20 Things You Learn Watching WWE Since 1997

WWE may not be the only game in town in a literal sense, but the fact that the company owns the assets of WCW, ECW, and a host of other North American wrestling promotions makes them, more or less, the sole curator of United States wrestling history. As such, the company is free to play around with the facts at will.

Case in point - WWE won the Monday Night Wars primarily due to the feud between Steve Austin and Vince McMahon. Now that Triple H is part of the McMahon family and helps run WWE, though, the accepted narrative is that DX turned the tide of the war, and that the group's storyline invasion of Nitro was a groundbreaking segment. Likewise, the stories of WCW's ineptitude have been exaggerated and WWE's failings during the war are glossed over.

Older history is subject to even more revision. Today, Bruno Sammartino is in WWE's good graces and is recognized for his accomplishments, but for about 20 years, he and the company were at odds. As a result, he was rarely - if ever - mentioned, and certainly not lauded.

The bottom line is, if you really want to learn about the history of wrestling, go to a third-party source.