Michael Jordan

Unfortunately, it fell victim to the dot-com bust, and the rights to the domain were sold to CBS SportsLine in 2001. Since then, Johnson has obtained dual ownership of "The Rock" name with WWE. After his second retirement, Jordan formed the MVP.com sports apparel enterprise with fellow sports greats Wayne Gretzky and John Elway in 1999. This was due to the fact that, at the time, WWE owned the rights to the name "The Rock". They have subsequently appeared together in several commercials for MCI. 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. A Nike commercial in the 1991 Super Bowl where he and Bugs Bunny played basketball against some Martians inspired the 1996 live action/animated movie Space Jam, which also starred Michael and the Looney Tunes in a fictional story set during his first retirement. His first movie will be titled, The Condemned.

He has also been connected with the Looney Tunes. Stone Cold Steve Austin recently signed a three-movie deal with WWE Films in January, 2005. wearing Jordan apparel. WWE Films will also produce Goodnight with WWE wrestler Kane. It has even crossed over into other sports, with athletes such as Randy Moss, Derek Jeter, and Roy Jones Jr. WWE Films is located in Hollywood, California and their first feature is named The Marine, starring John Cena. Athletes who endorse the company include Ray Allen, Michael Finley, Derek Anderson, Gary Payton, and Jason Kidd. 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).

Subsequently Nike spun off the Jordan line into its own company. Since 2003, WWE has produced its own movie productions. The innovation of designer Tinker Hatfield spurred the basketball shoe industry to new heights. 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. The hype and demand for the shoes even brought on a spat of "shoe-jackings" where young boys were robbed of their sneakers at gunpoint. Shane McMahon is Executive Vice President of Global Media within World Wrestling Entertainment and is in charge of WWE.com. Nike created a signature shoe for him, called the Air Jordan. Furthermore, WWE.com provides the same services for its online pay-per-view content.

He first appeared on Wheaties boxes in 1988, and acted as their spokesman as well. Unfortunately, the lawsuit from the World Wildlife Fund has kept WWE.com from showing any content from the "Attitude Era" (1998-May 2002). He has been a major spokesman for such brands as Nike, Gatorade, Hanes, McDonald's, and MCI. 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. Jordan is one of the most marketed sports figures in history. With over fourteen million played video streams a month, WWE.com is a major contributor of online media. By the time a report was filed, James' body had been cremated per local health laws as a John Doe. Streaming media has been one of the most important roles of the WWE.com "New Media" department and the output of videos is immense.

Michael and family did not immediately file a missing persons report, because the elder Jordan frequently took long trips by himself. 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. But James' body was not immediately identified. All pay-per-views can be purchased and viewed on WWE.com as well. The perpetrators made several calls from James' cell phone and were quickly captured. Pay-per-views account for approximately 25% of WWE revenues ($95.3 million in the 2004 fiscal year). Two local criminals killed him and stole his Lexus, a gift from Michael. WWE is currently one of the leaders in pay-per-view content for cable and satellite television.

While returning from the funeral of a friend, he pulled over onto the side of an interstate highway in North Carolina for a nap. [2] (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7380373/). Jordan's father, James, was murdered in August 1993. In addition, WWE will broadcast a twice-yearly 90-minute "special event" on Saturday nights on NBC. Michael Jordan currently lives in Highland Park, Illinois. [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. James gained certain celebrity when he announced, at the age of forty-seven, that he intended to stay in Iraq until the U.S. occupation ended. The Spike TV deal will expire in September, 2005, and Viacom (owner of Spike TV) has announced they will not seek to extend it.

Jordan is a Sergeant Major in the 35th Signal Brigade of the XVIII Airborne Corps in the U.S. Army. The two brands will occasionally clash at a pay-per-view card. James R. 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. Michael Jordan has two older brothers, Larry and James R., one older sister, Delores, and one younger sister, Roslyn. 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. Jordan is notoriously competitive, and is rumored to have lost enormous amounts of money playing golf and gambling. Also, all verbal and visual references to "WWF" and the World Wrestling Federation logo from the "Attitude" era were edited out from old broadcasts.

At UNC, he majored in geography. The logo was altered, and a promotional campaign called "Get The F Out" was used to publicize this change. Laney High School, where he was a standout in football, baseball, and basketball. 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. He attended Emsley A. Its parent company, World Wrestling Federation Entertainment, also chose to adopt this name. Jordan spent his childhood in Wilmington, North Carolina. Following a lawsuit from the World Wildlife Fund (also WWF), the Federation changed its name to World Wrestling Entertainment, or WWE.

Nonetheless, it was a star-studded roster that cruised through pool play and the medal round, restoring America to its place atop the basketball world. It is still a debate amongst wrestling fans. It is often rumored that Jordan kept guard Isiah Thomas off the roster due to personal differences. 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. Jordan played on two Olympic gold medal-winning American basketball teams: as a college player in the 1984 Summer Olympics, and in the 1992 Summer Olympics as a member of the original "Dream Team," with other legends such as Magic Johnson and Larry Bird. 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. It was the first jersey the Heat retired in their then-15-year history, and it was half Wizards blue, half Bulls red. WCW feud.

Out of respect for Jordan's legacy, the Miami Heat retired his #23 jersey on April 11, 2003, even though he never played for the Florida team. 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. At the beginning of the 2001-2002 basketball season, Michael Jordan donated his $1 million salary to help the victims of the September 11 attacks. Even the inclusion of ECW wrestlers and trademarks did not save it. The 2002-03 season was heralded from the beginning as Jordan's final goodbye to his fans and he retired for the third time at the season's conclusion. 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. He played in his 13th and final NBA All-Star Game in 2002-03. 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.

He returned for the 2002-03 season and averaged 20 points. The original plan was to have WCW "take over" RAW, turning it back into WCW Monday Nitro. Playing through pain, especially in his knee, he was still an important player for the Wizards. Since WCW's peak in the late 1990s, wrestling fans had dreamed about a feud between the two promotions. Yet despite an injury-plagued 2001-02 season, he still averaged nearly 23 points per game. Months later, McMahon and Bischoff reconciled their personal differences, and Bischoff signed with WWF to perform as the storyline General Manager of Raw. In 2001, he came out of retirement a second time to play for the Washington Wizards, though his skills were noticeably diminished by age. McMahon) took over the broadcast during the last half hour and Monday Night Raw was seen on TNT.

Jordan retired again on January 13, 1999. acquired WCW from AOL Time Warner for $7 million. During the final WCW Monday Nitro, Vince McMahon (as the character Mr. But it was back to winning ways the following year, the Bulls won three consecutive NBA titles between 1996 and 1998, with Jordan becoming the first and only player to win six NBA Finals MVP Awards. In March 2001, WWF Entertainment, Inc. The switch did not immediately bring him luck, and the Magic prevailed. 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. As he struggled with unaccustomed playoff difficulty, he broke out his old #23 jersey during a second-round playoff series against the Orlando Magic. 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.

Jordan led the Bulls to the Eastern Conference Semifinals that year. WWF announced its desire to diversify into other businesses, including a nightclub in Times Square, film production and book publishing. Because jersey #23 had been retired, he wore #45, his Barons number. 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. He ended his basketball retirement on March 19, 1995 by rejoining the Bulls. The show became a weekly series on August 24, 1999. It has remained UPN's most successful program overall ever since. Many consider this brief stab at baseball the only tarnish on his athletic career. On April 23, 1999, the WWF launched a special program known as SmackDown! on the fledgling UPN network.

He was never called up to the majors. 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. He led the club with 11 bases-loaded RBI and 25 RBI with runners in scoring position and two outs. The decision to continue the event was (and still is) a controversial one. He had an unspectacular professional baseball career for the Birmingham Barons, a Chicago White Sox farm team, batting .202 with 3 HR, 51 RBI, 30 SB (tied-5th in Southern League), 11 errors and 6 outfield assists. The fans in attendance at the Kemper Arena were not informed of Owen's death. Jordan spent the next year pursuing a childhood dream: professional baseball. A stunned Jim Ross made the solemn announcement to the pay-per-view audience once word had reached the arena.

Perhaps weighed down by the August 1993 murder of his father, Michael retired from basketball two days before the 1993-94 NBA season, and the Bulls retired his #23 jersey. Hart was rushed to a nearby hospital, where he was pronounced dead shortly after arrival. He had the following to say about Jordan:. 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. Jordan's coach was Phil Jackson. 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. In 1997, he also recorded the only triple-double in an All-Star game. 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.

Only Willis Reed (1970) and Shaquille O'Neal (2000) have won all three MVP awards in the same season. Tragedy struck on May 23, 1999, in Kansas City. He also earned the elusive MVP triple crown (league, finals, all-star game) twice when he won All-Star MVP in both 1996 and 1998 (he also won in 1988). However, the controversial new presentation made the WWF more appealing than ever to its core audience. He was also named Rookie of the Year (1985) and Defensive Player of the Year (1988), and won the Finals MVP award every year the Bulls reached the Finals -- a feat not likely to ever be duplicated. One group, the Parents Television Council, waged a sustained boycott campaign against the WWF. He won six NBA Championships (1991-1993 and 1996-1998) and was league MVP five times (1988, 1991, 1992, 1996 and 1998). They, along with feminist groups, found the regular use of scantily-clad women to attract viewers as offensive.

Jordan played 13 seasons for the Bulls, generally as a shooting guard, but his height (6'6", or 1.98 m), skills, and physical conditioning also made him a versatile threat at point guard and small forward. Many family groups were outraged at the graphic violence employed by the WWF. He was selected by the Chicago Bulls in the first round of the 1984 NBA Draft as the third pick overall. This change was not without critics. By his sophomore year, he was clearly the team's biggest star; as a junior, he was named the national player of the year. nWo angle managed to almost lead the WWF to financial ruin, it was now becoming stale, and fans turned back to the WWF. He ended the 1982 year in grand style, hitting the winning shot in the 1982 NCAA championship game against Georgetown, led by future NBA rival Patrick Ewing. Where earlier WCW's edgy WCW vs.

As a UNC freshman, Jordan was an exciting but not dominant player. The Rock would become one of the most popular professional wrestlers in history. (Others call Jordan overrated [2] (http://airjudden2.tripod.com/jordan/index.htm) and point to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Larry Bird, Wilt Chamberlain, Magic Johnson, Oscar Robertson, Bill Russell, and Shaquille O'Neal.) His jumping ability -- he could once dunk from the foul line -- earned him the nicknames "Air Jordan" and "His Airness.". Over the coming year, the WWF would see new fan favorites. In 1991, he was on the cover of the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue, and was named the magazine's "Sportsman of the Year." These and other achievements have persuaded many fans and several basketball legends[1] (http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/basketball/nba/features/jordan/news/2001/08/22/jordan_greatest/) that Jordan was the best ever to play the game. For the first time in 18 months, the edgier WWF would beat the weekly WCW Monday Nitro in the ratings. He was named to the All-Defensive First Team nine times, and led the league in steals three times. McMahon and Austin.

He won six championships, notched 10 scoring titles, and was league MVP five times. This was the start of the epic feud between "evil promoter" Mr. A remarkable force at both ends of the floor, Jordan ended a career of 15 full seasons with a regular-season scoring average of 30.12 points per game, the highest in NBA history (ahead of Wilt Chamberlain's 30.06). Many more fans who had not bought WrestleMania, including fans of WCW, tuned in to watch RAW the next day and in subsequent weeks. Michael Jeffrey Jordan (born February 17, 1963, in Brooklyn, New York) is a former National Basketball Association player, considered by many to be the greatest basketball player of all time. 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. NBA All-Star Dunk Contest Champion: 1987, 1988. The highlight was the verbal confrontation between Austin and Tyson ending with Austin flicking off Tyson.

ACC Men's Basketball Player of the Year: 1983-84. 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. Adolph Rupp Trophy: 1984. The relationship would deteriorate over the next few years of WWF programming. Wooden Award: 1984. McMahon said in a pre-Wrestlemania press conference that it was not in the WWF's best interest to have Austin as champion. John R. 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.

Naismith College Player of the Year: 1984. 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. NBA Rookie of the Year Award: 1984-85. 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). NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award: 1987-88. 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. NBA Finals Most Valuable Player Award: 1990-91, 1991-92, 1992-93, 1995-96, 1996-97, 1997-98. 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.

NBA Most Valuable Player Award: 1987-88, 1990-91, 1991-92, 1995-96, 1997-98. McMahon feud, which was the cornerstone of the new WWF Attitude concept. This led to the Austin vs. McMahon" in WWF programming, a dictatorial ruler who favored wrestlers who were "good for business" over "misfits" like Stone Cold Steve Austin. McMahon used the backlash from the event to cast himself as the evil company owner "Mr.

This would set the stage for the turning point in the WWF/WCW feud. McMahon would deviate from the agreed finish of their match at Survivor Series to allow Shawn Michaels to win the title from Hart. He let it be known to WWF management that he would willingly drop the title, but not to rival "HBK" Shawn Michaels in Montreal. 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.

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. 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. The WWF's worst nightmare was for Hart to appear on WCW Nitro while wearing the WWF belt. 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).

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.