Surely one of the most outrageous and intriguing success stories in American support is that of wrestling. The history of professional wrestling is rich in controversy, glamour and excitement. This is now a hugely popular and cash rich sport that is shown on TV in most countries throughout the world. However, it has not always been so glamorous.
During the early 20th century, professional wrestling was little more than the mat grappling, popular in high schools and colleges. After little success, the interest soon started to wane as the predictable nature of the spectacle was no match for the hugely popular sport of boxing. In 1920, professional wrestler Joseph Mondt came up with a new amalgamation of several forms of the sport. His new invention was named 'Slam Bang Western Style Wrestling'.
After several years of success, his local organization was disbanded after several legal wranglings with various partners. Jess McMahon later joined forces with Mondt to create the Capitol Wrestling Corporation. The CWC would later become part of the National Wrestling Alliance - a national governing body that would operate in regionalized areas and share the same champion. After McMahon's death, Vincent McMahon Snr succeeded his father and many years of great success followed.
The CWC would remain as part of the NWA but was by far the biggest of all the regional wrestling governing bodies. This concerned other authorities, so in a bid to curtail McMahon's dominance, CWC world champ, Buddy Rogers was stripped of the title. So outraged were Mondt and McMahon, they pulled out of the Alliance and formed the completely independent World Wide Wrestling Federation, which would become the World Wrestling Federation in 1979.
In 1982, McMahon's son, Vincent Jnr, bought the company outright from his father and the other shareholders. The NWA was still the governing body of the sport across America, but McMahon Jnr wanted that to change. Breaking an old agreement, he syndicated his WWF show across the country and began to market an alternative to the NWA in every state of the country.
Wrestlemania attracted crowds and TV audiences never seen before. The success of the event led to US network, NBC, starting a weekly show called Saturday Night's Main Event. In 1993, America's longest periodic TV show began - Monday Night RAW. While the WCW launched its own version, known as Monday Nitro, Raw was always dominant in national TV ratings.
It would soon become apparent that the WWF was clearly the most recognizable wrestling brand in the world and all other organizations struggle to be recognized. Vine McMahon bought the rival organization, the WCW, for $7 and merged both camps of wrestlers, using a fictitious storyline called the 'Invasion.' After the acquisition of the ECW, there was no one to stop the WWF ruling the world. After a dispute in Europe with the World Wide Fund for Nature, Vince McMahon lost the right to use WWF in all European states. The organization changed its name to World Wrestling Entertainment in 2002 - known widely as the WWE.
The WWE now enjoys total dominance in a sector they refer to as 'sports entertainment'. It now has a corporate presence in London, Sydney and Tokyo, making it a truly global brand. Action figures, merchandise and two more TV shows have solidified the WWE's position as the premier wrestling brand.
During the early 20th century, professional wrestling was little more than the mat grappling, popular in high schools and colleges. After little success, the interest soon started to wane as the predictable nature of the spectacle was no match for the hugely popular sport of boxing. In 1920, professional wrestler Joseph Mondt came up with a new amalgamation of several forms of the sport. His new invention was named 'Slam Bang Western Style Wrestling'.
After several years of success, his local organization was disbanded after several legal wranglings with various partners. Jess McMahon later joined forces with Mondt to create the Capitol Wrestling Corporation. The CWC would later become part of the National Wrestling Alliance - a national governing body that would operate in regionalized areas and share the same champion. After McMahon's death, Vincent McMahon Snr succeeded his father and many years of great success followed.
The CWC would remain as part of the NWA but was by far the biggest of all the regional wrestling governing bodies. This concerned other authorities, so in a bid to curtail McMahon's dominance, CWC world champ, Buddy Rogers was stripped of the title. So outraged were Mondt and McMahon, they pulled out of the Alliance and formed the completely independent World Wide Wrestling Federation, which would become the World Wrestling Federation in 1979.
In 1982, McMahon's son, Vincent Jnr, bought the company outright from his father and the other shareholders. The NWA was still the governing body of the sport across America, but McMahon Jnr wanted that to change. Breaking an old agreement, he syndicated his WWF show across the country and began to market an alternative to the NWA in every state of the country.
Wrestlemania attracted crowds and TV audiences never seen before. The success of the event led to US network, NBC, starting a weekly show called Saturday Night's Main Event. In 1993, America's longest periodic TV show began - Monday Night RAW. While the WCW launched its own version, known as Monday Nitro, Raw was always dominant in national TV ratings.
It would soon become apparent that the WWF was clearly the most recognizable wrestling brand in the world and all other organizations struggle to be recognized. Vine McMahon bought the rival organization, the WCW, for $7 and merged both camps of wrestlers, using a fictitious storyline called the 'Invasion.' After the acquisition of the ECW, there was no one to stop the WWF ruling the world. After a dispute in Europe with the World Wide Fund for Nature, Vince McMahon lost the right to use WWF in all European states. The organization changed its name to World Wrestling Entertainment in 2002 - known widely as the WWE.
The WWE now enjoys total dominance in a sector they refer to as 'sports entertainment'. It now has a corporate presence in London, Sydney and Tokyo, making it a truly global brand. Action figures, merchandise and two more TV shows have solidified the WWE's position as the premier wrestling brand.
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