WWE

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World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc.

The WWE Headquarters in Stamford, Connecticut
Type	Public
Traded as	NYSE: WWE
Industry	Professional wrestling Sports entertainment Media and Technology Streaming Media
Predecessor	Capitol Wrestling Corporation
Founded	February 21, 1980[1]
Founder	Vince McMahon Linda McMahon
Headquarters	1241 East Main Street[2] Stamford, Connecticut 06902, United States
Area served	Worldwide
Key people	Vince McMahon (Chairman and CEO) Stephanie McMahon (CBO) Paul "Triple H" Levesque (EVP - Talent, Live Events and Creative) George Barrios (CFO and CSO) Kevin Dunn (EVP - Television Production and Executive Producer) Michael Luisi (President - WWE Studios) Michelle D. Wilson (CMO and CRO)
Products	Television, publishing, films, music, merchandise, streaming network service, home video, live events
Services	Licensing
Revenue	US$ 542.6 million (2014)[3]
Operating income	US$-42.2 million (2014)[3]
Profit	US$-30.1 million (2014)[3]
Total assets	US$ 382.6 million (2014)[3]
Total equity	US$ 205.8 million (2014)[3]
Owner	Vince McMahon[4]
Number of employees	762 (2014)[5]
Divisions	Divisions[show] [6]
Subsidiaries	Subsidiaries[show]
Website	http://www.wwe.com

World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. (WWE) 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. The WWE also refers to the professional wrestling promotion itself, founded by Jess McMahon and Toots Mondt in 1952 as Capitol Wrestling Corporation, and as of 2014, the largest in the world, holding approximately 320 televised and non-televised events a year, and broadcasting to about 36 million viewers in more than 150 countries.^[8] The company's headquarters are located in Stamford, Connecticut, with offices in New York City, Los Angeles, London, Shanghai, Tokyo, Singapore, Munich, Mumbai, and Mexico City.^[9][10]

As in other professional wrestling promotions, WWE shows are not legitimate sporting contests, but purelyentertainment-based, featuring storyline-driven, scripted, and choreographed matches, though they often include moves that can put performers at risk of injury if not performed correctly. WWE first publicly acknowledged this in 1981, breaking the gentlemen's agreement that previously existed among promoters. Since the 1980s, WWE publicly branded their product as sports entertainment, which is considered to acknowledge the product's roots in competitive sport and dramatic theater.

The company's majority owner is Vince McMahon, who serves as chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of the company. Along with his wife Linda, children Shane and Stephanie, and son-in-law Paul Levesque (known professionally as Triple H), the McMahon family holds approximately 70% of WWE's equity and 96% of the voting power in the company. As of August 2014, due to ongoing problems with the company, Eminence Capital, a New York based hedge fund, acquired 9.6% stake of WWE while the McMahon family retains 90.4% interest.^[11]

The current entity was previously known as Titan Sports, Incorporated on February 21, 1980 which acquired Capitol Wrestling Corporation (the holding company for the World Wrestling Federation) in 1982 and later formed a separate corporation in Delaware that may have initially been called WWF, Inc. before being renamed Titan Sports, Inc. which is then legally merged the Massachusetts corporation. Titan was renamed World Wrestling Federation, Inc. in 1998, then World Wrestling Federation Entertainment, Inc. in 1999 and finally World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. in 2002. Since 2011, the company has officially branded itself solely as "WWE", which is no longer an initialism, though the company's legal name was not changed.^[12][13]

Contents

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• 1 Company history
  • 1.1 Prior to Titan Sports
  • 1.2 Titan Sports Inc. (1979–98)
    • 1.2.1 1980–92
    • 1.2.2 New Generation (1993–97)
    • 1.2.3 The Attitude Era (1997–2001)
  • 1.3 World Wrestling Federation, Inc. / World Wrestling Federation Entertainment, Inc. (1998–2002)
    • 1.3.1 Acquisition of WCW and ECW
  • 1.4 World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. / WWE (2002–present)
    • 1.4.1 Brand extension
    • 1.4.2 WWE Network
• 2 WWE stock and corporate governance
• 3 Wellness program
• 4 Legal disputes
• 5 Expansion beyond wrestling
  • 5.1 Active properties
  • 5.2 Defunct properties
  • 5.3 Charity
• 6 Championships and accomplishments
  • 6.1 Current champions
  • 6.2 Other accomplishments
  • 6.3 Developmental territory champions
  • 6.4 Defunct championships
• 7 See also
• 8 Notes
• 9 References
• 10 External links