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WWE: Then and Now

Vince McMahon Sr. (left) and Vince McMahon Jr. (right)

World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) has such a long history that includes many name changes, but no matter what, the fanbase has stuck by its side. Vince McMahon Jr. is the name most people associate with WWE as he has run the company for over 40 years. WWE was not the large company it is today, for McMahon Jr. shaped the corporation to fit his standards. In 1982, McMahon Jr. bought World Wide Wrestling Federation (WWWF) from his father McMahon Sr. and changed the name to World Wrestling Federation (WWF)... that extra W just wasn’t doing it for him. After purchasing the company, McMahon went into different wrestling territories and bought wrestlers from them; thus, those territories eventually went bankrupt.

Vince himself owned the New York territory of entertainment wrestling, but his advancements into other territories included famous faces, such as Stu Hart with Stampede Wrestling covering the Montana area and Memphis Wrestling that brought over Jerry “The King” Lawler from the Tenessee area. Bret Hart and The King are Hall of Famers and still famous to this day in WWE. Other territories included Eddie Graham’s Florida area and Bill Watts's midsouth area. McMahon Jr. simply offered more money to keep his top stars on the full roster.


After his takeover of the territories, McMahon Jr. created Wrestlemania and took over TV times, such as Prime Time Wrestling on USA (eventually changed to Monday Night Raw), Saturday Night’s Main Event on Channel 6, and Hulkamania in the 80s). MTV was a big deal in the 80s as well, so they had lots of celebrities that brought the ratings up even more. Some celebrities included Muhammad Ali, Cindy Lauper, Mr. T, and Liberace; at the first Wrestlemania in Madison Square Garden, they even had the Rockettes.


Becoming so popular, McMahon realized another change was in order. World Wildlife Foundation, founded in 1961, also used the abbreviation WWF. In 2002, McMahon Jr. launched the “Get the F Out” campaign that changed WWF to WWE. 


'Get the F Out' Campaign

From then on, WWE has just grown bigger and bigger, creating a fanbase like no other. With Monday Night Raw and Friday Night Smackdown along with the pay-per-views they do monthly, WWE is continuing to make their mark on history. Now, the company that owns UFC combined with WWE to add even more people to their roster, such as Ronda Rousey, and the corporation is becoming larger than life.


Pics:


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Comments

  1. SJFSeptember 9, 2023 at 1:36 PM

    I used to play a lot of wrestling video games growing up, though I never truly followed the actual stuff. Quite a few of my friends today are WWE fans, though. This is a great introduction for me!

    ReplyDelete

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