The Territories
The company we now know as WWE was founded in 1953 as the Capitol Wrestling Corporation. It was a Northeastern territory of the National Wrestling Alliance, a governing body of wrestling promotions across the US.
By 1983, the company had renamed itself to the World Wrestling Federation and departed the NWA. The promotion was purchased by the founder’s son, Vincent Kennedy McMahon.
The Golden Era
Under Vince McMahon’s leadership, the WWE achieved unprecedented success in the American wrestling business. In the 1980s, McMahon overpowered the former territory system and drove many NWA promotions to bankruptcy. He picked up stars from around the country, including Jake “The Snake” Roberts, Roddy Piper, Ricky Steamboat, and the company’s biggest star, Hulk Hogan.
The New Generation
In the early 90s, the WWE began promoting a “New Generation” of upcoming stars, including Shawn Michaels, Diesel, Razor Ramon, and Bret Hart. It was during this era that WWE debuted its flagship show, Monday Night Raw.
In September 1995, WWE’s chief competitor WCW began airing its own weekly program, Monday Nitro, and consequently kicked off the Monday Night Wars. WCW soon gained the upper hand in the battle, largely due to WWE stars like Diesel (Kevin Nash) and Razor Ramon (Scott Hall) jumping ship to WCW.
The Attitude Era
In an attempt to turn the tides of the Monday Night Wars, WWE abandoned their family-friendly ways and introduced a raunchier, edgier product. WWE also began to pick up stars from WCW, some of whom would become major names in the company. Perhaps the most influential was Stone Cold Steve Austin, whose popularity launched him into the stratosphere and made him the face of WWE.
In March 2001, WWE purchased WCW and brought the Monday Night Wars to an end. McMahon then brought in former WCW stars like Booker T, Goldberg, and Scott Steiner, and launched an “invasion” angle.
Ruthless Aggression
After their victory over WCW, WWE began to tone down the vulgarity and shifted into a new era. Vince McMahon demanded “Ruthless Aggression” from the WWE roster, encouraging them to climb to the top of the mountain and grab those metaphorical brass rings.
The Ruthless Aggression Era saw the rise of several icons who continue to influence the wrestling business today, including Batista, Kurt Angle, Randy Orton, and John Cena.
Current WWE
Nowadays, WWE presents a more family-friendly product with a focus on universal appeal. In that regard, it is much more similar to the Golden Era of the 80s. WWE has garnered an international audience and tours around the globe, performing in countries like Australia, the United Kingdom, Canada, and Saudi Arabia.
Modern WWE boasts some of the most compelling stars in the wrestling business, including Roman Reigns, Seth Rollins, Becky Lynch, and The New Day. The company enjoys near-absolute dominance over the sports entertainment industry and is making more profits than ever before.
