wwe wrestling history

WWE Wrestling History

World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. (WWE) is a publicly traded, privately controlled integrated media (focusing in television, internet, and live events), sports, and entertainment company dealing primarily in the professional wrestling industry, with major revenue sources also coming from movies, music, product licensing, and direct product sales. Vince McMahon is the majority owner and Chairman of the company and his wife Linda McMahon holds the position of Chief Executive Officer (CEO). Together with their children, Executive Vice President of Global Media Shane McMahon and Senior Vice President of Creative Writing Stephanie McMahon-Levesque, the McMahons hold approximately 70% of WWE's economic interest and 96% of all voting power in the company. The company's global headquarters are located at 1241 East Main Street in Stamford, Connecticut, with international offices in Los Angeles, New York City, London, and Toronto. The company was previously known as Titan Sports, Inc. before changing to World Wrestling Federation Entertainment, Inc., and most recently becoming World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc.

WWE's business focus is on professional wrestling. It is currently the largest professional wrestling promotion in the world, and holds an extensive library of videos representing a significant portion of the visual history of professional wrestling. The promotion previously existed as the Capitol Wrestling Corporation, which promoted under the banner of the World Wide Wrestling Federation (WWWF), and later the World Wrestling Federation (WWF). WWE promotes under three brands; RAW, SmackDown! and ECW. WWE is also home to three of the eight world heavyweight championships recognized by Pro Wrestling Illustrated.

WWE's revenue in fiscal 2006 (from May 2005 to April 2006) was approximately $400 million (US), with a net profit of approximately $47 million. As of August 2006, the company's market capitalization is over $1 billion (US). Its stock is traded on the NYSE as WWE.
History

The beginning/Capitol Wrestling

Roderick James "Jess" McMahon was a boxing promoter whose achievements included co-promoting a bout in 1915 between Jess Willard and Jack Johnson. In 1926, while working with Tex Rickard (who actually despised wrestling to such a degree he prevented wrestling events from being held at Madison Square Garden between 1939 and 1948), he started promoting boxing in Madison Square Garden in New York. The first match during their partnership was a light-heavyweight championship match between Jack Delaney and Paul Berlenbach.

Around the same time, professional wrestler Joseph Raymond "Toots" Mondt created a new style of professional wrestling that he called Slam Bang Western Style Wrestling to make the sport more appealing to spectators. He then formed a promotion with wrestling champion Ed Lewis and his manager Billy Sandow. They persuaded many wrestlers to sign contracts with their Gold Dust Trio. After much success, a disagreement over power caused the trio to dissolve and, with it, their promotion. Mondt formed partnerships with several other promoters, including Jack Curley in New York City. When Curley was dying, Mondt moved to take over New York wrestling with the aid of several bookers, one of whom was Jess McMahon.

Together, Roderick McMahon and Raymond Mondt created the Capitol Wrestling Corporation (CWC). The CWC joined the National Wrestling Alliance in 1953. Also in that year, Ray Fabiani, one of Mondt's associates, brought in Vincent J. McMahon to replace his father Jess in the promotion. McMahon and Mondt were a successful combination, and within a short time, they controlled approximately 70% of the NWA's booking, largely due to their dominance in the heavily populated Northeast region. Mondt taught McMahon about booking and how to work in the wrestling business.

World Wide Wrestling Federation

The NWA recognized an undisputed NWA World Heavyweight Champion that went from wrestling company to wrestling company in the alliance and defended the belt around the world. In 1963, the champion was "Nature Boy" Buddy Rogers.

The rest of the NWA was unhappy with Mondt because he rarely allowed Rogers to wrestle outside of the Northeast. Mondt and McMahon wanted Rogers to keep the NWA World Championship, but Rogers was unwilling to sacrifice his $25,000 deposit on the belt (title holders at the time had to pay a deposit to insure they would honor their commitments as champion). Rogers lost the NWA World Championship to Lou Thesz in a one-fall match in Toronto, Ontario on January 24, 1963, which led to Mondt, McMahon and the CWC leaving the NWA in protest, creating the World Wide Wrestling Federation (WWWF) in the process.

In April, Rogers was awarded the new WWWF World Championship following an apocryphal tournament in Rio de Janeiro. He lost the title to Bruno Sammartino a month later on May 17, 1963, after suffering a heart attack shortly before the match. To accommodate Rogers' condition, the match was booked to last under a minute.

Mondt left the company in the late sixties for unclear reasons, probably due to old age.
Although the WWWF had withdrawn from the NWA, Vince McMahon Sr. still sat on the NWA Board of Directors, no other territory was recognized in the Northeast, and several "champion vs. champion" matches occurred (usually ending in a double disqualification or some other non-decisive ending).

In March 1979, the WWWF became the World Wrestling Federation (WWF). The change was purely cosmetic, and the ownership and front office personnel remained unchanged during this period.

World Wrestling Federation

The World Wrestling Federation logo (1998 - 2002) that WWE is now prohibited from using after its agreement with the conservation organization WWF.

Business advances:

On April 29, 1999, the WWF made its return to terrestrial television by launching a special program known as SmackDown! on the fledgling UPN network. The Thursday-night show became a weekly series on August 26, 1999.

On the back of the success of the Attitude Era, on October 19, 1999 the WWF's parent company, Titan Sports (by this time renamed World Wrestling Federation Entertainment, Inc.) became a publicly traded company, offering 10 million shares priced at $17 each. WWF announced its desire to diversify, including creating a nightclub in Times Square, producing feature films, and book publishing.

In 2000 the WWF, in collaboration with television network NBC, announced the creation of the XFL, a new professional football league that debuted in 2001. The league had surprisingly high ratings for the first few weeks, but initial interest waned and its ratings plunged to dismally low levels (one of its games was the lowest-rated primetime show in the history of American television). NBC walked out on the venture after only one season, but McMahon intended to continue alone. However, after UPN demanded that SmackDown! be cut by half an hour, McMahon shut down the XFL.

Acquisition of WCW and ECW

With the success of the Attitude Era, WCW's already shaky financial situation deteriorated even further. It only survived because Ted Turner retained control over it as a result of Turner Broadcasting System's merger with Time Warner. However, after Time Warner merged with AOL, Turner's power was considerably reduced, and the newly merged company decided to shed its dead weight, namely WCW which was now losing scores of millions of dollars each year. In March 2001, WWF Entertainment, Inc. acquired World Championship Wrestling, Inc. from AOL Time Warner for a number reported to be around $7 million. With this purchase, WWF was now the largest wrestling promotion in the world, and practially the only one in North America. It would remain so until the launch of Total Nonstop Action Wrestling in 2002.

The assets of Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW), which had folded after filing for bankruptcy protection in April 2001, were purchased by WWE in mid-2003.

World Wrestling Entertainment

In 2000, the World Wildlife Fund (also WWF), an environmental organization now called the World Wide Fund for Nature, sued the World Wrestling Federation. A British court agreed that Titan Sports had violated a 1994 agreement which had limited the permissible use of the WWF initials overseas, particularly in merchandising.

On Sunday May 5, 2002, the company quietly changed all references on its website from "WWF" to "WWE", while switching the URL from WWF.com to WWE.com. The next day, a press release announced the official name change from World Wrestling Federation Entertainment, Inc. to World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., or WWE, and the change was publicized later that day during a telecast of Monday Night RAW, which emanated from the Hartford Civic Center in Hartford, Connecticut. For a short time, WWE used the slogan "Get The 'F' Out". The company had also been ordered by court to stop using the old WWF Attitude logo on any of its properties and to censor all past references to WWF, as they no longer owned the trademark to the initials WWF in 'specified circumstances'.

In April 2002, about a month before the name change, WWE decided to create two separate rosters, one on RAW, the other on SmackDown! due to the overabundance of talent left over from the Invasion storyline (which involved talent from the absorbed ECW and WCW rosters interacting in WWF storylines). This is known as the WWE Brand Extension. Following the Brand Extension, a yearly Draft Lottery was instituted to exchange members of each roster and generally refresh the lineups.

In August 2002, the company launched WWE Niagara Falls, a retail establishment in Niagara Falls, Ontario. On May 26, 2006, WWE revived Extreme Championship Wrestling as its third brand. The new ECW program airs Tuesday nights, on the Sci Fi Channel.

wwe wrestlemania

WrestleMania is a professional wrestling pay-per-view event, produced annually in late March or early April by World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) (formerly known as the World Wrestling Federation). It is considered the flagship pay-per-view event of WWE, as it is the most successful and longest-running professional wrestling event in the world. WrestleMania is nicknamed "The Grandaddy of Them All", "The Grandest Stage of Them All" and "The Showcase of the Immortals."The event was first produced in 1985, and 24 editions have been produced as of 2008, with WrestleMania XXV to be held in 2009.

First WrestleMania (1985):

WrestleMania (chronologically known as WrestleMania I) was the first WrestleMania professional wrestling event produced by the World Wrestling Federation. It took place on March 31, 1985 at Madison Square Garden in New York, New York. The attendance for the event was 19,121 fans. The event was viewed by over one million fans through closed circuit television, making it the largest event on closed-circuit television in the United States at the time. The event was the start of the Rock 'n' Wrestling gimmick, which brought together professional wrestling and the music industry, and matches aired on MTV during the build up to the event.

Nine professional wrestling matches, performances with pre-determined outcomes between wrestlers with fictional personalities that are portrayed as real, were featured. The main event match pitted Hulk Hogan and Mr. T against Roddy Piper and Paul Orndorff. Hogan won the match after interference from Cowboy Bob Orton (Bob Orton, Jr.). Also at the event, Wendi Richter defeated Leilani Kai (Patricia Karisma-Schroeder) for the WWF Women's Championship, and Nikolai Volkoff and The Iron Sheik defeated The U.S. Express (Mike Rotundo and Barry Windham) to win the WWF Tag Team Championship.

The reviews for the event were mixed. Reviewers considered the main event match to be entertaining and humorous but lacking in technical wrestling. Despite this, it received Pro Wrestling Illustrated's annual PWI Match of the Year award.

Tagline(s) :The Greatest Wrestling Event of All Time!
Promotion : World Wrestling Federation
Date : March 31, 1985
Attendance :19,121
Venue : Madison Square Garden City New York, New York

List of celebrities involved with WrestleMania:

Aside from professional wrestling performances, celebrity involvement has been a major key in the production of WrestleMania events. WWE involves celebrities in the WrestleMania events to gain more hype and media attention for the event, in this way receiving more attraction to the event, pay-per-view buys, and ticket sales.The celebrities involved with WrestleMania events have come from a range of occupations, including singing, acting, professional boxing, and modeling, and usually appear in non-wrestling roles, such as singing, promoting a subject, or managing wrestlers at ringside. There have been exceptions, however, in which celebrities have had a professional wrestling role.

One of the first celebrities to appear at the first WrestleMania was Mr. T, who wrestled in the main event in a tag team match with Hulk Hogan. Aretha Franklin also appeared at the first WrestleMania and sang a rendition of "America the Beautiful." Franklin appeared 22 years later at WrestleMania 23 and sang another rendition of the same song. At times, WWE has inducted celebrities into their Hall of Fame. For example, Chicago Bears defensive lineman William Perry wrestled in a match that involved other NFL football players, and he was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame as a "Celebrity Inductee" in 2004. Another celebrity was Mike Tyson, who appeared at WrestleMania XIV and was originally planned to enforce the ringside area, although he was involved in a physical altercation with Shawn Michaels (Michael Hickenbottom). Pete Rose has made the most celebrity appearances at WrestleMania, with four overall appearances. Overall, there have been 95 celebrities involved at WrestleMania: 32 athletes, 26 musicians, 18 actors, and 20 others from different backgrounds.

Commentators:

For five of the first six, Gorilla Monsoon and Jesse Ventura served as the main commentators (the exception being WrestleMania 2, which was split among three venues and had Monsoon, Ventura, and Vince McMahon split up with guest commentators), while Bobby Heenan and others filled guest roles. For WrestleMania VII and VIII, Monsoon and Heenan were the main commentators. In the mid to late 1990s, the team was composed of Vince McMahon, Jim Ross and Jerry "The King" Lawler. Since the brand separation in 2002-03, matches from the Raw brand have been called by Ross and Lawler; the SmackDown matches called by Michael Cole, Tazz, John Layfield and Jonathan Coachman and ECW matches called by Joey Styles and Tazz. Howard Finkel has served as the long-standing ring announcer, but since the WWE Brand Extension, Lillian Garcia, Justin Roberts, and Tony Chimel have also filled in the role.

(The logos used for WrestleMania from 1985-2008)

WrestleMania XXV:

Tagline(s) : Everything Is Bigger in Texas, Especially WrestleManiaTheme song(s): "Shoot to Thrill" (Live) and "War Machine" by AC/DC
Promotion :World Wrestling Entertainment
Brand (s) : Raw SmackDown ECW
Date :April 5, 2009
Venue : Reliant Stadium City Houston, Texas

WrestleMania XXV, also promoted as The 25th Anniversary of WrestleMania, is a forthcoming professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), which is scheduled to take place on April 5, 2009 at the Reliant Stadium in Houston, Texas. The event will be the 25th event produced under the WrestleMania name and will feature wrestlers from the Raw, SmackDown, and ECW brands.

It will be the second WrestleMania held in Houston, with the first being WrestleMania X-Seven at the Reliant Astrodome, which was held in 2001.

wwe royal rumble

The Royal Rumble is an annual professional wrestling pay-per-view event, produced every January by World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). The event's main featured match is a Battle Royal-type match, entitled the Royal Rumble match. The pay-per-view is part of WWE's "Big Four", along with WrestleMania, SummerSlam, and Survivor Series.The Royal Rumble is also one of WWE's more popular pay-per-views.

The Rumble was originally aired on the USA Network before it was rebranded as a pay-per-view. The rules and format of the Rumble match have changed since the match's debut.Since 1993, the winner of the Rumble match has received a world title match at that year's WrestleMania.

2000 - The Rock

'The People's Champion' gained his first and only Royal Rumble victory in controversy at Madison Square Garden, New York, following a plum draw of 24.

Too Cool members Grand Master Sexay, Scotty 2 Hotty and Rikishi dominated the early exchanges, but The Big Show and The Rock were the final two men left to battle it out.

After delivering a spinebuster and the people's elbow to the seven-foot 500-lbs giant, the tables quickly turned and only The Rock's superior athleticism saw him awarded the win despite replays showing his feet touched the ground before Show's at the end.

2001 - Steve Austin

Comedian Drew Carrey entered the ring at number five to become the first celebrity entrant into the Royal Rumble at New Orleans Arena, Louisiana, but he did not last long.

After waiting for the Hardys to eliminate each other his attempts to make friends with Kane met with short shrift and he opted to eliminate himself rather than face annihilation.

'The Big Red Machine' went on to dominate - knocking out Grand Master Sexay, Steve Blackman, Al Snow, Raven, Saturn, Honky Tonk Man, Tazz, Crash Holly, Albert, Scotty 2 Hotty (with help from his brother the Undertaker) and The Rock - before Stone Cold succeeded where all others had failed to claim a record third Rumble crown.

2002 - Triple H

'The Game' overcame a final four featuring 'The Texas Rattlesnake', Kurt Angle and Mr Perfect to reign supreme in Atlanta, Georgia.

Undertaker picked up where his brother had left off the year before by dominating early on, before the element of surprise allowed Maven to get the better of 'The Phenom'.

Austin put up a strong defence of his title, while high flier Rob Van Dam also made his spectacular debut, but at the conclusion it was Triple H that came out on top to show why he has come to be known as 'the King of Kings'.

2003 - Brock Lesnar

Lesnar's stay in the WWE might have been all too brief, but no one can question the intensity and desire the powerhouse brought with him every time he entered the ring.

At 25 years of age he went on to conquer all in his path with his trademark F-5 manoeuvre a fitting finisher.

After defeating Big Show in the night's first match in Boston, Massachusetts, to qualify for the Rumble he went on to defeat 'Taker to ensure his name would forever be remembered in the WWE record books.

2004 - Chris Benoit

'The Rabid Wolverine' became only the second superstar after 'HBK' to win the Rumble from the number one spot.

Eliminating 'The World's Strongest Man' Henry, Bradshaw, Rhyno, Matt Morgan, A-Train and lastly Big Show en route to victory in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Benoit used the stipulation for winning to go on and fulfill his dreams by claiming the World Heavyweight Championship at Wrestlemania XX.

2005 - Batista

The late, great Eddie Guerrero entered the ring first in Fresno, California, but the former WWE champion failed to reach a last four that consisted of Batista, John Cena, Edge and Rey Mysterio.

Cena and Batista battled it out at the end and there was again controversy as both men toppled out of the ring at the same time following an attempted FU by the 'The Doctor of Thuganomics'.

Keen to avoid a repetition of the 1994 Luger-Hart affair Mr McMahon ordered both men to return to the ring and 'The Animal' promptly deliver a spinebuster before going on to win the match.

2006 - Rey Mysterio

The opening pairing of Triple H and Rey Mysterio survived the onslaughts of Kane and Big Show before going on to make the final four in Miami, Florida.

Fighting in honour of his recently departed best friend Eddie Guerrero it seemed only fitting that diminutive underdog Mysterio go on and win.

Overcoming all the odds, including a double team of 'The Legend Killer' Randy Orton and 'The Cerebral Assassin' at the end, he rounded off victory with a superbly executed headscissors that 'Latino Heat' himself would have been proud of.

2007 - Undertaker

Incredibly the Undertaker had not won the Royal Rumble in seven attempts before heading to the AT&T Centre, in San Antonio, Texas.

But with the aid of two-time Rumble champion Michaels, The Deadman overcame World Tag Team champions Edge and Randy Orton in the final four.

Michaels then managed to deliver one dose of Sweet Chin Music to 'Taker, only to be sent tumbling over the top rope when he next tried to deliver the finisher, in what turned out to be a 'Phenom'-enal night of action.

2008 - John Cena

'The Champ' defied the odds to make his unexpected return from four months out with a pectoral muscle tear at Madison Square Garden.

'HBK' got his own back on Undertaker early on in the match, while The Great Khali, John Morrison, Batista, Hornswoggle, CM Punk, Mick Foley and Mr Kennedy all featured.

Cena came out at number 30 though to the delight of the New York crowd to eliminate Carlito, Henry, Chavo Guerrero and finally Triple H to take the acclaim of the crowd.

2009 Cody Rhodes

Working in cohesion with Cody Rhodes & Ted DiBiase, the Legend Killer Randy Orton refined his “Legacy” and cemented himself in the history books as the winner of the 2009 Royal Rumble.

wwe raw is war

WWE Raw is a professional wrestling television program for World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) that currently airs on the USA Network in the United States. The show's name, which is trademarked by WWE as RAW, is also used to refer to the Raw brand, in which WWE employees are assigned to work and perform on that program; the other programs and brands are SmackDown and ECW. It is the only television broadcast for the Raw brand. The show originally debuted in the United States on the USA television network on January 11, 1993. It remained there until 2000, when Raw was moved to TNN, later known as Spike TV. In 2005, the show was moved back to the USA Network. Since its launch in 1993, Raw continues to air on Monday nights. Raw is generally seen as the company's flagship program due to its longer history and emphasis on pay-per-views

In its 15-year history, Raw has produced more original episodes than any program, surpassing Gunsmoke’s 635-episode milestone in 2005. It has put a premium on putting smiles on people’s faces .

General Managers :Stephanie McMahon November 24, 2008

(Pres On the November 24 episode of Raw, Stephanie named herself head of RAW.)

Commentators : Michael Cole and Jerry Lawler June 30, 2008 - Present

Camera setup: Multicamera setup

Running time: Approximately 2 hours 5 minutes per episode
(1 hour 35 minutes and commercials)

Beginning as WWF Monday Night Raw, the program first aired on January 11, 1993 on the USA Network for one hour. The original Raw broke new ground in televised professional wrestling. Traditionally, wrestling shows were taped on sound stages with small audiences or at large arena shows. The Raw formula was very different than that of its predecessor, Prime Time Wrestling. Instead of taped matches, with studio voice overs and taped chat, Raw was a show shot to a live audience, with angles as they happened. The first episode featured Yokozuna defeating Koko B. Ware, The Steiner Brothers defeating The Executioners, WWF Intercontinental Champion Shawn Michaels defeating Max Moon and The Undertaker defeating Damien Demento. The show also featured an interview with Razor Ramon.

Yokozuna (left) and Mr. Fuji on the very first episode of Monday Night Raw.

Raw was also one of a kind, in which they covered the unexpected, exciting moments, a prelude to the "Attitude Era", in which it coined Raw as "Uncut, Uncensored, Uncooked."Some of those moments include Razor Ramon losing a match unexpectedly to Sean "The 1-2-3 Kid" Waltman, who was later known as X-Pac; Marty Jannetty beating Shawn Michaels to win the WWF Intercontinental Championship; and Raw was the first WWF television program of any kind to show footage of Lex Luger bodyslamming Yokozuna at the USS Intrepid.

In 1995, World Championship Wrestling (WCW) began airing its new wrestling show, Monday Nitro, live each week on TNT. Raw and Nitro went head-to-head for the first time on September 11, 1995. Due to Raw's taping schedule on several occasions, WCW Vice President Eric Bischoff, who was also an on-air personality, would frequently give away the results of WWF's taped Raw shows on the live WCW show. Some fans also looked at Raw taping results on the steadily growing Internet; as a result, this caused the ratings of the taped Raw episodes to be lower.

WWF Monday Night Raw logo (January 1993-March 1997)

Raw is War

On February 3, 1997, Monday Night Raw went to a two hour format, as the Attitude Era was starting to come in full stream in the WWF. In an attempt to break the momentum of what had turned into ratings domination by WCW's competing Monday Nitro, Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) was brought in as Jerry Lawler "challenged" ECW on February 17, 1997.

WWF Raw is War logo (March 1997-September 2001)

The end of the Wars::The Raw is War logo and name were retired in September 2001, following the September 11, 2001 attacks and sensitivity over the word war, and because the Monday Night Wars were "over".

WWF Raw logo (September 17, 2001-April 1, 2002)

In early to mid-2002, WWE underwent a process they called the "Brand Extension". WWE divided itself into two "de facto" wrestling promotions with separate rosters, storylines and authority figures. Raw and SmackDown! would host each division, give its name to the division and essentially compete against each other. The split was a result of WWF purchasing their two biggest competitors, WCW and ECW. The brand extension was publicly announced during a telecast of WWF Raw on March 25, 2002, and became official the next day.

WWE Raw logo (April 8, 2002-October 2, 2006)

On March 10, 2005, Viacom and WWE decided not to go on with the agreement with Spike TV, making it so Raw and other WWE programs on the network would cease when their deal expired in September 2005. On April 4, 2005, WWE announced a 3-year deal with NBC Universal to bring Raw back to its former home, the USA Network, with 2 yearly specials on NBC and a Spanish Raw on Telemundo.[5] On the same week as Raw's re-debut on USA, Spike TV scheduled Ultimate Fighting Championship's live Ultimate Fight Night in Raw's old timeslot in an attempt to go head-to-head with Raw.

Variations of the Raw modern titantron set were used from April 1, 2002 - January 14, 2008.

WWE began their 2008 year with a new HD set, which consisted of more than 1,000,000 LEDs. The introduction of this new set retired the old set, which was used from April 2002 to January 2008. Raw's first show in HD was held in the Hampton Coliseum in Hampton, Virginia. On the September 8, 2008 edition of Raw it was announced that a "talent exchange" was started between ECW and Raw, allowing their respective talent to appear and compete on either brand. This is similar to an earlier "talent exchange" between SmackDown and ECW.

On November 3, 2008, Raw celebrated its 800th episode with a three hour episode. The actual 800th episode aired on September 22, 2008.

The Raw version of universal WWE entrance set introduced on January 21, 2008 for WWE's high-definition broadcasting debut.

wwe smack down

Created by :::::::: Vince McMahon
Starring :::::::: SmackDown brand
Opening theme :: "If You Rock Like Me"
Country of origin : United States
No. of episodes 495 (as of February 6, 2009)
Camera setup : Multicamera setup
Running time Approximately 2 hours per episode
(1 hour 30 minutes and commercials)

WWE Friday Night SmackDown is a professional wrestling television program for World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) that is currently airing on MyNetworkTV in the United States. The show's name is also used to refer to the SmackDown brand, in which WWE employees are assigned to work and perform on that program; the other programs and brands are Raw and ECW. It is the only television broadcast for the SmackDown brand. From its launch in 1999, SmackDown was shown on Thursday nights, but as of September 9, 2005, the show moved to Friday nights. The show originally debuted in the United States on the UPN television network on August 26, 1999, but after the closure of that network, Friday Night SmackDown was moved to The CW in 2006. The showed remained on the CW network for two years until it was announced that it would move to MyNetworkTV in October 2008. The show is shown in Mexico on TV Azteca and in the United Kingdom on Friday nights on Sky Sports 3 and Sky Sports HD3; due to the time difference, Friday Night SmackDown premieres a few hours earlier in the United Kingdom and a day earlier in Australia than the United States.

Induction into Merriam-Webster
On July 10, 2007,[16] Merriam-Webster announced it would induct the word smackdown[17] into Webster's Dictionary. According to Merriam Webster, a "smackdown" is:

* The act of knocking down or bringing down an opponent
* A contest in entertainment wrestling
* A decisive defeat
* A confrontation between rivals or competitors

Commentators:: Jim Ross and Tazz August 8, 2008 - Present

Ring announcers::Justin Roberts September 2007 - Present

Champions :::
WWE Championship Edge

(won on) January 25, 09 (aired on) January 25,09

WWE United States Championship Shelton Benjamin

(won on) July 20,08 (aired on) July 20, 08

WWE Divas Championship Maryse

(won on) December 22,08 (aired on) December 26, 08

WWE Tag Team Championship Carlito & Primo

(won on) September 23,08 (aired on) September 26,08

Variations of the SmackDown! fist and mirrors set were used from August 16, 2001 - January 18, 2008.

wwe armageddon

Intro::
Armageddon was first held in 1999 as a cool new name for a PPV at the end of the 20th century. Traditionally, the December PPV for the WWE was part of the In Your House Series. These events were shorter and cheaper than the normal 3-hour PPV events.

History
Armageddon has an unusual history. It has been an annual PPV with the exception of 2001. In 2003, the PPV was a RAW brand only PPV. In 2004, it was transferred into a SmackDown brand PPV. In 2007, due to the end of the brand-split on PPV, the event now includes the entire WWE roster.

Top 3 Armageddon Moments
1 - The Triple H vs. Shawn Michaels match in 2002. This best of three falls match featured a street fight, cage match, and ladder match.
2 - Evolution became the dominant faction in the WWE at the 2003 event. Triple H became the World Heavyweight Champion, Randy Orton won the Intercontinental Championship, and Ric Flair & Batista became the World Tag Team Champions.
3 - Stephanie McMahon turned on her father at the end if the 1999 event. This event was the start of the McMahon-Helmsley era.

Title Changes
1999 – Women’s Title: Miss Kitty won an evening gown in a pool match against champ Ivory, B.B, and Jacquelyn
1999 – European Title: Val Venis beat Champ Davey Boy Smith and D-Lo Brown
1999 – I-C Title: Chris Jericho beat Chyna
2000 – World Tag Titles: Edge & Christian beat Champs The Right to Censor, The Dudley Boyz, and Road Dogg & K-Kwik
2002 – World Tag Team Titles - Booker T & Goldust beat Champs Chris Jericho & Christian, The Dudley Boyz, & William Regal & Lance Storm
2002 - WWE Title: Kurt Angle beat The Big Show
2002 - World Heavyweight Championship: Triple H beat Shawn Michaels in a best of 3 falls match (street fight, cage, & ladder match). Triple H won falls 1 & 3
2003 - I-C Title: Randy Orton beat Rob Van Dam
2003 – World Tag Titles: Ric Flair & Batista beat Champs The Dudley Boyz, Scott Steiner & Test, Rob Conway & Rene Dupree, The Hurricane & Rosey, Lance Storm & Val Venis, and Mark Jindrak & Garrison Cade in a tag team turmoil match
2003 - World Heavyweight Title: Triple H beat Champion Goldberg and Kane
2005 - Cruiserweight Title: Kid Kash beat Juventud Guerrera
2007 - World Heavyweight Title: Edge beat Champion Batista and the Undertaker
2008 - WWE Championship: Jeff Hardy beat Champion Edge & Triple H

Armageddon 1999 - National Car Rental Center; Sunrise, FL 12/12/99
- The APA won an 8 team battle royal to get a title shot at The Royal Rumble
- Kurt Angle beat Steve Blackman
- 4 way evening gown match in a pool for women's title: Miss Kitty won the title by beating Champ Ivory, B.B. & Jacquelyn
- The Hollys beat Rikishi & Viscera
- European title: Val Venis beat D-Lo Brown & Champ Davey Boy Smith to win the title
- Steel Cage Match: Kane beat X-Pac
- I-C Title: Chris Jericho beat Chyna to win the title
- Tag Team Titles: The Rock & Sock Connection beat Champ The New Age Outlaws by DQ
- WWF Title: Champion The Big Show beat The Big Bossman
- Triple H beat Vince McMahon in a match where if Vince won Triple H would have to annul his marriage to Stephanie

Armageddon 2000 - Boutwell Auditorium; Birmingham, AL 12/10/00
- Eddie Guerrero, Perry Saturn & Dean Malenko beat The Hardy Boyz & Lita
- William Regal beat Bob Holly
- Last man standing: Chris Jericho beat Kane
- Tag Team Title: Edge & Christian beat Champs The Right to Censor, The Dudley Boyz, and Road Dogg & K-Kwik to win the titles
- Women's Title: Champ Ivory beat Trish Stratus & Molly Holly
- Hell in a Cell Match for WWF Title: Champ Kurt Angle beat The Rock, Steve Austin, Triple H, Rikishi, & The Undertaker

Armageddon 2002 - Office Depot Center; Fort Lauderdale, FL 12/15/02
- World Tag Team Title: Booker T & Goldust beat Champs Chris Jericho & Christian, The Dudley Boyz, & William Regal & Lance Storm to win the titles
- Edge beat A-Train by DQ
- Chris Benoit beat Eddie Guerrero
- Batista beat Kane
- Women's Title: Champion Victoria beat Trish Stratus & Jacqueline
- WWF Title: Kurt Angle beat The Big Show to win the title

- World Title best of 3 falls (street fight, cage, & ladder match): Triple H beat Shawn Michaels to win the title. Triple H won falls 1 & 3

Armageddon 2003 (RAW) - TD Waterhouse Center; Orlando, FL 12/14/2003
- Booker T beat Mark Henry
- I-C Title: Randy Orton beat Rob Van Dam to win the title
- Chris Jericho & Christian beat Lita & Trish Stratus
- Shawn Michaels beat Batista
- Matt Hardy beat Maven
- Tag Team Turmoil Match: Ric Flair & Batista won the Tag Team Titles in a match featuring champs The Dudley Boyz, Scott Steiner & Test, Rob Conway & Rene Dupree, The Hurricane & Rosey, Lance Storm & Val Venis, and Mark Jindrak & Garrison Cade
- Women's Title: Champion Molly Holly beat Ivory
- World Heavyweight Title: Triple H beat champion Goldberg and Kane to win the title

Armageddon 2004 (SmackDown) - Gwynette Center; Atlanta, GA 12/12/04
- Tag Team Title: Champs Rob Van Dam & Rey Mysterio Jr beat Kenzo Suzuki & Rene Dupree
- Tough Enough Boxing Challenge: Daniel Puder beat Mike Mizanin in a 3-round boxing match judged by audience reaction
- The Basham Brother beat Bob Holly & Charlie Haas
- Streetfight for US Title: Champ John Cena beat Jesus
Dawn Marie beat Jackie Gayda. After the match Charlie Haas said he wouldn't marry either woman.
- Handicap Match: The Big Show beat Kurt Angle, Mark Jindrak & Luther Reigns
- Cruiserweight Title: Funaki beat Spike Dudley to win the title
- No DQ match for the WWE Title: Champ JBL beat The Undertaker, Booker T and Eddie Guerrero

Armageddon 2005 (SmackDown) - Dunkin' Donuts Center; Providence, RI 12/18/05
- JBL beat Matt Hardy
- MNM beat The Mexicools
- US Title Match 4: Chris Benoit beat Booker T
- Lashley beat Paul Burchill & William Regal
- Cruiserweight Title: Kid Kash beat Juventud Guerrera to win the title
- Kane & The Big Show beat Rey Mysterio & Batista
- Hell in a Cell: The Undertaker beat Randy Orton

Armageddon 2006 (SD) - Richmond Coliseum; Richmond, VA 12/17/06
- Inferno Match: Kane beat MVP
- Ladder Match for the WWE Tag Team Titles: Champs Paul London & Brian Kendrick beat the Hardy Boys, MNM, and Dave Taylor & William Regal
- The Boogeyman beat the Miz
- U.S. Title: Champ Chris Benoit beat Chavo Guerrero
- Cruiserweight Title: Champ Gregory Helms beat Jimmy Wang Yang
- Last Ride Match: The Undertaker beat Ken Kennedy
- Batista and John Cena beat King Booker & Finlay

Armageddon 2007 - Mellon Arena; Pittsburgh, PA 12/16/07
- U.S. Title: Rey Mysterio beat Champion MVP by count out
- Mark Henry & Big Daddy V beat CM Punk & Kane
- Shawn Michaels beat Mr. Kennedy
- Jeff Hardy beat Triple H to earn a WWE Title shot at the Royal Rumble
- Finlay beat The Great Khali
- WWE Championship: Chris Jericho beat Champion Randy Orton by DQ
- Women’s Championship: Champion Beth Phoenix beat Mickie James
- No DQ Match for the World Heavyweight Championship: Edge beat Champion Batista and the Undertaker to win the title

Armageddon 2008 - HSBC Arena; Buffalo, NY 12/14/08
- Non-title Match: Vladimir Kozlov beat ECW Champion Matt Hardy
- CM Punk beat Rey Mysterio
- Belfast Brawl: Finlay beat Mark Henry
- Batista beat Randy Orton
- Michelle McCool, Maria, Kelly Kelly, & Maria beat Maryse, Natalya, Victoria, & Jillian
- World Heavyweight Championship: Champion John Cena beat Chris Jericho
- WWE World Championship: Jeff Hardy beat Champion Edge & Triple H to win the title

wwe survivor series

Intro

With the success of WrestleMania 3, the PPV industry was seen as a new source of revenue for the wrestling promotions. The Survivor Series began in 1987 as a way to ensure that Jim Crockett's Starrcade would not be televised on PPV. Jim Crockett had been running the Starrcade events every Thanksgiving night since 1983. Vince McMahon would not let any cable system that showed Starrcade to show the Survivor Series. He then threatened the cable operators further by saying that if they didn't broadcast the Survivor Series they wouldn't be allowed to broadcast WrestleMania 4. As a result of these threats, only a handful of companies showed Starrcade and within a year Crockett was forced to sell his company to Ted Turner.

History
The original Survivor Series concept was that teams of 5 would fight in elimination tag team matches. This concept lasted for two years when the matches were changed to 4 on 4. In 1991, the event was moved to the night before Thanksgiving and featured the first 1 on 1 match in the event's history. By 1992, the concept of the event had changed and it was just like any other PPV with an occasional "Classic Survivor Series" match thrown in. In 1995, the event was moved to Sunday Night and no longer had any mention of being involved with the Thanksgiving holiday.

Top 3 Survivor Series Moments
1 - The Montreal Screwjob took place at Survivor Series 1997. The finish of the Bret Hart vs Shawn Michaels match is still debated about to this day.
2 - The Survivor Series has been the event that has featured the WWE debuts of Kurt Angle, the Rock, and the Undertaker.
3 - The debut of the Elimination Chamber in 2002. This match has proved to be very popular with the fans and has been used as the main event of different PPV's every year since.

Three Worst Survivor Series Moments
1 - The hatching of the Gobbledy Gooker. This event was so bad that it is the name of the award given to the worst event of the year at wrestlecrap.com.
2 - The ending of the Steve Austin vs Triple H match at Survivor Series 2000. This match finished when Triple H was trapped in a car that Austin lifted over 50 feet in the air with a crane and dropped to the ground.
3 - The bait and switch of Steve Austin in 1999. Austin was supposed to be in the main event but was scheduled for neck surgery. Instead of letting the fans know this in advance, Steve was run over by a car in the back as a way to get him out of the match.

Title Changes
1991 - WWF Title: The Undertaker pinned Hulk Hogan
1993 - Smoky Mountain Wrestling Tag Team Title: The Heavenly Bodies beat The Rock-n-Roll Express
1994 - WWF Title: Bob Backlund won the title from Bret Hart when Bret's mother, Helen threw in the towel for her son
1995 - WWF Title: Bret Hart beat Diesel
1996 - WWF Title: Sid beat Shawn Michaels
1997 - I-C Title: Steve Austin beat Owen Hart
1997 - WWF Title: In the most discussed match ever, Shawn Michaels won the title in the "Montreal Screw job" by making Bret Hart "submit"
1998 - WWF Title: The Rock beat Mankind in the tournament final to win the vacant title
1998 - Women's Title: Sable beat Jacqueline
1999 - Three-Way Match for WWF Title: The Big Show (subbing for Steve Austin who was run over earlier) beat Triple H & The Rock
2001 - Unification Match: US Champ Edge beat I-C Champ Test
2001 - Steel Cage Unification Match: WCW Tag champs The Dudley Boyz beat WWF Tag Champs The Hardy Boyz
2001 - Women's Title: Trish Stratus beat Ivory, Molly, Lita, Jacqueline, & Jazz to win the vacant title
2002 - Cruiserweight Title: Billy Kidman beat Jamie Knoble
2002 - Hardcore Match for Women's Title: Victoria beat Trish Stratus
2002 - WWE Title: The Big Show beat Brock Lesnar
2002 - WWE Tag Team Titles: Eddie & Chavo Guerrero beat Champs Edge & Rey Mysterio and Kurt Angle & Chris Benoit
2002 - Elimination Chamber for the World Heavyweight Championship: Shawn Michaels beat champ Triple H, Booker T, Rob Van Dam, Chris Jericho & Kane
2006 - Women's Title: Mickie James beat Lita
2006 - World Heavyweight Championship: Batista beat King Booker
2008 - WWE Championship: Edge beat Champion Triple H and Vladimir Kozlov

2008 - World Heavyweight Championship: John Cena beat Chris Jericho

urvivor Series 2001 – Greensboro Coliseum; Greensboro, NC 11/18/2000
- Christian beat Al Snow
- Non Title Match: William Regal beat WCW Cruiserweight champ Tajiri
- Unification Match: US Champ Edge beat I-C Champ Test
- Steel Cage Unification Match: WCW Tag champs The Dudley Boyz beat WWF Tag Champs The Hardy Boyz
- Immunity Battle Royal: Test wins by last eliminating Billy Gunn.
- Women's Title: Trish Stratus beat Ivory, Molly, Lita, Jacqueline, & Jazz to win the vacant title
- Elimination Match for End of WCW or WWF: The Rock, Chris Jericho, The Undertaker, Big Show & Kane beat Steve Austin, Kurt Angle, Shane McMahon, Booker T & Rob Van Dam

Survivor Series 2002 – Madison Square Garden; New York, NY 11/17/2002
- Tables Elimination Match: Jeff Hardy, Spike & Buh Buh Ray Dudley beat Three Minute Warning & Rico
- Cruiserweight Title: Billy Kidman beat Jamie Knoble to win the title
- Hardcore Match for Women's Title: Victoria beat Trish Stratus for the title
- WWE Title: The Big Show beat Brock Lesnar to win the title
- WWE Tag Team Title: Eddie & Chavo Guerrero beat Champs Edge & Rey Mysterio and Kurt Angle & Chris Benoit to win the title
- Elimination Chamber for Heavyweight championship: Shawn Michaels beat champ Triple H, Booker T, Rob Van Dam, Chris Jericho & Kane to win the title

Survivor Series 2003 – American Airlines Arena; Dallas, TX 11/16/2003
- Kurt Angle, John Cena, Chris Benoit, Bradshaw & Bob Holly beat Brock Lesnar, The Big Show, Albert, Nathan Jones, & Matt Morgan
- Women's Title: Champ Molly Holly beat Lita
- Ambulance Match: Kane beat Shane McMahon
- WWE Tag Team Title: Champion Basham Brothers beat Los Guerreros
- Chris Jericho, Christian, Scott Steiner, Randy Orton & Mark Henry beat Shawn Michaels, Rob Van Dam, Booker T and The Dudley Boyz. As a result, Steve Austin was fired as co-GM of Raw
- Buried Alive Match: Vince McMahon beat The Undertaker by burying him in the gravesite set up in the arena
- World Heavyweight Title: Champion Goldberg beat Triple H

Survivor Series 2004 – Gund Arena; Cleveland, OH 11/14/2004
- Cruiserweight Title: Champ Spike Dudley beat Billy Kidman, Rey Mysterio Jr. & Chavo Guerrero
- I-C Title: Champion Shelton Benjamin beat Christian
- Eddie Guerrero, John Cena, The Big Show & Rob Van Dam beat Kurt Angle, Carlito, Luther Reigns, & Mark Jindrak
- The Undertaker beat Heidenreich
- Women's Title: Champ Trish Stratus beat Lita by DQ
- WWE Title: Champ JBL beat Booker T
- Winners each get control of Raw for a week: Chris Jericho, Randy Orton, Chris Benoit & Maven beat Triple H, Batista, Snitsky, & Edge

Survivor Series 2005 - Joe Louis Arena; Detroit, MI 11/27/2005
- US Title Match 1 of Best of 7 Series: Booker T beat Chris Benoit
- Women's Title: Champ Trish Stratus beat Melina
- Last Man Standing: Triple H beat Ric Flair
- WWE Title: Champ John Cena beat Kurt Angle
- Teddy Long beat Eric Bischoff
- Team SmackDown! (Batista, Randy Orton, Lashley, Rey Mysterio, & JBL) beat Team RAW (Shawn Michaels, Kane, The Big Show, Chris Masters, & Carlito)

Survivor Series 2006 – Wachovia Center; Philadelphia, PA 11/26/2006
- Ric Flair, Sgt. Slaughter, Ron Simmons, and Dusty Rhodes beat the Spirit Squad
- U.S. Title: Champion Chris Benoit beat Chavo Guerrero
- Women's Title: Mickie James beat Lita to win the title
- Triple H, Shawn Michaels, Matt Hardy, Jeff Hardy, and CM Punk beat Randy Orton, Edge, Gregory Helms, Johnny Nitro, and Mike Knox
- First Blood Match: Ken Kennedy beat the Undertaker
- John Cena, Lashley, Kane, Rob Van Dam, and Sabu beat Big Show, Finlay, Test, MVP, and Umaga
- World Heavyweight Championship: Batista beat King Booker to win the title

Survivor Series 2007 – American Airlines Arena; Miami, FL 11/18/2007
- ECW Championship: Champion CM Punk beat The Miz & John Morrison
- Mickie James, Maria, Torrie Wilson, Michelle McCool, & Kelly Kelly beat Beth Phoenix, Jillian Hall, Melina, Victoria, & Layla
- World Tag Team Championship: Champions Lance Cade & Trevor Murdoch beat Cody Rhodes & Hardcore Holly
- Traditional Survivor Series Match: Triple H, Jeff Hardy, Rey Mysterio, & Kane beat Umaga, Finlay, Big Daddy V, MVP, & Kennedy
- Great Khali beat Hornswoggle by DQ
- WWE Championship Match: Champion Randy Orton beat Shawn Michaels
- Hell in a Cell for the World Heavyweight Championship: Champion Batista beat Undertaker

Survivor Series 2008 – TD Banknorth Garden; Boston, MA 11/23/2008
- Shawn Michaels, Cryme Tyme, Rey Mysterio, & The Great Khali beat JBL, MVP, Kane, The Miz, & John Morrison
- Beth Phoenix, Candice Michelle, Mickie James, Kelly Kelly, & Jillian beat Michelle McCool, Maria, Victoria, Natalya, & Maryse
- Casket Match: The Undertaker beat The Big Show
- Randy Orton, Cody Rhodes, Shelton Benjamin, Mark Henry, William Regal beat Batista, CM Punk, Kofi Kingston, Matt Hardy & R-Truth
- WWE Championship Match: Edge beat Champion Triple H and Vladimir Kozlov to win the title
- World Heavyweight Championship: John Cena beat Chris Jericho to win the title

Survivor Series (2009) ::: November 22, 2009 Washington, D.C. Verizon Center TBD