David Beckham

Spokespeople for Bayern freely admitted that the report was a hoax. Since then, Johnson has obtained dual ownership of "The Rock" name with WWE. Perhaps inspired by these hints, and as an April Fool's joke, Bayern Munich announced on its official Web site that it was set to sign Beckham to a three-year deal, effective with the 2005-06 season. This was due to the fact that, at the time, WWE owned the rights to the name "The Rock". In 2005, Beckham started dropping hints that he may yet leave Madrid, expressing frustration with paparazzi harassing his family. WWE and Vince McMahon were credited for production of the films The Scorpion King 2002, The Rundown 2003 and Walking Tall 2004 all starring Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson. In November 2004 it was reported that Real Madrid intended to offer Beckham a two-year extension to his contract, which would effectively keep him in Madrid for the remainder of his playing career. His first movie will be titled, The Condemned.

He added that his wife and sons, who had yet to move to Spain, would join him there. Stone Cold Steve Austin recently signed a three-movie deal with WWE Films in January, 2005. However, on 20 May, Beckham, in a statement issued through his agent, quashed the transfer rumours, stating that he would see out the remaining three years of his contract in Madrid. WWE Films will also produce Goodnight with WWE wrestler Kane. Adding fuel to the rumours, Chelsea's manager at that time, Claudio Ranieri, told an Italian newspaper that the club was pursuing both Beckham and Ronaldo, and The Evening Standard of London reported that Chelsea was prepared to pay £40 million for Beckham. WWE Films is located in Hollywood, California and their first feature is named The Marine, starring John Cena. Because of the extremely high fee that Real Madrid could command for a Beckham deal, and the fact that the other teams that could afford the fee, had financial constraints (Arsenal, Liverpool) or personality issues (Man U) that would have made a deal unlikely, speculation immediately focused on Chelsea, with its billionaire owner Roman Abramovich. Instead of focusing on wrestling movies, WWE is planning to produce movies that are non-wrestling related (excluding the first movie under the WWE Films name, which was a short documentary on WrestleMania XIX included on the WrestleMania XX DVD).

Real Madrid denied rumours that they were interested in selling Beckham, and banned British reporters from access to the team. Since 2003, WWE has produced its own movie productions. Sources within the family told the Telegraph that Beckham would almost certainly be back in London. The younger McMahon was once a major character in WWF/WWE storylines in the late 1990s and early 2000s, but has since become seldom seen on television to concentrate his time exclusively on the Global Media division. Near the end of the 2003-04 season, The Daily Telegraph of London reported that Beckham's major sponsors were trying to arrange for him to return to England for the 2004-05 season. Shane McMahon is Executive Vice President of Global Media within World Wrestling Entertainment and is in charge of WWE.com. He is a UNICEF Goodwill International ambassador. Furthermore, WWE.com provides the same services for its online pay-per-view content.

The Sun newspaper reported that the man appeared angry with Beckham and intended to burn down the house. Unfortunately, the lawsuit from the World Wildlife Fund has kept WWE.com from showing any content from the "Attitude Era" (1998-May 2002). In July of 2004, an intruder was arrested at David Beckham's home for scaling a wall with a can of gasoline. The WWE has a large media repository dating back to the late 1960s and their goal was to stream most of this content online using a subscription service. Beckham has denied both allegations, describing them as "ludicrous". With over fourteen million played video streams a month, WWE.com is a major contributor of online media. A week later, a second woman, Malaysian-born Australian model Sarah Marbeck, claimed that she had slept with Beckham on two occasions. Streaming media has been one of the most important roles of the WWE.com "New Media" department and the output of videos is immense.

In April 2004, the British tabloid News of the World carried claims by his former personal assistant Rebecca Loos that he and Loos had had an extramarital affair. World Wrestling Entertainment has had a large Web presence since 1996 and was nominated for a "Streaming Media Award" in 1999 for its online content. In 2003 his fame was evident when Staffordshire University provided a university course about the star. All pay-per-views can be purchased and viewed on WWE.com as well. It has been speculated that he believed it to be too effeminate. Pay-per-views account for approximately 25% of WWE revenues ($95.3 million in the 2004 fiscal year). In May of 2003 Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson ordered David Beckham not to wear his hair band during matches. WWE is currently one of the leaders in pay-per-view content for cable and satellite television.

In the summer of 2003, Beckham was made an OBE in Queen Elizabeth II's honours list. [2] (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7380373/). In 2001, Beckham became the BBC Sports Personality of the Year. In addition, WWE will broadcast a twice-yearly 90-minute "special event" on Saturday nights on NBC. It is about a British Sikh girl who idolises David Beckham and harbours ambitions of being a football player. [1] (http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/nm/20050311/tv_nm/television_wwe_dc_1) On April 4, 2005, WWE announced a new 3-year agreement with NBC Universal to air RAW on the USA Network once again, a deal that also reportedly included occasional WWE programming on Telemundo and NBC. However, he has become more well known in North America since the success of the British film Bend It Like Beckham. The Spike TV deal will expire in September, 2005, and Viacom (owner of Spike TV) has announced they will not seek to extend it.

Despite their sometimes 'gauche' lifestyle Beckham is well regarded for being a good father and supporting a number of charitable causes. The two brands will occasionally clash at a pay-per-view card. In December 2004 the announcement of plans for the christening of their two children, including the construction of a fake Gothic chapel for £120,000 on the grounds of their Berkshire estate, were received with some ridicule, especially as neither are held to be strongly religious. Without WCW as competition, the WWE decided to split the promotion into two "separate" brands based on its two largest television shows, RAW and SmackDown! Under this "split brands" arrangement, each brand maintains a separate and non-overlapping roster of wrestlers, has championships exclusive to that brand (example: the WWE Championship on SmackDown!, and the World Heavyweight Championship on RAW), and is run by a different onscreen general manager. Following his move to Real Madrid and the disappointment of Euro 2004, British media interest in the Beckham's has faded despite the alleged affair with Loos. Some observers saw the new name as further acknowledgement by the company on its emphasis towards the entertainment rather than athletic aspects of professional wrestling. He is also one of the most famous examples of a metrosexual. Also, all verbal and visual references to "WWF" and the World Wrestling Federation logo from the "Attitude" era were edited out from old broadcasts.

David Beckham is, according to the Google[1] (http://www.google.com/press/zeitgeist2003.html) search engine, the most famous sports personality in the world, however the producers of The Simpsons decided that he wasn't famous enough to make a cameo appearance in an episode of the show set in London. The logo was altered, and a promotional campaign called "Get The F Out" was used to publicize this change. The British comedians Alistair McGowan and Roni Ancona have fashioned a popular impersonation of the couple that reinforces this characterisation. The lawsuit dealt with the wrestling company's breaching of an agreement with the Fund over use of the initials "WWF" in the United Kingdom. Rather than attempt a financial settlement with the Fund, McMahon changed the name of the company. This image was fixed early on in the pair's relationship when Victoria admitted she had little interest in Football. Its parent company, World Wrestling Federation Entertainment, also chose to adopt this name. In 1998 Beckham was pictured wearing a Sarong while on holiday with Victoria that resulted in much British media comment and created a Characterisation of David Beckham as a well meaning and likable innocent often embarrassed by Victoria's interest in her own celebrity. Following a lawsuit from the World Wildlife Fund (also WWF), the Federation changed its name to World Wrestling Entertainment, or WWE.

Early on in his career Beckham secured a number of lucrative sponsorship deals including Adidas, Vodafone and Diesel. It is still a debate amongst wrestling fans. Beckham is well-known for his frequent hairstyle changes and, despite being criticised for influencing teenagers' hairstyles, still regularly appears sporting a radically new look. Some people think the WWF Attitude era ended at the end of WrestleMania X-Seven (17) and others say November 2001 when WWF beat WCW. They have three sons, Brooklyn, born March 4, 1999, Romeo, born September 1, 2002, and Cruz, born February 20, 2005. The feud was a contributor to the company's decline in the ratings as well as in attendance and financially, athough the company to this day still has a profitable quarter. Beckham's highly publicised marriage to Spice Girl and media celebrity Victoria Adams, otherwise known as Posh Spice, has made them both popular targets for the tabloid press, which has dubbed the couple "Posh and Becks". WCW feud.

While some praised Beckham for his honesty others questioned his judgement considering his status as a role model for younger players. Many people believe that the story would have gone much better if WWE and McMahon waited a couple of years, as many WCW and ECW superstars joined after the end of the WWF vs. Beckham later admitted that the foul had been intentional to ensure he would not carry forward a yellow card to the later qualifying stage even though he would miss the next England match. Even the inclusion of ECW wrestlers and trademarks did not save it. As this was the second yellow card he had received in the qualifying competition he was banned from the next match. The lack of major WCW star power, combined with McMahon deciding that WWF wrestlers generally should not lose to WCW wrestlers, ended the "InVasion" storyline quickly. After scoring a brilliant goal from open play to give England a 2 - 0 lead Beckham then received a yellow card for a body checking foul on a Wales defender that saw the other player stretchered off and Beckham being substituted with a fractured rib. However, many big-name WCW stars such as "Hollywood" Hulk Hogan, Lex Luger, Kevin Nash, Goldberg, and Sting were still contracted to WCW's former parent company (McMahon decided not to buy them out), and all chose to sit out the duration of their contracts rather than work for McMahon for less money.

Beckham again found himself the centre of self-inflicted controversy following the match against Wales as part of the 2006 World Cup Qualifying Round. The original plan was to have WCW "take over" RAW, turning it back into WCW Monday Nitro. When bidding closed on 22 July, the winning bid of €28,050 was made by the Canadian internet casino GoldenPalace.com, which announced that it plans to exhibit the ball around the world for charitable purposes. Since WCW's peak in the late 1990s, wrestling fans had dreamed about a feud between the two promotions. eBay soon determined that virtually all of the bids, including one for €10million, were fake. Months later, McMahon and Bischoff reconciled their personal differences, and Bischoff signed with WWF to perform as the storyline General Manager of Raw. The Spanish spectator who caught Beckham's miss put the ball up for auction on eBay España. McMahon) took over the broadcast during the last half hour and Monday Night Raw was seen on TNT.

As with his performance in 1998 Beckham was negatively compared with the rising stars of the England 2004 team Wayne Rooney and Frank Lampard and in some sectors it was speculated that the revelations about his private life earlier that year contributed to a poor performance. acquired WCW from AOL Time Warner for $7 million. During the final WCW Monday Nitro, Vince McMahon (as the character Mr. Beckham later blamed the miss on the poor state of the pitch, the British press blamed referee Urs Meier for the loss (he had earlier disallowed a contentious goal by Sol Campbell) even publishing his phone number and postal address. In March 2001, WWF Entertainment, Inc. Beckham fired his shot far over the crossbar and England went on to lose the shoot-out 6-5 after Englishman Darius Vassell also missed. With the massive success of WWF Attitude, WCW's financial situation deteriorated significantly, and its newly-merged parent company AOL Time Warner looked to cut the division loose. Then, when England's Quarter-Final against hosts Portugal went to a penalty shootout, he was the first England player to attempt a shot. In 2000 the WWF, in collaboration with television network NBC, announced the creation of the XFL, a new professional football league, but the league had dismal television ratings and NBC pulled the plug after a year.

He had his penalty saved by former Manchester United team-mate Fabien Barthez in his side's 2-1 defeat to France in their opening group game. WWF announced its desire to diversify into other businesses, including a nightclub in Times Square, film production and book publishing. Beckham played in all England's matches at Euro 2004, but failed to shine. Off the back of the success of the Attitude era, on October 19, 1999 the WWF's parent company, World Wrestling Federation Entertainment, Inc., became a publicly traded company. During the second half Beckham pulled out of a crucial challenge that led directly to Ronaldinho's goal that sent England out of the competition. The show became a weekly series on August 24, 1999. It has remained UPN's most successful program overall ever since. The quarter final against Brazil again saw England start strongly with Michael Owen's brilliant individual effort but then faded after conceding a goal due to a clear error by the keeper David Seaman. On April 23, 1999, the WWF launched a special program known as SmackDown! on the fledgling UPN network.

The second round match against Denmark saw Beckham contribute to two goals from set pieces against a lacklustre side. The following night, the WWF dedicated its entire two-hour RAW telecast to Owen's memory, as various WWF performers and employees broke character and shared memories of their fallen friend. Beckham struck a clean penalty and then England hung on to win the match and then went on to draw 0-0 with Nigeria. The decision to continue the event was (and still is) a controversial one. During the charged first half Owen won a penalty and when Beckham stepped forward to take it he was approached by Simeone but who was ignored. The fans in attendance at the Kemper Arena were not informed of Owen's death. The stage was then set for the showdown with Argentina. A stunned Jim Ross made the solemn announcement to the pay-per-view audience once word had reached the arena.

Despite a good first half and taking the lead, England faded in the second half and Beckham was substituted with England drawing 1-1 with Sweden. Hart was rushed to a nearby hospital, where he was pronounced dead shortly after arrival. After the miracle of the win in Munich expectations for the England squad were high but even though Beckham was declared match fit for the first match against Sweden he had only had limited training. Those watching the pay-per-view telecast at the time were spared the sight because the director cut away to a pretaped interview just before the accident occurred. It was a cause of some controversy as the player that caused the injury was Argentinian and as England had already been drawn against them in the group stage the British Press speculated the injury was deliberate to 'hobble' England's star player. As Hart was being lowered into position in preparation for this entrance, his harness suddenly disengaged, sending him plummeting almost 80 feet to the ring below. Two months before the start of the 2002 World Cup Finals Beckham was injured during a Champions League match breaking the metatarsal bones of his left foot. Owen Hart, as his "Blue Blazer" superhero character, was scheduled to make a dramatic appearance on that night's Over the Edge pay-per-view telecast, "flying" into the ring by being lowered from a harness attached to the roof of the arena.

Needing only one point from the match in order to qualify for the World Cup, Beckham dragged an otherwise poor England side to qualification with sheer determination and a perfectly executed, last-minute free kick. Meanwhile, taking the role of captain seems to have helped mature him, in both skill and temperament. Tragedy struck on May 23, 1999, in Kansas City. The final step in Beckham's conversion from villain to hero happened in England's 2-2 draw against Greece. However, the controversial new presentation made the WWF more appealing than ever to its core audience. His leadership, mainly by example due to his fitness and workrate helped England to qualify for the 2002 World Cup Finals and the 1-5 defeat of Germany in Munich during a qualifier (a pivotal event for English football fans). One group, the Parents Television Council, waged a sustained boycott campaign against the WWF. Following England's poor performance in Euro 2000 (from which Beckham was one of the few players to emerge with credit) and later poor performances, the departure of Kevin Keegan as manager saw Beckham promoted to captain, initially under caretaker manager Peter Taylor and maintained by Sven-Göran Eriksson. They, along with feminist groups, found the regular use of scantily-clad women to attract viewers as offensive.

He received a similar vilification following his dismissal for a dangerous challenge in the World Club Championships the next year. Many family groups were outraged at the graphic violence employed by the WWF. Most commentators were mollified when it became public that the then England Manager Glen Hoddle supported a number of new age beliefs and practices that had created some conflict in the England team camp. This change was not without critics. On returning home, Beckham became the target of criticism, sometimes justified (the accusation of petulance, for example), and his performance was negatively contrasted with that of Michael Owen, but much merely gratuitous including being burnt in effigy. Piers Morgan the then editor of the Daily Mirror later apologised for some of the harsher criticism. nWo angle managed to almost lead the WWF to financial ruin, it was now becoming stale, and fans turned back to the WWF. This act arguably cost England the game (which they lost on penalties) and the chance of advancing in the tournament. Where earlier WCW's edgy WCW vs.

In the second round of that competition he received a red-card for retaliation, following a foul challenge by the Argentine Diego Simeone. The Rock would become one of the most popular professional wrestlers in history. By 1998 Beckham was a regular international, and travelled with the England squad to the World Cup. Over the coming year, the WWF would see new fan favorites. During the summer of 2004, Real also signed Englishmen Michael Owen and Jonathan Woodgate. For the first time in 18 months, the edgier WWF would beat the weekly WCW Monday Nitro in the ratings. He has become a favourite of the notoriously fickle Real Madrid crowd, and established an excellent playing relationship with Ronaldo. McMahon and Austin.

Beckham scored five times in his first 16 matches (including Real's 600th goal in the European Cup/Champions League, against Olympique Marseille on 26 November 2003), a higher scoring rate than his last year at Manchester United (11 goals in 52 games). This was the start of the epic feud between "evil promoter" Mr. His transfer to Real Madrid has proven very fruitful for both Beckham and the club. Many more fans who had not bought WrestleMania, including fans of WCW, tuned in to watch RAW the next day and in subsequent weeks. Real Madrid shirts bearing his name and number were sold out in Madrid on the day his transfer was completed and Real Madrid were expected to receive €624,000 for the sale of the shirts. Fans who purchased the pay-per-view were amazed by what they saw; this certainly was not the childish Rock and Wrestling era they still expected from the WWF. He is believed to have chosen the number as a tribute to his idol, Michael Jordan, who made number 23 famous with the Chicago Bulls. The highlight was the verbal confrontation between Austin and Tyson ending with Austin flicking off Tyson.

He successfully completed the transfer on July 1 and was presented with the squad number of 23 on July 2. The Attitude era kicked off in earnest at WrestleMania XIV, when professional boxer Mike Tyson appeared as a special guest referee for the WWF Title match between Shawn Michaels and Stone Cold Steve Austin. At the time of the announcement of his transfer to Real Madrid, Beckham and his wife (Victoria) were on a week-long tour of Japan, Vietnam, Malaysia, and Thailand promoting beauty products, chocolate, motor oil, and mobile phones, which it was reported would earn them more than the entire first year of his Real Madrid contract. The relationship would deteriorate over the next few years of WWF programming. It is probably no coincidence that Beckham was transferred just before Real started a far-eastern tour, but it would be very unfair to say that his marketing potential alone was the only reason for his transfer. McMahon said in a pre-Wrestlemania press conference that it was not in the WWF's best interest to have Austin as champion. Apart from benefiting from his football ability, this transfer gives the Spanish club an opportunity to profit from merchandising, especially in the Far East, where Beckham is enormously popular, and Manchester United have until now had the lion's share of interest. Hints of the Austin-McMahon feud in WWF storylines began after Stone Cold won the 1998 Royal Rumble to become #1 Contender for the WWF Title at Wrestlemania.

On June 17, 2003, Beckham signed a four-year contract with Real Madrid of Spain, potentially worth up to €35 million (£25 million, USD 41 million). During the summer and fall of 1997, Austin enhanced his status as a rebel willing to challenge any authority by giving his Stone Cold Stunner finishing move to WWF announcer Jim Ross, then-Commisssioner Sgt. Slaughter, and eventually WWF owner Vince McMahon himself. In total Beckham scored 86 goals in 397 games for Man United, a rate of roughly 2 goals every 9 games, highly commendable for a midfielder. Popular with the fans ever since winning the King of the Ring tournament as a heel in 1996, Austin's rough-and-redneck style won over enough fans that the WWF was forced to turn him into a fan favorite at Wrestlemania XIII in spring 1997 (in a rare double-switch in which the increasingly whiny Bret Hart turned heel after a legendary match between the two wrestlers). Beckham's last match for Manchester United was the final league match against Everton at Goodison Park in which he scored the winner, his last act as a player was lifting the Barclay's Premiership trophy at the match's conclusion. Borrowing many of the exciting wrestling and storyline styles from then-insurgent wrestling promotion ECW, the WWF Attitude Era was based largely on the growing popularity of the wrestler Stone Cold Steve Austin. After this episode transfer stories appearing to originate with Victoria were rife, linking Beckham with Chelsea and Barcelona. Running with the momentum from the Montreal Screwjob, McMahon took the WWF in an edgier, reality-based direction he called WWF Attitude, and in the process created a new corporate logo.

This conflict reached a peak during the 2002-3 season with 'The Battle of the Boot' when after losing a match to Arsenal an enraged Fergusson reportedly castigated team members in the dressing room and then kicked a football boot that struck Beckham over the eye requiring stitches. McMahon feud, which was the cornerstone of the new WWF Attitude concept. Beginning with the 2001-02 season the relationship between Ferguson and Beckham began to deteriorate though the factors contributing to this had less to do with Beckham's performance on the pitch and more to do with the continual pressures of agents and sponsors and a continuous series of leaked stories apparently originating from Victoria Beckham. This led to the Austin vs. In the 1998-99 season, he was part of the United team that won the "treble" - Premier League, FA Cup and Champions League, a feat unprecedented in English football, which earned the club's manager, Alex Ferguson, a knighthood. McMahon" in WWF programming, a dictatorial ruler who favored wrestlers who were "good for business" over "misfits" like Stone Cold Steve Austin. As the controversial Eric Cantona was suspended for a large part of the 1995-96 season due to an assault on a spectator Beckham became the focus of the Manchester United marketing effort and helped the side to the Premiership and FA Cup trophies and to their dominance of domestic football. McMahon used the backlash from the event to cast himself as the evil company owner "Mr.

The next year he came to wider public notice when playing against Wimbledon; having spotted the opposition goalkeeper, Neil Sullivan, had come forward off his line, he kicked a lob from the halfway line that went over the keeper into the net. This would set the stage for the turning point in the WWF/WCW feud. Beckham first signed a YTS (youth training scheme) contract (this is similar to an apprenticeship) with Manchester United in 1991, and made his League debut in 1995, aged 19. McMahon would deviate from the agreed finish of their match at Survivor Series to allow Shawn Michaels to win the title from Hart. He started his career at Manchester United, where he spent over a decade. He let it be known to WWF management that he would willingly drop the title, but not to rival "HBK" Shawn Michaels in Montreal. He is noted for the quality of his crossing and ability to hit free-kicks and corners, particularly long-range free-kicks. He is married to former Spice Girl Victoria Beckham. Hart used his contractual control over his booking in the last 30 days of his deal, which would end with that year's Survivor Series PPV in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.

He is a midfielder for Real Madrid and captain of the English national team. However, McMahon was concerned that the word would get out and he sought a way to get the belt off of Hart before the deal could be announced on WCW Monday Nitro. David Robert Joseph Beckham OBE (born May 2, 1975) is an English footballer born in Leytonstone, London. Bret promised that no such thing would ever happen and put an agreement in place that the announcement of his departure would be delayed until the belt could be transitioned to a new champion. David Beckham: My Side; by David Beckham. The WWF's worst nightmare was for Hart to appear on WCW Nitro while wearing the WWF belt. Beckham: My World; by David Beckham & Dean Freeman (ISBN 0340792701). Earlier in the WWF/WCW feud, the WWF Women's Champion, Alundra Blayze, signed with WCW while in possession of the belt and threw it in a trash can on WCW Nitro (imitating a heavily-publicized act by heavyweight boxing champion Riddick Bowe).

Beckham: Both Feet on the Ground; by David Beckham & Tom Watt (ISBN 0060570938). While Hart's departure was not a surprise, the WWF was concerned about the fact that the man about to leave was the WWF Champion. Claiming financial hardship, McMahon threatened to breach the contract and advised Bret to do his best to sign with WCW. However, McMahon immediately regretted the deal. McMahon countered with an offer worth much less money, but for a 20-year term, and Hart agreed to stay.

The previous year, Hart was offered a lucrative deal to jump to WCW. The WWF/WCW feud reached a new level in 1997, when McMahon decided to force then-WWF champion Bret "The Hitman" Hart out of the company. Despite this, the WWF was losing money at a rapid rate. WCW's reality-based storylines drew attention away from the WWF's outdated (and childish) rock and wrestling-era gimmicks. McMahon responded by stating that he could create new superstars to regain the upper hand in the ratings war, and at the same time tightening contracts to make it harder for WCW to raid WWF talent.

In 1995, Bischoff upped the ante, creating WCW Monday Nitro, a cable show on Turner's TNT network, to directly compete with the WWF's flagship show, WWF Monday Night RAW. Eventually, on the strength of its newly-acquired WWF talent and the groundbreaking nWo storyline, WCW overtook the WWF in television ratings and popularity. Beginning in 1994, these acquisitions included Hulk Hogan, "Macho Man" Randy Savage, Lex Luger, Scott Hall, "Big Sexy" Kevin Nash, and many others. Under Eric Bischoff, World Championship Wrestling (WCW), the new name for NWA superterritory Jim Crockett Promotions after its purchase by Ted Turner, began using its tremendous financial resources to lure established talent away from the WWF. McMahon was eventually exonerated, but it was a public-relations debacle for the WWF.

However, by the 1990s the WWF's fortunes steadily declined as Hulk Hogan's act grew stale, hitting a low point in the wake of allegations of steroid abuse and distribution against McMahon and the WWF in 1994. The WWF did incredible business on the shoulders of McMahon and his All-American babyface hero, Hulk Hogan, for the next several years, creating what some observers dubbed a second golden age for professional wrestling. The new formula of what McMahon deemed Sports Entertainment was a resounding financial success at the original WrestleMania. MTV, in particular, featured a great deal of WWF coverage and programming at this time, in what was termed the Rock 'n' Wrestling Connection.

T and Cyndi Lauper to participate in the event. He drew the interest of the mainstream media by inviting celebrities such as Mr. However, McMahon wanted to take the WWF to the mainstream, targeting the general public who were not regular wrestling fans. The concept of a wrestling supercard was nothing new in North America; the NWA had been running StarrCade a few years prior to Wrestlemania.

WrestleMania was a pay-per-view extravaganza that McMahon marketed as being the Super Bowl of professional wrestling. The future of not just McMahon's experiment, but also the WWF, the NWA, and the whole industry came down to the success or failure of McMahon's groundbreaking sports entertainment concept, WrestleMania. However, such a venture required huge capital investment; one which placed the WWF on the verge of financial collapse. warned his son: "Vinny, what are you doing?! You'll wind up at the bottom of a river!" In spite of such warnings, the younger McMahon had an even bolder ambition: the WWF would tour nationally.

According to several reports, Vincent Sr. Wrestling promoters nationwide were now in direct competition with the WWF. To make matters worse, McMahon would use the income generated by advertising, television deals, and tape sales to poach talent from rival promoters. He effectively broke the unwritten law of regionalism around which the entire industry had been based.

McMahon also began selling videotapes of WWF events outside the Northeast. Other promoters were furious when McMahon began syndicating WWF shows to stations across America. But in neither instance did the defecting member attempt to undermine, and destroy, the Territory system that had been the foundation of the industry. Leaving the NWA for a second time in itself was not that big of a step; the AWA had long ago ceased being an official NWA member, and just over a decade earlier the WWWF itself had rejoined the NWA.

The elder McMahon had already established the northeastern territory as one of the most vibrant members of the NWA by recognizing that pro wrestling was more about entertainment than sport. Against his father's wishes, McMahon began an expansion process that would fundamentally change the sport, and place both the WWF--and his own life--in jeopardy. After discovering at age 12 that the wrestling promoter was his father, Vince became steadily involved in his father's wrestling business until the latter was ready to retire. McMahon. McMahon founded Titan Sports, Inc., and in 1982 purchased the WWF from his father, Vincent J.

In 1979, Vincent K. The name change was purely cosmetic; the ownership and front office personnel remained unchanged during this period. The WWWF became the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) in mid-1979. Mondt (born in 1886) died in 1976.

The WWWF rejoined the NWA in 1971 and their world title was dropped to the status of a regional title. He lost the title to Bruno Sammartino a month later on May 17, 1963 after supposedly suffering a heart attack shortly before the match. In mid-April, Rogers was then awarded the new WWWF title after the WWWF claimed he won a (fictitious) tournament in Rio de Janeiro. Rogers lost the NWA title to Lou Thesz in Toronto, Ontario on January 24, 1963.

Mondt and WWWF wanted Rogers to keep the NWA title, but Rogers didn't want to lose his $25,000 deposit on the belt; wrestling champions at the time had to pay a deposit to ensure they would honor whatever commitments that came along with their titles. It was decided that Mondt and CWC would part ways with the NWA, creating the World Wide Wrestling Federation (WWWF) in the process. The rest of the NWA was upset with Mondt because he rarely let Rogers wrestle outside of the Northeast. In 1963, "Nature Boy" Buddy Rogers was the NWA champion and his bookings were controlled by Mondt.

Capitol dominated professional wrestling in the Northeastern United States during the mid-20th century, when it was divided into strictly regional enterprises. These shows were then syndicated. It was able to do this after signing an agreement with WTTG Channel 5, in 1956, to air live CWC wrestling shows. While originally running shows from the 2,000-seat Turner's Arena, the CWC would eventually control the territories of New England, New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania.

McMahon's company was called Capitol Wrestling Corporation (CWC). The NWA is a broad group of wrestling companies that recognized an undisputed champion, who went from wrestling company to wrestling company in the alliance and defended the belt around the world. In January 1953, Jesse's son Vincent J. McMahon and wrestling promoter Toots Mondt took control of the Northeastern United States wrestling circuit as part of the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA). Ray Fabiani, who helped Mondt take control of the New York territory after the death of Jack Curley, was influential in drawing the younger McMahon into an alliance with Mondt.

Mondt's doing so was facilitated, in part, by the elder McMahon. This "no wrestling at the Garden" policy ended in 1948, when Joseph Raymond Mondt (better known as Toots Mondt), backed by millionaire Bernarr McFadden, managed to promote a wrestling show at the famous arena. However, the McMahon family was not able to promote wrestling matches at Madison Square Garden due to Rickard's dislike of the sport. His son, Vincent Jess McMahon, began to take an increasing role in the running of the business, especially on the wrestling side.

It was not until 1935, the same year Jim Crockett Promotions was formed, that the McMahon family moved into the wrestling business. Jess McMahon's enterprise focused on boxing and live concert/music promotion. A decade later, in 1925, McMahon joined Tex Rickard in promoting boxing events from the old Madison Square Garden Arena, in New York, starting with the December 11, 1925, light-heavyweight championship match between Jack Delaney and Paul Berlenbach. In the fight, on April 5, 1915, Johnson lost his title to Willard in Havana.

In 1915, Roderick James "Jess" McMahon, grandfather of current WWE Chairman Vince McMahon, co-promoted a boxing match between Jess Willard and Jack Johnson. are located in Stamford, Connecticut. As of 2005, the headquarters of World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. World Wrestling Entertainment is a publicly-traded company, but the vast majority (70%) of voting shares are owned by Chairman Vince McMahon, his wife, CEO Linda McMahon, his son, Executive Vice President of Global Media Shane McMahon, and his daughter, Vice President of Creative Writing Stephanie McMahon-Levesque.

The company was previously known as TitanSports, Inc. and has previously done business as the Capitol Wrestling Corporation, the World Wide Wrestling Federation, and the World Wrestling Federation (WWF). World Wrestling Entertainment, or WWE, is a professional wrestling promotion, currently the largest in North America. WWE 24/7 - In 2004, the WWE officially announced a new video on demand service for digital cable users, allowing subscribers to the service access to matches in the promotion's extensive video library. The final episode of this show aired on April 24, 2004.

WWE Confidential - This was a "behind the scenes"-type show hosted by "Mean" Gene Okerlund and featured many exclusive stories on WWE wrestlers. It aired as a separate show on MTV for three seasons, but integrated itself into regular SmackDown! programming in its fourth iteration, with a $1 million-dollar (US) contract awarded to the winner over four years. Daniel Puder, a former cage fighter, won the $1,000,000 Tough Enough. This resulted in many new wrestlers being added to both brands. It followed groups of men and women who were competing to become a WWE wrestler.

Tough Enough - WWE's version of a reality show. The hosts are Todd Grisham and Ivory, although Josh Matthews has also guest hosted with Ivory. Airs Sunday mornings at 11 AM EST on Spike TV. The WWE Experience - A show aimed at the younger audience that recaps the past week's events in WWE.

4 live shows for the Australian market. 2 live shows for the Asian market. 4 live shows for the European market. 15 live shows for the North American market.

The show is hosted by Josh Matthews. Afterburn - Syndicated show that recaps the past week's events on the SmackDown! brand. Matthews formerly did play-by-play comentary with color analyst Bill DeMott. The current play-by-play commentator is Steve Romero and the current color commentator is Josh Matthews.

It is usually taped the hour before SmackDown! tapes. Velocity - Sister show to SmackDown!, airs on Saturday nights at 11 PM EST on Spike TV. SmackDown! - WWE's secondary show, airs Thursday nights at 8 PM EST on UPN in the United States (moving to Friday nights in September 2005) and in Canada at 7 PM EST on The Score. The show is hosted by Marc Loyd.

Bottom Line - Syndicated show that recaps the past week's events on the RAW brand. Sunday Night Heat - Sister show to RAW, airs Sunday nights at 7 PM EST on Spike TV. RAW - WWE's flagship show, airs live on Monday nights at 9 PM EST on Spike TV in the United States, live in Canada on TSN, and live in the United Kingdom on Sky Sports.