WWE: 16 Days That Changed Wrestling Forever

Those days when wrestling would never be the same again.

The history of the WWF / WWE is almost exciting as the wrestling matches. Vince McMahon took over a small regional promotion and transformed it into a global entertainment corporation. It's an extraordinary story which no one would have believed possible fifty years ago €” if an unawares person watched Vince's story in a movie they would no doubt describe it as far fetched fiction. But it really happened. The World Wide Wrestling Federation a 37 year old Vince bought in 1982 is now barely recognisable. Pro wrestling is still a fundamental, but in day to day business in 2014 there is so much more to WWE. Our story starts in 1979. An ambitious young man is trying to impress his father, helping him to promote wrestling matches in the New York area. Showing plucky entrepreneurial spirit, the self starter purchases the Cape Cod Coliseum. Vince McMahon Snr is impressed, as son Vince Jnr shows promotional flair in booking music, hockey and wrestling at the Coliseum. This as much as anything convinced the older Vince that the younger McMahon was a capable hand to take over the WWWF. By 1980 the first major moment in the future success of the WWF happens, McMahon Jnr is made Chairman as Vince Snr starts to suffer ill health. A promise is made between the McMahon pair, Vince will always respect and honour the relationships of the WWWF. The company will not impose itself outside the North East of the USA. It was almost mafia like in this era of wrestling. Promoters had their territory and everyone respected this. Much like Don Corleone wouldn't cross over an imaginary border, Vince Snr wouldn't either. The North East was McMahon territory and the rest of America belonged to other promoters. Jim Ross has stated that any disregard for this was unimaginable. Vince Jnr's imagination was running wild however. In 1982 he used what he describes as "smoke and mirrors" to buy the WWWF outright, and got to work with wife Linda in changing the industry ...
WWE Writer

Grahame Herbert hasn't written a bio just yet, but if they had... it would appear here.