D-Generation X ( DX ) is an American professional wrestling stable , and later a tag team, that consisted of various members, most notably Shawn Michaels , Triple H , Chyna , X-Pac , and the New Age Outlaws , a tag team consisting of Road Dogg and Billy Gunn .
195-678: The group originated in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now known as WWE ) shortly before the " Attitude Era " in 1997 as a foil to another prominent faction, The Hart Foundation and became one of the main driving forces behind the WWF competing with World Championship Wrestling (WCW) in the Monday Night War . In addition to two other founding members, Chyna and Rick Rude , the group later expanded with new additions X-Pac , The New Age Outlaws , and Tori until
390-696: A Pedigree to his stablemate, costing him the match. Chyna and Triple H would then join The Corporation, with Kane subsequently being ousted. As a result, X-Pac began to share a bond with Kane, which resulted in Kane becoming a close ally of the faction, and the duo would hold the WWF Tag Team Championship on two occasions. Though the group maintained a united front against The Corporation, Billy Gunn would become frustrated at Kane's presence, as well as The New Age Outlaws' inability to win
585-598: A babyface jobber . Rude lost his TV debut against Jos LeDuc on the November 6, 1982 episode of Mid Atlantic Championship Wrestling. He started with Vancouver 's NWA: All-Star Wrestling before moving on to compete for Georgia Championship Wrestling (GCW) and later the Memphis -based Continental Wrestling Association (CWA). Rude debuted on the May 28, 1983 episode of World Championship Wrestling , defeating Pat Rose with
780-509: A degree in physical education , Rude worked as a bouncer for a short period and later did a small stint as an arm wrestler. He would first become known to the world of professional wrestling at that time. Rude trained as a wrestler under Eddie Sharkey, the same trainer responsible for training other wrestling stars like Bob Backlund , The Road Warriors , Sean Waltman , Austin Aries , and Erick Rowan . He began wrestling in 1982 as Ricky Rood,
975-537: A masked man. Rude debuted at House Party , declaring that his New Year's resolution was to "fuck with the Franchise" ( Shane Douglas ). Rude went on to repeatedly harass Douglas, at one point spanking Douglas' valet Francine during Crossing the Line Again . He eventually unmasked and became a color commentator before later aligning himself, for a short time, with Douglas and his Triple Threat stable. In
1170-637: A one-time WCWA World Heavyweight Champion , a one-time WWF Intercontinental Heavyweight Champion , and a one-time WCW United States Heavyweight Champion . Rude also challenged for the WWF World Heavyweight Championship and the NWA World Heavyweight Championship on pay-per-view cards, competing for the former in the main event of SummerSlam in 1990 . Following his retirement, Rude managed multiple wrestlers. In late 1997, Rude founded
1365-497: A July 1991 tour for All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW), Rude returned to WCW, which had originally been JCP prior to being sold to Ted Turner in late 1988; he returned under a mask as The WCW Phantom at Halloween Havoc on October 27, 1991, unmasking himself later that night. He led The Dangerous Alliance , consisting of himself, Paul E. Dangerously , Madusa , Arn Anderson , Bobby Eaton , Larry Zbyszko , and "Stunning" Steve Austin . On November 19, 1991, Rude defeated Sting for
1560-475: A camera on McMahon in a public restroom, which was also shown on the Raw Titantron; as well as tampering with his microphone. At the end of the episode, as Vince tried to leave in his limousine, fireworks were activated inside the limousine, shooting out of the moon roof, causing a dazed Vince to crawl out covered in soot, at which point DX greeted him with sparklers, wishing him a "Happy 4th of July". On
1755-545: A character in the opening scenes of the 2007 movie Knocked Up . Fidel Edwards , the West Indian fast bowler has on occasions used the crotch chop after taking a wicket. It has also been used by Professional Bowler Pete Weber after getting a strike, Weber himself is a fan of wrestling. The character Kenny Powers , in the HBO series Eastbound & Down , also uses the gesture in a fantasy sequence where he walks through
1950-419: A conflict between their respective teams at the 1989 Survivor Series in which both men brawled to a double count-out. Rude would go on to have many matches with Piper including inside a steel cage on December 28, at Madison Square Garden losing the majority of them, before having a brief program against Jimmy Snuka getting a win over him at WrestleMania VI . Rude resumed his conflict with The Ultimate Warrior in
2145-417: A deal with Endeavor Group Holdings, under which it would merge with Zuffa , the parent company of mixed martial arts promotion Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) to form TKO Group Holdings, a new public company majority-owned by Endeavor, with McMahon serving as executive chairman of the new entity, and Nick Khan becoming president. The merger was completed on September 12, 2023. In 2024, McMahon, who
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#17327986570142340-516: A deal with UPN, McMahon shut down the XFL. WWE maintained control of the XFL trademark before McMahon reclaimed the XFL brand, this time under a separate shell company from WWE, in 2017 with intent to relaunch the XFL in 2020 . On June 24, 2002, episode of Raw , Vince McMahon officially referred to the start of the next era, called the "Ruthless Aggression" era. On May 6, 2002, the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) changed both its company name and
2535-464: A dropkick. Gordon Solie interviewed Rude the following week, with Rude discussing transitioning from arm wrestling to pro wrestling and dropping weight to increase speed. He returned to Memphis in 1984, this time as "Ravishing" Rick Rude, an overconfident, arrogant heel managed by Jimmy Hart . Rude feuded with Jerry Lawler and later his former partner, King Kong Bundy . He later debuted in WCCW in
2730-591: A few weeks later, after the events of SummerSlam ), his feud with the Canadian-born Bret Hart made Michaels a de facto heel to the Canadian crowd. Months later, at the October 6, 1997 episode of Raw Is War , both Michaels and Triple H repeatedly directed the crotch chop at both Hart and hostile members of the audience. According to Triple H, Vince McMahon was hesitant to let D-X members perform
2925-531: A jury and judge consisting of dwarves , Michaels told Triple H that Hornswoggle could be the mascot. Triple H agreed to it only if the charges were dropped, which Hornswoggle agreed to. On the January 11, 2010 episode of Raw , Mike Tyson, who was the Raw guest host for the night, teamed with Jericho to face DX; however, at the end of the bout, Tyson turned on Jericho and re-aligned himself with Michaels and Triple H. On
3120-485: A legal dispute with the World Wildlife Fund , the WWF was renamed World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). In 2011, the promotion ceased branding itself as World Wrestling Entertainment and began solely branding itself with the initials WWE . Prior to September 2023, the company's majority owner was its executive chairman, third-generation wrestling promoter Vince McMahon , who retained a 38.6% ownership of
3315-514: A little girl), Michaels agreed to team with Triple H to face The Legacy at SummerSlam , superkicking the girl, and quitting his chef job in the process. On the August 17 episode of Raw , Michaels and Triple H officially reunited as DX, but as they were in the middle of their in-ring promo, Legacy attacked them both. Their first match after reuniting was against Legacy at SummerSlam , which they won. At Breaking Point , however, they lost to Legacy in
3510-401: A living hell. The duo later came out that night to their old music, crotch chops, and pyro to the delight of the crowd. However, Triple H turned on Michaels that same night; he had teased the reunion as a ploy to appease Michaels and lure him to the ring before giving him a Pedigree , making Triple H a heel once again. This act led to the in-ring return of Michaels at SummerSlam in 2002 and was
3705-633: A match against Kamala that he lost, and then went on to (NWA) affiliate Jim Crockett Promotions (JCP) where he and a variety of tag team partners feuded with The Road Warriors . Rude was hired by Championship Wrestling from Florida (CWF) in December 1984, where he was managed by Percy Pringle . He defeated Pez Whatley for the NWA Florida Southern Heavyweight Championship on January 16, 1985, and lost it to Brian Blair on April 10, 1985. He captured
3900-459: A match with The Dudley Boyz , stating there would be no additional members and starting a feud between the two. That same night, DX were "hunted" by Austin, with Stone Cold catching Road Dogg in a bear trap , Billy Gunn in a snare trap , having a portion of the backstage ceiling fall on X-Pac and finally catching the whole group in a net. Despite this, The Outlaws won their fifth Tag Team Championship soon afterward, defeating Mankind and Al Snow on
4095-458: A match with X-Pac on the December 16 episode of SmackDown! , after which they would grant Kane a WWF Championship match against The Big Show on the December 20 episode of Raw wherei if Kane lost, Tori would have to spend Christmas with X-Pac. The New Age Outlaws distracted Kane, costing him the match. When Tori returned, she insisted that X-Pac had been a perfect gentleman. By January 2000, Triple H had dubbed himself "The Game", after stating he
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#17327986570144290-632: A member of both groups; as did Michaels, briefly, during the nWo's short-lived revival in the WWF/E in 2002). On October 6, 1997, in one of the earliest DX promos, Michaels alluded to this off-screen connection. After Bret Hart claimed to have destroyed the Kliq and to have "run Scott Hall and Kevin Nash outta town" (referring to Hall and Nash leaving the WWF and signing with WCW), Michaels declared, "The Kliq owns this professional wrestling business", and said that
4485-701: A member, upon winning the Tag Team titles from The Acolytes on August 9, Kane, under encouragement from partner X-Pac, uttered his first on-screen words without help from a voice box, saying "suck it". On October 25, the group reformed as villains when Triple H and X-Pac helped the New Age Outlaws – who had reunited the previous month – defeat Stone Cold Steve Austin and The Rock. Later that week on SmackDown! , X-Pac suggested that DX would get "bigger", hinting that Kane would finally become an official member. However, later that night, he turned on Kane following
4680-599: A monopoly on the world title. In a now infamous situation, the NWA sent former five-time world champion and legitimate wrestler Lou Thesz to Toronto to face Rogers on January 24, 1963. Thesz recalls this was not planned and prior to the match remembered telling Buddy "we can do this the easy way or the hard way." Rogers agreed to lose the fall and title in a one fall match versus the traditional two out of three fall matchup that most world title matches were defended. Once word reached back to Mondt and McMahon, at first they simply ignored
4875-501: A one-armed crotch-chop (while holding the microphone with his other hand). Later in the episode, both Michaels and Triple H (separately) proceeded to the ring for the Bret Hart-Triple H match, each of them directing the slogan and crotch-chops at fans seated along the entry ramp, as well as the viewers watching at home. "Oh you didn't know? Your ass better call somebody." WWE World Wrestling Entertainment ( WWE )
5070-581: A pay cut, and the company has also suspended construction on its new headquarters for at least six months. The firings caused significant backlash by fans; with Business Insider calling them "livid." Both fans and several media outlets pointed out that while WWE claimed that these actions were "necessary due to the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic", the WWE also claimed to have "substantial financial resources. Available cash and debt capacity currently total approximately $ 0.5 billion". DeSantis's claimed WWE
5265-470: A phone call" to Michaels in the hopes of reuniting DX. On the August 10, 2009 episode of Raw , video segments aired in which Triple H met with Michaels at an office cafeteria in Texas where he was working as a chef; throughout the segments, Triple H would try to convince Michaels to return to WWE and reform DX. After several incidents during the segments (including a grease fire and Shawn getting shouted at by
5460-401: A pre-recorded format. NXT continued to air from Full Sail University, but under similar restrictions. Live broadcasts returned on April 13, with the existing arrangements continuing; WWE stated to ESPN.com that "we believe it is now more important than ever to provide people with a diversion from these hard times", and that the company's programming "bring[s] families together and deliver
5655-668: A publicly traded company, trading on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) with the issuance of stock then valued at $ 172.5 million. The company is traded on the NYSE under ticker symbol WWE. By the fall of 1999, the Attitude Era had turned the tide of the Monday Night War into WWF's favor. After Time Warner merged with America Online (AOL), Ted Turner 's control over WCW was considerably reduced. The newly merged company lacked interest in professional wrestling as
5850-469: A rivalry with Randy Orton and The Legacy ( Cody Rhodes and Ted DiBiase ). The feud continued throughout the summer with Triple H mainly combating with Orton over the WWE Championship. Eventually, Triple H would begin to target The Legacy because they were responsible for his losses against Orton during matches. After losing a handicap match to The Legacy, Triple H stated that he would "make
6045-477: A routine where, before the match, he would make a show of removing his robe (likely inspired by Austin Idol 's disrobing routine) while insulting the males in the crowd (usually calling them "fat, out-of-shape sweathogs") from their hometowns and, after his victories, he would kiss a woman whom Heenan selected from the audience. One of Rude's trademarks was his specially airbrushed tights that he wore during matches. In
D-Generation X - Misplaced Pages Continue
6240-567: A second pair of tights under the one he wore to the ring, including during his match against the Junkyard Dog at the inaugural SummerSlam . During the match Rude had the JYD on his back and had climbed to the top turnbuckle. While up there he pulled down his tights to reveal a second with Cheryl Roberts printed on them. After hitting the Dog with a flying fist, he was attacked by Roberts who had seen
6435-496: A sense of hope, determination and perseverance". It was subsequently reported that Florida Governor Ron DeSantis had deemed WWE a business critical to the state's economy, and had added an exception under the state's stay-at-home order for employees of a "professional sports and media production" that is closed to the public and has a national audience. The decision was met with criticism from media outlets, with several media outlets pointing out that DeSantis's actions happened on
6630-406: A signature gesture whereby the wrestler points his hands towards his own crotch, making the shape of a "V", and in the later, more popular variant with hands crossed, an "X". The implication is that the viewer or listener should "suck it". The crotch chop was first used in the WWF by Sean Waltman as 1-2-3 Kid during an In Your House match against Razor Ramon. After knocking Ramon down, he seems to do
6825-441: A special appearance to promote the match between Triple H and The Undertaker at Super Show-Down , during which he was confronted by The Undertaker himself. At Super Show-Down, Michaels assisted Triple H in defeating The Undertaker, after which, he was attacked by Undertaker and Kane. On October 8, Triple H and Shawn Michaels announced that they were officially reforming DX to take on The Brothers of Destruction at Crown Jewel . On
7020-473: A third brand on May 26, 2006. Two years later, WWE adapted a more family-friendly format and their programming received a TV-PG rating . The final ECW program aired on February 16, 2010, after which it was replaced with NXT . During this time many new and young wrestlers would join the company, many which would become household names for the next years to come such as John Cena , Randy Orton , Brock Lesnar , and Batista . On April 7, 2011, WWE, via
7215-407: A time of record low revenues. This helped drive many WWF wrestlers over to rival promotion World Championship Wrestling (WCW), including 1980s babyface hero Hulk Hogan. During this period, the WWF promoted wrestlers of a younger age comprising "The New Generation", featuring Bret Hart , Shawn Michaels , Diesel , Razor Ramon and The Undertaker among others in an effort to promote new talent into
7410-455: A torn rotator cuff which would place him out of action for several months. On-screen, to explain his impending absence to recover from his injury, Gunn's storyline involved him getting thrown out of DX because "he lost his cool" when Triple H had X-Pac take his place in the rematch. X-Pac teamed with Road Dogg once again, but the two never reached the heights the New Age Outlaws had. On March 30, X-Pac and Tori assisted Stephanie McMahon in winning
7605-460: A whole and decided to sell WCW in its entirety. Although Eric Bischoff , whom Time Warner fired as WCW president in October 1999, was nearing a deal to purchase the company, in March 2001 McMahon acquired the rights to WCW's trademarks, tape library, contracts, and other properties from AOL Time Warner for a number reported to be around $ 7 million. Shortly after WrestleMania X-Seven , the WWF launched
7800-539: A wrestling supercard was nothing new in North America; the NWA had begun running Starrcade a few years prior. In McMahon's eyes, however, what separated WrestleMania from other supercards was that it was intended to be accessible to those who did not watch wrestling. He invited celebrities such as Mr. T , Muhammad Ali , and Cyndi Lauper to participate in the event, as well as securing a deal with MTV to provide coverage. The event and hype surrounding it led to
7995-623: Is always stereotyped as apathetic and cynical. Although DX and the members of The Hart Foundation continued to battle on-screen in one fashion or another through the end of 1997, the Bret Hart-Shawn Michaels feud ended abruptly at Survivor Series when Michaels won his third WWF Championship via the Montreal Screwjob , whereby Hart was lied to about the match's pre-determined outcome after Hart had signed with World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and refused to drop
D-Generation X - Misplaced Pages Continue
8190-505: Is an American professional wrestling promotion . It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings , a majority-owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. A global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into fields outside of wrestling, including film , football , and various other business ventures . The company is additionally involved in licensing its intellectual property to other companies to produce video games and action figures . The promotion
8385-628: Is located in Stamford, Connecticut , with offices in New York, Los Angeles, Mexico City, Mumbai, Shanghai, Singapore, Dubai, and Munich. As in other professional wrestling promotions, WWE shows are not true contests but entertainment-based performance theater, featuring storyline -driven, scripted , and partially choreographed matches; however, matches often include moves that can put performers at risk of injury, even death, if not performed correctly. The pre-determined aspect of professional wrestling
8580-527: Is targeted at career and athletic development for the company's wrestlers. Full Sail is also home base to WWE's NXT brand, which served as a developmental territory for WWE. On February 24, 2014, WWE launched WWE Network , an over-the-top streaming service that would feature archive content from WWE and its predecessors, all pay-per-views, (which would continue to be sold through television providers as well), and original programming. Beginning in 2015 WWE started to push Roman Reigns as their face of
8775-528: The 1989 Royal Rumble pay-per-view in a "Super Posedown" that ended with Rude attacking Warrior with a metal pose bar. With help from Heenan, Rude won the WWF Intercontinental Heavyweight Championship from The Ultimate Warrior at WrestleMania V , before dropping it back to Warrior at SummerSlam that same year, due in large part to interference from "Rowdy" Roddy Piper . Rude then feuded with Piper which led to
8970-681: The Crown Jewel pay-per view. At the event, Triple H and Michaels were victorious against Undertaker and Kane. On February 18, 2019, it was announced that the group would be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame later that year, with Triple H, Michaels, Chyna, The New Age Outlaws, and X-Pac as the inducted members. The group's gimmick was best known as a gang of rebels who broke the rules, acted and spoke as they pleased, and wrestled whomever they wanted no matter how provocative and insulting. Noted for their crude, profane humor and sophomoric pranks,
9165-469: The D-Generation X stable alongside Shawn Michaels , Triple H , and Chyna . On November 17 of that year, in the midst of the Monday Night War , he became the only person to appear on the WWF's Raw and WCW's Monday Nitro programs on the same night, as the former was pre-recorded and Rude had left for WCW in the interim. He was posthumously inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2017. Rude
9360-587: The MCW event, Spring Fever In Maryland on April 23, along with Lio Rush and Brandon Scott . They competed for Empire State Wrestling on May 21, and for Elite Pro Wrestling, where they faced the New Age Kliq on July 22. On September 4, 2016, Gunn and X-Pac represented DX in a tag team gauntlet match at a Chikara event. The two entered the match as the final team and scored the win over Prakash Sabar and The Proletariat Boar of Moldova. D-X promos always include
9555-618: The NWA World Heavyweight Championship , making his intentions clear on August 28, 1993, when he was the guest on then-champion Ric Flair 's "A Flair For the Gold" talk segment. Rude defeated Flair for the title in September 1993 at Fall Brawl . As WCW had recently withdrawn from the NWA, WCW lost the rights to continue using the NWA World Heavyweight Championship. WCW created their own championship, dubbing it
9750-542: The Rhodes Brothers ( Cody Rhodes and Goldust ), and teamed with Kane to wrestle The Shield at WrestleMania XXX . The last of these appearances, during Triple H's match against Sting at WrestleMania 31 , was also the first legitimate major confrontation between DX and the nWo . In December 2015, Billy Gunn and X-Pac reformed DX, in an event for Big Time Wrestling, where they defeated Bam Shaw and "The Punisher" Don Vega. They returned as D-Generation X during
9945-695: The Roberts Municipal Stadium in Evansville, Indiana where WCW Nitro was taking place and wrote "WCW Sucks" and "DX Says Suck It" in the sky. The group also feuded with the new Corporate Commissioner , former DX leader Shawn Michaels, who had turned heel and betrayed the group after costing X-Pac a WWF Championship match against The Rock. The faction would continue to feud with Michaels and The Corporation throughout late 1998, with Michaels reversing Billy Gunn's Intercontinental Championship victory against Ken Shamrock , costing The Outlaws
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#173279865701410140-539: The Unified WWE Tag Team Championship in a Tables, Ladders, and Chairs match ; the first tag team championship reign for Michaels and Triple H as a tag team. On December 21, 2009, Triple H announced that Hornswoggle was the new DX "mascot". This came about after Hornswoggle sued DX for emotional and physical distress due to them not allowing him to join the group. After being taken to "Little People's Court", where they were ruled guilty by
10335-513: The United States Heavyweight Championship and engaged in a number of high-profile feuds, including one with Ricky Steamboat . At one point during their feud, Steamboat suffered a kayfabe broken nose in a gang attack. In 1992, Rude and Madusa left The Dangerous Alliance and feuded with Nikita Koloff . Rude challenged reigning World Heavyweight Champion Ron Simmons on several occasions but failed to win
10530-664: The WCW International World Heavyweight Championship , which Rude lost to Hiroshi Hase on March 16, 1994, in Tokyo , Japan . Rude regained the title just eight days later in Kyoto , Japan. After dropping the title to Sting on April 17 at Spring Stampede , Rude pinned Sting on May 1 at Wrestling Dontaku in Fukuoka to become a three-time champion. Rude, however, injured his back during
10725-659: The WWE Championship ), which was met with loud cheering from the fans in attendance. The two continued to deliver chops in the following episodes of Raw as Michaels feuded with Vince and Shane McMahon and Triple H focused on the WWE Championship, repeatedly running into the McMahons in the process. On the June 12 episode of Raw , the events came to a head. During Triple H's gauntlet match against The Spirit Squad , Shawn Michaels came in to help his former friend. After
10920-707: The WWWF World Heavyweight Championship was created, with the promotion claiming that inaugural champion Rogers had won a tournament in Rio de Janeiro on April 25, 1963, defeating long time Capitol favorite Antonino Rocca in the finals. In reality, Rocca was no longer in the area, as he was working for Jim Crockett Sr. in the Carolinas. Rogers also had already suffered what would later be a career ending heart attack on April 18 in Akron, Ohio, and
11115-456: The Women's Championship from Jacqueline . At WrestleMania 2000 , Triple H defended his title in a fatal four-way elimination match against The Rock, Mick Foley, and Big Show, with a separate McMahon appearing in every superstar's corner. Vince McMahon turned on The Rock and aided Triple H in retaining his title. DX would then unite with Vince and Shane's Corporation stable, and the resulting group
11310-645: The World Class Wrestling Association (WCWA). The NWA American Championship was renamed the WCWA World Heavyweight Championship while Rude was still holding the title. As a result, Rude became the promotion's first world champion. After losing the title to Chris Adams in July 1986, he fired Pringle and briefly replaced him with his sister, Raven. He formed a short-lived tag team with The Dingo Warrior , but
11505-496: The World Tag Team Championship against Edge and Orton at New Year's Revolution . The fight ended in a no contest after Michaels hit the referee. During the match, Triple H suffered a legitimate torn quadriceps , which would put him out of action for 7 months. After the match, DX beat down Rated-RKO with steel chairs and on the announce tables. After Triple H's injury, Shawn Michaels continued to uphold
11700-470: The XFL , a new professional football league that debuted in 2001. The league had high ratings for the first few weeks, but initial interest waned and its ratings plunged to dismally low levels (one of its games was the lowest-rated prime-time show in the history of American television). NBC walked out on the venture after only one season, but McMahon intended to continue alone. However, after being unable to reach
11895-532: The full beard he had been sporting during his last few weeks in the WWF. Rude also appeared on ECW's Hardcore TV during that weekend (November 14–16 as the show was syndicated differently depending on the market). Rude was still making ECW appearances while he was in D-Generation X , as the WWF and ECW often co-operated in terms of talent. In WCW, Rude became a member of the New World Order (nWo), managing his friend Curt Hennig . Thus, Rude became
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#173279865701412090-473: The special guest referee for the match. Bischoff allowed the illegal use of a steel chair to give Rated-RKO the win, marking DX's first defeat as a tag team since their reunion in June 2006. At Survivor Series , Michaels and Triple H got back at Edge and Orton by leading Team DX (Triple H, Michaels, Matt and Jeff Hardy , and CM Punk ) to a 5–0 sweep over Team Rated-RKO (Edge, Orton, Gregory Helms , Johnny Nitro , and Mike Knox ). In 2007, DX challenged for
12285-423: The "X" at first, but he was later talked into it. When D-X enters the ring they do a pyro routine. Green X pyrotechnics go off three times, with D-X crotch-chopping at each firing. They then pause for a second, then chop once more as the pyrotechnics fire for the fourth time. The crotch chop is used in the 2008 film Slumdog Millionaire by Jamal ( Dev Patel ) after getting away from pursuing security guards and by
12480-571: The "X" crotch chop after defeating Daniel Cormier at UFC 197 . The most recent use of the group's crotch chop that occurred on October 29, 2023, when Philadelphia 76ers player Joel Embiid performed that gesture as he and his team played the Portland Trail Blazers in the late third quarter. He was fined $ 35,000 by the National Basketball Association but Triple H, the current Chief Content Officer,
12675-459: The "crotch chop" during their solo runs. On the September 29, 2008 episode of Raw , Triple H and Shawn Michaels once again reunited as DX to take on Chris Jericho and Lance Cade . They won by disqualification, due to Cade and Jericho's two-on-one assault of Michaels. After being mocked by John Morrison and the Miz for two weeks, on the 800th episode celebration of Raw , DX defeated the duo. During
12870-560: The August 21 episode of Raw , DX repeatedly vandalized Vince's property by tagging "DX" on Vince's $ 30 million private jet, in front of the WWE World Headquarters building, and finally on Vince's limousine (as well as tying a chain to the back axle of the limousine, causing the axle to be violently pulled off when Vince and Shane tried to leave). During their feud, DX defeated the Spirit Squad at Vengeance and on
13065-521: The Christmas season, DX appeared in numerous vignettes to promote DX clothing and other WWE merchandise; one such commercial also featured Kelly Kelly . In the 2009 WWE draft on April 13, 2009, Triple H was drafted back to the Raw brand. In the midst of Triple H rejoining Raw , Michaels took a brief hiatus from WWE after losing to The Undertaker at WrestleMania 25 . Meanwhile, Triple H was embroiled in
13260-603: The DX image by himself leading into WrestleMania 23 . Michaels would still come to the ring with the DX music and attire, even though Triple H was not joining him during this period. During this time, Michaels captured the World Tag Team Championship with John Cena , as well as earning the right to face Cena at WrestleMania 23 for the WWE Championship. It was confirmed in later interviews and documentaries that original plans called for Triple H to challenge Cena for
13455-535: The European Championship. In a mock match, Michaels laid down in the middle of the ring while Triple H constantly ran the ropes. Triple H would then pin Michaels and win the European Championship. Triple H lost the European Championship to Owen Hart in January 1998 only to regain it two months later. Going into WrestleMania XIV that March, Shawn Michaels was the reigning WWF Champion and Triple H
13650-567: The February 8, 2010 episode of Raw , DX lost the Unified WWE Tag Team Championship to ShoMiz ( The Miz and Big Show ) in a Triple Threat Elimination Tag Team match also featuring The Straight Edge Society ( CM Punk and Luke Gallows ). On the March 1 episode of Raw , DX lost their rematch for the titles which would be the duo's last televised match as a tag team. Due to Michaels' ongoing obsession with ending
13845-538: The Invasion storyline, integrating the incoming talent roster from WCW and Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW). With this purchase, WWF now became by far the sole largest wrestling promotion in North America and in the world. The assets of ECW, which had folded after filing for bankruptcy protection in April 2001, were purchased by WWE in 2003. In 2000, the WWF, in collaboration with television network NBC , launched
14040-472: The July 15, 2006 edition of Saturday Night's Main Event , as well as The McMahons (Vince and Shane) at SummerSlam . At Unforgiven in a handicap Hell in a Cell match that featured Big Show on The McMahons' side, DX again came out victorious. DX's next feud was against Rated-RKO ( Edge and Randy Orton ). At Cyber Sunday , the fans selected Eric Bischoff over Vince McMahon and Jonathan Coachman to be
14235-518: The Montreal Screwjob, which took place at the 1997 Survivor Series , former WCW talent were being hired by the WWF, including Stone Cold Steve Austin , Mankind , and Vader . Austin was slowly brought in as the new face of the company despite being promoted as an antihero , starting with his " Austin 3:16 " speech shortly after defeating Jake Roberts in the tournament finals at the King of
14430-498: The November 8 edition of Raw . Not participating in the reunited DX were Chyna who was in a feud with Chris Jericho for the Intercontinental Championship ; Shawn Michaels , who was in the middle of a four-year hiatus from wrestling; and Rick Rude , who had died in April 1999. Triple H, meanwhile, would escalate an ongoing feud with Vince McMahon on the November 29 episode of Raw , when he interrupted
14625-629: The October 29 episode of Raw , both Undertaker and Kane declared that they would take the souls of Triple H and Shawn Michaels and stated they would never "Rest in Peace". This then led to Triple H distracting Kane and Shawn Michaels delivering a Sweet Chin Music to the Undertaker. At Crown Jewel, the Brothers of Destruction dominated DX for most of the match, however, DX were eventually able to pick up
14820-767: The Performance Center in a similar setup dubbed the Capitol Wrestling Center. It had many of the same features as the ThunderDome, but with a small crowd of select live fans included, in addition to the virtual fans. The name is also an homage to WWE's predecessor, the Capitol Wrestling Corporation. On May 21 WWE brought back fans full time, beginning with a 25-city tour, thus ending the ThunderDome residency. The July 16 episode of SmackDown started WWE's return to
15015-485: The Performance Center with paying fans, thus being WWE's last event to have ticketed fans in attendance before the pandemic took full effect. WrestleMania 36 was scheduled to take place on April 5 at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa but on March 16, was moved to Orlando to be held behind closed doors. WrestleMania, as well as Raw and SmackDown for a period before and after WrestleMania, shifted from live broadcasts to
15210-615: The Ring pay-per-view in 1996. On April 29, 1999, the WWF made its return to terrestrial television , airing a special program known as SmackDown! on the fledgling UPN network. The Thursday night show became a weekly series on August 26, 1999 – competing directly with WCW's Thursday night program titled Thunder on TBS . In the summer of 1999, Titan Sports, Inc. was renamed World Wrestling Federation Entertainment, Inc. On October 19, 1999, World Wrestling Federation Entertainment, Inc. launched an initial public offering as
15405-478: The Roberts angle, Rude tried to get Roberts' real-life wife, Cheryl, to participate (though not knowing when Heenan chose her that she was in fact Roberts' wife). After Mrs. Roberts rejected him and revealed who she was there to see, Rude became angry (after she slapped him and according to Jake, busting his eardrum ), grabbed her wrist, and berated her on the microphone when Roberts ran from the dressing room to make
15600-724: The TWA Spring Spectacular II event held by the Tri-State Wrestling Alliance in Philadelphia, PA. He faced Paul Orndorff and lost by disqualification. Two months later he joined All Japan Pro Wrestling for their Summer Action Series 1991, making his initial appearance on July 6, 1991, at a show in Yokosuka, Japan. In his first match on the tour, he teamed with Johnny Ace to defeat Billy Black and Joel Deaton . In singles matches Rude
15795-489: The Tag Team Championships from X-Pac and Kane. Following one such defeat on the April 29 episode of SmackDown! , Gunn became angry at X-Pac. The following week on Sunday Night Heat , he apologized to X-Pac, but attacked him when X-Pac's back was turned, citing his frustration at being "held back" and departing from D-Generation X, therefore reducing the remaining members to just Road Dogg and X-Pac. Over
15990-635: The Tag Team Titles and even managing to seemingly lure the New Age Outlaws to The Corporation on the December 7 episode of Raw Is War . However, the Outlaws quickly revealed this to have been a ruse, turning on The Corporation that same night. When The Corporation turned on Michaels in January 1999, he was taken in by DX once more. This too was short lived, as later that night DX were instrumental in Michaels being ambushed by The Corporation, with X-Pac commenting "What goes around, comes around". Some of
16185-486: The Undertaker at Ground Zero: In Your House on September 7 with Helmsley, Chyna and Rude all interfering on Michaels' behalf to force the match to end in a no contest. During this time, the group (Michaels and Helmsley in particular) were regularly shown on television practicing sophomoric/crude humor and rebelling against authority figures in the company, primarily Vince McMahon (then primarily presented as an on-screen commentator) and then- Commissioner Sgt. Slaughter ,
16380-414: The Undertaker's WrestleMania streak, Triple H and Michaels quietly separated heading into WrestleMania XXVI , but remained on good terms. Road Dogg, Billy Gunn and X-Pac have gone under the team names of D-Generates of Wrestling and Team Suck as a tribute to D-Generation X. It while wrestling together on the indy scene before returning to WWE. On the September 3, 2018 episode of Raw , Shawn Michaels made
16575-498: The WWE Corporate website, the company ceased using the full name World Wrestling Entertainment and henceforth referred to itself solely as WWE, making the latter an orphan initialism . This was said to reflect WWE's global entertainment expansion away from the ring with the ultimate goal of acquiring entertainment companies and putting a focus on television, live events, and film production. WWE noted that their new company model
16770-657: The WWF Championship to Michaels in Canada and instead agreed to drop the title one month later in Springfield, Massachusetts. Rick Rude was also legitimately upset over the events of the screwjob, and subsequently left the WWF to return to WCW. On the November 24 episode of Raw Is War , DX invited Jim "The Anvil" Neidhart to join the group, which he accepted prior to a match later that night between Vader and Michaels. Michaels, Chyna and Helmsley assaulted Neidhart at
16965-423: The WWF as the "insurance policy" of the group that would become known as D-Generation X (DX) ( Shawn Michaels , Triple H , and Chyna ). The D-Generation X name was first used on October 13, 1997. As a member of DX, Rude never wrestled, but stayed ringside during the group's matches. A few days after the Montreal Screwjob at Survivor Series , Rude once again left the WWF. According to Bret Hart , Rude stayed in
17160-649: The WWF was with Heenan's former muscle bound charge "Mr. Wonderful" Paul Orndorff (whom Heenan had dropped after Rude joined the Family), their feud culminated in Rude defeating Orndorff on November 24, at Madison Square Garden . He would kickstart 1988 by challenging Hulk Hogan for the WWF World Heavyweight Championship on January 9, at the Boston Garden but failed to win the title before starting one of his most famous feuds with Jake "The Snake" Roberts . Rude had
17355-498: The WWF were former AWA or NWA talent. The WWF would tour nationally in a venture that would require a huge capital investment, one that placed the WWF on the verge of financial collapse. The future of McMahon's experiment came down to the success or failure of McMahon's groundbreaking concept, WrestleMania . WrestleMania was a major success and was (and still is) marketed as the Super Bowl of professional wrestling. The concept of
17550-750: The WWF were in direct competition at the time, through a series of legitimate visits to WCW headquarters and live events. On April 27, 1998, Raw Is War and Nitro both took place in the Hampton Roads area of Virginia , a mere 19 miles apart. DX traveled from the WWF show in Hampton Coliseum in Hampton to The Scope in Norfolk and shouted insults against WCW through a bullhorn, as well as accusing WCW of giving out free tickets to fill up arenas for television while sporting black armbands with
17745-446: The WWF's Raw Is War and WCW's Monday Nitro in the same night on November 17, 1997. A mustached Rude appeared on Nitro , which was live, and proceeded to criticize Vince McMahon, Shawn Michaels, DX, and the WWF, calling the company the " Titanic " (a reference to Titan Sports, as WWF's parent company was then known, as the "sinking ship"). An hour later on Raw Is War (which had been taped six days earlier), Rude then appeared with
17940-543: The Warrior turned on him and became a face. In September 1986, Rude returned to JCP and joined Manny Fernandez and his manager Paul Jones in their rivalry with Wahoo McDaniel. Rude and Fernandez, known collectively as the "Awesome Twosome", won the NWA World Tag Team Championship on December 6, 1986, from The Rock 'n' Roll Express , and they began a feud that ended only when Rude left
18135-640: The WrestleMania III main event between WWF champion Hulk Hogan and André the Giant took place on The Main Event I in 1988 and was seen by 33 million people, the most-watched wrestling match in North American television history. In 1983, Titan moved its offices to Stamford, Connecticut . Subsequently, a new Titan Sports, Inc. (originally WWF, Inc.) was established in Delaware in 1987 and
18330-536: The acronym "POWCW" (Prisoner of WCW), which referenced fellow Kliq members Scott Hall and Kevin Nash . DX then tried to enter the arena via a loading dock in their army jeep before being stopped by someone closing the door. They also attempted to forcibly secure meetings with Nitro's executive producer Eric Bischoff and WCW owner Ted Turner at WCW headquarters in Atlanta , Georgia . Another segment used computer graphics to make it appear as if Triple H had flown over
18525-412: The action from the dressing room. Roberts attack on Rude caused the JYD to be disqualified, giving Rude the win. Rude lost to Roberts in a Rude Awakening vs. DDT match on October 24, at Madison Square Garden. Rude's feud with Roberts came to its conclusion when Roberts pinned Rude following a DDT during the 1988 Survivor Series . Rude's next big feud was with The Ultimate Warrior and began in January at
18720-647: The aforementioned draft), and airs live instead of the previous pre-recorded format. Due to the return of the brand split, a new World Championship , called the WWE Universal Championship was introduced at the August 21, 2016 SummerSlam event with Finn Bálor defeating Seth Rollins to become the inaugural WWE Universal Champion. On November 29, 2016, WWE introduced a new program specifically for their cruiserweight division (wrestlers 205 lbs. and under) called WWE 205 Live . The program focuses exclusively on those wrestlers who qualify for
18915-574: The belts, losing the straps to McDaniel and Haynes on July 9, 1985. Debuting on October 18, 1985, Rude jumped to World Class Championship Wrestling (WCCW) along with Pringle, where he feuded with Kevin Von Erich and Chris Adams . During his time in WCCW, Rude captured the NWA American Heavyweight Championship on November 4, 1985. However, WCCW withdrew from the NWA on February 20, 1986, and changed its name to
19110-525: The championship again on July 20, 1985, when he defeated Mike Graham in the finals of a Southern title tournament. He held the belt until October 2 of that year when he dropped it to Wahoo McDaniel , who was booking Florida during this time. While teaming with Jesse Barr , he won the NWA Florida United States Tag Team Championship on April 16, 1985, and feuded with Billy Jack Haynes and Wahoo McDaniel over
19305-607: The championship prior to his injury, after which Michaels was substituted in Triple H's place. Michaels would continue to use the D-Generation X motif until Backlash , at which point he reverted to his traditional entrance music and attire, thus ending this incarnation of DX. Michaels and Triple H teamed up again as DX on the January 28, 2008 episode of Raw defeating Umaga and Snitsky . Despite DX reforming for one night only, both Triple H and Shawn Michaels would periodically use
19500-598: The company began the removal of some of the contents that were considered iconic moments of the Attitude Era that were deemed inappropriate by Peacock, these archived contents would no longer be available under any of WWE's authorized platforms. Amdist the criticisms, in April 2021 WWE executive Triple H defended WWE's move to Peacock. Rick Rude Richard Erwin Rood (December 7, 1958 – April 20, 1999), better known by his ring name " Ravishing " Rick Rude ,
19695-523: The company since having him win the 2015 Royal rumble match , amidst mixed reception . By 2017 Roman Reigns became their highest merchandise seller. On May 25, 2016, WWE relaunched the brand split, billed as the "New Era". Subsequently, Raw and SmackDown have each featured their unique rosters, announcers, championships and ring sets/ropes. A draft took place to determine which wrestlers would appear on what show. SmackDown also moved from Thursdays to Tuesday nights, which began on July 19 (the night of
19890-584: The company's outstanding stock and 81.1% of the voting power. The current entity, which was originally named Titan Sports, Inc. , was incorporated on February 21, 1980, in South Yarmouth, Massachusetts , but reincorporated under Delaware General Corporation Law in 1987. It acquired Capitol Wrestling Corporation Ltd., the holding company for the WWF, in 1982. Titan was renamed World Wrestling Federation Entertainment, Inc. in 1999, and then World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. in 2002. In 2023, its legal name
20085-422: The company, persuaded then- Raw General Manager Eric Bischoff to sign Triple H to a Raw contract as part of the " Brand Extension " at Vengeance . The following night on the July 22 episode of Raw (Shawn Michaels' 37th birthday), a week after the breakup of the nWo , Triple H handed Michaels a DX T-shirt and stated that he "had an idea", suggesting that the two reform the group and make Eric Bischoff's life
20280-446: The company. The actual date of sale is still unknown but the generally accepted date is June 6, 1982; however, this was likely only the date the deal was struck but not finalized. On WWF television, Capitol Wrestling Corporation maintained copyrights and ownership past the June 1982 date. The World Wrestling Federation was not solely owned by Vincent J. McMahon but also by Gorilla Monsoon , Arnold Skaaland and Phil Zacko. The deal between
20475-501: The couple remained together until his death in 1999. They had three children together, Richard Jr., Merissa, and Colton. His younger son, Colton, died on September 3, 2016, in a motorcycle accident in Rome, Georgia , at the age of 19. Bret Hart has stated that in spite of his womanizing, "Ravishing One" persona, Rude was a devoted family man who never took his wedding ring off even during matches, but instead covered it up with tape. Rude
20670-596: The current WWF Tag Team Champions The New Age Outlaws ( "Bad Ass" Billy Gunn and "The Road Dogg" Jesse James ) into the stable. Triple H would dub this iteration as his new "DX Army". While the intent was for the stable to remain heels , they quickly became popular with audiences and were eventually pushed as faces . During this time, they feuded with The Rock and his group The Nation and then later, Vince McMahon's Corporation . The group remained united throughout 1998 and into early 1999. On episodes of Raw Is War in April and May DX "went to war" with WCW, with whom
20865-534: The day-to-day operations of the WWE, such as Levesque, who serves as the chief content officer and head of creative, while Michaels serves as Senior Vice President of Talent Development Creative overseeing the NXT brand and James holds the role as the Senior Vice President of Live Events. On October 8, 2018, it was announced that DX would face The Brothers of Destruction ( The Undertaker and Kane ) at
21060-577: The dissolution of her storyline relationship with Eddie Guerrero . On the November 6, 2000 episode of Raw Is War , Chyna, Road Dogg, Billy Gunn, and Triple H reunited to take on The Radicalz ( Chris Benoit , Eddie Guerrero, Dean Malenko , and Perry Saturn ) in an eight-person tag team match, which they won. The match included the group doing their old DX entrance, as well as telling the crowd to "suck it!" This reunion would be short-lived however, as on that very same episode, Triple H turned heel when he attacked Stone Cold Steve Austin and revealed himself as
21255-593: The division. The cruiserweights – who first became a fixture in WWE with the Cruiserweight Classic tournament – were originally exclusive to the Raw brand before landing their own brand . On December 15, 2016, WWE established a new WWE United Kingdom Championship , with the inaugural champion being decided by a 16-man tournament to air on WWE Network featuring wrestlers from the UK and Ireland during January 2017. WWE executive Paul "Triple H" Levesque said
21450-467: The duo had laid out the entire Spirit Squad, the two men put aside their past rivalry and officially reformed. DX continued their brash antics at the expense of the Spirit Squad, the McMahons, and Jonathan Coachman for several weeks and repeatedly took part in blatantly camp product placement during Raw promos . DX would defeat the Spirit Squad in a 5-on-2 handicap match at Vengeance , with Michaels forcing Mitch ’s face into Triple H’s buttocks after
21645-415: The end of the match also saw Rick Rude return to the WWF revealing himself as Michaels' "insurance policy", helping Michaels win the match by attacking Mankind with a chair. The following week on Raw , Michaels and Helmsley teamed up to take on Mankind and The Undertaker in the main event, only to lose the match by disqualification after Michaels used a chair on Undertaker. Michaels would eventually face
21840-489: The end of the show after Michaels defeated Vader , showing that Neidhart's invitation to the group was nothing more than a ruse. The following week on the December 1 episode of Raw Is War , Helmsley defeated Neidhart. After the match, DX assaulted Neidhart once again, before Michaels spray-painted "WCW" on Neidhart's back, signifying him following Bret Hart and The British Bulldog to WCW. Sgt. Slaughter and Ken Shamrock saved Neidhart, before Slaughter and Shamrock attacked DX at
22035-568: The end of the show. D-Generation X was used as the title for a WWF D-Generation X: In Your House pay-per-view telecast on December 7, 1997. By this point, with Michaels holding both the WWF and WWF European Championships, and DX's victory in the feud with the Hart Foundation, their status as the lead stable in the company was solidified. Michaels headlined the event and was disqualified in a WWF Championship title defense against Ken Shamrock after interference from Helmsley and Chyna. After
22230-407: The ensuing month. X-Pac also gave Tori an apparently forced kiss during his match with Kane on the January 24 episode of Raw . This storyline culminated on the January 27 episode of SmackDown! , when DX jumped Kane during another match against Big Show, leading to a promo in which X-Pac recounted his Christmas rendezvous with Tori; Tori then passionately kissed X-Pac, turning on Kane and joining DX in
22425-515: The eventual plan with the new title and tournament was to establish a UK-based brand with its own weekly television show. WWE subsequently launched its UK-based brand as an offshoot of NXT, NXT UK , in June 2018, with Johnny Saint serving as inaugural general manager. Starting in September 2019, NXT had a weekly, live, two-hour show Wednesday nights on the USA Network and WWE began promoting NXT as their "third brand". However, in 2021 NXT
22620-428: The film Rocky III . McMahon signed Roddy Piper as Hogan's rival, and then shortly afterward Jesse Ventura as an announcer. Other wrestlers joined the roster, such as The Iron Sheik , Nikolai Volkoff , Junkyard Dog , Paul Orndorff , Greg Valentine , and Ricky Steamboat , joining existing stars such as Jimmy Snuka , Don Muraco , Sgt. Slaughter and André the Giant . Many of the wrestlers who would later join
22815-542: The first ever Submissions Count Anywhere match in WWE history. The following month at Hell in Cell , DX defeated Legacy in a Hell in a Cell match. DX would go on to challenge John Cena for the WWE Championship in a triple threat match at Survivor Series with both men failing to win the title, although they were able to retain their friendship and tag team partnership. On December 13 at TLC: Tables, Ladders and Chairs , DX defeated Jeri-Show (Chris Jericho and Big Show) to win
23010-560: The first time that professional wrestling had been broadcast on network television since the 1950s when the now-defunct DuMont Television Network broadcast matches of Vincent J. McMahon's Capitol Wrestling Corporation. The 1980s "Wrestling Boom" peaked with the WrestleMania III pay-per-view at the Pontiac Silverdome in 1987, which set an attendance record of 93,173 for the WWF for 29 years until 2016 . A rematch of
23205-576: The first time. Initially, Chyna turned on Triple H and X-Pac and joined the Corporation on January 25. At WrestleMania XV , Chyna turned on then fellow Corporation member Kane , helping Triple H to defeat him, and seemingly rejoining DX. Later that night, however, Triple H and Chyna interfered in X-Pac's European Championship match with Shane McMahon. Initially, it appeared that they were there to help X-Pac, but Triple H quickly turned on him, delivering
23400-587: The first wrestler to be part of both DX and nWo. When the nWo split, Hennig and Rude initially sided with the nWo Wolfpac during May 1998. But their time with the "Red & Black" was very brief. At The Great American Bash , they turned on fellow Wolfpac member Konnan by attacking him after he lost to the then-undefeated Goldberg , resulting in Hennig and Rude both joining nWo Hollywood instead. By late 1998, both Rude and Hennig were off WCW television due to injuries. Hennig had an ongoing leg injury that year, and Rude
23595-458: The following weeks, Gunn would continue to attack X-Pac and Road Dogg, often being chased away by Kane. In July, Triple H and Chyna told Billy Gunn that Road Dogg and X-Pac were making a lot more money from DX's royalties than the other three (due to them still using the name as a tag team). This would lead to a tag match at Fully Loaded , in which the winners would get the rights to use the DX name, which Road Dogg and X-Pac won. Though not officially
23790-580: The founder of the CWC was. Some sources state that it was Vincent J. McMahon , while other sources cite McMahon's father Jess McMahon as founder of CWC. The CWC later joined the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) and famous New York promoter Toots Mondt soon joined the promotion. Vincent J. McMahon and Toots Mondt were very successful and soon controlled approximately 70% of the NWA's booking power, largely due to their dominance in
23985-405: The four major sports leagues closed locker rooms to the media as a precautionary measure. As other sports cancellations and postponements were being introduced, WWE began to film its weekly programs at the Performance Center without spectators and with only essential staff present, beginning with the March 13 episode of SmackDown – the March 11 episode of NXT had been recorded at
24180-410: The fourth incarnation. X-Pac's parody of Mark Henry has been seen as highly controversial due to him being in blackface (unlike the rest of DX); X-Pac would admit on his podcast in 2018 that it was one of his biggest career regrets, despite having Henry's personal blessing to do the segment. Throughout 1999, the members would gradually turn on one another, leading to the group officially disbanding for
24375-428: The genesis of a long feud between the two that ended with Triple H emerging victorious in a Hell in a Cell match at Bad Blood in 2004. In 2006, a series of events began occurring which hinted at a DX reunion. At WrestleMania 22 , former members Shawn Michaels and Triple H performed the group's signature crotch chop during their respective matches (the former against Mr. McMahon, and the latter against John Cena for
24570-538: The gesture almost unintentionally, but perhaps took the risk knowing it was a PPV event and thus not subject to normal censoring restrictions. Either way, the move went back to obscurity, until Shawn Michaels revived the taunt several months before the formation of D-X, at least as early as July 21, 1997, while he stood in-ring for an interview segment on Raw Is War filmed in Halifax, Nova Scotia , Canada. Although Michaels had not yet made his heel turn (which would follow
24765-431: The group gradually broke apart. Road Dogg and X-Pac became frustrated by their lack of success as a tag team and turned on each other, culminating in a match at SummerSlam , which X-Pac won. By late 2000, Triple H had become a solo star, and even briefly turned face during a love triangle storyline involving Stephanie and Kurt Angle . Billy Gunn, meanwhile, had returned to action and struck a partnership with Chyna following
24960-500: The group had simply undergone "expansion" rather than "destruction". According to Triple H, WWF management wanted to keep The Kliq apart on-screen, so they were hesitant to pair he and Michaels together at first. Despite this, the group began to form during the August 11, 1997 main event of Raw Is War . During Michaels' match with Mankind, Triple H (then wrestling under the ring name of Hunter Hearst Helmsley) and Chyna both interfered, as Helmsley had been recently feuding with Mankind;
25155-400: The group officially disbanded in August 2000. After a teased reunion in 2002, DX reformed in June 2006 as the duo of Triple H and Shawn Michaels for the remainder of the year and again in August 2009 until March 2010, shortly before Michaels' retirement. This incarnation was voted the greatest WWE Tag Team Champions of all time in a 2013 WWE viewer poll. Today, most of its members are active in
25350-863: The group's most memorable promos were their parodies of their rivals. On July 6, 1998, DX carried out the first of these segments, where they mocked and parodied The Nation, with Triple H mocking The Rock as "The Crock"; Road Dogg playing the part of D'Lo Brown as "B'Lo"; Billy Gunn as The Godfather ; X-Pac as a parody of Mark Henry , going by "Mizark"; and comedian Jason Sensation as Owen Hart. On December 14, 1998, they would turn their attention to The Corporation with Triple H again appearing as "The Crock"; Road Dogg playing Mr. McMahon (with two midgets representing Gerald Brisco and Pat Patterson kissing his behind throughout); Billy Gunn, playing Shane McMahon wearing an adult diaper; X-Pac playing Ken Shamrock; Chyna as The Big Boss Man ; and Sensation returning to play Michaels. These parodies would also be resurrected during
25545-544: The halls of the school where he works. In a 2010 episode of Family Guy , titled " Extra Large Medium ", a cutaway shows Spock doing the crotch chop after he wins the lottery. In the 2012 film, " Pitch Perfect ", Becca does the crotch chop at the end of the Barden Bellas' rap in the riff off. It's also featured in Nintendo's Super Mario strikers in a taunt that Waluigi does after scoring a goal. Jon Jones performed
25740-493: The heavily populated Northeastern United States . In 1963, McMahon and Mondt had a dispute with the NWA over "Nature Boy" Buddy Rogers being booked to hold the NWA World Heavyweight Championship . Mondt and McMahon were not only promoters but also acted as his manager and were accused by other NWA promoters of withholding Rogers making defenses in their cities versus only defending in Mondt and McMahon's own cities thus maintaining
25935-566: The influence, was a ruse as part of a revenge plot for Vince orchestrating Stephanie's abduction by the Ministry earlier in the year. This officially marked the beginning of the McMahon-Helmsley Era , with Stephanie becoming an official member of DX through her ties to Triple H. When Kane's storyline girlfriend Tori began to get involved in the feud between Kane and X-Pac, Triple H and Stephanie punished her by scheduling Tori in
26130-579: The latter of which DX made a recurring habit of humiliating by giving him the nickname "Sgt. Slobber". D-Generation X's first major feud was against the Hart Foundation , which was led by Michaels' nemesis Bret Hart . At WWF One Night Only , the rest of DX helped Michaels defeat Foundation member British Bulldog for the WWF European Championship , officially making Michaels the WWF's first Grand Slam Champion . On-screen,
26325-501: The locker room during Bret's confrontation with Vince McMahon after the match in Montreal, and later called Eric Bischoff , informing Bischoff that what had happened was in fact real. Rude was not signed to a full-time contract with the WWF, and was instead performing on a "pay-per-appearance" basis. Rude was able to negotiate a deal with Bischoff and WCW, in large part due to his anger over the Montreal Screwjob. Rude appeared on both
26520-687: The longest world title reign in the WWE since Hulk Hogan from 1984 to 1988. WWE remained at the Amway Center up through early December before relocating the ThunderDome to Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida . The ThunderDome relocated to Yuengling Center , located on the campus of the University of South Florida in Tampa, beginning with the April 12, 2021, episode of Raw . In October 2020, NXT events were relocated from Full Sail University to
26715-494: The main event of ECW Heat Wave 1997 , Rude made a one-off return to the ring in a six-man tag team match, where he partnered with ECW mainstays Tommy Dreamer and The Sandman to face Jerry Lawler and ECW stars Rob Van Dam and Sabu , only to betray Dreamer and The Sandman. During the ECW versus USWA /WWF inter-company competition, Rude helped Lawler win matches against Dreamer and The Sandman. On August 11, 1997, Rude returned to
26910-515: The mastermind behind Austin's hit-and-run assault at the Survivor Series the year before. Chyna and Gunn, along with Road Dogg and his new tag team partner K-Kwik , continued to feud with The Radicalz that month, leading to a match at Survivor Series , which The Radicalz would win. After November 2000, DX remained unseen and largely unmentioned until Shawn Michaels returned to WWE in the summer of 2002. Michaels, who had recently returned to
27105-664: The match and the WWF Championship, allowing Austin to win the title. The night after WrestleMania, Triple H officially ejected Michaels from DX for "dropping the ball" over the Tyson incident and subsequently losing the WWF Championship. In reality, Michaels had suffered a severe back injury during his Casket Match with The Undertaker at the Royal Rumble , and started what would become a four-year hiatus from wrestling to recuperate. Triple H would assume full leadership of DX and recruited X-Pac , who had been recently fired from WCW, and
27300-479: The match concluded. Most of their antics now involved practical jokes on Vince. On the June 26 episode of Raw , DX added to the list of parodies with Triple H impersonating Vince McMahon, talking about his love of "Dicks" (a double entendre referring to Dick Ebersol , Dick Clark , and Dick Cheney , as well as the male member; this was also used again repeatedly with roosters, saying that Vince loved "cocks"), while Michaels impersonated Shane McMahon , dancing around
27495-501: The match when, upon receiving a suicide dive at ringside, he landed on the corner of the raised platform surrounding the ring; unable to wrestle, he was stripped of the title (with the storyline excuse that he was found to have used the title belt as a weapon in the course of the match). Rude retired shortly thereafter. Rude collected on a Lloyd's of London insurance policy and did not appear in wrestling again until January 1997, when he joined Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) as
27690-417: The match, Owen Hart interfered, having not been seen on WWF television since Survivor Series, starting a feud between Owen and DX. Earlier in the night, Helmsley (now primarily wrestling under the ring name of Triple H) defeated Sgt. Slaughter with the help of Chyna in a Boot Camp match . On the December 22 episode of Raw is War, however, Michaels and Triple H were forced by Slaughter to wrestle each other for
27885-618: The name of its wrestling promotion to World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) after the company lost a lawsuit initiated by the World Wildlife Fund over the WWF trademark. Although mainly caused by an unfavorable ruling in its dispute with the World Wildlife Fund regarding the "WWF" initialism, the company noted it provided an opportunity to emphasize its focus on entertainment. In March 2002, WWE decided to create two separate rosters, with each group of wrestlers appearing on one of their main programs, Raw and SmackDown! , due to
28080-414: The name was taken from comments by Hart, who on several occasions, particularly including the October 6, 1997 episode of Raw Is War , had labeled Michaels "nothing more than a degenerate". The following week, on October 13, 1997, Michaels made "D-Generation X" the group's official name, mockingly citing Hart's insults as his inspiration and how Generation X (with both members being part of Generation X )
28275-582: The organization. McMahon also worked to get WWF programming on syndicated television all across the United States. This angered other promoters and disrupted the well-established boundaries of the different wrestling promotions, eventually ending the territory system, which was in use since the founding of the NWA in the 1940s. In addition, the company used income generated by advertising, television deals, and tape sales to secure talent from rival promoters. In an interview with Sports Illustrated , McMahon
28470-441: The other were available for wrestlers from any show to compete for; the "Supershow" format would mark the end of the brand split, as all programming and live events (until July 2016) featured the full WWE roster. In 2013, the company built the sports medicine and training facility WWE Performance Center in the east Orange County, Florida in partnership with Full Sail University from Winter Park, Florida . The training facility
28665-487: The overabundance of talent left over from the Invasion storyline and the ensuing absorption of WCW and ECW contracts. This was dubbed as the " brand extension ". Beginning in 2002 a draft lottery was held nearly every year to set the rosters, with the first draft to determine the inaugural split rosters, and subsequent drafts designed to refresh the rosters of each show. WWE expanded the brand split by relaunching ECW as
28860-569: The pandemic to have ticketed fans in attendance with a maximum of 25,000 spectators for each night with COVID-19 protocols in place. Also around this time, the WWE Network in the United States became exclusively distributed by Peacock on March 18, 2021 (ahead of Fastlane and WrestleMania 37). The merger of the WWE Network and Peacock did not affect the service outside of the United States. The move to Peacock received some criticisms from fans particularly due to Peacock's heavy censorship policy,
29055-482: The pandemic, including releasing a number of performers ( Karl Anderson , Kurt Angle , Aiden English , EC3 , Epico , Luke Gallows , Curt Hawkins , No Way Jose , Sarah Logan , Mike Kanellis , Maria Kanellis , Primo , Erick Rowan , Rusev , Lio Rush , Zack Ryder , Heath Slater , and Eric Young ), three producers ( Dave Finlay , Shane Helms and Lance Storm ), referee Mike Chioda , and multiple NXT/Performance Center trainees and staff. WWE executives also took
29250-521: The process. Throughout this period, DX would feud with the likes of The Rock, Mankind/Cactus Jack, Chris Jericho , Kane and the other McMahons, primarily securing and protecting Triple H's WWF Championship as well as The Outlaws' WWF Tag Team Championship. They would also arrive at arenas in a tour bus called "The DX Express". During a match at No Way Out where The Outlaws lost the Tag Team Championship to The Dudley Boyz , Gunn suffered
29445-635: The promotion for the World Wrestling Federation in April 1987. To explain the sudden departure, Jim Crockett, Jr. aired a pre-taped non-title match where the Express defeated Rude and Fernandez and claimed that Rude had been injured as a result. Rude made his World Wrestling Federation (WWF) debut on Superstars of Wrestling on July 15, 1987, as the newest addition to the Bobby Heenan Family . His first major feud in
29640-399: The ring until "Vince" screamed at him to "STOP IT!" When Vince, Shane, and the Spirit Squad came to confront them, the contents of a port-a-potty were promptly dumped on them. On the July 3 episode of Raw , as a result of their actions on June 26, Vince banned DX from the arena; DX responded by hijacking the production truck and performing a series of pranks on Mr. McMahon, including focusing
29835-604: The road, taking place at the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas. In January 2021, WWE moved WrestleMania 37 , which was originally to be held in Inglewood, California on March 28, to Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida – WrestleMania 36's original location – as a two-night event on April 10 and 11, with fans in attendance, though to a limited capacity. This marked WWE's first event during
30030-520: The same day a pro- Donald Trump political action committee led by Linda McMahon , who was previously a part of Trump's cabinet, pledged to spend $ 18.5 million in advertising in Florida, and that, also on the same day, Vince McMahon was named part of an advisory group created by Trump to devise a strategy in re-launching the US economy. On April 15, WWE started a series of cuts and layoffs in response to
30225-407: The save. To retaliate a few days later, Rude came to the ring with a likeness of Cheryl stenciled on the front of his tights. A furious Roberts charged the ring and stripped Rude, appearing to television viewers to leave him naked (as indicated by black-spot censoring Rude's genital area), although the live audience saw him actually stripped to a g-string . Through mid-1988 Rude continued to wear
30420-483: The second time with all five male members present. Since then, DX reunited on several occasions, like at Raw 25 , at Raw Reunion , on the October 10, 2022 episode of Raw in the celebration of the group's 25th anniversary, or at Raw is XXX . Also, during Triple H's heel Authority storyline in 2013, the New Age Outlaws allied with The Authority and won the WWE Tag Team Championship against
30615-422: The spotlight. In January 1993, the WWF debuted its flagship cable program Monday Night Raw . WCW countered in September 1995 with its own Monday night program, Monday Nitro , which aired in the same time slot as Raw . The two programs would trade wins in the ensuing ratings competition (known as the " Monday Night War ") until mid-1996. At that point, Nitro began a nearly two-year ratings domination that
30810-502: The stable has been dubbed multiple times as the "most controversial group in WWF/E history". Michaels' autobiography suggests that it was WWF head writer Vince Russo who first conceived the moniker for the faction, while Bret Hart claims it originated from New York Post columnist Phil Mushnick , a frequent critic of the WWF. Triple H also claims that Shane McMahon coined the name of D-Generation X when responding to Bret Hart's characterization of younger wrestlers as degenerates. DX
31005-566: The statements and call out the Boss Man. Rude was scheduled to be a part of a team called the Natural Disasters at the Survivor Series, consisting of Earthquake , Dino Bravo , and The Barbarian against Hulk Hogan and Boss Man's team, but was replaced by Haku after being suspended indefinitely by Jack Tunney. Tunney explained that Rude's comments towards the Boss Man were the reason for his suspension and that his manager Bobby Heenan
31200-572: The summer of 1990 after Warrior had won the WWF World Heavyweight Championship . Rude began rigorous training in preparation for the Warrior, and took a more serious approach by neglecting women and cutting his hair short (a style he would maintain for the rest of his career). The feud culminated in a steel cage at SummerSlam 1990 , wherein Rude was defeated by the Warrior. Next, he was scheduled to feud with Big Boss Man , which had its start when Rude's manager Bobby Heenan started to make degrading comments about Boss Man's mother. Rude would later backup
31395-407: The term Rock 'n' Wrestling Connection , due to the cross-promotion of popular culture and professional wrestling. The WWF business expanded significantly on the shoulders of McMahon and his babyface hero Hulk Hogan for the next several years after defeating The Iron Sheik at Madison Square Garden on January 23, 1984. The introduction of Saturday Night's Main Event on NBC in 1985 marked
31590-415: The three business partners receiving roughly $ 815,000 among them and Vincent J. McMahon receiving roughly $ 185,000. Seeking to make the WWF the premier wrestling promotion in the country, and eventually, the world, he began an expansion process that fundamentally changed the wrestling business. At the annual meeting of the NWA in 1983, the McMahons and former Capitol employee Jim Barnett all withdrew from
31785-737: The title change. From January until April 1963, Rogers was promoted as the NWA World Champion, or simply the World Heavyweight Champion, in their area. The World Wide Wrestling Federation (WWWF) was not an immediate creation after Rogers's one fall loss to Thesz. Mondt and McMahon both eventually left the NWA in protest and formed the WWWF in the process. They brought along with them Willie Gilzenberg , long time boxing and wrestling promoter in New Jersey. In April 1963,
31980-407: The title. In December 1992, Rude suffered a legitimate neck injury and was forced to forfeit the United States Championship, thus ending his reign of nearly 14 months, a reign that still stands today as the second longest reign in the almost 40-year history of the title. Rude returned alone in April 1993 and tried to reclaim the title from Dustin Rhodes , who had won it while he was injured. The title
32175-419: The two McMahons was a monthly payment basis, in which if a single payment was missed, ownership would revert to the elder McMahon and his business partners. Looking to seal the deal quickly, McMahon took several loans and deals with other promoters and the business partners (including the promise of a job for life) in order to take full ownership by May or June 1983 for an estimated total of roughly $ 1 million with
32370-425: The wedding of Stephanie McMahon and Test to reveal that he had already married Stephanie at a Las Vegas drive-through wedding chapel while she was supposedly drugged unconscious. Triple H would then defeat Vince in a street fight at Armageddon after Stephanie turned on her father and embraced her then-storyline husband. The two revealed the next night on Raw that the ceremony, as well as Stephanie being under
32565-419: The win despite Triple H tearing his pec . Shawn Michaels and Triple H reunited in a non-wrestling capacity for the 2010 Tribute to the Troops , after SmackDown events in 2011 and 2012 and during the 2012 Hall of Fame ceremony when they inducted Mike Tyson. On July 23, 2012, at the 1000th episode of Raw Billy Gunn, Road Dogg, X-Pac, Shawn Michaels, and Triple H simultaneously appeared together for only
32760-413: The words "suck it" actually originated with the nWo. While Syxx/X-Pac was still a member of the faction, he along with Scott Hall and Kevin Nash would regularly perform the gesture. Later on, D-X would use a cross armed x-chop. The signature D-X slogan originated on the October 6, 1997 episode of Raw Is War , with Shawn Michaels stating, "I've got two words for 'The Hitman' Bret Hart: suck it!", before doing
32955-461: The wrestlers' entrances on a level similar to that of pay-per-view productions pre-pandemic. Nearly 1,000 LED boards were installed to allow for rows and rows of virtual fans. It was free of charge for fans to virtually attend the events, though they had to reserve their virtual seat ahead of time. During this time, Roman Reigns began his historic world title reign with the WWE Universal Championship , which would eventually surpass 1,000 days; being
33150-420: Was "essential", which meant that the company's revenues loss would be limited. In August 2020, WWE relocated from the Performance Center to Orlando's Amway Center for a long-term residency, broadcasting episodes of Raw , SmackDown , and pay-per-views through a virtual fan viewing experience called WWE ThunderDome . Inside the ThunderDome, drones, lasers, pyro, smoke, and projections were utilized to enhance
33345-510: Was above the top of the wrestling world (as in not merely the "best in the game", but in fact "the game" itself) and was nicknamed "The Cerebral Assassin" by Jim Ross . On the January 3 episode of Raw Is War , Triple H defeated Big Show to win his third WWF Championship. Meanwhile, storylines implied that X-Pac had truly done something harmful to Tori when she started appearing as neurotic and paranoid, with many WWF superstars using Tori's mental state to provoke Kane into attacking their enemies over
33540-430: Was an American professional wrestler who performed for many promotions , including World Wrestling Federation (WWF), World Championship Wrestling (WCW), and Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW). Rude wrestled from 1982 until his 1994 retirement due to injury, with a final match following in 1997. Among other accolades, he was a four-time world champion, a three-time WCW International World Heavyweight Champion ,
33735-418: Was born in St. Peter, Minnesota to Richard Clyde Rood and Sally Jean Thompson. He attended Robbinsdale High School in Robbinsdale, Minnesota with Tom Zenk , Brady Boone , Nikita Koloff , Curt Hennig , John Nord , and Barry Darsow , all of whom later became professional wrestlers. He was especially close with his childhood friend Curt Hennig. After graduating from Anoka-Ramsey Community College with
33930-405: Was by now no longer the majority WWE stockholder, ended his ties with the company amid a sex trafficking scandal . Mid 20th Century 1970s and 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s and 2020s WWE's origins can be traced back as far as the 1950s when on January 7, 1953, the first show under the Capitol Wrestling Corporation (CWC) was produced. There is uncertainty as to whom
34125-414: Was changed to World Wrestling Entertainment, LLC . WWE is the largest wrestling promotion in the world. Its main roster is divided into two touring brands , Raw and SmackDown . Its developmental brand , NXT , is based at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida . Overall, WWE programming is available in more than one billion homes worldwide in 30 languages. The company's global headquarters
34320-432: Was consolidated with the Massachusetts entity in February 1988. The WWF was hit with allegations of steroid abuse and distribution in 1992. This was followed by allegations of sexual harassment by WWF employees the following year. McMahon was eventually exonerated, but the allegations brought bad public relations for the WWF, and an overall bad reputation. The steroid trial cost the company an estimated $ 5 million at
34515-455: Was doing the taunt repeatedly, not directed at an opposing player, but rather at Rudy Gobert , his own teammate. Edwards later stated in an interview alongside Gobert, "I was trying to get Rudy to do it with me but he would never make eye contact with me, which was crazy because I threw you the ball for the and one." Teams in the Australian National Rugby League competition have also used the crotch chop to taunt opponents. The crotch chop and
34710-432: Was eventually held up after several controversial finishes to matches between the two. After a 30-minute Iron Man Match ended in a 1–1 draw at Beach Blast on July 18, a best-of-three series was set between the two on Saturday Night ; Rude won the first match on August 28, but lost to Rhodes twice on September 4 and 11, losing his chance at regaining the United States Heavyweight Championship. Rude switched his sights to
34905-414: Was found unconscious by his wife and died on the morning of April 20, 1999, at the age of 40 when he suffered from heart failure . An autopsy report showed he died from an overdose of "mixed medications". At the time of his death, Rude was in training for a return to the ring. The effects of gamma-hydroxybutyrate , a narcolepsy prevention drug, may have contributed to his death. On March 6, 2017, it
35100-415: Was founded in 1953 as the Capitol Wrestling Corporation (CWC), a Northeastern territory of the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA). Following a dispute, CWC left the NWA and became the World Wide Wrestling Federation (WWWF) in April 1963. After rejoining the NWA in 1971, the WWWF was renamed the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) in 1979 before the promotion left the NWA for good in 1983. In 2002, following
35295-456: Was impressed with the gesture, has invited Embiid for a special role at WrestleMania XL in Philadelphia although the Sixers are playing the Memphis Grizzlies and the San Antonio Spurs during the same weekend. The crotch chop appeared in an NBA game for a second time on Friday, April 26, 2024, during Game 3 of the Western Conference playoffs first round series between the Minnesota Timberwolves and Phoenix Suns . Minnesota's Anthony Edwards
35490-445: Was in an Ohio hospital during the time the alleged tournament took place. Rogers lost the championship to Bruno Sammartino a month later on May 17, with the promotion beginning to be built around Sammartino shortly after. In June 1963, Gilzenberg was named the first president of the WWWF. Mondt left the promotion in the late 1960s and although the WWWF had previously withdrawn from the NWA, McMahon quietly re-joined in 1971. The WWWF
35685-405: Was largely fueled by the introduction of the New World Order (nWo), a stable led by former WWF performers Hulk Hogan, Scott Hall (the former Razor Ramon), and Kevin Nash (the former Diesel). As the Monday Night War continued between Raw Is War and WCW's Nitro , the WWF would transform itself from a family-friendly product into a more adult-oriented product, known as the Attitude Era . The era
35880-400: Was moved to Tuesday nights, having conceded the Wednesday Night Wars to rival promotion All Elite Wrestling (AEW), and in September of that year was reinstated to its original function as the developmental brand for the main roster (Raw and SmackDown), under the name "NXT 2.0". In March 2020, WWE began to be impacted by the American onset of the COVID-19 pandemic . In mid-March, three of
36075-423: Was obligated to wrestle the Boss Man in his place. In reality, Rude had a dispute with WWF owner Vince McMahon that led to him leaving the company. After leaving the WWF, Rude attempted to join Herb Abrams' UWF . Still under contract with the WWF, his former company sent a cease and desist order that prevented Rude from appearing on UWF television. He would not wrestle again until May 18, 1991, when he appeared at
36270-419: Was officially dubbed The McMahon-Helmsley Regime. On April 27, Stone Cold Steve Austin used a crane to drop a steel beam on the DX Express tour bus, causing the bus to explode in the parking lot. The Rock defeated Triple H for the WWF Championship at Backlash in a match which featured Stone Cold Steve Austin's brief return to the WWF. Though Triple H regained the title the following month at Judgment Day ,
36465-419: Was one of the three main contributing factors, along with Stone Cold Steve Austin and The Rock , to the onset of the WWF's Attitude Era . WWF/E Chairman Vince McMahon has repeatedly denied that DX was inspired or heavily influenced by World Championship Wrestling 's (WCW) New World Order (nWo), though the core members of both on-screen factions included members of The Kliq ; ( Sean Waltman even served as
36660-503: Was publicly acknowledged by WWE's then-owner Vince McMahon in 1989 in order to avoid taxes from athletic commissions. WWE markets its product as sports entertainment , acknowledging professional wrestling's roots in competitive sport and dramatic theater. In 2023, WWE began to explore a potential sale of the company, amidst an employee misconduct scandal involving McMahon that had prompted him to step down as chairman and CEO, although he returned as executive chairman. In April 2023, WWE made
36855-599: Was put into effect with the relaunch of Tough Enough , being a non-scripted program (contrary to the scripted nature of professional wrestling) and with the launch of the WWE Network (at the time scheduled to launch in 2012; later pushed back to 2014). However, the legal name of the company still remains as World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. Beginning with the August 29, 2011, episode, Raw - referred to as Raw Supershow - featured talent from both Raw and SmackDown (the "Supershow" epithet would be dropped on July 23, 2012). Championships previously exclusive to one show or
37050-637: Was quoted as saying: "In the old days, there were wrestling fiefdoms all over the country, each with its own little lord in charge. Each little lord respected the rights of his neighboring little lord. No takeovers or raids were allowed. There were maybe 30 of these tiny kingdoms in the U.S. and if I hadn't bought out my dad, there would still be 30 of them, fragmented and struggling. I, of course, had no allegiance to those little lords." McMahon gained significant traction when he hired American Wrestling Association (AWA) talent Hulk Hogan , who had achieved popularity outside of wrestling, notably for his appearance in
37245-508: Was renamed the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) in 1979. Vincent J. McMahon's son, Vincent K. McMahon , and his wife Linda , established Titan Sports, Inc., in 1980 in South Yarmouth, Massachusetts and applied trademarks for the initials "WWF". The company was incorporated on February 21, 1980, in the Cape Cod Coliseum offices, then moved to the building on Holly Hill Lane in Greenwich, Connecticut . The younger McMahon bought Capitol from his father in 1982, effectively seizing control of
37440-426: Was spearheaded by WWF VP Shane McMahon (son of owner Vince McMahon) and head writer Vince Russo . 1997 ended with McMahon facing real-life controversy following Bret Hart 's controversial departure from the company, dubbed as the Montreal Screwjob . This proved to be one of several founding factors in the launch of the Attitude Era as well as the creation of McMahon's on-screen character, " Mr. McMahon ". Before
37635-434: Was the reigning WWF European Champion. Heavyweight boxer Mike Tyson was also involved as the " special enforcer " in the main event of the night featuring Michaels against Stone Cold Steve Austin . In the weeks leading up to the event, Tyson was revealed to have joined D-Generation X, and looked as if he was going to help Michaels retain the championship. However, at the end of the match, Tyson turned on DX and cost Michaels
37830-552: Was thought to have had testicular cancer which later turned out to be a spermatocele . Hennig returned to the nWo from his injury at Starrcade without Rude, who was still unable to appear and was not included in the nWo reunion that happened during January 1999. Rude officially left WCW in April 1999, with his last appearance coming on the April 5, 1999 edition of WCW Monday Nitro Backstage Blast. In 1976, Rood married his love interest, Cheryl Holler. The couple later divorced in 1982. Rood married his second wife Michelle in 1988, and
38025-411: Was undefeated, beating Isamu Teranishi and Akira Taue . His final appearance came on July 19, where he teamed with Johnny Ace in a losing effort to Dan Spivey and Stan Hansen . Rude also appeared in International World Class Championship Wrestling (IWCCW), where he had confrontations with The Honky Tonk Man . After spending a year wrestling on select shows on the independent circuit , as well as
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