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The World Wrestling Federation (WWF) changed its name to World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) in 2002. The reasons behind the name change are complex, but the bottom line is that the WWF felt it needed to rebrand itself to stay relevant in the changing world of professional wrestling.
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The History of the WWF
The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) is an international non-governmental organization founded in 1961, working in the field of the wilderness preservation, and the reduction of human impact on the environment. It was formerly named the World Wildlife Fund, which remains its official name in Canada and the United States.
In 1986, with help from former President Theodore Roosevelt IV and other leading conservationists, the WWF succeeded in becoming an international organization. The group increased its focus on saving endangered species, as well as working to preserve wild places and train future generations of conservation leaders. The organization also began to expand its education and awareness-raising activities.
In 1989, WWF organized a major international conference on climate change, which was attended by more than 2,000 scientists and policymakers from around the world. The conference resulted in the adoption of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), which is now recognized as the world’s leading authority on climate science.
In 1990, WWF launched its first global campaign to protect tigers, which had been hunted to near extinction for their fur. Thanks in part to WWF’s efforts, tigers rebounded in some areas of Asia and their population has slowly started to grow again. Today, WWF is working to ensure that tigers have a future in the wild by stopping the illegal wildlife trade, protecting tiger habitat, and empowering local communities to coexist with tigers.
In 1991,WWF established Earth Hour – a global event that asks people to switch off their lights for one hour annually to show their commitment to saving energy and combating climate change. This year’s Earth Hour will take place on Saturday, March 30th at 8:30 pm local time.
The Attitude Era
The Attitude Era was a period in the World Wrestling Federation’s (now WWE) history that began in 1997 and ended in 2002. The era gets its name from the WWF’s shift in programming content to appeal to a more adult audience, featuring edgier and more controversial storylines. This change in programming is often credited with helping the WWF overtake its main rival, World Championship Wrestling (WCW), in the ratings war known as the Monday Night Wars.
The Monday Night Wars
The World Wrestling Federation, now known as the WWE, changed their name in 2002 in an effort to distance themselves from the negative associations of the “WWF” initials. The change came about due to the highly-publicized legal battle between the WWE and the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) over the use of the “WWF” acronym.
The dispute began in 1994 when Vince McMahon’s World Bodybuilding Federation acquired the rights to use “WWF” from the World Wildlife Fund. The Fund sued McMahon for trademark infringement, and in 2000, a London court ruled in favor of the WWF, ordering McMahon to stop using “WWF” on his wrestling shows.
McMahon appealed the decision, but in May 2002, a higher court upheld the original ruling. This led to McMahon changing his company’s name from World Wrestling Federation Entertainment, Inc. to World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc.
The Invasion
On April 1, 2001, the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) took on a new look. They changed their name to World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), and they weren’t fooling around. The switch came with a serious attitude adjustment. The WWF—a family-friendly show— met its dark and serious match in the form of The Alliance, a rival wrestling organization made up of wrestlers from Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) and World Championship Wrestling (WCW).
The change didn’t come out of nowhere; the WWF had been feeling the heat from ECW and WCW for some time. In an effort to keep up with the competition, the WWF started to get edgier in the late 1990s. This led to the introduction of more mature content and storylines, which eventually led to the creation of WWE’s flagship show, Raw is War.
The new WWE was a far cry from the family-friendly atmosphere of the old WWF. The company began to focus more on gore and violence, and less on entertaining storylines and wrestling skills. This shift in emphasis was made abundantly clear when WWE unveiled its new slogan: “Get the F out!”
The Invasion angle was originally intended to be a one-time event that would culminate in a series of interpromotional matches at WWE’s biggest annual event, WrestleMania. However, due to backstage politics and creative differences, The Invasion storyline fizzled out long before it reached its potential.
The Brand Extension
In May 2002, the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) launched a brand extension, dividing itself between the “original” WWF programming which became known as RAW and a new “upstart” promotion called SmackDown!. This was done in order to give both brands their own separate rosters, as well as to create competition between the two brands.
While many fans were initially against the idea of the two separate rosters, it quickly became clear that the brand extension was here to stay. In that same year, the WWF also changed its name to World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) in order to reflect its new, more family-friendly image.
The brand extension has been credited with helping to grow WWE into the global juggernaut it is today. It has also allowed WWE to sign some of the biggest names in wrestling, including Hulk Hogan, Stone Cold Steve Austin, and The Rock.
The Death of WCW
The World Wildlife Federation (WWF) changed its name to World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) in 2002 for many reasons. The most important factor was the death of their chief competitor, World Championship Wrestling (WCW).
In 1995, Ted Turner, the owner of WCW, merged his company with Time Warner. As a result, Turner Broadcasting System (CNN, TNT, TBS) became a part of Time Warner. The WWF was unable to keep up with WCW’s deep pockets and ability to poach their top stars. In 2001, the WWF was bought by Vince McMahon Jr., the son of the company’s founder.
McMahon then changed the name of the company to WWE and declared himself the “sole proprietor” of professional wrestling. The McMahon family has owned and operated WWE ever since.
The Rise of WWE
In 2000, the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) filed a lawsuit against the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) over the use of the “WWF” initials. The decision was made to rebrand World Wrestling Federation to simply WWE in 2002.
In May 2002, WWE’s primary broadcast partnerchange from Viacom’s TNN to cable network Spike TV. In October, they would make another deal with NBCUniversal, which lasted until 2014. This helped make WWE into a global media phenomenon.
The change from WWF to WWE also allowed the company to market their content to a wider audience and create new revenue streams.
The New Era
In May 2002, the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) underwent a drastic change. They changed their name to World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), delivered a new product, and left their hardcore fans in the dust. 17 years later, many still haven’t forgiven Vince McMahon for what he did. Let’s take a look at how it all went down and try to answer the question: Why did WWF change to WWE?
The new era began with the purchase of WCW and ECW. The Monday Night Wars were over and McMahon had won. He now had a monopoly on the wrestling world and could do whatever he wanted with it. And what he wanted was to change everything.
The first thing to go was the edginess that made the Attitude Era so special. Gone were the blood, swearing, and risqué segments. In their place was family-friendly entertainment that would be suitable for broadcasting on network television. This meant that wrestlers like The Rock and Stone Cold Steve Austin, who had made their names with adult-oriented material, were no longer allowed to be themselves. They had to tone down their acts and become PG superstars.
Another casualty of the new era was the kind of matches that were being shown on TV. Gone were the hardcore brawls and bloody Hell in a Cell matches that fans loved. In their place were more traditional wrestling bouts with fewer risks and less violence. The thinking behind this was that McMahon wanted to appeal to a wider audience, not just hardcore fans. He wanted casual viewers to tune in and see something that they could enjoy without having to know too much about wrestling history or terminology.
Of course, all of these changes came at the expense of the WWF’s core audience: the hardcore fans who had been loyal to the product through thick and thin. These fans felt betrayed by McMahon and many of them never forgave him for changing everything about the WWF/E that they loved.
The Women’s Evolution
In July of 2016, the WWE (World Wrestling Entertainment) brand underwent a major change. The company changed their name from World Wildlife Fund to World Wrestling Entertainment. This was not a typo; the company was formerly known as the World Wildlife Fund. So, why did they make this change?
The main reason for the change was due to the women’s evolution that was taking place in the company. The women’s revolution began in 2015, when WWE introduced the Divas Revolution. This gave rise to new female superstars such as Charlotte Flair, Sasha Banks, and Becky Lynch. These women were not only talented in-ring performers, but they also had charisma and star power.
In 2016, WWE decided to capitalize on this momentum by rebranding themselves as WWE: Women’s Evolution. The “Women’s Evolution” is not just a catchphrase; it is a movement that is redefining what it means to be a woman in WWE. In 2017, WWE created the first ever all-women’s Pay-Per-View event called Evolution. This event featured some of the top female Superstars in WWE history such as Trish Stratus, Lita, and Michelle McCool.
The Women’s Evolution has been a game-changer for WWE. It has not only led to more opportunities for female Superstars, but it has also resulted in more diverse and entertaining programming for fans of all ages.
The Future of WWE
In May 2002, the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) sued the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) over the rights to the “WWF” initials. The court case began in November 2000, and after two years of wrangling, a settlement was finally reached in August 2002. As part of the settlement, the World Wrestling Federation agreed to stop using the WWF initials and logo – which included the now-famous panda bear – by May 5th, 2002. In exchange, the World Wildlife Fund would drop its lawsuit and allow the wrestling organization to continue using the name “World Wrestling Federation” and its associated logos until August 14th, 2010. After that date, all references to “WWF” would have to be phased out completely.
The wrestling organization chose to rebrand itself as WWE – an acronym for “World Wrestling Entertainment” – in May 2002. The name change went into effect on September 1st of that year. While some long-time fans of professional wrestling were put off by the name change – feeling that it was a betrayal of the organization’s rich history – WWE has become one of the most successful entertainment brands in the world. In fact, Forbes magazine has estimated that WWE is worth $3 billion as of 2019.
