connecticut trading name wwe formerly called titan sports inc. world wrestling federation inc. world wrestling federation entertainment inc. type public company traded as nyse wwe nasdaq wwe isin us98156q1085 industry professional wrestling sports entertainment media and technology streaming media predecessor capitol wrestling corporation founded february 21 1980 ; 36 years ago 1980 02 21 south yarmouth massachusetts us 1 founders 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 chief brand officer paul triple h levesque executive vice president of talent live events and creative products television publishing films music merchandise streaming network service home video live events services licensing revenue us 658.8 million 2015 3 operating income us 38.8 million 2015 3 profit us 24.1 million 2015 3 total assets us 409.1 million 2015 3 total equity us 209.3 million 2015 3 owner vince mcmahon 52 % 4 number of employees approximately 800 2016 5 divisions divisions wwe network wwe libraries wwe studios wwe books wwe music group wwe nxt wwe performance center wwe home video wwe shop 6 subsidiaries subsidiaries tapout 50 % tsi realty company event services inc. wwe studios wwe music group wwe properties international wwe japan wwe australia wwe international wwe canada wwe sports wcw inc. wwe animation wwe jet services wwe germany wwe asia pacific wwe middle east and africa wwe libraries 7 website www.wwe.com world wrestling entertainment inc. d b a 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 . wwe also refers to the professional wrestling promotion itself founded by jess mcmahon and toots mondt in 1952 as capitol wrestling corporation ltd. as of 2014 it is the largest wrestling promotion in the world holding over 300 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 major cities across the world . 9 10 the company promotes under two main roster brands raw 11 and smackdown 12 and a developmental brand nxt . 13 14 as in other professional wrestling promotions wwe shows are not legitimate contests but purely entertainment 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 . this was first publicly acknowledged by wwe s owner vince mcmahon in 1989 to avoid taxes from athletic commissions . since the 1980s wwe publicly has 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 its chairman and ceo vince mcmahon . 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 . 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 . 15 the current entity incorporated on february 21 1980 was previously known as titan sports inc. founded in 1979 in south yarmouth massachusetts . it acquired capitol wrestling corporation the holding company for the world wrestling federation wwf in 1982 . 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 though the company s legal name was not changed . 16 17 contents 1 company history 1.1 prior to titan sports 1.2 titan sports inc. 1.2.1 golden age 1.2.2 new generation 1993 1997 1.2.3 the attitude era 1997 2001 1.3 world wrestling federation inc. world wrestling federation entertainment inc. 1.3.1 acquisition of wcw and ecw 1.4 world wrestling entertainment inc. wwe 1.4.1 brand extension 1.4.2 wwe network 2 terminology 3 wwe stock and corporate governance 4 contracts 5 wellness program 6 legal disputes 6.1 wwf name dispute 6.2 harry slash and the slashstones 7 expansion beyond wrestling 7.1 subsidiaries 7.1.1 active 7.1.2 defunct 7.2 charities 7.3 tapout 8 championships and accomplishments 8.1 raw 8.2 smackdown 8.3 nxt 8.4 defunct 8.5 other accomplishments 9 see also 10 references 11 external links company history main article history of wwe prior to titan sports main article capitol wrestling corporation wwe s origins can be traced back as far as 1952 when roderick james jess mcmahon and toots mondt created the capitol wrestling corporation ltd. cwc which joined the national wrestling alliance nwa in 1953 . mcmahon who was a successful boxing promoter began working with tex rickard in 1926 . with the help of rickard he began promoting boxing at the third madison square garden . it was not the first time he had promoted wrestling cards as he had already done so during the 1910s . in november 1954 mcmahon died and ray fabiani one of mondt s associates brought in mcmahon s son vincent james . 18 the younger mcmahon and mondt were very successful and soon controlled approximately 70 % of the nwa s booking largely due to their dominance in the heavily populated northeast region . in 1963 mcmahon and mondt had a dispute with the nwa over nature boy buddy rogers being booked to hold the nwa world heavyweight championship . 19 both men left the company in protest and formed the wwwf in the process awarding rogers the new wwwf world heavyweight championship in april of that year . he lost the championship to bruno sammartino a month later on may 17 1963 after suffering a heart attack a week before the match . capitol operated the wwwf in a conservative manner compared to other pro wrestling territories 20 it ran its major arenas monthly rather than weekly or bi weekly usually featuring a babyface champion wrestling various heels in programs that consisted of one to three matches . 21 after gaining a television program deal and hiring lou albano as a manager for sammartino s heel opponents the wwwf was doing sellout business by 1970 . mondt left capitol in the late sixties and although the wwwf had withdrawn from the nwa vince mcmahon sr. quietly re joined in 1971 . capitol renamed the world wide wrestling federation to the world wrestling federation wwf in 1979 . 22 titan sports inc. golden age main article 1980s professional wrestling boom vincent j. mcmahon s son vincent k. mcmahon and his wife linda established titan sports inc. in 1979 in south yarmouth massachusetts . 23 24 the company was incorporated on february 21 1980 in the cape cod coliseum offices . the younger mcmahon bought capitol from his father in 1982 effectively seizing control of the company . seeking to make the wwf the premier wrestling promotion in the country and eventually the world he began an expansion process that fundamentally changed the wrestling business . 25 at the annual meeting of the nwa in 1983 the mcmahons and capitol employee jim barnett all withdrew from the organization . 19 mcmahon also worked to get wwf programming on syndicated television all across the united states . this angered other promoters and disrupted the well established boundaries of the different wrestling promotions eventually ending the territory system which was in use since the founding of the nwa in the 1940s . in addition the company used income generated by advertising television deals and tape sales to secure talent from rival promoters . in an interview with sports illustrated mcmahon noted in the old days there were wrestling fiefdoms all over the country each with its own little lord in charge . each little lord respected the rights of his neighboring little lord . no takeovers or raids were allowed . there were maybe 30 of these tiny kingdoms in the u.s. and if i hadn t bought out my dad there would still be 30 of them fragmented and struggling . i of course had no allegiance to those little lords . 25 mcmahon gained significant traction when he hired awa talent hulk hogan who had achieved popularity outside of wrestling notably for his appearance in the film rocky iii . 26 mcmahon signed roddy piper as hogan s rival and then shortly afterward jesse ventura as an announcer . other wrestlers joined the roster such as jimmy snuka don muraco the iron sheik nikolai volkoff junkyard dog paul orndorff greg valentine and ricky steamboat . many of the wrestlers who would join later were former awa or nwa talent . the wwf would tour nationally in a venture that would require a huge capital investment one that placed the wwf on the verge of financial collapse . the future of mcmahon s experiment came down to the success or failure of mcmahon s groundbreaking concept wrestlemania . wrestlemania was a major success and was and still is marketed as the super bowl of professional wrestling . the concept of a wrestling supercard was nothing new in north america ; the nwa had begun running starrcade a few years prior . in mcmahon s eyes however what separated wrestlemania from other supercards was that it was intended to be accessible to those who did not watch wrestling . he invited celebrities such as mr. t muhammad ali and cyndi lauper to participate in the event as well as securing a deal with mtv to provide coverage . the event and hype surrounding it led to the term rock n wrestling connection due to the cross promotion of pop culture and professional wrestling . the wwf business expanded significantly on the shoulders of mcmahon and his babyface hero hulk hogan for the next several years . the introduction of saturday night s main event on nbc in 1985 marked the first time that professional wrestling had been broadcast on network television since the 1950s when the now defunct dumont television network broadcast matches of vince mcmahon sr. s capitol wrestling corporation . the 1980s wrestling boom peaked with the wrestlemania iii pay per view at the pontiac silverdome in 1987 which set an attendance record of 93 173 a record that stood for 29 years until wrestlemania 32 . 27 a rematch of the wrestlemania iii main event between wwf champion hulk hogan and andr the giant took place on the main event in 1988 and was seen by 33 million people the most watched wrestling match in north american television history . 28 in 1985 titan moved its offices to stamford connecticut before the present building was built nearby in 1991 . subsequently a new titan sports inc. originally wwf inc. was established in delaware in 1987 and was consolidated with the massachusetts entity in february 1988 . 29 new generation 1993 1997 main article monday night wars the wwf was hit with allegations of steroid abuse and distribution in 1992 and was followed by allegations of sexual harassment by wwf employees the following year . 30 mcmahon was eventually exonerated but it brought bad public relations for the wwf and overall bad reputation . the steroid trial cost the company an estimated 5 million at a time of record low revenues . this helped drive many wwf wrestlers over to rival promotion world championship wrestling wcw including 1980s babyface hero hulk hogan . during this period the wwf promoted wrestlers of a younger age comprising the new generation featuring shawn michaels diesel razor ramon bret hart and the undertaker in an effort to promote new talent into the spotlight . in january 1993 the wwf debuted its flagship cable program monday night raw . wcw countered in september 1995 with its