WWE

World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) is an American professional wrestling promotion company. Additionally a global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into fields outside of wrestling, including film, football, and other business ventures, such as licensing its intellectual property to other companies to produce video games and action figures. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority-owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. As in other professional wrestling promotions, WWE does not promote a legitimate sporting contest but rather entertainment-based mock combat performance theater, featuring storyline-driven, scripted, and partially choreographed matches. However, matches often include moves that put performers at risk of serious injury or death if not performed correctly. The pre-determined aspect of professional wrestling was publicly acknowledged by WWE in 1989 to avoid regulation by athletic commissions. WWE markets its product as "sports entertainment", acknowledging professional wrestling's roots in competitive sport and dramatic theater. The promotion dates back to 1953 with the formation of the Capitol Wrestling Corporation (CWC), a Northeastern territory of the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA). Due to booking disputes, CWC left the NWA and rebranded their CWC brand to the World Wide Wrestling Federation (WWWF) in April 1963. After rejoining the NWA in 1971, the WWWF was renamed the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) in 1979. The CWC and the WWF brand would be acquired in 1982 by Titan Sports, which was founded in 1980, with the WWF leaving the NWA again in 1983. Following a trademark dispute with the World Wildlife Fund, the WWF was renamed World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) in 2002. In 2011, the promotion ceased branding itself as World Wrestling Entertainment and began solely using the initials WWE, although their legal name remained the same. WWE is the largest wrestling promotion in the world. Its main roster is divided into two touring brands, Raw and SmackDown. Its developmental brands, NXT and Evolve, are based at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida. The promotion's programming is available in more than one billion homes worldwide in 30 languages and its global headquarters is located in Stamford, Connecticut, with offices in New York, Los Angeles, Mexico City, Mumbai, Shanghai, Singapore, Dubai, and Munich. In January 2023, WWE began to explore a sale of the company, amidst an employee misconduct scandal involving McMahon that initially prompted him to step down as chairman and CEO. In September, WWE merged with Zuffa, the parent company of mixed martial arts promotion Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), to form TKO Group Holdings, a new public company majority-owned by Endeavor Group Holdings, with McMahon as executive chairman: the promotion's legal name was then changed to World Wrestling Entertainment, LLC. In 2024, McMahon departed TKO amid a sex trafficking scandal and was replaced as executive chairman by Ari Emanuel.