Rhet of Wrestling: Resources

Major Promotions (a partial list)

USA: 

  • National Wrestling Alliance (NWA)
    • formerly the governing body for most regional wrestling, originally governing WWF & WCW among others
    • now works with several other independent promotions
  • All Elite Wrestling (AEW)
    • brand-spanking new (2019)
    • inaugurated at the ALL IN pay-per-view, held in Chicago in Sept, 2018: headlined by Cody (Rhodes), The Elite, and featuring other talent from NJPW and ROH
    • positioned as a potential threat to the WWE and to the pro-wrestling industry as it has been since 2001
    • independent promotion that is still in the process of coming together
    • Company Twitter 
  • World Championship Wrestling (WCW)*
    • formerly a regional NWA promotion, grew to be WWF’s main competition
    • now defunct–bought out by Vince K. McMahon in 2001
  • Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW)*
    • founded by Paul Heyman (originally Eastern Championship Wrestling)
    • 1992-2001: now defunct, bough tout by Vince K. McMahon
    • featured hardcore wrestling and international styles (lucha libre, japanese puroresu)

Canada:

Japan:

Mexico/Lucha Libre

United Kingdom/Ireland:

Austin Local Independent Wrestling Promotions & Schools

A Basic Timeline of the WWE

“In the old days, there were wrestling fiefdoms all over the country, each with its own little lord in charge. Each little lord respected the rights of his neighboring little lord. No takeovers or raids were allowed. There were maybe 30 of these tiny kingdoms in the U.S. and if I hadn’t bought out my dad, there would still be 30 of them, fragmented and struggling. I, of course, had no allegiance to those little lords.”–Vince K. McMahon

  • 1952 Roderick James “Jess” McMahon (a boxing promoter) and Toots Mondt found Capitol Wrestling Corp. and join NWA (then the governing board for regional wrestling promotions)
  • 1954 Jess dies. His son, Vincent James McMahon takes over.
    • Large NYC/Northeast audience
    • Soon, this group controls 70% of NWA booking
  • 1963 Vincent J. McMahon and Mondt leave NWA and form WWWF.
    • Dispute over who should win the NWA world heavyweight chapmionship
    • Shows based around a standard babyface and heel formula
  • 1980: Vincent K. McMahon (Vince J.’s son) founds Titan Sports
    • Trademarks WWF
    • Vince K. buys out Vince J.
    • Gets WWF on syndicated cable TV and home video
    • Adopts pay-per-view system to pay for nation-wide tours
  • 1985: The first WrestleMania
  • 1987: WrestleMania III: Hulk Hogan defeats Andre the Giant. 
    • Largest recorded live audience at the time, over 93,000 in attendance
    • Gave rise to other annual pay-per-views: Summerslam, Survivor Series, Royal Rumble
  • 1993: Monday Night RAW debuts on USA Network (it’s still there).
  • 1995-2001: Monday Night Wars
    • Competition with WCW’s Monday Nitro on TNT
    • Ted Turner bought WCW in 1988: personal rivalry with Vince McMahon
    • Nielson ratings ~8-11 million during this period
    • McMahon buys out WCW & ECW in 2001
    • Incorporates talent from WCW & ECW in an “invasion” storyline
  • 2002: Name changed from WWF to WWE
    • Lawsuit from the World Wildlife Fund
    • Focus on entertainment
  • 2002: Debut of Smackdown! (also on USA)
    • Named after The Rock’s catchphrase (one of them)
  • 2010: NXT (developmental) formed
  • 2014: Launch of WWE Network, paid streaming service
  • Recent/Current Company “Eras”
    • 1997-2002: “Attitude Era”
    • 2002-2008: “Ruthless Aggression Era”
    • 2008-2013: “PG Era”
    • 2014-2016: “The Reality Era”
    • 2016-Present: “The New Era”

Wrestling Resources

Here, we will compile a list of useful resources for our class projects. Many of the resources that we will come back to (or that you will be asked to consult) can be found here). This list will grow over time, and you will have the chance to suggest additions to it.
 

TV Tropes Professional Wrestling hub (with branches for important terminology and tropes of all kinds)

Monster Factory Documentary

Political Reporting and Cultural Commentary:

Sports Journalism and Fan Culture:

Wrestler/Performer and Company-Generated Content:

  • UpUpDownDown YouTube channel
    • WWE superstar Xavier Woods’s channel (now officially owned by WWE), inviting other superstars to play video games against one another(and develop on and off-screen personas) for fans
  • Being the Elite YouTube channel
    • A YouTube channel created by and promoting Bullet Club wrestlers Kenny Omega and Matt & Nick Jackson, showcasing antics and building personas for fans

Profiles of a Local Independent Comedy/Wrestling Show, PWR