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 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 World Wide Wrestling Federation (WWWF) was born in 1963 when Vincent J. McMahon, the principal owner of [[National Wrestling Alliance]]-affiliated [[Northeast]]ern 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). He also began [[broadcast syndication|syndicating]] his programs ''WWF Championship Wrestling'' and ''WWF All-Star Wrestling'' outside of the WWF's Northeast home territory to TV stations across the United States, often buying out the airtime used by the wrestling shows of rival promotions to get access to the audiences who watched the other programs (as happened when he bought established NWA member Georgia Championship Wrestling and, in a move highly unpopular with that promotion's audience, took over the airtime of its TBS show ''World Championship Wrestling'' on July 14, 1984, a date long since referred to in wrestling history as Black Saturday<ref>[https://historyofwrestling.com/black-saturday/ Black Saturday] at History of Wrestling</ref>), or scheduling his shows on other stations in direct competition against his rivals' established wrestling shows to cut into their viewership.

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.