World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) is the leading professional wrestling promotion in the world. Run by World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., WWE was formerly known as the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) until 2002 when it was sued by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF, also). The WWE is run by Vince McMahon (majority owner and Chairman) and his wife, Linda McMahon (CEO).
The WWE is split up into three separate brands: RAW, SmackDown!, and Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW). The three brands contain three separate rosters; that is, all three have wrestlers and competitors that are unique to the specific programs. However, the WWE does hold an annual Draft Lottery that exchanges wrestlers between the three brands. The three brands all take place on separate nights, with RAW generally being considered the “flagship” brand and taking place on Monday nights.
The main goal of the WWE is not competitive wrestling, but rather entertainment. The league began with a focus on wrestling but that all changed once Vince McMahon bought the WWF from his father in 1980. Since then, the WWF/WWE has shifted the majority of its focus to entertaining the audience and reaching out to people that would not normally watch wrestling. The league has featured many wrestling superstars that are recognizable even to those not familiar with professional wrestling: Hulk Hogan, The Rock, Andre the Giant, The Undertaker, Sting, Stone Cold Steve Austin, Big Show, Bill Goldberg, and many more.
