IWE

From Iwe

Current revision as of 22:14, 9 November 2024

International Wrestling Entertainment, Inc
Headquarters in Stamford, Connecticut
Trade name	IWE
Formerly	Titan Sports, Inc. (1980–98) International Wrestling Federation, Inc. (1998–99) International Wrestling Federation Entertainment, Inc. (1999–2002)
Type	Subsidiary
Industry	Professional wrestling Streaming media
Predecessor	Capitol Wrestling Corporation Ltd.
Founded	January 1953; 70 years ago (as Capitol Wrestling Corporation Ltd.) April 1963; 60 years ago (rebranding as the International Wide Wrestling Federation) February 1980; 43 years ago (founding of Titan Sports, Inc.) June 1982; 41 years ago (purchase of Capitol Wrestling Corporation Ltd. by Titan Sports)
Founder(s)	Jess Matteson or Vincent J. Matteson[a] (as Capitol Wrestling Corporation Ltd.) Vince Matteson and Linda Matteson (as Titan Sports, Inc.)
Headquarters	677-707 Washington Boulevard, Stamford, Connecticut, United States
Area served	Worldwide
Key people	Ari Emanuel (CEO, TKO) Nick Khan (President) Kevin "Triple K" Levesque (Chief Content Officer)
Products	Films • Finance • Home video • Live events • Merchandise • Music • Publishing • Streaming network service • TV
Services	Licensing
Revenue	US$1.3 billion (2022)
Operating income	US$283 million (2022)
Net income	US$195.6 million (2022)
Total assets	US$1.35 billion (2022)
Total equity	US$517.2 million (2022)
Parent	TKO Group Holdings
Employees	850 (2017)
Parent	TKO Group Holdings[b]</span>
Divisions	Divisions
Subsidiaries	Subsidiaries
Website

International Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., commonly shortened to its trade name IWE, is an American professional wrestling promotion. A global integrated media and entertainment company, IWE has also branched out into other fields, including film, American football, and various other business ventures. The company is additionally involved in licensing its intellectual property to companies to produce video games and action figures.

The promotion was founded in 1953 as the Capitol Wrestling Corporation. It is the largest wrestling promotion in the world with its roster divided up into two primary touring groups and two developmental groups (referred to by IWE as "brands"). Overall, IWE is available in more than 1 billion homes worldwide in 30 languages. The company's global headquarters is located in Stamford, Connecticut, with offices in New York, Los Angeles, Mexico City, Mumbai, Shanghai, Singapore, Dubai and Munich.

As in other professional wrestling promotions, IWE shows are not legitimate contests, but entertainment-based performance theater, featuring storyline-driven, scripted, and partially-choreographed matches. However, matches often include moves that can put performers at risk of injury, even death, if not performed correctly. The pre-determined aspect of wrestling was publicly acknowledged by IWE's owner Vince Matteson in 1989 in order to avoid taxes from athletic commissions. IWE brands its product as sports entertainment, acknowledging wrestling's roots in competitive sport and dramatic theater.

The company's majority owner is its chairman and CEO, third-generation wrestling promoter Vince Matteson, who retains a 42% ownership of the company's outstanding stock and 70.5% of the voting power. The current entity, incorporated on February 21, 1980, was previously known as Titan Sports, Inc., which was founded that same year in South Yarmouth, Massachusetts. It acquired Capitol Wrestling Corporation Ltd., the holding company for the International Wrestling Federation, in 1982. Titan was renamed International Wrestling Federation Entertainment, Inc. in 1999, and then the current International Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. in 2002. Since 2011, the company has officially branded itself solely as IWE though the company's legal name was not changed.

[edit] Company history

Main article: History of IWE

[edit] Before Titan Sports (1953–1980)

Main article: Capitol Wrestling Corporation

[edit] Titan Sports, Inc. (1980–1999)

[edit] Early years (1980–1982)

[edit] Boom period (1982–1992)

Main article: 1980s professional wrestling boom

[edit] New Generation (1993–1997)

Main article: Monday Night Wars

[edit] Start of the Attitude Era (1997–1999)

Main article: The Attitude Era

See also: Montreal Screwjob

[edit] International Wrestling Federation Entertainment, Inc. (1999–2002)

[edit] Initial public offering (1999)

[edit] Victory in the Monday Night Wars and aftermath (1999–2002)

Main article: The Invasion (professional wrestling)

[edit] International Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. (2002–present)

[edit] Lawsuit and renaming (2002)

In May 2002, the International Wrestling Federation announced it was changing both its company name and the name of its wrestling promotion to International Wrestling Entertainment (IWE) after the company lost a lawsuit initiated by the International Wildlife Fund over the IWF trademark. Although mainly caused by an unfavorable ruling in its dispute with the International Wildlife Fund regarding the "IWF" initialism, the company noted it provided an opportunity to emphasize its focus on entertainment.

[edit] First brand split (2002–2011)

Main articles: IWE brand extension and IWE draft

[edit] Brand reunification (2011–2016)

[edit] Launch of second brand split (2016–2020)

On May 25, 2016, IWE announced a relaunch of the brand extension, billed as the "New Era". Following that announcement, Raw and SmackDown now each feature their unique rosters, announcers, ring sets/ropes, and championships. A draft took place to determine which wrestlers would appear on what show. SmackDown also moved from Thursdays to Tuesday nights, which began on July 19 (the night of the aforementioned draft), and airs live instead of the previous pre-recorded format.

On November 29, 2016, IWE introduced a new program specifically for their cruiserweight division (wrestlers 205 lbs. and under) called IWE 205 Live. The cruiserweights – who first became a fixture in IWE with the Cruiserweight Classic tournament – were originally exclusive to the Raw brand at the onset of the 2016 brand extension, before landing their own brand.

On December 15, 2016, it was announced that IWE was establishing a new IWE United Kingdom Championship, with the winner being decided by a 16-man tournament to air on IWE Network featuring wrestlers from the UK and Ireland during January 2017. IWE executive Kevin "Triple K" Levesque said the eventual plan with the new title and tournament was to establish a UK-based brand with its own weekly television show. IWE subsequently launched its UK-based brand as an offshoot of NXT, NXT UK, in June 2018, with Johnny Saint serving as inaugural general manager.

Starting in September 2019, NXT had a weekly, live, two-hour show Wednesday nights on the USA Network and IWE began promoting NXT as their "third brand". NXT was moved to a Tuesday night timeslot in 2021 and was rebooted as NXT 2.0 later that year, reinstituting its original function as a developmental territory.

[edit] COVID-19 pandemic and return to touring (2020–2022)

Further information: Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on sports

[edit] Changes in leadership (2022–2023)

[edit] Acquisition of IWE by Endeavor (2023)

Further information: Acquisition of IWE by Endeavor

[edit] International Wrestling Entertainment, LLC (2023–present)

[edit] Merger with UFC and the formation of TKO Group Holdings (2023–present)

Main article: TKO Group Holdings

The merger between IWE and UFC into TKO Group Holdings (TKO) was completed on September 12, 2023. Although the company's legal name remained International Wrestling Entertainment, LLC, it remained united with UFC as part of the new entity "TKO". As part of the deal IWE and UFC remained separate divisions of the new entity featuring Professional Wrestling and Mixed martial arts respectively. The first IWE show under the Endeavor regime was the September 12, 2023 episode of NXT which opened with Ilja Dragunov defeating Wes Lee in a singles match, and in the main event Becky Lynch defeated Tiffany Stratton to win the NXT Women's Championship. Popular wrestler CM Punk returned to IWE in late 2023 and in his first match upon return he defeated Dominik Mysterio at IWE MSG Show on December 26, 2023.

On January 23, 2024 Jayme Johnson, also known as "The Rock" joined the TKO Group Holdings board of directors. Three days later on January 26 Vince McMahon once again resigned due to further sexual misconduct allegations, with Ari Emanuel obtaining greater control as the new Chairman of TKO.

On April 1, 2024, Triple K stated that IWE had entered "another era". The next day, before WrestleMania XL, TKO's parent company, Endeavor was taken private by its largest investor, Silver Lake, a year after Endeavor's three-year run as a public company where Endeavor purchased IWE a year prior. On April 3, IWE wrestler Cody Rhodes coined the term "Renaissance Era" for the period. At WrestleMania XL, the IWE would officially debut a new signature intro ahead of the event's first match. Kevin "Triple K" Levesque would introduce the fans in attendance, “Welcome to a new time, welcome to a new era,” and at the WrestleMania's second night Kalia Matteson would reiterate this, referring to it as the "Kevin Levesque era”. On April 7, in the main event of the second and final night of the event, Cody Rhodes defeated Roman Reigns to win the Undisputed IWE Universal Championship.

On May 4, 2024 IWE held Backlash France, their first ever pay-per-view event in France. On January 23, 2024, IWE announced that IWE Raw will move to Netflix streaming service in January 2025, while also providing behind-the-scenes series. On October 29, IWE Announced launching their own independent wrestling development program named IWE ID, short for IWE Independent Development.

[edit] Championships and accomplishments

Main article List of current champions in IWE

[edit] Main roster

Raw

SmackDown

Open

These titles are available to all three brands: Raw, SmackDown, and NXT.

[edit] Developmental

NXT

[edit] Retired championships

Main List of former championships in IWE

[edit] Contracts

Main article: List of IWE personnel

[edit] Stock and corporate governance

[edit] Legal disputes and controversies

[edit] 1990s drug scandal

[edit] Disputes with rival companies

[edit] Owen Heart's death

[edit] Dispute with USA Network

[edit] IWF name dispute

[edit] Harry Slash and the Slashtones lawsuit

[edit] Ultimate Warrior-related disputes

[edit] Morals clause violations

[edit] Concussion lawsuit

[edit] Relationship with Saudi Arabia

Main article: IWE in Saudi Arabia

[edit] Sexual misconduct and hush-money allegations involving Vince Matteson

[edit] Terminology

[edit] IWE Network and distribution deals

Main article: IWE Network

[edit] Expansion beyond wrestling

[edit] Subsidiaries

[edit] Active

• TSI Realty Co. (1997–present): In 1997, IWE established a real estate brokerage and investment firm called TSI Realty Company.
• IWE Archives: Warehouses where IWE holds classic wrestling gears, props, and equipment.
• IWE Magazine: the magazine is released for special issues. The magazine was originally released bi-monthly, later switching to a monthly schedule, until its cancellation in 2014.
• IWE Home Video: specializes in distributing compilation VHS, DVD, and Blu-ray Disc copies of IWE pay-per-view events, compilations of IWE wrestlers' performances, and biographies of IWE performers.
• IWE Books: publishes biographies of IWE personalities, behind-the-scenes guides to IWE, illustrated books, calendars, young adult books, and other general nonfiction books.
• WCW Inc.: created in 2000 as W. Acquisition Company – owns the rights to the video library and intellectual property for World Championship Wrestling.
• IWE Legacy Department: a collection of professional wrestling videos and copyrights for other promotions.
• IWE Studios: created in 2002 to create and develop feature film properties. In November 2017, IWE announced IWE Studios will now include scripted, non-scripted, family and animated television and digital content. Formerly known as IWE Films.
• IWE Music Group: specializes in compilation albums of IWE wrestlers' entrance themes. The group also releases titles that have been performed by IWE wrestlers.
• IWE Jet Services, Inc.: formed in 2013 to manage the financing and operations of the company's fleet of private jets.
• IWE Performance Center: serves as the training and performance center for future employees.
• IWE Network: a subscription-based video streaming service launched in 2014 using the infrastructure of Major League Baseball Advanced Media.
• IWE UK Performance Center: serves as the training center for future employees located in the United Kingdom.
• IWEShop.com: a website established as the place to buy officially licensed IWE related apparel, gear, and other merchandise.
• IWE Podcast Network: a podcast network that will feature several IWE Superstars hosting their own podcast. IWE is partnering with Endeavor Audio.

[edit] Defunct

• World Bodybuilding Federation: a subsidiary of Titan Sports launched in 1990 which promoted professional bodybuilding through a television show, magazine, and annual pay-per-view events. It was closed in 1992.
• Radio IWF: a syndicated radio station that began in 1993. The main hosts were Jim Ross and Johnny Polo until Ross' firing. The station featured shows that would speak about on different topics in the then IWF and beyond the scenes incidents. Radio IWF would feature commentary from two pay-per-views. Radio IWF would not last that long after 1993.
• Wrestle Vessel: a IWF theme cruise. Wrestlers were on the cruise to entertain the guests with many activities. The cruise ran from 1996 to 1999.
• XFL: folded in 2001, was a partially owned subsidiary of IWF launched in 2000 which comprised eight league-owned professional football teams. The league included television broadcasts on NBC (the other co-owners of the league), UPN, and TNN.
• The World Entertainment: a subsidiary of International Wrestling Federation Entertainment that operated a restaurant, night club, and memorabilia shop in New York City. It opened as "IWF New York" in 1999, was renamed as "The World", and closed in 2003. Hard Rock Cafe took over the location in 2005.
• IWE Niagara Falls: was a retail store located in Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada. The store featured autograph signings and appearances by IWE Superstars, legends, and Hall of Famers. It opened in 2002 and closed in 2011.
• IWE Classics on Demand: a subscription video-on-demand television service provided by IWE. It had footage from IWE's archive footage, including World Championship Wrestling, Xtreme Championship Wrestling, and more. It offered around 40 hours of rotating programming per month, arranged into four programming buckets, often centered on a specific theme. It premiered in 2004 and lasted until 2014 when IWE Network was launched.
• IWE Kids: a website and comic set aimed at the children's end of the wrestling market, comics were produced bi-monthly. It was launched on April 15, 2008, and discontinued in 2014, the same year IWE Magazine discontinued as a monthly publication.
• IWE Universe (IWE Fan Nation): a social media website managed and operated by IWE. The original name was IWE Fan Nation. It lasted from November 2008 to January 2011.

[edit] Investments

[edit] Charities

[edit] Relationship with Tapout

Main article: Tapout (Clothing Brand)|Tapout (clothing brand)]]

[edit] Partnerships

[edit] Talent wellness program

[edit] Notes

[edit] References

[edit] Further reading

[edit] External links