar of the late 1980s to early 1990s.  Talent such as Daniel Bryan, Seth Rollins, Roman Reigns, Dean Ambrose, Bray Wyatt, Ryback, and Dolph Ziggler would become major names.

On February 24, 2014, WWE launched the WWE Network.  The network contains the entire past pay-per-view events from WWE, WCW, and ECW, as well as original programming and library programming from the Capitol/WWWF/WWF eras and acquired shows from JCP, the AWA, Canadian promotion Stampede Wrestling and other promotions whose program archives were acquired by WWE.  It also features Over the Edge 1999, the event in which Owen Hart died from a botched accident, in its entirety.  Although the fifteen minutes in which paramedics got Hart out of the ring, and the backstage interview with Jeff Jarrett have been edited out. It also features events featuring Chris Benoit, although an advisory is shown prior.

On February 24, 2014, WWE launched the WWE Network.  The network contains the entire past pay-per-view events from the WWF/WWE, WCW, and ECW, as well as original programming and library programming from the Capitol/WWWF/WWF eras and acquired shows from JCP, the AWA, Canadian promotion Stampede Wrestling and other promotions whose program archives were acquired by WWE.  It also features Over the Edge 1999, the event in which Owen Hart died from a botched accident, in its entirety, although the fifteen minutes in which paramedics got Hart out of the ring, and the backstage interview with Jeff Jarrett have been edited out. It also features events featuring Chris Benoit, although an advisory is shown prior.

On February 22, 2016, Shane McMahon made his first appearance on WWE programming since 2009.  This was to set up a match between McMahon and The Undertaker at WrestleMania 32.  Afterward, McMahon would return to Raw, co-running it with his sister, Stephanie McMahon.  On May 25, 2016, it was announced that another Brand Extension would take place and ''SmackDown'' would start airing live on Tuesdays on the USA Network starting July 19, 2016.  This has been referred to as the New Era.

On February 22, 2016, Shane McMahon made his first appearance on WWE programming since 2009.  This was to set up a match between McMahon and The Undertaker at WrestleMania 32.  Afterward, McMahon would return to Raw, co-running it with his sister, Stephanie McMahon.  On May 25, 2016, it was announced that another Brand Extension would take place and ''SmackDown'' would start airing live on Tuesdays on the USA Network starting July 19, 2016.  This has been referred to as the New Era.