20 Days That Changed WWE Forever
5. 6 May 2002 - Get The 'F' Out
As longtime fans remember, for years, there were two WWF organizations - the World Wrestling Federation and the World Wildlife Fund. Though the World Wildlife Fund was formed in 1961 and predated any use of the term by the McMahon family, when the wrestling organization changed its name in 1979, both companies shared the trademark.
In 1994, both WWFs came to an agreement about how the wrestling promotion could use the initials in the international market - an agreement which Vince McMahon quickly ignored. In 2000, the World Wildlife Fund sued the World Wrestling Federation, and a judge ruled in favor of the Fund. The wrestling promotion appealed the decision, but there was no headway to be made - they'd have to abandon the initials.
On 6 May 2002, the World Wrestling Federation officially changed its name to World Wrestling Entertainment - or WWE. As it was a Monday, Raw that evening began with an announcement of the name change and the "Get the 'F' out" campaign, a catchy way of reminding everyone that there was no more WWF (at least not in wrestling). Though the change was only cosmetic, it was another lump for the company after a bad year, and one could argue that it lowered their profile in the long run.