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History of WWE Share By SK Desk • Last Modified Sep 23, 2022 15:00 GMT WWE WCW NJPW WWE Raw WWE SmackDown WWE Roster List of WWE Champions

WWE or World Wrestling Entertainment was originally founded by Jess McMahon in 1952. It was then known as the Capitol Wrestling Corporation (CWF). Upon his death, his second son, Vincent J. McMahon. inherited the business and renamed it as World Wide Wrestling Federation (WWWF) in 1963. His son Vincent K. McMahon assumed control in 1971. In March 1979, he renames the organization as the World Wrestling Federation (WWF). Vincent K. McMahon founded Titan Sports in 1980 and applied the trademark of the WWF. The company changed their name to World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) after they lost a lawsuit brought by the World Wildlife Foundation over the initials of WWF in 2002. The name change became official on May 06, 2002.

1. Timeline

Timeline

1952	Jess McMahon finds the company with Toots Mondt and is called the Capitol Wrestling Corporation (CWC). It is part of the greater National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) which had several other wrestling organizations
1963	The CWC leave the NWA over the disputed NWA World Heavyweight Championship creating the World Wide Wrestling Federation (WWWF) in the Process.
1963	Buddy Rogers is the inaugural WWWF Champion
1963	Bruno Sammartino wins the title and would retain for a total of 2,803 days.
1969	Vincent K. McMahon joins his father, Vincent J. McMahon in the promotion
1971	Vincent J. McMahon takes over from his father and assumes full control of the promotion
1979	Vincent K. McMahon pushes his father to rename the company to the World Wrestling Federation (WWF)
1980	Vincent K. McMahon along with his wife, Linda Mcmahon, find Titan Sports and applied for the trademark initials “WWF”
1983	Vince purchases Capitol Sports, the parent company of WWF, from his father
1983	Vince has a different vision for the company. He insists on making it a national promotion and truly break away from the NWA. He wanted the company to be its own entity.
1983	Vince makes landmark television deals to show WWF across the United States.
1984	Hulk Hogan is pushed to main event status and defeats the Iron Shiek on January 24 at Madison Square Garden. The arrival of Hulk Hogan launches the Golden Age of Wrestling as it goes mainstream.
1985	Wrestlemania is launched and attracts celebrities including Mr. T, Mohammed Ali, Cyndi Lauper and Liberace. It’s a rousing success.
1985	McMahon focuses on Entertainment than wrestling which brings the company mainstream appeal. He adds more PPVs to the mix including SummerSlam, Royal Rumble, Survivor Series and The King of the Ring.
1993	The WWF goes into prime time with the launch of Monday Night Raw, which aired on the USA Network.
1993	This time also sees the rise of Bret ‘The Hitman’ Hart, Shawn Michaels, The Undertaker, Diesel, Razor Ramon and others
1993	Hulk Hogan would leave the company the same year and sign with World Championship Wrestling (WCW)
1995	WCW’s Monday Nitro is launched on TNT, going head-to-head with Raw beginning the start of the Monday Night Wars
1997	Vince announces the start of the Attitude Era with edgier characters. This sees the rise of Stone Cold Steve Austin, The Rock, Mankind, HHH, Kurt Angle and groups like Degeneration X and The Nation of Domination
1998	Raw Finally Defeats Nitro in the ratings after 84 straight weeks and continues its domination going forward
1999	Smackdown is launched on the UPN Network
1999	WWE Goes Public and is traded on the New York Stock Exchange
2001	WWF finally buys WCW, becoming the biggest wrestling promotion in the world
2002	WWF loses a lawsuit brought on by the World Wildlife Fund over its initials. This forces the company to rebrand as World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE).
2008	The Ruthless Aggression Era ends as the company as it moves away from edgier content and moves towards a family friendly audience. This will become known as the PG era by fans. John Cena becomes the poster boy of this generation.
2014	Dubbed by fans as the start of the Reality Era, this sees real-life events altering things and becoming storyline. Daniel Bryan emergers as the face of this era along with Seth Rollins, Dean Ambrose and Roman Reigns of the Shield.
2016	The New Era Begins as Women are pushed to the forefront unlike any other time in the company’s history.
2016	Raw and Smackdown become 2 separate brands with each one getting their own championships
2018	The first ever Women’s PPV is announced on Raw and is set to take place at October 28, 2018.

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