WWE

World Wrestling Entertainment, LLC
WWE
FormerlyTitan Sports, Inc. (1980–1999)
World Wrestling Federation Entertainment, Inc. (1999–2002)
World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. (2002–2023)
Company typeSubsidiary
Industry
PredecessorCapitol Wrestling Corporation Ltd.
Founded
  • January 1953; 71 years ago (1953-01)
    (as Capitol Wrestling Corporation Ltd.)
  • April 1963; 61 years ago (1963-04)
    (rebranding as the World Wide Wrestling Federation)
  • February 1980; 44 years ago (1980-02)
    (founding of Titan Sports, Inc.)
  • June 1982; 42 years ago (1982-06)
    (purchase of Capitol Wrestling Corporation Ltd. by Titan Sports)
FounderJess McMahon or Vincent J. McMahon[a]
(as Capitol Wrestling Corporation Ltd.)
Vince McMahon and Linda McMahon
(as Titan Sports, Inc.)
Headquarters
707 Washington Blvd
Stamford, Connecticut
,
United States
Area served
Worldwide
Key people
Products
ServicesLicensing
RevenueIncreaseUS$1.326 billion (2023)[2]
IncreaseUS$141 million (2023)[2]
IncreaseUS$195.6 million (2022)[3]
Total assetsIncreaseUS$1.35 billion (2022)[3]
Total equityIncreaseUS$517.2 million (2022)[3]
Number of employees
~800[4] (2023)
ParentTKO Group Holdings[5][b]
DivisionsWWE Books
WWE Libraries
WWE Music Group
WWE Network
WWE Performance Center
WWE Studios[8]
SubsidiariesTapout (50%)[9]
WCW Inc.
Others
Websitewwe.com

World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) is an American professional wrestling promotion. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority-owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings.[10] A global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into fields outside of wrestling, including film, football, and various other business ventures. The company is additionally involved in licensing its intellectual property to other companies to produce video games and action figures.

The promotion was founded in 1953 as the Capitol Wrestling Corporation (CWC), a Northeastern territory of the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA). Following a dispute, CWC left the NWA and became 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 before the promotion left the NWA for good in 1983. In 2002, following a legal dispute with the World Wildlife Fund, the WWF was renamed World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). In 2011, the promotion ceased branding itself as World Wrestling Entertainment and began solely branding itself with the initials WWE.[11]

Prior to September 2023, the company's majority owner was its executive chairman, third-generation wrestling promoter Vince McMahon, who retained a 38.6% ownership of the company's outstanding stock and 81.1% of the voting power. The current entity, which was originally named Titan Sports, Inc., was incorporated on February 21, 1980, in South Yarmouth, Massachusetts, but reincorporated under Delaware General Corporation Law in 1987. It acquired Capitol Wrestling Corporation Ltd., the holding company for the WWF, in 1982. Titan was renamed World Wrestling Federation Entertainment, Inc. in 1999, and then World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. in 2002. In 2023, its legal name was changed to World Wrestling Entertainment, LLC.[12]

WWE is the largest wrestling promotion in the world. Its main roster is divided into two touring brands, Raw and SmackDown. Its developmental brand, NXT, is based at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida. Overall, WWE programming is available in more than one billion homes worldwide in 30 languages. The company's global headquarters is located in Stamford, Connecticut,[13] with offices in New York, Los Angeles, Mexico City, Mumbai, Shanghai, Singapore, Dubai, and Munich.[14]

As in other professional wrestling promotions, WWE shows are not true contests but entertainment-based performance theater, featuring storyline-driven, scripted, and partially choreographed matches; however, matches often include moves that can put performers at risk of injury, even death, if not performed correctly. The pre-determined aspect of professional wrestling was publicly acknowledged by WWE's then-owner Vince McMahon in 1989 in order to avoid taxes from athletic commissions. WWE markets its product as sports entertainment, acknowledging professional wrestling's roots in competitive sport and dramatic theater.

In 2023, WWE began to explore a potential sale of the company, amidst an employee misconduct scandal involving McMahon that had prompted him to step down as chairman and CEO, although he returned as executive chairman.[15] In April 2023, WWE made a deal with Endeavor Group Holdings, under which it would merge 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, with McMahon serving as executive chairman of the new entity, and Nick Khan becoming president. The merger was completed on September 12, 2023.[16] In 2024, McMahon, who was by now no longer the majority WWE stockholder, ended his ties with the company amid a sex trafficking scandal.[17]

  1. ^ Krugman 2009, p. 11.
  2. ^ a b "TKO Reports Full Year 2023 Results" (PDF). TKO Group Holdings, Inc. February 27, 2024. Retrieved February 27, 2024.
  3. ^ a b c "WWE® Reports Record Full Year 2022 Results". World Wrestling Entertainment Inc. February 2, 2023. Retrieved July 6, 2023.
  4. ^ "Company Information". World Wrestling Entertainment Inc. Archived from the original on March 6, 2022. Retrieved October 22, 2023.
  5. ^ "AMENDMENT NO. 2 TO FORM S-4 REGISTRATION STATEMENT". U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. August 10, 2023. p. 1. Archived from the original on June 23, 2024. Retrieved September 12, 2023. ...with WWE surviving the merger as a direct, wholly owned subsidiary of [TKO Group Holdings]
  6. ^ "SCHEDULE 14C INFORMATION". NASDAQ. August 22, 2023. p. 248. Retrieved August 25, 2023.
  7. ^ "TKO Group Holdings, Inc.: Shareholders Board Members Managers and Company Profile | US87256C1018 | MarketScreener". www.marketscreener.com. Retrieved July 25, 2024.
  8. ^ "Company Overview". WWE Corporate. Archived from the original on November 17, 2014.
  9. ^ Silverman, Alex (March 25, 2015). "WWE, ABG to Reposition Tapout Brand as Part of 50/50 Joint Venture". Sports Business Journal. Retrieved September 7, 2021.
  10. ^ "UFC And WWE To Close Merger Next Week, Make NYSE Debut As TKO Group". Deadline. September 7, 2023. Retrieved September 7, 2023.
  11. ^ Sacco, Justine; Weitz, Michael (April 7, 2011). "The New WWE" (Press release). Connecticut: WWE. Retrieved November 25, 2021.
  12. ^ "Notification of Removal From Listing and/or Registration Under Section 12(B) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934". U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. September 12, 2023. Archived from the original on June 23, 2024. Retrieved September 12, 2023.
  13. ^ "General WWE Contacts". WWE Corporate. Archived from the original on February 4, 2009.
  14. ^ "Company information". WWE Corporate. October 18, 2021. Archived from the original on March 6, 2022. Retrieved October 18, 2021.
  15. ^ Sherman, Alex (January 7, 2023). "Vince McMahon is back at WWE to ensure a smooth sale process. Here's who might want to buy it". CNBC. Retrieved January 10, 2023.
  16. ^ "SEC-Show". otp.tools.investis.com. Retrieved June 12, 2023.[permanent dead link‍]
  17. ^ Draper, Kevin (January 26, 2024). "Wrestling icon Vince McMahon resigns from WWE parent company after sex abuse suit". New York Times. Retrieved January 27, 2024.


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