10 Vintage Photos Of The WWE

The WWE has a long and successful history. The company was originally known as the CWC before breaking away from the NWA and becoming the WWWF. Then, in the '80s, Vince McMahon took control of the company from his father and turned it into the very successful WWF, which he later renamed the WWE, and wrestling was never more popular.

Over the years, there have been huge eras in the industry. The Rock and Wrestling Era gave way to the New Generation. The Attitude Era redefined what success in wrestling looked like and morphed into the Ruthless Aggression Era where John Cena became a star. Throughout history, stars rose and new fans fell in love with professional wrestling. Here is a look at 10 vintage photos of the WWE, tracking its history.

10. WRESTLEMANIA

10 vintage photos of the WWE — via wrestletalk.com

Vince McMahon had one chance to succeed in the WWE or he could have lost his company to his father. That opportunity came with the first WrestleMania... and he knocked it out of the park. The event was sold with star power and that was apparent in the main event.

This vintage photo of the WWE shows three of men responsible for this success. There was the heel in Rowdy Roddy Piper, the beloved babyface in Hulk Hogan and the Hollywood star Mr. T, three of the four men competing in the main event at the most important professional wrestling show of all-time.

9. PIPER'S PIT WITH JIMMY SNUKA

In order for a babyface to get completely over with the fans, he has to have the perfect heel to play off of. There are many people who believe that there never would have been a Hulk Hogan if there had not also been a Rowdy Roddy Piper. Fans wanted to see Piper get beaten and no one was better at riling them up than the Rowdy Scotsman.

A perfect example is in this vintage photo of the WWE where Piper's Pit had Superfly Jimmy Snuka as the guest. Fans loved Snuka and Piper knew how to get them riled up and did so during this interview when he smashed a coconut over Snuka's head and solidified himself as the most dastardly villain in the WWE.

8. HOGAN AND ANDRE AT WRESTLEMANIA III

The most beloved superstar in WWE history might have been Andre the Giant. However, the impossible happened when the WWE turned Andre bad and somehow the fans bought it. The way this worked was that Andre hired Bobby Heenan as his manager, and even if Andre was in the right in his complaints, the WWE worked it perfectly where the beloved giant was the villain.

That led the WWE to WrestleMania III. It ended up breaking all records for attendance and was the biggest WWE event of all-time. Fans piled in to see the match between Hulk Hogan and his former best friend, which started with the scene in this vintage photo of the WWE. It ended with Hogan bodyslamming Andre for the win.

7. VINTAGE UNDERTAKER

The WWE created a lot of cartoonish characters in the '80s and early '90s. There were garbage men, repo men, and a guy that acted like a rooster. However, there was one cartoon-style gimmick that not only worked but transcended the original gimmick. In this vintage photo of the WWE, the mortician The Undertaker poses with his manager Paul Bearer.

Undertaker ended up as the most respected man in the locker room and is still working events 28 years since his debut with the WWE. The mortician here turned into a zombie, a cult leader, a biker, and finally the legendary Dead Man.

6. MACHO MAN AND ELIZABETH

Once Rowdy Roddy Piper started to step away from the WWE, a new villain to challenge Hulk Hogan stepped up. This was Macho Man Randy Savage, who debuted with his manager Miss Elizabeth. He soon turned good, won the WWE title, and then turned bad due to jealousy and lost it to Hulk Hogan at WrestleMania V.

Then, Savage left Elizabeth, became the Macho King and took on a new manager in Sherri Martel. In a perfect example of long-term booking, two years later he faced Ultimate Warrior in a match at WrestleMania VII. Savage lost and was forced to retire. Sherri started beating him up and that brought Miss Elizabeth back to the WWE for the save and she reunited with Savage for this vintage photo.

5. THE BOYHOOD DREAM

After Hulk Hogan left the WWE, a new generation of superstars rose to power and started to carry the load. Rather than the cartoonish characters of the '80s, it was smaller, more athletic wrestlers who could turn in great matches while also telling great stories. The two greatest wrestlers of this era were Bret "The Hitman" Hart and "The Heartbreak Kid" Shawn Michaels.

While Michaels was a heel for almost their entire feud, there was an underlying story that helped push Michaels to the top despite fighting the babyface Hart. Michaels turned into a babyface, hired Jose Lothario as a trainer and battled Hart in a 60-minute Iron Man match for the world title to achieve his "boyhood dream." He won and this vintage photo of the WWE shows him celebrating that moment.

4. THE BIRTH OF STONE COLD

The New Generation resulted in low ratings and the WWE almost went out of business. During this time, the WWE was looking for anything to help them in the ratings department and lucked out when Stone Cold Steve Austin improvised in his promo after the 1996 King of the Ring tournament.

Austin had battled Jake "The Snake" Roberts in the finals. Roberts was using a religion gimmick at the time and after Austin won, he cut a promo where he used the "Austin 3:16" tagline for the first time. It was in this moment, that the real Stone Cold was born and the seeds for the Attitude Era were planted.

3. DX INVADES WCW NITRO

The biggest boom era in professional wrestling came when WCW formed the nWo and launched to the top of the ratings, and then the WWE started the Attitude Era and tried to fight back. While Stone Cold Steve Austin was the leader of the Attitude Era, there was also the success of Degeneration X.

DX was an answer to the nWo and they took the battle to WCW literally. On one episode of Monday Night Raw, DX drove a tank to the arena where WCW was holding Monday Nitro and declared war. The WWE ended up winning the war and this vintage photo of the WWE shows the pivotal moment where the WWE acknowledged they were coming for WCW.

2. HOGAN AND THE ROCK

WCW went under in 2001 when the WWE purchased their one-time rival. The WWE then buried them in an invasion styled feud and moved on as the only real A-grade professional wrestling company in the world. However, the WWE still pulled out WCW gimmicks over time, and the biggest came in 2002.

WCW was dead but the nWo showed up on Monday Night Raw, with Kevin Nash, Scott Hall, and Hulk Hogan arriving and threatening to take over. The Rock, one of the biggest stars of the Attitude Era, was there to battle Hogan at WrestleMania X8. However, that feud ended up strange as the fans were all on Hogan's side and the two men switched roles on the fly when the match started for one of the most exciting moments in WrestleMania history.

1. JOHN CENA'S DEBUT

If one vintage photo of the WWE really set the table for the Ruthless Aggression Era and the start of the career of John Cena, it is this one. It was an episode of SmackDown Live and Kurt Angle called out an open challenge to anyone in the locker room. Cena made his main roster debut by answering that challenge.

The two had a great match and John Cena proved to be a star of the future instantly. He had to move into a silly rapper gimmick and then work on the mid-card but when he hit the main event and won his first world title, he soon became the most successful star the WWE had ever seen.