Former WWE Raw General Manager Eric Bischoff noted on his Twitter page (twitter.com/ebischoff) that Ted Turner (image) — WWE Chairman Vince McMahon's arch nemesis — declined WWE's offer to take part in their upcoming "Rise and Fall of WCW" DVD. Bischoff also notes speaking to former TBS President Bill Shaw, who helped him rise to power in WCW in the early 1990s. Bischoff says Shaw declined to participate in WWE's project as well.

Former NBA star Dennis Rodman was hanging out in Miami, Florida this past week with TNA's Jeremy Borash. Apparently Rodman was asking about coming in to work for TNA like Danny Bonaduce did. Rodman was the winner of Hulk Hogan's Celebrity Championship Wrestling and worked for WCW in the past as a member of the nWo with his friend Hogan. His first wrestling match was at the July 1997 WCW Bash at the Beach where he teamed with Hogan in a loss to Lex Luger and The Giant (now known as Big Show in WWE).

Former WCW and WWE Superstar Diamond Dallas Page shared his thoughts on Andrew "Test" Martin's passing on his official MySpace blog. Here is what he wrote:

Wednesday, March 18, 2009

Andrew "Test" Martin

A lot of you have emailed me asking my thoughts on Andrew “Test” Martin. First of all, I send out my deepest sympathies to his family. He was way too young to die so early. I only got to work with Test once in the WWF. As you all know the guy looked like a million bucks and strong as hell. And it wasn’t just a look. I remember one time he picked me up in a suplex type position and I felt like I was 5 years old. I thought "boy this is going to hurt". But he laid me down perfectly flat with both our bodies hitting the mat at the same time which helped absorb some of the impact.


Afterwards we hooked up at a strip club, go figure right? Test was a really fun guy to be around. I had a lot of respect for him and spent some time when he came out here to do the Hollywood thing. He was a great guy that will truly be missed...


D. Dallas Page

Former WWF and WCW Champion Bret Hart also commented on the passing of Andrew "Test" Martin on his BretHart.com. Here is what he wrote:

Good-bye my friend. Bret's comments on the passing of Andrew 'Test' Martin

It’s with a very heavy heart that I somehow search for the right words to express my deepest sorrow over the loss of yet another of my wrestling brothers, Andrew Martin, aka Test.

I met Andrew, along with his equally huge friend George, at the Planet Hollywood restaurant in downtown Toronto in 1996. WWE exec, Carlo DeMarco brought them both up to meet me and to see if I’d be interested in possibly training them as wrestlers. Andrew was, as my father would say, a fine specimen; 6’ 6”, lean, hard and handsome with a big, boyish smile. I wasn’t actually looking for any more prospects but I saw something in him and told him if he could get over to Calgary I’d personally teach him, free of charge.

I was working a full WWE schedule back then and was preparing to begin teaching, or fine tuning, some of the many young wrestlers that were starting to pop up everywhere. I instantly liked Andrew and I can smile now at the memory of coming home from the road, physically exhausted, only to remember that I’d promised Andrew a real match in my dungeon. I found myself reluctantly wrapping my knees and lacing up my boots so I could wrestle Andrew on my precious day off. That day Andrew went from dreaming of being a wrestler to actually working with the WWE World Champion in his home. I wrestled Andrew for over a half hour and I knew back then that, with his size and ability, he was going to go far in the business. Unfortunately, my days in the WWE came to an end just as Andrew’s time was beginning. I’d gotten most of my students tryouts at the Raw TV taping in Ottawa, the day after the infamous screwjob in Montreal, and so our paths took a fork in the road. Even with me gone, Carlo, Edge, Christian and my bother Owen helped guide Andrew and he earned his spot on the WWE roster. I lost contact with Andrew for a time, but every now and then I’d catch him on TV and I felt very proud of him.

Death brought Andrew and I back together when we saw each other at Bryan “Krush” Adams’ funeral two years ago. It was during that sad, dark time - after the recent losses of Sherri Martel, Bam Bam Bigelow and the blackness of the Chris Benoit tragedy - I was hearing that Andrew was having drug addiction problems again and I was fearful he might be next.

I saw a need to keep in touch with him and do all I could to encourage him to save himself, and maybe some others too. We renewed our friendship and stayed in touch.

This past November I had the luck of doing a wrestling tour in France for two weeks with Andrew and he seemed to be a new man. He’d completed WWE sponsored rehab and had a new lease on life. Andrew clearly had his demons on the run and we talked about him becoming the poster child for wrestlers that desperately needed a voice urging, “If I can beat this, so can you!” Andrew convinced me he had the commitment and the determination to make a difference. I had a great time with him on that tour.

Following the tour I had painful knee replacement surgery and now it was Andrew calling me to see if I was doing okay. A few weeks ago he talked of coming to visit me here in Hawaii. He seemed so strong and focused that I never thought to question him about how he was doing. I again urged him to use his experience to reach out to the many wrestlers who are still losing their battle with drug addiction.

Now I wish so much that I could’ve somehow known that Andrew's once strong grip on his addictions was loosening and beginning to slip. I failed to see the signs of him losing a battle that I thought he’d already won. My heart has been heavy since the news of his passing. In our last phone call, a few weeks ago, I kidded him about how he worked that entire France tour and never took one bump and I smile at the memory of his deep booming laugh echoing over the phone. That’s how I choose to remember my friend. I’m sorry I didn’t see his pain and suffering; had I known I’d have tried harder to save him. He slipped and we lost one of the good ones. Nobody has anything but the nicest things to remember about Andrew Martin. I will miss him. He was a dear friend, one of very few I had left in a profession where too many die too young. My thoughts and prayers go out to him and his entire family. Somehow, as hard as we all tried, we lost another good soul forever.

Photo: Bret Hart with Andrew "Test" Martin (from BretHart.com)

Former ECW, WCW and WWE superstar Lance Storm posted his thoughts on Andrew "Test" Martin's passing in one of his commentaries on his StormWrestling.com. Here is what he wrote:

Andrew "Test" Martin: 1975 - 2009

March 15, 2009

I’ve been putting off doing this, but I think I’ve put it off as long as I can. I hate writing these obituary type commentaries; they both sadden and anger me. I’ve written too many of them and lost way too many friends and co-workers. Andrew “Test” Martin was found dead in his condo in Tampa this past Friday evening, at the age of 33.

While Andrew and I weren’t close friends, we were good enough friends that I more often than not used to call him by his real name. There are only a handful of the boys I use their real names when talking to or about them and Andrew was one of them. I first met Andrew at the Gym in Calgary when he was first breaking into the business. I’m not sure exactly when that was but I’d guess either 96 or 97. He was training up at Bret’s house here in Calgary along with Edge and Christian, and they worked out at the same gym I did.

Edge and Christian I had met before but this was the first time Test and I had ever crossed paths. We only talked brief at the gym and crossed paths once or twice during that time but it was enough of a foundation that we hit it off again when I joined the WWE in 2001. We never went out together outside of the business, so we never got to be close friends. I wasn’t one to go out at all and he certainly led a far more active and exciting social life than I did. We did however spend a lot of time working together during my time in WWE and because of that time together I have a lot of found memories of Andrew “Test” Martin.

I joined WWE with the WCW purchase, which started off the Alliance Invasion angle. Test joined the Alliance (I don’t recall why) so we started working together almost immediately. A little known fact: in the Immunity Battle Royal at Survivor Series in 2001, Test and I were the leading two candidates (creatively speaking, not odds on favourites) to win that match and do the immunity angle. Test of course won out, sending me on to WWF New York as a Janitor. After dooming me to mopping floors in Time Square Test helped me defeat The Rock to win back my job with WWE.

I don’t recall how that whole angle went but I remember running in on a match or two he had with the Rock, and then he finally returned the favour and ran in on my match, laying out the Rock allowing me to win by count out and earn my job back in WWE.

Test and I also teamed on the biggest show I ever worked, WrestleMania 18 in Toronto. We weren’t on the main card but Test and I teamed with Curt Hennig to face Scotty 2 Hottie, Albert, and Rikishi on the live Heat match to open the show.

We were also part of the UnAmericans together which had us working together almost every night. On TV, Christian and I worked predominantly in tag matches but on the road we did a lot of 6-Man matches which were always fun. Christian and Test knew each other far better than they knew me so they would always be ribbing and putting each other down. It was a constant battle of wits and 1 up man ship, which almost without exception would be won by Christian. I think the funniest thing I ever saw was a night we were working a 6-Man match and Christian did some crazy wacky spot and rolled out the floor. The crowd erupted into a “YOU SUCK” chant, which Christian of course sold like a trooper. He eventually grabbed the microphone to rebut the crowd by declaring emphatically that, “TEST Does Not SUCK…He’s almost as good as I am!” This was comedic gold because Test tried not to sell the put down but could not keep himself from laughing at the same time.

Val Venis while not a member of the UnAmericans was certainly a member of the WWE Canadian entourage and he too took part in the constant 1 up man ship battles. Unfortunately for Val he was less successful in these Battle than Christian. I recall one night on the road when Val decided he was a much better athlete than Test and could beat him in a foot race. Val was constantly defending his athletic ability unsuccessfully and this night was no exception. I don’t think there was anything Test enjoyed more than showing up Val so they headed out back of the arena to run their race. I didn’t witness the race but when they got back to the arena Test was bragging that he had blown Val away, and Val was pleading that Test had false started the race and while he did lose, it was really close. The two of them bickered back and forth while being egged on by the boys until Stacey showed up with a camera and photographic evidence of the race. This photo was AWESOME. Test was in the lead looking back over his shoulder at Val who was so far behind it was ridiculous. The only way a false start could have made this much difference was if Val was still sitting in his car tying his shoes when Test started the race.

Another fond Test memory I have is the night the UnAmerican gimmick likely died. You’ve all heard the rumors about how there was heat on Test and Christian for not wanting to cut their hair for the gimmick, which ultimately lead to the breaking up of the group. I’m not sure if the hair cut issue was actually a factor but I laugh every time I think of the meeting we had with Vince when the topic came up.

Vince and Johnny called us all into a room to discuss our group. I’m not sure if William Regal was part of the group then or not but Test is the important part of the story anyway. We get called into the meeting and Vince tells us all he wants us to have shorter more military style haircuts. Now remember Christian and Test at this time had the really long hair. To illustrate his point Vince uses me as the example of what he means by military style haircut. I think Christian was willing to get a hair cut, just not thrilled with being told exactly what kind of hair cut. In either event Christian voiced a fairly politically correct protest, while Test spoke out a lot more openly.

This may be my favourite Test memory because it was just so Andrew. (These aren’t the exact words but it’s close) Test looked Vince right in the face and said he had a life outside of wrestling and his appearance is very important to him so there was no way he was going to get a hair cut that would make him look like a F—king idiot. He then paused looked at me and added, “No Offense, Lance” It was awesome! He restated his case several times and every time he mentioned how horrible that look would be he would add, “No Offense Lance”. What made that line so great was that he legitimately meant no offense by it, yet it was a line that could not be taken any way but offensively. Andrew always said what he felt and he felt very strongly about this and wasn’t going to politically correct Vince or me. It was such a fantastic moment. I laughed when he said it, took no offense from it and thought it was the greatest thing I’ve ever heard anyone say.

The real comedy that came out of that meeting was that we were disbanded (maybe over the haircuts maybe not) and both Test and Christian ended up getting their hair cut and they both looked way better after the fact.

A part from a couple email I hadn’t talked to Andrew in a few years, but his death hit me harder than most. I’ve lost a lot of friends, both close and distant in this business, but Andrew being younger than me and a fellow Canadian makes it that much harder. Someone 6 years younger than me isn’t supposed to die. He’s supposed to be around so we can make fun of his over bite, and he can make his witty comeback by calling us all JOBBERS. He’s supposed to be around to continually humble Val and point out that he is a Nerd in a Jocks body. He’s supposed to be around to point out that I look like a F—king idiot…No Offense. Damn it…he’s just supposed to still be around.

Lance Evers

The current TNA World Heavyweight Champion Sting is featured on the cover of WWE Home Video new DVD release, Starrcade: The Essential Collection.

The three disc set will be released next year in January and features a documentary and 25 matches in Starrcade history, as voted for by the WWE fans.

Hitman: My Real Life In The Cartoon World Of Wrestling

By Bret Hart

Written without collaborators and based on decades of tape recordings he made throughout his career, HITMAN is Bret Hart's brutally honest, perceptive and startling account of his life in and out of the ring that proves once and for all that great things come in pink tights.

"Bret Hart is the best there is, the best there was, the best there will ever be." - Ric Flair

"Bret Hart still makes me believe that wrestling is good." - Hulk Hogan

GCP / Oct 8, 2008
ISBN 978-0-446-53972-2

For more information, please visit: http://www.hachettebookgroupusa.com/books_9780446539722.htm

The Mayhem Crew welcomed Sid to the program for the first time ever, without wasting any time, Blade asked if wrestling fans will indeed see Sid in the WWE in 2008. Sid answered the question on the hearts and minds of wrestling fans around the world by saying he really hopes so. He added that after his leg break at the WCW Sin PPV in 2001, he set a goal for himself to make it back into wrestling and to be remembered in a much better view. He said it would be a great opportunity, which he thinks he will get sometime by the end of the year.

Mosh asked Sid for his thoughts/takes on the recent torn triceps injury to "The Heartbreak Kid" Shawn Michaels, and what Sid thinks the future holds for him. Sid said that HBK is a hard worker, great technician, and "one of the smoothest people in the ring." He then compared Michaels to Harley Race in terms of being a great worker, and said he will be able to come back from the injury easily. He added that while it might prevent him from being able to get up as quickly as Shawn does, he "still has a little gas in the tank." If Shawn could not land up going this Sunday night at Unforgiven, would Sid be up for the task of going to bat for his former colleague and possibly take this place if given the opportunity? You can only find the answer to this question by listening to our exclusive interview with Sid himself!

Blade then asked Sid if he would agree that the best/smartest wrestlers are the guys like Hulk Hogan, The Ultimate Warrior, and Sid himself, who can draw big crowds, and sell tickets. In response, Sid referenced story about how when he and Paul Heyman (as Paul E. Dangeously in WCW) used to ride together, and one time Paul told him he would never reach the "greatest workers" plateau. Sid went on to say that everyone's objective is the same in wrestling, which is to sell tickets, and he believes that "exemplifies" the work of the people who can accomplish doing it.

Blade and DFL went on to question Sid about rumors of him signing with TNA, which Sid was very vocal about. He said that he did receive a few calls from TNA, but told them it was "nothing personal" about his decision not to go there. He added that he just has a personal goal of wanting to be on the main stage again, main eventing in 70,000-80,000-plus seat arenas -- something "you could never do in TNA." As an example to why he would never go to TNA, he used the recent example of Kurt Angle losing his gold medals to "The Phenomenal" AJ Styles, which Sid compared to as losing his "one link of credibility in this business." He said personally if he ever won a major championship in another sport, he would never put them up in a situation like the Kurt/AJ match. He also wished to add for the record that he has never had a problem with Jeff Jarrett, or at least one that he knows of.

In regards to Sting's career in TNA, Sid said that its another disappointment for him. "I know what Sting had to offer to this business, and he doesn't have it to offer anymore because he's in TNA. He's watered down." He added that if he went to Vince McMahon, he would have made a big difference, and while he still can, it will not be as big as it could have been. Sid then stated that Kevin Nash is another guy that can still draw and make a big difference as well.

As many of Sid's fans know, "The Nature Boy" Ric Flair has had some recent comments to say about his former Horsemen partner (Sid), and with Flair's recent retirement, The Mayhem Crew asked Sid if he thinks Ric's retirement will be just another infamous "wrestling retirement," or if he is really done for good. Sid said that he hopes Flair is not done for good, as he's a great guy. He added that with "The Nature Boy's" WWE release being due to an indifference over personal appearances, as one of the boys, he thinks Flair should have been allowed to be able to have more leeway and leverage with it while he was at the end of his career. When Sid thinks of what defines a "champion," he thinks of "The Nature Boy."

Mosh transitioned the interview to one of the most dominant superstars in the history of the business, and one that Sid has been on the opposite side of the ring from multiple times: The Undertaker. Sid classified his feud with The 'Taker and his match at WrestleMania 13 as one of the true highlights of his career. As a follow-up, Mosh asked Sid if and when he came back to World Wrestling Entertainment, if "The Dead Man" would be at the top of the list of guys he would want to work with and whether or not their program could deliver as well as or better than their clash at "The Showcase Of The Immortals." Sid said that he "would have to be...for a lot of reasons," as The Undertaker is one of the talents that Sid has worked with in the past very well. On the opposing scale, when Blade said that he would like to see Sid take down The Great Khali, Sid said that from what he has seen of Khali, he cannot see himself working with The Punjabi Giant and it being a "money-making match."

More in this 50+ minute interview with Sid, including his uncensored thoughts/takes on what other superstars he would like to work with if/when he returns to WWE, what he believes really killed WCW, why The Ultimate Warrior's success was a result of the wrestling boom of the late '80s and early '90's, where he thinks Goldberg's "last match" will be, "The Immortal" Hulk Hogan's future (and how he might have a role in it) and how "Hogan Knows Best" affected it, and much more! One of the most candid shoots of 2008 comes courtesy of Sid and Monday Night Mayhem!

Taken from: wrestlingepicenter.com

Former WWE and WCW superstar Ernest "The Cat" Miller has been cast for a major role opposite legendary actor Mickey Rourke in the upcoming motion picture "The Wrestler". The movie is being directed by one of the movie industry's most respected directors, Darren Aronofsky (Requiem for a Dream, The Fountain).

Ernest Miller boasts an auspicious resume in the entertainment industry and is soon to be seen playing the role as Ernie Shavers opposite Michael Jai White in 2008 television series "The Legend of Bruce Lee". He is also in production on "Blood and Bone" which is expected to hit the theaters in early 2009.

Miller was repped by Jordan Yale Levine, who together with his partner, Franco Sama owns Fylmar Productions, LLC, recently expanded by opening a talent management division to which they signed Miller as one of their select few clients.

The history of professional wrestling in the United States spans well over 100 years and has had many significant moments during that period of time. From humble beginnings in the late 1880s, the sport boomed throughout the 1970s and peaked during the 1980s when the World Wrestling Federation became an international wrestling giant.
Throughout the 1990s, professional wrestling as a whole reached financial and popularity highs with the Monday Night Wars and the increased exposure of hardcore wrestling.

History

1900s-1910s
In 1901, San Francisco promoters introduced tag team wrestling to improve the sport's entertainment value. Another Californian innovation was an 18-foot padded mat laid atop risers, which is still being used today in North American professional wrestling, but didn't become popular until the 1930s.
On May 5, 1905, European Greco-Roman champion, Georg Hackenschmidt, defeated American Heavyweight Champion, Tom Jenkins, in two straight falls, in Madison Square Garden in New York in a match to crown the "World Catch-as-Catch Can Heavyweight Champion." This match saw the origin of the first "World Heavyweight Championship" in the United States.
On September 4, 1911, three years after their controversial first match, Frank Gotch defeated George Hackenschmidt in Chicago at Comiskey Park to retain the World title after Hackenschmidt injured his knee during the match. The live gate was $87,053, the biggest gate during that time.

1930s-1940s
1935 became one of the more significant years in American professional wrestling history. Not only did Jim Crockett, Sr. form Jim Crockett Promotions but Vince McMahon, Sr. promoted his first wrestling card. Mud wrestling was invented in Seattle by mistake. Promoter Paul Boesch added too much water with dirt to have a "Hindu Match" between Prince Bhu Pinder and former World Champion Gus Sonneberg. Mud wrestling then moved to San Francisco. Women's mud-wrestling soon followed.
Don Owens began promoting wrestling cards that aired on television in Portland, the first televised professional wrestling in history. The National Wrestling Alliance was first formed in Waterloo, Iowa. The first NWA President was P.L. "Pinkie" George. Orville Brown was recognized as the first World Heavyweight Champion in 1948. The NWA worked under a revolutionary "territory" system, similar to a franchise of a business. The promotion owned a large sum of promotions in different areas of the world, with the World Championship recognized as the highest championship in the promotion. The champion was permitted to go on tours of member's promotions.

1950s-1970s
On November 26, 1956, Vince McMahon, Sr. promoted his first card. A poor crowd of 10,400 came to see the event. The American Wrestling Association formed in 1960 with Verne Gagne being the promoter and the promotion's biggest stars. Throughout the decade the AWA became one of the most respected and popular promotions in North America. In 1962, the first use of a ladder in the sport was used when Ray Stevens performed a "Bombs Away" drop from a ladder onto Pepper Gomez' throat, injuring him.
1963 started to show some significant changes and moves in the sport. On January 24, Lou Thesz defeated NWA World Heavyweight Champion, Buddy Rogers, in one fall in Toronto, Ontario, Canada for the title. Shortly after, promoters from the Northeast broke away from the NWA to form the World Wide Wrestling Federation (WWWF). WWWF Promoters continued to recognize Rogers as World Champion. This became the forerunner for today's WWE. On May 19, The Destroyer defeated Rikidozan in Osaka, Japan in one of the most famous matches in Japanese wrestling history and became an instant legend in Japan. It's the last singles match Rikidozan would lose. On October 15, Bobo Brazil vs. Tino Tim Anderson marks the first professional wrestling match involving black wrestlers in Tampa.
Between 1963 and 1971, Bruno Sammartino set the record for the longest World Championship reign in professional wrestling history, holding the WWWF Heavyweight Championship for 2,803 days. This record has never been broken. Between 1968 and 1975, Verne Gagne held the AWA World Heavyweight Championship for 2,625 days but this was the closest anyone has ever got to breaking the record.
In 1967, Bearcat Wright eliminated Ray Stevens to win the first famous battle royal at the Cow Palace in San Francisco. New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW) and All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW) were formed in 1972. The Destroyer became the first American wrestler to wrestle in Japan with a five year stint between 1972 and 1977.
On October 4, 1975, Ric Flair suffered a broken back when a Cesna 310 he was riding in crashes in Wilmington, North Carolina. Also on the plane were Johnny Valentine and Bob Bruggers. Doctors said Flair will never wrestle again. The next year Danny Hodge (a legend to the NWA junior heavyweight division) suffers a broken neck in a car accident near Monroe, Louisiana and never wrestled again.
On October 6, 1978, Harley Race manages to body slam André the Giant. André was presumed to weight somewhere between 450 and 600 pounds at the time of the slam. The next year, Bruiser Brody began to become one of the most popular wrestlers in the world after a successful tour of Japan with AJPW. The World Wide Wrestling Federation dropped a "W" and became the World Wrestling Federation. Four years after being told he would never wrestle again; Ric Flair uses the figure four leglock to defeat former World Champion Buddy Rogers to claim the title of being the "Nature Boy."

1980s
In 1981, AWA legend and promoter Verne Gagne successfully retired from wrestling by defending his World Championship against Nick Bockwinkel. He forfeited the title shortly thereafter and focused on the office duties of the promotion full-time.
In 1982, TBS changed their wrestling TV show from Georgia Championship Wrestling to World Championship Wrestling, a name synonymous with 1990s professional wrestling. In June of the same year Vince McMahon, Jr. and Titan Sports purchased Capitol Wrestling Corporation (WWF) from his father and its shareholders. In one of the most memorable and dramatic moments in Madison Square Garden, Jimmy Snuka performed his "Superfly" leap from the top of the steel cage onto Bob Backlund in a WWF World Title match. Snuka missed and Backlund left the cage and retained the title.
On November 24, 1983 the first ever StarrCade event was held in Greensboro, North Carolina and shown on closed-circuit television throughout the Mid-Atlantic. The event would become the most significant event in the National Wrestling Alliance and the first annual professional wrestling extravaganza.
By the end of January 1984, "Hulkamania" was created as a term to describe Hulk Hogan's legions of fans and was dominating professional wrestling. Vince McMahon's idea of an all-American babyface had worked a treat. Hogan's run as World Champion lasted four years (the longest in more than twenty years) and sold out arenas all across the United States, making the WWF millions of dollars and making the number one entity in all of professional wrestling.
It was around this time that McMahon began to reveal the unspoken secrets of professional wrestling; the sport was scripted. McMahon also dubbed his product "sports entertainment" so that the uses of extravagant characters such as Hogan were acceptable.
Meanwhile, the National Wrestling Alliance's renowned and successful territory system was slowly dying. While the WWF had their major stars at almost all of the shows they performed the NWA could only manage to have one or two of its stars at one show at a time as to promote the product in every territory. Stampede Wrestling, who had a success story for five decades, was bought out by Vince McMahon and took all the talent from the promotion (including talents like Bret Hart, The British Bulldogs and Junkyard Dog) and continued to make the WWF the only viewing choice in professional wrestling.

1990s-2000s
At this point many of the of the renowned American promotions faded into the background with three promotions taking center stage for well over a decade.

WWE, WCW and ECW
After WCW and ECW both financially and storyline-wise became inactive, the WWF became the sole dominant figure in the global professional wrestling market. However, the lack of rivals forced the popularity in general for American professional wrestling to take a decline because the product became stale and repetitive to casual fans who lost interest. The change in attitude caused the WWF to reshape the face of American wrestling, splitting itself into brands; based on its major shows, and renaming themselves "World Wrestling Entertainment" following a lawsuit with the World Wildlife Fund over the Acronym WWF.

TNA, ROH and the independent circuit
After the closure of World Championship Wrestling and Extreme Championship Wrestling in March and April 2001 respectively, there was still a demand for Southern-style and cruiserweight wrestling that Vince McMahon's World Wrestling Entertainment was not fulfilling.
New found promotions known as Total Nonstop Action (TNA) and Ring of Honor (ROH) attempted to cater to this niche market by offering an alternative to the (then) WWF and by recruiting many former WCW and ECW performers who had not signed with WWE while also attempting to create new stars of the future. ROH held their first show on February 23, 2002 while TNA held their first show, a pay-per-view, on June 19. Other promotions such as World Wrestling All-Stars had attempted to fill this void but TNA and ROH have been by far the most successful and longest running.
While ROH created their own titles, TNA was a member of the National Wrestling Alliance, giving them access to the titles owned by the NWA. TNA signed a deal to exclusively defend the World Heavyweight and Tag Team Championships, bringing the NWA back into mainstream wrestling after a decade of absence. The NWA stripped Dan Severn of the heavyweight championship in order for it to be defended on TNA's first show, which was won by Ken Shamrock in a battle royal.
TNA ran weekly pay-per-views at a cheaper price to WWE. ROH on the other hand ran non-televised shows monthly. TNA moved away from the weekly pay-per-views in October 2004, presenting their first ever monthly pay-per-view, Victory Road, while ROH began to run more shows per month, establishing themselves in northeastern USA and became the most popular independent promotion in North America.
This also caused more independent promotions to gain more exposure such as Pro Wrestling Guerrilla, Border City Wrestling and Jersey All Pro Wrestling. Some believe that the independent circuit has replaced the old NWA territory system where more established names travel between different promotions while the smaller names establish themselves in one territory at a time.

Taken from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Professional_wrestling_in_the_United_States

Professional wrestling, a simulated sport and performing art, is a popular form of entertainment in North America, Latin America, Japan, and Europe. Beginning in small, unorganized groups in the 1880s, wrestling's popularity boomed when independent enthusiasts unified and their media outlets grew in number. Professional wrestling became an international phenomenon in the 1980s with the expansion of the World Wrestling Federation. Throughout the 1990s, professional wrestling achieved highs in both viewership and financial success during a time of fierce competition among competing promotions, such as World Wrestling Federation, World Championship Wrestling and Extreme Championship Wrestling.

Up until the 1920s, professional wrestling in North America was viewed as a legitimate sport. This respectability did not endure as professional wrestling became identified with modern theatrics or admitted fakery ("kayfabe"), moving away from being a showcase for true competition. The scripted nature of the art have made critics consider it an illegitimate sport, particularly in comparison to boxing and amateur wrestling. Ironically, no major promoter or wrestler denies that modern professional wrestling has predetermined match outcomes, making such criticism a straw man.

Through the advent of television in the 1950s, and cable in the 1980s professional wrestling gained powerful media outlets, reaching peaks of viewership. The nature of professional wrestling was changed dramatically to better fit television, enhancing character traits and storylines. Television has also helped many wrestlers break into mainstream media, becoming influential celebrities and icons of popular culture. In the United States, in the First Golden Age of professional wrestling of the 1940s-1950s, Gorgeous George gained mainstream popularity, followed in the Second Golden Age of the 1980s-1990s by Hulk Hogan and Stone Cold Steve Austin. In Mexico and Japan, the 1940s-1950s was also a Golden Age for professional wrestling, with Santo becoming a Mexican folk hero through film roles and comic book characterization, and Rikidōzan achieving similar fame in Japan.

Origin

Professional wrestling, defined as wrestling between two professionals for payment, is a form of both entertainment and fighting. There is perhaps no sport more widely dispersed or older than wrestling; it has documented history in ancient Babylonian and Egyptian art from 3,000 BC, literary presence in the Sumerian Epic of Gilgamesh, and has been known and practiced in ancient Chinese and Japanese civilizations. The Greeks are credited for popularizing it as a competitive, widely-practiced public spectacle of competitive athleticism in the Ancient Olympic Games. It has therefore been believed that the form of wrestling practiced through the ages, from the ancients onto the nineteenth century, has been what is now called the Greco-Roman style.

The modern style of professional wrestling, popularized by the United States and Great Britain during the late nineteenth century, is called the catch-as-catch can style. Originally thought of as unorthodox and more lax in style, catch wrestling differs from Greco-Roman in its allowed grapples; Greco-Roman strictly prohibits grabbing below the waist, while catch wrestling allows holds above and below the waist, including leg grips. Both catch wrestling and Greco-Roman were popular, and legitimate amateur and professional sports until the late 1800s, when catch wrestling changed slowly into the sport known worldwide as pro-wrestling, recognized more for its theatrical antics and entertainment than wrestling ability. Greco-Roman, however, did not change in the sense of competitiveness or legitimacy and remains a practiced Olympic sport to this day.

Beginnings (1860s to 1940s)

Carnival days

Professional wrestling, in the sense of traveling performers paid for mass entertainment in staged matches, began in the post-Civil War period in the late 1860s and 1870s. During this time, wrestlers were often athletes with amateur wrestling experience who competed at traveling carnivals with carnies working as their promoters and bookers. Grand circuses included wrestling exhibitions, quickly enhancing them through colorful costumes and fictional biographies for entertainment, disregarding their competitive nature. Wrestling exhibits during the late 1800s were also shown across the United States in countless "athletic shows" (or "at shows"), where experienced wrestlers offered open challenges to the audience. It was at these shows, often done for high-stakes gambling purposes, that the nature of the sport changed through the competing interests of three groups of people: the impresarios, the carnies, and the barnstormers.

Impresarios were the managers who chose how a wrestler could gain fame and interest among the fans, creating personas and improvising matches to make them more interesting. Carnies, who traveled and wrestled at these events, used tricks to protect their money and reputations during competitions, devising little-known and often dangerous wrestling moves, called "hooks." Hooks are illegal in conventional amateur wrestling but have high rates of success against even the most athletic and experienced of competitors, essentially removing rules from professional wrestling. In addition, some spectators capable of beating the carnies roamed the country to compete in open challenges, setting side bets to make money. The barnstormers competed as traveling wrestlers did and often cooperated with the carnies to stage the matches, providing enormous profits for both sides in betting. Through the interests of money-making among the three groups, wrestling became a business-oriented entertainment venue, distinguishing itself further and further from its authentic amateur wrestling background.

Wrestling performers were arranged in a pyramid hierarchy of fame and money, based strictly on athletic talent. The lowest were the journeymen, young performers with promise and some skill, but who relied mainly on showmanship to gain fans. The actual wrestlers, called "shooters" because of their ability to "shoot" or fight real matches competitively were more successful and less common. At the top were the elites, or the hookers, named for their ability to use arcane wrestling hooks to inflict damage and serious injury on the competition without much effort. Wrestlers also considered themselves among a select group and often kept the fact that their sport was commonly faked—to an extent—in high secrecy. They used a jargon of their own (often shared with carnies) to communicate so that the audience would not understand them, including the word "kayfabe."

"Farmer" Burns-Frank Gotch era

During the late 1800s-early 1900s, wrestling was dominated by Martin "Farmer" Burns and his pupil, Frank Gotch. Burns was renowned as a competitive wrestler, who, despite never weighing more than 160 pounds during his wrestling career, fought over 6,000 wrestlers (at a time when most were competitive contests) and lost fewer than 10 of them. He also gained a reputation for training some of the best wrestlers of the era, including Gotch, known as one of America's first sports superstars.

Gotch, regarded as "peerless" at his peak, was the first to actually claim the world's undisputed heavyweight championship by beating all contenders in North America and Europe. He was beloved by the news media and the public alike, allowing him to popularize professional wrestling in the early 1900s. He became the world's champion by beating European wrestling champion Georg Hackenschmidt, both in 1908 and 1911, seen by modern wrestling historians as two of the most significant matches in wrestling history.

The popularity of wrestling during the early 1900s was highest in the Midwest, where ethnic European communities, many of them German, Polish, Czech, Hungarian, Greek, and Scandinavian in ancestry continued to carry on fighting styles practiced in their home nations. At this time, however, during the late 1800s, the majority of wrestling was still competitive, and it was immensely popular. In fact, wrestling's popularity was second only to baseball from 1900 to the early 1920s, launching trading cards and competitive wrestling programs in colleges, high schools, and athletic clubs, legacies that have endured to the present day.

Wrestling's popularity experienced a dramatic tailspin in 1915 to 1920, becoming distanced from the American public because of widespread doubt of its legitimacy and status as a competitive sport. Wrestlers during the time recount it as largely faked by the 1880s. It also waned because after Gotch's retirement in 1913, no new wrestling superstar emerged to captivate the public's eye.

Expansion (1920s to 1930s)

Following the retirement of Frank Gotch, professional wrestling (except in the Midwest) was losing popularity fast. Media attention focused on the fakery of wrestling instead of its athleticism, and without a superstar like Gotch, no major personality reached a wide fanbase. In response, three professional wrestlers, Ed Lewis, Billy Sandow, and Toots Mondt, joined to form their own promotion in the 1920s, spicing up their in-ring product to attract fans. The three were referred to as the "Gold Dust Trio" due to their financial success. Their promotion was the first to use time-limit matches, flashy new holds, and new finishing moves regularly. They also popularized tag team wrestling, introducing new tactics, such as distracting the referee, to make the matches more exciting.

The Trio's lasting legacy, and perhaps their greatest innovation to professional wrestling, was the use of wrestlers as stables for a packaged show. Rather than paying traveling wrestlers to perform on certain dates and combining wrestlers in match-ups when they were available, they decided to keep wrestlers for months and years at a time, allowing for long-term angles and feuds. This was the key to their success; they were able to keep wrestlers from their competition, and were able to have regular wrestling cards. Their business succeeded quickly, gaining popularity for its freshness and unique approach to wrestling; a traveling stable of wrestlers. The Trio gained great popularity nationwide during their best years, roughly 1920 to 1925, when they performed in the Eastern territory, stealing fans from the highly-exposed big cities.

The Trio was dealt an enormous double-cross by Stanislaus Zbyszko when he beat the prematurely-pushed rookie Wayne Munn, and stole their world heavyweight championship. Munn, who had been recruited to wrestling and pushed to champion in only a few months, was the Trio's new star and main attraction. Zbyszko was supposed to lose to Munn, but refused to follow along, beating Munn so decisively and thoroughly that the referee awarded him the title to prevent a riot. To add insult to injury, Zbyszko quickly dropped the title to Joe Stecher, a rival of Ed Lewis.

Stecher, although an able hooker, was afraid of losing his championship and refused to wrestle many contenders, making it impossible for the Trio to retrieve it. They responded by calling the Munn-Zbysko match illegitimate and reinstated Munn as champion, only to quickly drop it to Lewis. This left two champions, Ed Lewis and Joe Stecher, who were regarded as the dominant wrestlers of the period. Unfortunately, because Stecher refused to fight Lewis, an anticipated fight to determine decisively the better of the two was never done. Stecher and Lewis did agree to a unification match years later, in 1928, when Stecher gave in and lost the title to Lewis. By this time, the double-cross had already left irreparable damage, detracting from the Trio's dominance over the wrestling industry. In addition, the build-up of Munn followed by such a humiliating loss had devalued his title and credibility as a major wrestling superstar permanently.

Growth of wrestling promotions

In 1887, the first professional wrestling title, the American Catch-as-Catch Can Championship, was created. Soon, every wrestling promotion had created their own championship, which was considered each company's pride and glory. As promotions were attempting to become nationally-renowned, acquiring rival championships marked victory.

In the 1930s and 1940s, small wrestling promotions had fierce competition with each other, often stealing talents and "invading" enemy companies to win over fans. With interbrand matches occurring nationwide, the pride of each promotion, their world championships, were vying for dominance. In 1948, wrestling reached new heights after a loose confederation was formed between independent wrestling companies and was known as the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA). In the late 1940s to 1950s, the NWA chose Lou Thesz to unify the various world championships into a single "World Heavyweight" title. Thesz's task was not easy, as some promoters, reluctant to lose face, went so far as to shoot title matches to keep their own champions popular with the fans.

Television era (1950s to 1970s)

Following the advent of television, professional wrestling matches began to be aired nationally during the 1950s, reaching a larger fanbase than ever before. This was a time of enormous growth for professional wrestling, as soaring demand and national expansion made it a much more popular and lucrative form of entertainment than in decades previous—a "Golden Age"—for the wrestling industry. It was also a time of great change in both the character and professionalism of wrestlers as a result of the appeal of television. Wrestling fit naturally with television because it was easy to understand, had drama, comedy and colorful characters, and was inexpensive for production. From 1948 to 1955, each of the three major television networks were broadcasting wrestling shows; the largest supporter being the DuMont Television Network.

Outrageous characters

Gorgeous George became one of the biggest stars during this period, gaining media attention for his outrageous character, which was flamboyant and charismatic. Already popular among wrestling fans, he became renowned after comedian Bob Hope noticed his performance in the Hollywood Legion Stadium in 1945 and 1946, and began to use him for jokes on his radio station. The publicity brought many people into wrestling events, bringing his stardom to a high point when promoters and television stations alike were paying generously for his performances.

Gorgeous George's impact on wrestling has been interpreted in many ways, demonstrating how fast television changed the product from athletics to performance. His legacy was the enormous change in wrestling personas he inspired; before him, wrestlers imitated "ethnic terrors" (Nazis, Arabs, etc.), but he began a more individualistic and narcissist form of characters. He was also among the first to use entrance music and was the first ever wrestler to have a valet escort him to the ring, giving him the role of a celebrity.

Television also changed the on-screen product in many other ways. Originally, the impact of television was not planned for very well during this period. Promotional spots, which are now used as pre-match rants by wrestlers to warm up the crowds, were often poorly used at the time. Early promos were nothing more than simple greetings and welcomes to the local crowds, missing in-ring personality boosts and character skits. No one would discuss their promos before shooting them, and promoters usually would not spend time helping wrestlers in front of the camera.

Competitiveness compromised

Professional wrestlers themselves began to change. As popularity grew during the mid-1950s, many more wrestlers joined the ranks of the business, and the number of professional wrestlers reached easily over 2,000, far more than ever before. However, many new wrestlers began fresh without notions of athletic sportsmanship that was popular in competitive arenas; they began with dreams of becoming televised superstars. This proved especially true as the product began to lose talent, relying on blood and acrobatic performance.

Wrestling's competitiveness had been degraded forever by television, a fact regarded by many in the business as a natural effect of television over competition. The New York wrestling office soon became dominant, as it refused to use true, competitive wrestlers, and instead focused on attracting televised entertainment. Perhaps the first of the more ridiculous, comic-book characters known to professional wrestling today was Antonino Rocca. Notoriously weak in wrestling ability, his marketable personality and barefoot acrobatics attracted fans and made him a national superstar especially popular among Italian and Hispanic fans. The New York Wrestling office used him to revive their promotion on television and found him far easier to exploit than a "true wrestler", enabling them to negotiate wrestler contracts tremendously in their favor.

Moderate slowdown

By the late 1950s, professional wrestling had lost its high ratings, and producers, realizing that they had overexposed it, soon dropped most wrestling from their lineups. The remaining televised wrestling promoters had small, local syndicated shows, which network producers placed reluctantly as late-night filler. Promoters used localized television as a weapon for eliminating the competition by purchasing airtime from rival territories, effectively putting them out of business.

The NWA was the most dominant wrestling body in the 1950s and a large number of wrestling promotions had been under its leadership. Many promoters, however, viewed it as a crooked tyranny, holding back innovative changes in the sport. It was during this time that several promoters found reason to leave the organization, managing to find niches in the United States. The most prominent of these were the American Wrestling Association (AWA), which became the most popular wrestling promotion during the 1960s, and the New York-based World Wide Wrestling Federation (WWWF), renamed WWF in 1979.

As a top wrestler in the 1950s, Verne Gagne formed his own promotion in the NWA in 1957, which soon became the lead promotion with Gagne winning the World Heavyweight Championship of Omaha. However, after unsuccessfully lobbying for a title match with the NWA Champion, Gagne broke away from the NWA in 1960, renaming his promotion the American Wrestling Association, and making it the dominant organization of the 1960s. Named the AWA World Heavyweight Champion soon after, Gagne was the top wrestler, and engaged in many feuds with heel wrestlers, most notably Nick Bockwinkel, and was the AWA's top draw until his retirement in 1981.

Vincent J. McMahon also withdrew the Capitol Wrestling Corporation from the NWA in 1963, as the NWA Champion Lou Thesz was not a strong draw in the area, and renamed the company "World Wide Wrestling Federation" (WWWF). However, with wrestling's decline in the 1970s, the WWWF suffered a huge blow and had to rejoin the NWA in 1971. The WWWF, however, rebounded after André the Giant became the top superstar of the organization, as well as all of professional wrestling, after he joined the company in 1973. André became so popular that all NWA territories and the AWA used him, as well.

The AWA no longer was the top promotion after the WWWF rejoined the NWA. However, the AWA reached new heights after powerhouse wrestler Hulk Hogan gained nationwide attention from staring in Rocky III, and became a solid fan favorite. Despite Hogan being the AWA's top draw, Gagne would not let him be champion, believing technical wrestlers should be the focus of a wrestling company. Hogan left in 1983, irreparably damaging the AWA for the remainder of its years.

In spite of all this, the NWA altogether was still on top and gained huge dominance through Georgia Championship Wrestling (GCW), becoming the first nationally broadcast wrestling program as soon as TBS became a national cable network in 1979. By 1981, GCW became the most watched show on cable television.

Explosion (1980s – present)

1980s wrestling boom

Hulk Hogan and Mr. T at the first WrestleMania

The 1980s represented professional wrestling's greatest period of televised entertainment, reaching widespread popularity among American youth, as well as producing some of its most spectacular characters. In comparison to the declining support of media outlets during the 1960s and 1970s, professional wrestling, notably the emerging World Wrestling Federation (WWF; abridged from WWWF in 1979), received great exposure through its reappearance on network television. The WWF expanded nationally through the acquisition of talent from competing promotions and, because it was the only company to air televised wrestling nationally, became synonymous with the industry, monopolizing the industry and the fanbase. The WWF's owner Vince McMahon revolutionized the sport by coining the term "sports entertainment" to describe his on-screen product, admitting to its fakery as well as enhancing its appeal to children.

The WWF became the most colorful and well-known wrestling brand to children because of its child-oriented characters. Its wrestling product was unreal and noticeably fake, characterized by soap-opera dramaticism and cartoon-like personas. Most notable was the muscular Hulk Hogan, who marked the 1980s with his "all-American" persona. His sheer size, colorful character, and extravagance made his main events into excellent ratings draws. By January 1984, Hogan's legions of fans and his dominant role in the industry was termed "Hulkamania." Hogan sold out arenas all across the United States and earned the WWF millions of dollars, making it the number one entity in all of professional wrestling.

The "Rock 'n' Wrestling Connection" was a period of cooperation and cross-promotion between the WWF and elements of the music industry. The WWF attracting a degree of mainstream attention with Cyndi Lauper joining in 1984 and WWF personalities appeared in her music videos. Hogan gained mainstream popularity for appearing in the film Rocky III, reaching to an even greater level of celebrity. In 1985, Hulk Hogan's Rock 'n' Wrestling, an animated television series starring the character of Hogan, expanded Hogan's young fanbase.

Meanwhile, the NWA's renowned and highly successful territory system was slowly dying, with Jim Crockett Promotions (JCP) became the center of the entire NWA. While the WWF had their major stars at almost all of their shows, the NWA could only manage to have a few of its stars at one show at a time, so as to promote the product in every territory. The advent of nationwide television also weakened the system. Wrestlers could no longer travel to a new market and establish a new persona, since fans there already knew who they were. Meanwhile, McMahon took advantage of this phenomenon by purchasing promotions all over the continent, in order to produce a widely popular nationwide television program and make the WWF the only viewing choice.

To counter the NWA's primary supercard, Starrcade, the WWF created its flagship show, WrestleMania, available on 135 closed-circuit networks. The show was a huge success with Hogan, who won in the main event, going on to appear on the cover of Sports Illustrated. After the swimsuit issue, it was the magazine's best seller. Professional wrestling began to become mainstream, thanks, in large part, to the appeal of Hulkamania among children. Large television networks took wrestling into their weekly programming, including Saturday Night's Main Event, premiering on NBC in 1985, the first wrestling show to air primetime since 1955. ESPN also began airing professional wrestling for the first time.

WrestleMania III, with a reported record attendance of 93,173 people, is widely considered to be the pinnacle of the period. The first episode of WWF The Main Event is the highest rated professional wrestling television show to date, with a 15.2 rating and 33 million viewers. Both had a main event featuring Hulk Hogan battling André the Giant for the WWF Championship. Following WrestleMania III, the WWF added to its franchise and created both the Survivor Series and the Royal Rumble pay-per-views.

Wrestling promotions across the United States feared being forced into bankruptcy by the WWF. They began to unify and conglomerate under more centralized leadership rather than continue independently. Competing promotions aired better talent and attempted to regain their audiences. To fight the WWF's control of the industry, JCP took the NWA's pay-per-view names and used its best talent to draw ratings. However, Crockett was unable to beat McMahon and this left him with no viable option other than selling out to media mogul Ted Turner, who renamed the promotion World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and continued to challenge McMahon's monopoly of the industry. Turner promised a more athletic approach to the product, making Ric Flair the promotion's marquee wrestler and giving young stars big storylines and championship opportunities.

Monday Night Wars (1990s)

The Wars changed programming to be more teen-oriented

During the early 1990s, the growing WWF was being hindered by competing brands and nagging legal troubles. The largest troubles came from WCW, which competed for fans and dominated the industry during the years of 1996 to 1998. The WWF was forced to change itself to overcome its competition, remodeling itself with added bloodshed, violence, and more profane, sexually-lewd characters. This new "Attitude Era" quickly dominated the style and nature of wrestling to become far more teen-oriented than ever before, and made the WWF regain its status as wrestling's top company.

The image of WCW changed when Eric Bischoff was appointed Executive Vice President of WCW in late 1993. He signed former WWF stars and departed from their focus on in-ring action in favor of the WWF's approach. The WWF began to suffer immediately and started building new stars. The Monday Night Wars began in 1995, when WCW started WCW Monday Nitro, a show that ran directly against WWF Monday Night RAW. While starting fairly even, the war escalated in 1996 with the formation of the heel stable, the New World Order. They helped WCW gain the upper hand when they became the most powerful group in professional wrestling. WCW also came up with more legitimate, edgy storylines and characters over the WWF's cartoon style.

Away from the WWF and WCW, a new breed of professional wrestling was beginning. NWA Eastern Championship Wrestling renamed itself "Extreme Championship Wrestling" (ECW) and left the NWA. ECW adapted a hardcore style of wrestling and exposed the audience to levels of violence rarely seen in wrestling. The unorthodox style of moves, controversial storylines, and intense bloodthirst of ECW made it intensely popular among many wrestling fans in the 18- to 25-year-old demographic. Its intense fanbase, albeit a small constituency, reached near-cultism in the late 1990s and inspired the "hardcore style" in other wrestling promotions, namely WWF and WCW.

In 1998, the WWF gained momentum with the start of their "Attitude Era". McMahon recast himself as the evil boss, known authoritatively as "Mr. McMahon". While an interesting character, it was McMahon's realistic feud with Stone Cold Steve Austin which made the company finally dominate its competition. This was probably among the best of McMahon's storylines, and it came at a time when Bischoff was losing his vigor in WCW's affairs. The WWF gained infamy for its more sexually-explicit, profane, and violent characters. Austin was the top superstar in the company, portraying an anti-hero tough guy who regularly defied his boss; The Rock became a star for his cocky persona, his many catchphrases and attractive charisma; Mankind gained popularity for enduring extreme pain, performing dangerous stunts renowned among the industry today, and; The stable D-Generation X was renowned for its adult themes. Through the collective success of these characters, the company had finally refocused itself in the 18-25 demographic.

By the start of 1999, both shows were consistently getting ratings of 5.0 or higher, and over ten million people tuned in to RAW and Nitro every week. Wrestling continued to grow, as wrestlers made the mainstream media. From November 1998, the momentum was in the WWF's favor for the remainder of the Wars, with RAW dominating Nitro in the ratings. WCW continued its decline as their main eventers were in their 40s or pushing 40 and younger talent were never given the chance to be elevated to main event status. Their attempts at improving failed to turn the ratings tide, with RAW getting double the amount by 2000.

WWF's dominance (2000s)

A unified "undisputed" champion, signifying the WWF's dominance in the industry

In 2001, the WWF (renamed "World Wrestling Entertainment" (WWE) in 2002) became the dominant company in the global professional wrestling industry with the end of its two leading competitors, WCW and ECW. ECW was in dire financial straits earlier that year and Heyman filed for bankruptcy on April 4, 2001. WCW continued to lose more money and finally ended on March 23, 2001 with McMahon buying out, after more than 15 years in business and as the biggest threat to the WWF to date. This left professional wrestling fans with no alternative to WWF programming and led to some leaving the sport.

With a demand remaining for Southern-style and cruiserweight wrestling that WWE was not fulfilling, new promotions attempted to offer an alternative to cater to this niche market. The most successful among these were Total Nonstop Action Wrestling and Ring of Honor, both started up in 2002. Other independent promotions also began to gain more exposure.

The quality of the WWE product began to subside with the company's frequent misuse of acquired talents from ECW and WCW. A general lack of creativity and innovation is seen as the primary weakness, with many wrestlers introduced only to be used in unsuccessful storylines and quickly dropped in rank. Backstage politics, notably with the McMahon family, is seen as a major reason for the thinning out of major main event superstars. By 2007, WWE has increased in exposure to five hours of weekly programming in addition to numerous pay-per-view events throughout the year. This led to criticism for their redundancy and excessiveness. Because of such a large presence on television, the wrestling product has been widely judged as bland and uncreative. Some viewers feel that the company now focuses mainly on profit, airing more shows with disregard to the desire for fresh, innovative programming.

Media criticism

The WWF was investigated by the Federal Government in 1991 for a steroid scandal where, reputedly, steroid use was rampant among wrestlers and in McMahon's World Bodybuilding Federation. Large names, including Hulk Hogan, gained infamy when news of their long-time steroid use was revealed. In addition, a civil lawsuit involving sexual misconduct on the part of Pat Patterson in 1993 further weakened the company. This gained great criticism to the WWF, weakening its once "family-oriented" programming.

WWE gained national media coverage in 2007 for the Chris Benoit murder-suicide, hypothesized to be related to steroids. Although this has been proven false, this incident, along with the death of Eddie Guerrero in 2005, made drug use and young deaths in the business a subject of intense controversy. The wrestling industry and the nature of the business were widely criticized for this and WWE was affected on the business-side, with the company's stock losing approximately $15 million in market value in the first week. Ratings have also suffered, with RAW dropping 10% in total viewers. Due to criticisms about the health and well beings of professional wrestlers, the United States Congress has decided that a congressional hearing on the industry will take place sometime in 2007.

Taken from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_professional_wrestling