How Did The WWE Start?
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How Did The WWE Start? is a question that many people have asked over the years. The answer is not as simple as one might think.
Vince McMahon Sr.
The WWE has come a long way since its humble beginnings. Vince McMahon Sr. was the one who started it all. He was the one who had the vision to take wrestling and make it into a entertainment spectacle. McMahon Sr. was a promoter and a booker and he is the one who is responsible for making the WWE what it is today.
Vince McMahon Sr. buys the Capitol Wrestling Corporation
In 1963, McMahon made the decision to buy the Capitol Wrestling Corporation from his father. This was a move that would change the business of professional wrestling forever. As the new owner of the company, McMahon began to expand his territory by promoting shows in other parts of the Northeast. He also began to attract top talent, such as Bruno Sammartino and Bob Backlund, to his promotion.
Vince McMahon Jr.
Vince McMahon Jr. took over the WWE from his father in the early 1980s and turned it into a global phenomenon. McMahon’s vision for the WWE was to make it into a global entertainment brand and he succeeded in doing so. The WWE is now one of the most popular entertainment brands in the world.
Vince McMahon Jr. buys the World Wrestling Federation
In 1982, he took over the World Wrestling Federation from his father Vince McMahon Sr. and transformed it into a successful, global enterprise. In 1996, McMahon purchased World Bodybuilding Federation, which he later sold to Internet entrepreneur Calvin Ayre. He also acquired Extreme Championship Wrestling in 2000 and renamed it World Wrestling Entertainment.
The 1980s
The World Wrestling Federation (WWF) was founded in 1980 by Vince McMahon Sr. The company’s name was changed to World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) in 2002. The 1980s was the most important decade for the WWE, as it was the decade that the company truly took off.
Hulk Hogan becomes the first WWE Champion
In January 1984, the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) aired the first ever episode of Wrestling Challenge, which was a syndicated TV show that ran for two hours each week. The show featured matches, promos, and recaps from the WWF’s weekly shows, including Championship Wrestling and All-American Wrestling.
On April 30th, 1984, the WWF held their first ever live event called WrestleMania. The event was a huge success and featured some of the biggest names in the business at the time, including Hulk Hogan, Andre the Giant, Ricky Steamboat, and Brutus Beefcake.
WrestleMania was such a success that it led to the WWF creating another annual event called SummerSlam. SummerSlam became one of the biggest events on the wrestling calendar and is still going strong today.
In 1985, WWE Hall of Famer Hulk Hogan made history when he defeated The Iron Sheik to become the first WWE Champion. Hogan’s title reign would help catapult WWE to new heights and make him one of the most popular figures in all of entertainment.
The 1990s
The World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. is an American publicly traded, privately controlled entertainment company that deals primarily in professional wrestling, with major revenue sources also coming from film, music, product licensing, and direct product sales. Vince McMahon is the majority owner, chairman, and CEO of the company. Along with his wife Linda McMahon, and their children, Stephanie McMahon and Paul “Triple H” Levesque, the McMahon family holds approximately 70% of WWE’s economic interest and 96% of the voting power in the company.
The Monday Night Wars
The Monday Night Wars were a series of ratings battles between the two largest professional wrestling television programs in the United States: World Wrestling Entertainment’s (WWE) Monday Night Raw and World Championship Wrestling’s (WCW) Monday Nitro. The war began on September 4, 1995, and ended on March 26, 2001, when WCW aired its final episode of Nitro.
The 2000s
The WWE, then known as the World Wrestling Federation (WWF), started in the early 1950s. The first WWE show was in 1952 and it was called “The Grand Boxing Arena”. The Grand Boxing Arena was a wrestling event that was held in Madison Square Garden. The WWE has come a long way since then and is now a global phenomenon.
The Brand Extension
In May 2002, the WWE SPLIT INTO TWO SEPARATE COMPANIES. The “SmackDown!” brand consisted of wrestlers who appear on the SmackDown! television program; the “RAW” brand consisted of wrestlers who appear on the Raw television program. The split was made to capitalize on the popularity of wrestling by creating two distinct wrestling brands, each with its own group of wrestlers, storylines, and fan bases.
WWE officials hoped that the split would increase WWE’s TV ratings and live event attendance. However, many long-time fans were critical of the split, feeling that it diluted the quality of WWE’s product by spreading its talent pool too thin. In addition, some felt that it was unfair to have certain wrestlers only appear on one show while others appeared on both.
