The World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) video library is currently the largest collection of professional wrestling videos and copyrights in the world.^[1] It's comprised not only of past and current works by World Wrestling Entertainment (formerly the World Wrestling Federation) but the works of now out of business professional wrestling promotions dating back to the 1950s.^[2] The library currently stands at over 75,000 hours of content; including weekly television shows, pay-per-views, and recorded house shows.^[1] The collection represents a very significant portion of the visual history of modern professional wrestling. In recent years WWE has made their classic holdings available to public view through their WWE 24/7 video on demand service and various home-video releases. For the video game, see Pro Wrestling (video game). ... World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. ... Pay-per-view is the name given to a system by which television viewers can call and order events to be seen on TV and pay for the private telecast of that event to their homes later. ... WWE RAW Brand house show from the Continental Airlines Arena on December 28, 2006 A house show is a professional wrestling show run by a major promotion (such as WWE or TNA), that is not televised or taped. ... WWE 24/7 is a video on demand television service provided by World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). ...

Please note that the dates listed below for purchased organizations and libraries represent the duration of that company, and may not necessarily represent the extent of historical video owned.

Classic WWE holdings

The library includes all past and present World Wrestling Entertainment tapes dating back to the 1950s, including all previous forms of the company:

• Capitol Wrestling Corporation (1952-1963)
• World Wide Wrestling Federation (WWWF) (1963-1979)
• World Wrestling Federation (WWF) (1979-2002)
• World Wrestling Entertainment (2002-present), inclusive of WWE's current brands:
  • Raw (2002-present)
  • SmackDown! (2002-present)
  • ECW (2006-present)

Although not wrestling content, the library's holdings also include footage from various WWF/E produced ventures including the 1985-1987 cartoon series Hulk Hogan's Rock 'n' Wrestling, 1989 film No Holds Barred, 1990-1992 World Bodybuilding Federation, 2001 XFL, and any motion pictures produced by WWE Films. This is the history of World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), a sports entertainment/professional wrestling promotion. ... This is the history of World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), a sports entertainment/professional wrestling promotion. ... This is the history of World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), a sports entertainment/professional wrestling promotion. ... This is the history of World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), a sports entertainment/professional wrestling promotion. ... The World Wrestling Entertainment Brand Extension was a device first used in 2002 by said professional wrestling organization as a means of providing separate brands of wrestling through its two top shows, RAW and SmackDown!, with the addition of ECW in 2006. ... WWE Raw is the Monday night professional wrestling television program for World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) and is the primary broadcast of the RAW brand. ... For the video game series based on the show, see WWE SmackDown! (video game series). ... This article is about the WWE brand. ... Hulk Hogans Rock n Wrestling is an American animated cartoon TV series that originally aired on CBS Saturday mornings from September 14, 1985 to June 27, 1987. ... No Holds Barred is a 1989 film produced by Vince McMahon and Michael Rachmil, directed by Thomas J. Wright, written by Dennis Hackin, and starring professional wrestler Hulk Hogan. ... WBF Logo The World Bodybuilding Federation (WBF) was a bodybuilding organization founded in 1990 by Vince McMahon that lasted until 1992. ... ‹ The template below is being considered for deletion. ... WWE Films is a subsidiary of World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. ...

Non-WWE purchases

For years World Wrestling Entertainment has engaged in a campaign of purchasing libraries of defunct wrestling promotions. The first significant purchases took place in 2001, when they bought the complete historical archives of their former competitor World Championship Wrestling.^[3] The purchase of Extreme Championship Wrestling in 2003^[4] gave the company the majority of all recent national professional wrestling content. For the Australian professional wrestling promotion, see World Championship Wrestling (Australia). ... This article is about the independent promotion from 1992-2001. ...

• American Wrestling Association (1957-1991)^[2]
• Championship Wrestling from Florida (1961-1987)^[2]
• Central States Wrestling (c. early 1950s-1986)
• Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW)^[4] (1994-2001) and its predecessor
  • Eastern Championship Wrestling (1992-1994)
• Ohio Valley Wrestling (1998-2008)^‡
• Smoky Mountain Wrestling (1992-1995)^[2]
• Stampede Wrestling (1948-1984)^[2]
• World Championship Wrestling (WCW)^[3] (1988-2001) and its predecessors
  • Georgia Championship Wrestling (1944-1985)
  • Jim Crockett Promotions (1973-1988) and predecessor
    • Eastern States Championship Wrestling (1945-1973)
• World Class Championship Wrestling (1966-1988^†)^[5]

^‡ Former WWE developmental territory

^† International World Class Championship Wrestling owns all post-1988 footage of WCCW and its successor promotions.^[5]

This article does not cite any references or sources. ... The following article refers to the commonly misnamed Championship Wrestling from Florida (CWF). ... Heart of America Sports Attractions (also known as Central States Wrestling) is an American professional wrestling promotion. ... This article is about the independent promotion from 1992-2001. ... This article is about the independent promotion from 1992-2001. ... Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW) is an American independent professional wrestling promotion based in Louisville, Kentucky. ... Smoky Mountain Wrestling Logo Smoky Mountain Wrestling was an organization staging professional wrestling in the Appalachian area of the United States from October 1991 to December 1995, when it was run by Jim Cornette. ... Stampede Wrestling is a Canadian professional wrestling promotion based in Calgary, Alberta and was once one of the main promotions in western Canada and the Canadian Prairies for almost a half century. ... For the Australian professional wrestling promotion, see World Championship Wrestling (Australia). ... Georgia Championship Wrestling was a professional wrestling promotion whose self-titled TV program aired in the 1970s and 1980s on U.S. cable channel TBS (Turner Broadcasting System). ... Jim Crockett Promotions was the name of a professional wrestling promotion owned by Jim Crockett, Jr. ... Not to be confused with World Championship Wrestling. ... A farm team, or farm club, generally refers to a minor league baseball league in the United States which are at a lower pay level and play in smaller cities and towns than do Major League Baseball, and which are under the control of the two major leagues and are... For the regional professional wrestling territory promoted by Angelo Poffo from 1978-84, see International Championship Wrestling. ...

National Wrestling Alliance

Throughout its history, WWE has had a long and complicated relationship with the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA). For many decades, until the mid-1980s, the NWA acted as a governing body of the many various regional wrestling promotions, and membership allowed for decreased regional competition and the shared use of big-name stars for local events. WWE (as Capitol Wrestling) was a member of the NWA between 1952 and 1963, and again (as the WWWF) between 1971 and 1983. The National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) is the largest governing body for a group of independent professional wrestling promotions and sanctions various NWA championships. ... A sport governing body comes in several forms. ...

Jim Crockett Promotions was an NWA member for its entire existence, and by the end of the promotion's run was, more or less, the NWA, thanks to its control of the largest regional NWA promotions. This was exemplified by the presence of all major NWA titles in World Championship Wrestling when Crockett Promotions morphed into WCW in the 1980s. WCW's relationship with the NWA was even more convoluted than WWE's, until WCW left the NWA in 1993. Jim Crockett Promotions was the name of a professional wrestling promotion owned by Jim Crockett, Jr. ... The National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) is the largest governing body for a group of independent professional wrestling promotions and sanctions various NWA championships. ... For the Australian professional wrestling promotion, see World Championship Wrestling (Australia). ...

As a result of WWE's former membership in the NWA, through its ownership of WCW and its predecessor libraries, and through its ownership of Extreme Championship Wrestling (which was an NWA member until it suddenly severed ties in 1994) and other smaller regional promotions, WWE owns a vast amount of NWA footage, making up the majority of significant NWA matches from the 1970s, 1980s, and early 1990s. This article is about the independent promotion from 1992-2001. ... This article is about the independent promotion from 1992-2001. ...

Condition

Although professional wrestling has been on television throughout the medium's existence, not all broadcasts were recorded, nor necessarily saved, and most promotions did not have a regular television presence until the 1970s. The historical availability of individual, non-televised matches is also sketchy, as likely only the most significant bouts were recorded for posterity, and as with any footage of increasing age, can be lost to time.

In addition, a number of factors have adversely affected the quality of some surviving tapes. For example, upon taking control of the World Championship Wrestling library it was noted that the tapes were unlabeled and not categorized.^[6] The condition of some WCW tapes is such that WWE either can't or won't air them on WWE 24/7.^[7] WWE 24/7 is a video on demand television service provided by World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). ...

Editing

WWE owns the unedited master tapes for all content in the library, however, due to a lawsuit over the "WWF" initialism brought on by the World Wildlife Fund they are no longer allowed to use the letters WWF or the "scratch" logo used between 1998 and 2002.^[8] As a result, any instance of someone saying "WWF" (though not World Wrestling Federation) or shots of the "scratch" logo are edited out on any re-airings or video releases. Note: After losing a court case in 2002 on the use of the initials WWF, the organization previously known as the World Wrestling Federation has rebranded itself as World Wrestling Entertainment, or WWE. WWF - The Conservation Organization was formerly known as World Wildlife Fund and Worldwide Fund for Nature. ...

See also

• History of World Wrestling Entertainment
• WWE 24/7 and WWE Home Video

This is the history of World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), a sports entertainment/professional wrestling promotion. ... WWE 24/7 is a video on demand television service provided by World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ...

References