WWE

WWE

WWE or World Wrestling Entertainment is a privately controlled entertainment company that focuses primarily on professional wrestling while also receiving major revenue sources coming from film, music, video games, product licensing, and direct product sales. Jess McMahon and Toots Mondt found it in 1952, which was known as Capitol Wrestling Corporation Ltd back then. As of 2016, it is the largest wrestling promotion in the world, holding a surprising number of over 500 events a year and broadcasting these events to about 36 million viewers in more than 150 countries. As in other professional wrestling promotions, WWE shows are not legitimate contests, but are purely for entertainment purposes featuring a storyline. They have a pre-planned script and often include “signature” moves that can put performers at risk of injury if not performed correctly. This was first publicly revealed by WWE's owner Vince McMahon in 1989 to avoid taxes from athletic commissions. Since then, WWE has publicly branded their product as a form of sports entertainment, acknowledging the product's roots in competitive sport and dramatic theater.

WWE's origins can be traced back as far as 1952 when Roderick James "Jess" McMahon and Toots Mondt created the Capitol Wrestling Corporation Ltd. (CWC), which joined the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) in 1953. However in November 1954, McMahon died so, McMahon’s son, Vincent James took over. The younger McMahon, together with Mondt, were very successful and soon controlled approximately 70% of the NWA's booking, largely due to their dominance in the heavily populated Northeast region. But, in 1963, McMahon and Mondt had a dispute with the NWA and this resulted with both men leaving the company in protest and formed the WWWF in the process. 

            Next would be about WWE “eras”. There are 3 in total but we will only talk about 2 of the “eras”: The “New Generation” and the “Attitude Era”. First would be the New Generation, which happened in 1993-1997. During this period, the WWF, or as we all know as WWE, promoted wrestlers of a younger age, which is what is now known as "The New Generation". These new young wrestlers features Shawn Michaels, Diesel, Razer Ramon, Bret Hart, and The Undertaker, in an effort to promote new talent into the spotlight. During this period, the WWF debuted its flagship cable program called “Monday Night Raw”. Soon after, the WCW countered with its own Monday night program called “Monday Nitro”. Both of these events aired at the same time causing a rating competition called the “Monday Night Wars” until mid-1996.

After that, the next era called the “Attitude Era” came in 1997-2001. When this era came by, the “Monday Night Wars” were still continuing, affecting the WWF, and changing it from a family-friendly product into a more adult oriented product. 1997 ended with McMahon facing real-life controversy following Bret Hart’s controversial departure from the company, dubbed as the Montreal Screwjob. This proved to be one of several founding factors in the launch of the Attitude Era as well as the creation of McMahon's on-screen character, “Mr McMahon". Also, during the 1997 Survivor Series, former WCW talents were being hired by the WWF, including Stone Cold Steve Austin, Mankind, and Vader. Austin was slowly brought in as the new face of the company despite being promoted as an antihero, starting with his "Austin 3:16" speech shortly after defeating Jake Roberts in the tournament finals at the King of the Ring pay-per-view in 1996.