Mid 20th Century
158-825: The history of American professional wrestling promotion WWE dates back to the early 1950s when it was founded on January 7, 1953 as the Capitol Wrestling Corporation (CWC). The public branding of the company has undergone several name changes throughout the years, from the CWC to the World Wide Wrestling Federation (WWWF) in 1963, then the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) in 1979, and to World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) in 2002. Since 2011, it has branded itself solely as WWE. On September 12, 2023, Endeavor ,
316-410: A Contemporary architecture , it has a conical shape, with 96 meters of internal diameter and capacity to receive up to 20 thousand faithful. The splendor of the building, with straight and sober lines, is due to the changing stained glass windows carved on the walls up to the dome. Its design and execution was coordinated by Monsignor Ivo Antônio Calliari (1918–2005). Saint Sebastian is recognized as
474-516: A Portuguese expedition under explorer Gaspar de Lemos , captain of a ship in Pedro Álvares Cabral 's fleet, or under Gonçalo Coelho . Allegedly the Florentine explorer Amerigo Vespucci participated as an observer at the invitation of King Manuel I in the same expedition. In 1555, one of the islands of Guanabara Bay, now called Villegagnon Island , was occupied by 500 French colonists under
632-606: A Steel cage match in 1980. The main event of the 1976 event was a "Boxer vs Wrestler" fight between Muhammad Ali and Antonio Inoki which ended in a draw. At that event, Sammartino had retained the WWWF World Heavyweight Championship against Stan Hansen . The 1972, 1976 and 1980 events each had attendance figures of 22,508, 32,000, and 36,295 respectively. Toots Mondt left the WWWF in the late sixties, and Vincent J. McMahon assumed complete control of
790-486: A skin color and phenotype continuum from pálido ( branco ) or fair-skinned, through branco moreno or swarthy Caucasian, mestiço claro or lighter skinned multiracial, pardo (mixed race) to negro or black . Pardo , for example, in popular usage includes those who are caboclos ( mestizos ), mulatos ( mulattoes ), cafuzos ( zambos ), juçaras (archaic term for tri-racials ) and westernized Amerindians (which are called caboclos as well), being more of
948-551: A tropical savanna climate ( Aw ) that closely borders a tropical monsoon climate ( Am ) according to the Köppen climate classification , and is often characterized by long periods of heavy rain between December and March. The city experiences hot, humid summers, and warm, sunny winters. In inland areas of the city, temperatures above 40 °C (104 °F) are common during the summer, though rarely for long periods, while maximum temperatures above 27 °C (81 °F) can occur on
1106-409: A Last Man Standing match at No Mercy in 2007 but a year later losing to him in another Last Man Standing match at One Night Stand in 2008. Rising star CM Punk made his WWE debut in 2006, wrestling his first main roster match at Survivor Series that year in a 5-on-5 Survivor Series elimination match as part of Team DX in a clean sweep victory over Team Rated-RKO . In 2008, he won the money in
1264-469: A babyface champion facing a heel challenger for one to three meetings in each scheduled town; for longer programs the heel would often win the first match in a non-decisive manner such as a countout or via excessive blood loss, and the champion would then retain in an ultraviolent blow-off match such as a steel cage match or Texas Death match . Unlike most of the NWA territories, the main event would occur in
1422-517: A barrier to the humid wind that comes from the Atlantic. The city has had rare frosts in the past. Some areas within Rio de Janeiro state occasionally have falls of snow grains and ice pellets (popularly called granizo ) and hail . Drought is very rare, albeit bound to happen occasionally given the city's strongly seasonal tropical climate. The Brazilian drought of 2014–2015, most severe in
1580-411: A cheaper salary. On July 9, 2001, the stars of WCW and Extreme Championship Wrestling (acquired by Stephanie McMahon in a related storyline) joined forces, forming " The Alliance " with WCW owner Shane McMahon and the new owner of ECW Stephanie McMahon leading the charge, with the support and influence of original ECW owner Paul Heyman . At Invasion , Stone Cold Steve Austin turned on WWF and helped
1738-407: A conical shape, with an internal diameter of 96 meters and a capacity to hold up to 20,000 worshippers. The splendor of the building, with its straight and sober lines, is due to the changing stained glass windows carved into the walls up to the dome . Its design and execution were coordinated by Monsignor Ivo Antônio Calliari (1918–2005). Saint Sebastian is recognized as the patron saint of
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#17327836871021896-553: A final defeat was imposed on the French forces and they were decisively expelled from Brazil for good. The city of Rio de Janeiro proper was founded on 1 March 1565 by the Portuguese, led by Estácio de Sá , including Antônio de Mariz [ pt ] . It was named São Sebastião do Rio de Janeiro , in honor of St. Sebastian, the saint who was the namesake and patron of the Portuguese then-monarch Sebastião . Rio de Janeiro
2054-658: A football when she joined him. And shortly after her arrival, in September 1894, the first football match in Brazil took place in the field beside the textile factory. It was a five-a-side match between British workers, and took place six months before the first game organized by Charles Miller in São Paulo. However, the Bangu Football Club was not formally created until 1904. At the time Brazil's Old Republic
2212-408: A highly acclaimed Hell in a Cell match at Vengeance . Although Batista would have major success in the months following his championship win, he would suffer an injury in early 2006 and miss that year's WrestleMania. After returning and eventually winning another world championship, at WrestleMania 23 in 2007, Batista would defend the title against The Undertaker in a classic encounter, though he lost
2370-632: A highly acclaimed match. He remained the top wrestler of the company after winning the WWE title until his untimely death on November 13, 2005. He was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame the following year. Guerrero's death due to his drug addictions caused WWE to implement the WWE Wellness Policy to prevent wrestlers from taking drugs. The circumstances of his death would provide a medium for his on- and off-screen friend Rey Mysterio to emerge as
2528-541: A major American inter-promotional feud possible, but the Invasion turned out to be a disappointment to many fans. One main reason would be that many of WCW's big-name stars were still under contract to WCW's old parent company, AOL Time Warner , rather than WCW itself, and their contracts were not included in the purchase of the company. These wrestlers chose to sit out the duration of their contracts and be financially supported by AOL Time Warner rather than work for WWF for
2686-549: A major main-eventer and win the 2006 Royal Rumble match and the World Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania 22 . Mysterio had begun a rivalry with the villainous nephew of Eddie, Chavo Guerrero , who had cost him the World Heavyweight Championship during a match with King Booker . During the feud Mysterio injured his knees and would be sidelined for the rest of 2006 and much of 2007, halting his main event push. Mysterio returned and defeated Chavo in
2844-574: A million slaves arrived in Rio de Janeiro through Valongo Wharf , which is now a World Heritage Site . The Port of Rio de Janeiro was the largest port of slaves in America. When Prince Pedro proclaimed the independence of Brazil in 1822, he decided to keep Rio de Janeiro as the capital of his new empire while the place was enriched with sugar cane agriculture in the Campos region and, especially, with
3002-465: A monthly basis. Along the coast, the breeze, blowing onshore and offshore, moderates the temperature. Because of its geographic situation, the city is often reached by cold fronts advancing from Antarctica , especially during autumn and winter, causing frequent weather changes. In summer there can be strong rains, which have, on some occasions, provoked catastrophic floods and landslides. The mountainous areas register greater rainfall since they constitute
3160-623: A much more effective drawing card in the region. The rest of the NWA was unhappy with McMahon and Toots Mondt because he rarely allowed Rogers to wrestle outside of the Northeast. Mondt and McMahon wanted Rogers to keep the NWA World Heavyweight Championship, but Rogers was unwilling to sacrifice his $ 25,000 deposit on the championship belt (championship holders at the time had to pay a deposit to insure they honored their commitments as champion). Rogers lost
3318-526: A neo-gothic church was created, which still exists as the Saint Sebastian and Saint Cecilia Parish Church. Street cinemas and cultural buildings also appeared. In May 1894, Thomas Donohoe , a British worker from Busby , Scotland, arrived in Bangu. Donohoe was amazed to discover that there was absolutely no knowledge of football among Brazilians. So he wrote to his wife, Elizabeth, asking her to bring
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#17327836871023476-439: A population of the order of 1.29 million inhabitants being released without treatment in streams or rivers. With regard to industrial pollution, highly toxic wastes, with high concentrations of heavy metals – mainly zinc and cadmium – have been dumped over the years by factories in the industrial districts of Santa Cruz , Itaguaí and Nova Iguaçu , constructed under the supervision of State policies. The Marapendi lagoon and
3634-447: A possible eight-year prison term and a $ 500,000 fine if convicted. The trial began on July 7, 1994, with the prosecutor, who promised to expose "the dark, corrupt underbelly" of WWF, claimed McMahon distributed steroids "like candy" and pressured wrestlers into taking the drug. Wrestler Nailz testified that McMahon had once said to him: "I strongly suggest you go on the gas". Days later, Hogan admitted that steroid use amongst WWF wrestlers
3792-526: A result, temperatures over 40 °C (104 °F), that may happen about year-round but are much more common during the summer, often mean the actual "feels-like" temperature is over 50 °C (122 °F), when there is little wind and the relative humidity percentage is high. According to data from the Brazilian National Institute of Meteorology (INMET), since 1931, the absolute minimum temperature recorded in Rio de Janeiro
3950-557: A rich and influential Catholic tradition. The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of São Sebastião do Rio de Janeiro is the second largest archdiocese in Brazil after São Paulo . The Rio de Janeiro Cathedral was inaugurated in 1979, in the central region of the city. Its installations have a collection of great historical and religious value: the Archdiocesan Museum of Sacred Art and the Archdiocesan Archive. In
4108-545: A role which entails management, advertising and logistics of running a wrestling event. Within the convention of the show , the company is a sports governing body which sanctions wrestling matches and gives authority to the championships and is responsible for maintaining the divisions and their rankings. In truth, the company serves as a touring theatre troupe , as well as event promotion body for its own events. Most promotions are self-contained, organized around one or more championships and do not acknowledge or recognize
4266-419: A school in the poor suburb of Rio de Janeiro, the "pardos" there were found to be on average about 80% European, and the "whites" (who thought of themselves as "very mixed") were found to carry very little Amerindian and/or African admixtures. The results of the tests of genomic ancestry are quite different from the self made estimates of European ancestry. In general, the test results showed that European ancestry
4424-463: A skin color rather than a racial group in particular. Different ethnic groups contributed to the formation of the population of Rio de Janeiro. Before European colonization, there were at least seven different indigenous peoples speaking 20 languages in the region. A part of them joined the Portuguese and the other the French. Those who joined the French were then exterminated by the Portuguese, while
4582-558: A strong tag team division for WWF. Towards the end of the "Golden Age", Bret Hart of the Hart Foundation began to break out on his own as a singles competitor, with his most memorable match early on taking place at SummerSlam in 1992 against "The British Bulldog" Davey Boy Smith . Hart would eventually capture the WWF World Heavyweight Championship from Ric Flair later that year and would win
4740-509: A territory of 1,721 km . The Cathedral of São Sebastião do Rio de Janeiro , or Metropolitan Cathedral , was inaugurated in 1979 in the central region of the city. Its facilities house a collection of great historical and religious value: the Archdiocesan Museum of Sacred Art and the Archdiocesan Archive. The Banco da Providência and the Archdiocesan Caritas are also based there. In a contemporary architectural style, it has
4898-505: A torn quadriceps muscle in 2007 at New Year's Revolution . Eddie Guerrero , from the famous Mexican Guerrero wrestling family , achieved huge stardom during this period. He gained a large fanbase in 2003 on SmackDown! , which led to a rapid increase in his popularity, promoting him to main event status, and he ultimately won his first world championship, the WWE Championship, at No Way Out in 2004, defeating Brock Lesnar in
History of WWE - Misplaced Pages Continue
5056-406: A year including its flagship event " WrestleMania ", and holds approximately 320 live events a year throughout the world. In 2014, WWE launched the first 24/7 streaming network which would eventually showcase the entire WWE video library . 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
5214-637: Is 349.4 mm, recorded on February 26, 1971, at the former station in the Engenho de Dentro neighborhood. According to the 2010 IBGE Census , there were 5,940,224 people residing in the city of Rio de Janeiro. Since 1960, when it was surpassed by São Paulo , the city of Rio de Janeiro has been the second-most populous city in Brazil. The 2022 census revealed the following numbers: White Brazilian (45.4% or 2,821,619); Mixed (38.7% or 2,403,895); Black (15.6% or 968,428); Asian (10,514 or 0.2%); Indigenous (6,531 or 0.1%). The population of Rio de Janeiro
5372-515: Is about 6,000,000. The population of the greater metropolitan area is estimated at 11–13.5 million. Residents of the city are known as cariocas . The official song of Rio is " Cidade Maravilhosa ", by composer André Filho . The city has parks and ecological reserves such as the Tijuca National Park, the world's first urban forest and UNESCO Environmental Heritage and Biosphere Reserve; Pedra Branca State Park , which houses
5530-430: Is far more important than the students thought it would be. The "pardos" for example thought of themselves as 1 ⁄ 3 European, 1 ⁄ 3 African and 1 ⁄ 3 Amerindian before the tests, and yet their ancestry on average reached 80% European. Other studies showed similar results Religion in Rio de Janeiro is diverse, with Catholic Christianity being the majority religion. According to data from
5688-400: Is some uncertainty as to who the founder of the CWC was. Some sources state that it was Vincent J. McMahon while other sources cite McMahon's father, Roderick James “Jess” McMahon (who died in 1954) as the original founder of CWC. The NWA recognized an undisputed NWA World Heavyweight Champion that went to several different professional wrestling promotions in the NWA. The championship
5846-405: Is still seen in many parts of the city (and many other parts of the state of Rio de Janeiro), including architecture and language . Most Brazilians with some cultural contact with Rio know how to easily differentiate between the local dialect, fluminense , and other Brazilian dialects. People of Portuguese ancestry predominate in most of the state. The Brazilian census of 1920 showed that 39.7% of
6004-831: Is the capital of the state of Rio de Janeiro . It is the second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São Paulo ) and the sixth-most-populous city in the Americas. Founded in 1565 by the Portuguese , the city was initially the seat of the Captaincy of Rio de Janeiro , a domain of the Portuguese Empire . In 1763, it became the capital of the State of Brazil , a state of the Portuguese Empire . In 1808, when
6162-604: Is the second-largest center of research and development in Brazil, accounting for 17 percent of national scientific output according to 2005 data. Despite the high perception of crime, the city actually has a lower incidence of crime than most state capitals in Brazil. Rio de Janeiro is one of the most visited cities in the Southern Hemisphere and is known for its natural settings, carnival , samba , bossa nova , and balneario beaches such as Barra da Tijuca , Copacabana , Ipanema , and Leblon . In addition to
6320-527: The 2016 Summer Olympics and the 2016 Summer Paralympics , making the city the first South American and Portuguese-speaking city to ever host the events, and the third time the Olympics were held in a Southern Hemisphere city. The Maracanã Stadium held the finals of the 1950 and 2014 FIFA World Cups, the 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup , and the XV Pan American Games . The city will host
6478-804: The Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE), in 2010 the population of Rio de Janeiro had 3,229,192 Roman Catholics (51.1%), 1,477,021 Protestants (23.4%), 372.851 Spiritists (5.9%), 37,974 Jehovah's Witnesses (0.6%), 75,075 Buddhists (0.2%), 52,213 Umbanda (0.8%), 21,800 Jews (0.3%), 25,743 Brazilian Catholic Apostolic Church (0.4%), 16,776 new eastern religious (0.2%), 28,843 Candomblé (0.4%), 3,853 Mormons (<0.1%), 5,751 Eastern Orthodox Christians (<0.1%), 7,394 spiritualists (0.1%), 964 Muslims (<0.1%), 5,662 esoteric (<0.1%) and 802 Hindus (<0.1%). 858,704 had no religion (13.5%), and 113,530 followed other forms of Christianity (1.8%). Rio de Janeiro has had
History of WWE - Misplaced Pages Continue
6636-533: The Brazilian War of Independence began. This is one of the few instances in history that the capital of a colonizing country officially shifted to a city in one of its colonies. Rio de Janeiro subsequently served as the capital of the independent monarchy, the Empire of Brazil , until 1889, and then the capital of a republican Brazil until 1960 when the capital was transferred to Brasília . Rio de Janeiro has
6794-725: The G20 summit in 2024 , and the FIFA Women's World Cup in 2027 . [REDACTED] Portuguese Empire 1565–1815 [REDACTED] United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and the Algarves 1815–1822 [REDACTED] Empire of Brazil 1822–1889 [REDACTED] Republic of Brazil 1889–present The region of Rio was inhabited by the Tupi , Puri , Botocudo and Maxakalí peoples. Europeans first encountered Guanabara Bay on 1 January 1502 (hence Rio de Janeiro, "January River"), during
6952-719: The Imperial Academy of Fine Arts , as well as the National Library of Brazil – with the largest collection in Latin America – and The Botanical Garden . The first printed newspaper in Brazil, the Gazeta do Rio de Janeiro , came into circulation during this period. When Brazil was elevated to Kingdom in 1815, it became the capital of the United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and the Algarves until
7110-508: The King of the Ring tournament the following year. In 1991, it was reported that Hulk Hogan , Roddy Piper , Rick Martel , Brian Blair , and Dan Spivey were to testify that they had purchased steroids from WWF physician Dr. George T. Zahorian, who was being charged with the illegal distribution of the drug. Two years later, Vince McMahon was indicted due to his connection to Zahorian, and faced
7268-647: The New York Stock Exchange in October 2000. In 1999, WWF launched a secondary program known as SmackDown! on the UPN network to compete with WCW's Thunder . SmackDown! ' s pilot debuted as a special on April 29, 1999. Beginning on August 26, 1999, the WWF program was aired weekly. In 2000, WWF, in collaboration with television network NBC , created XFL , a new professional football league. XFL
7426-474: The Portuguese Royal Court moved to Brazil , Rio de Janeiro became the seat of the court of Queen Maria I of Portugal . She subsequently, under the leadership of her son the prince regent John VI of Portugal , raised Brazil to the dignity of a kingdom, within the United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil, and Algarves . Rio remained as the capital of the pluricontinental monarchy until 1822, when
7584-483: The Rodrigo de Freitas Lagoon have suffered with the leniency of the authorities and the growth in the number of apartment buildings close by. The illegal discharge of sewage and the consequent deaths of algae diminished the oxygenation of the waters, causing fish mortality. There are, on the other hand, signs of decontamination in the lagoon made through a public-private partnership established in 2008 to ensure that
7742-830: The Southeast Region and the worst in decades, affected the entire metropolitan region's water supply (a diversion from the Paraíba do Sul River to the Guandu River is a major source for the state's most populous mesoregion). There were plans to divert the Paraíba do Sul to the Sistema Cantareira (Cantareira system) during the water crisis of 2014 in order to help the critically drought-stricken Greater São Paulo area. However, availability of sufficient rainfall to supply tap water to both metropolitan areas in
7900-543: The Stone Cold Steve Austin vs. Mr. McMahon feud, the rise of The Rock , and Mick Foley 's three face pushes during the Attitude Era , which helped put Raw ahead of Nitro in the ratings. Russo's booking style was often referred to as "Crash TV," which included edgy, controversial storylines involving sexual content, profanity , swerves or unexpected heel turns , and worked shoots in
8058-813: The Tijuca National Park (Parque Nacional da Tijuca), the largest city-surrounded urban forest and the second largest urban forest in the world, has been a National Park. The largest urban forest in the world is the Floresta da Pedra Branca (White Rock Forest), which is located in the West Zone of Rio de Janeiro. Due to the high concentration of industries in the metropolitan region, the city has faced serious problems of environmental pollution. The Guanabara Bay has lost mangrove areas and suffers from residues from domestic and industrial sewage, oils and heavy metals. Although its waters renew when they reach
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#17327836871028216-453: The Tropic of Capricorn where the shoreline is oriented east and west; the city thus faces largely south. It was founded at the entrance to an inlet, Guanabara Bay (Baía de Guanabara), which is marked by a point of land called Sugar Loaf (Pão de Açúcar) – a "calling card" of the city. The population of the city of Rio de Janeiro, occupying an area of 1,182.3 km (456.5 sq mi),
8374-658: The World Youth Day in 2013 , the second World Youth Day in South America and first in Brazil. In the sports field, Rio de Janeiro was the host of the 2007 Pan American Games and the 2014 FIFA World Cup Final . On 2 October 2009, the International Olympic Committee announced that Rio de Janeiro would host the 2016 Olympic Games and the 2016 Paralympic Games , beating competitors Chicago , Tokyo , and Madrid . The city became
8532-660: The battleship Minas Geraes and threatened to fire on the city. Another military revolt occurred in 1922, the Copacabana Fort revolt , a march against the Old Republic's coronelism and café com leite politics . This revolt marked the beginning of Tenentism , a movement that resulted in the Brazilian Revolution of 1930 that started the Vargas Era . Until the early years of the 20th century,
8690-589: The nWo at the No Way Out pay-per-view in February 2002. However, Hogan proved to be too popular with nostalgic fans of the Golden Era's "Hulkamania" and soon turned face at WrestleMania X8 after his classic match with The Rock, which The Rock won. With an excess of talent employed as a result of having purchased WCW and later ECW, the WWF needed a way to provide exposure for all of its talent. This problem
8848-461: The "PG Era" early on, references from wrestlers themselves would come later such as Triple H in his "Thy Kingdom Come" documentary and Natalya on an episode of "Table for 3". Another notable example was that John Cena 's famous finishing move, the F-U , was renamed Attitude Adjustment . Intentionally blading , which was common until then, became forbidden in the WWE. John Cena remained the top star of
9006-529: The "scratch" logo which would be the company's signature throughout the Attitude Era and on December 15, 1997, Vince McMahon aired a promo on Raw Is War addressing the audience on the company embarking on a "more innovative and contemporary campaign", which would advise parent discretion for a younger audience. This same episode also marked the beginning of the scratch logo being officially used for WWF television broadcasts and went into full effect, replacing
9164-687: The 1950s, the National Wrestling Alliance oversaw many wrestling territories such as Mid-Atlantic Wrestling and NWA San Francisco , in a business model known as the "territory system". This is a list of the most notable past and present professional wrestling promotions. Active Defunct Active Defunct Active Defunct Active Defunct Active Defunct Active Defunct (Modern-era) Defunct (Territory-era) Active Defunct Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( Portuguese: [ˈʁi.u d(ʒi) ʒɐˈne(j)ɾu] ), or simply Rio ,
9322-434: The 2006 SummerSlam event, respectively. Along with Edge, he would form the villainous tag team Rated-RKO and find success in the tag team division. After returning to singles competition Orton became a multi-time WWE Champion . In 2007 Orton began a long lasting on and off rivalry with John Cena, which lasted until 2014. Orton would also be involved in a lengthy rivalry with former Evolution leader Triple H, defeating him in
9480-557: The 2007 edition of SummerSlam and remained a popular fan-favorite wrestler. John Cena was one of the biggest breakout stars of the Ruthless Aggression era. Upon his debut, Cena quickly proved popular due to his "Doctor of Thuganomics" white rapper gimmick on the SmackDown brand, receiving a WWE Championship match against Brock Lesnar in the spring at Backlash in 2003, and had a major feud with The Undertaker during
9638-569: The Alliance win the Inaugural Brawl. At Survivor Series , WWF finally defeated WCW and ECW in a "Winner Takes All Match" and the angle was concluded. In the aftermath of the Invasion angle, WWF made several major changes to their product. Ric Flair returned to the WWF as "co-owner" of the company, feuding with Vince McMahon. Jerry Lawler returned to the company after a nine-month hiatus, after his replacement on commentary, Paul Heyman ,
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#17327836871029796-690: The Bank match was held, which was won by Carmella . By 2004, WWE began reintroducing Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) through content from the ECW video library and a series of books, which included the release of The Rise and Fall of ECW . On May 26, 2006, WWE relaunched the franchise with its own show on NBC Universal 's Sci Fi Channel, later to be known as Syfy , starting June 13, 2006. Despite initial concerns that professional wrestling would not be accepted by Sci Fi Channel's demographic, network President Bonnie Hammer stated that she believed ECW would fit
9954-471: The Federation; this affected licensed merchandise such as action figures, video games, and home video releases with its previous logo, which was replaced by a new "scratch" logo with only the two letters W and a red scar at the bottom of the logo. However, the older “Block” logo, which the company was no longer using at the time of the legal dispute and the full-length "World Wrestling Federation" name can be used by WWE when referencing history. During this time,
10112-497: The French admiral Nicolas Durand de Villegaignon . Consequently, Villegagnon built Fort Coligny on the island when attempting to establish the France Antarctique colony. Eventually this French settlement became too much of a threat to the established Portuguese colony and in 1560 the order was made to get rid of them. A years-long military aggression was then initiated by the new Governor General of Brazil Mem De Sa, and later continued by his nephew Estacio De Sa. On 20 January 1567,
10270-508: The NWA World Heavyweight Championship to Lou Thesz in a one-fall match in Toronto , Ontario , Canada on January 24, 1963, which led to Mondt, McMahon, and the CWC leaving the NWA in protest, creating the World Wide Wrestling Federation (WWWF) in the process. The World Wide Wrestling Federation (WWWF) was formed on January 24, 1963. On April 25, 1963, Buddy Rogers was awarded the new WWWF World Heavyweight Championship , supposedly winning an apocryphal tournament in Rio de Janeiro . He lost
10428-478: The New Generation logo. In 1997, McMahon also informed Bret Hart that he could no longer afford to pay him what his contract stated, and suggested that he go back to the more lucrative deal that WCW had offered him. Hart signed with WCW, but a behind-the-scenes controversy developed over Hart's final matches, resulting in the Montreal Screwjob . Hart was defending the WWF World Heavyweight Championship against Shawn Michaels at 1997 Survivor Series, when McMahon ordered
10586-519: The Portuguese who lived in Brazil lived in Rio de Janeiro. Including all of the Rio de Janeiro, the proportion raised to 46.3% of the Portuguese who lived in Brazil. The numerical presence of the Portuguese was extremely high, accounting for 72% of the foreigners who lived in the capital. Portuguese born people accounted for 20.4% of the population of Rio, and those with a Portuguese father or a Portuguese mother accounted for 30.8%. In other words, native born Portuguese and their children accounted for 51.2% of
10744-421: 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. Upon taking over the company, McMahon immediately 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. In addition,
10902-415: The WWF Championship at WrestleMania X-Seven with help from his former rival, Mr. McMahon, turning into a villain in the process. At this point WWF won the Monday Night War against WCW. In the Invasion storyline, Shane McMahon ( kayfabe ) acquired World Championship Wrestling (WCW) in April 2001 and WCW personnel invaded WWF. For the first time since the Monday Night War, WWF's purchase of WCW had made
11060-631: The WWF in a different direction with more realistic characters and edgier storylines. One of the most prominent stars was Stone Cold Steve Austin , whose rise to popularity began with his 1996 King of the Ring win and famous "Austin 3:16" speech. Despite starting out as a villain , Austin's popularity would start to gradually exceed those of the top fan favorites in the promotion. The D-Generation X group (consisting of Shawn Michaels , Triple H , Rick Rude , X-Pac , Road Dogg , Billy Gunn and Chyna ) proved to be prominently successful during this time. At Survivor Series on November 9, 1997, WWF debuted
11218-472: The WWF in spite of a lucrative offer by WCW. At Badd Blood: In Your House in 1997 the first Hell in a Cell match would be held between The Undertaker and Shawn Michaels , which Michaels won after interference from Undertaker's storyline half brother Kane . The match received critical acclaim. The Hell in a Cell match has since become one of the most popular gimmick matches in wrestling history. In 1997, Vince McMahon responded to WCW's big success by taking
11376-446: The WWF the premier wrestling promotion in the world, he began an expansion process that fundamentally changed the industry. In an interview with Sports Illustrated , McMahon noted: 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
11534-574: The WWF wrestlers are separated between two brands, Raw and SmackDown!. This became effective on April 1, 2002. In 2002, the World Wrestling Federation lost a lawsuit initiated by the World Wildlife Fund over the WWF trademark. The World Wrestling Federation was forced to rebrand itself and changed its business name to World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) on May 6, 2002. The company also dropped its "WWF Attitude" moniker that same day and shortly thereafter, it eliminated all elements that used
11692-408: The WWF. The increased revenue allowed McMahon to sign more talent, such as Brutus Beefcake , Tito Santana , Jake "The Snake" Roberts , Butch Reed , and "Hacksaw" Jim Duggan . However, for McMahon to truly turn WWF into a national promotion, he needed to have WWF touring the entire United States. Such a venture was impossible with the revenue WWF currently had, so McMahon envisioned a way to obtain
11850-405: The World Wide Wrestling Federation was renamed as the World Wrestling Federation (WWF). In 1980, Vincent K. McMahon , the son of Vincent J. McMahon, founded Titan Sports, Inc. and applied trademarks for the initials "WWF". Two years later in 1982, McMahon purchased Capitol Sports, the parent company of the WWF, from his father and associates Gorilla Monsoon and Arnold Skaaland . Seeking to make
12008-478: The bank briefcase, and on the June 30 episode of Raw , he cashed it in on the then- World Heavyweight Champion Edge, winning the title. The same night, he had to defend the title against John "Bradshaw" Layfield in the main event, but retained it. The final WWE event to receive an adult-oriented rating was the pay-per-view The Great American Bash in 2008, where Triple H retained the WWE Championship against Edge in
12166-637: The beaches, landmarks include the giant statue of Christ the Redeemer atop Corcovado mountain, named one of the New Seven Wonders of the World ; Sugarloaf Mountain with its cable car ; the Sambódromo (Sambadrome), a permanent grandstand-lined parade avenue which is used during Carnival; and Maracanã Stadium , one of the world's largest football stadiums . Rio de Janeiro was the host of
12324-417: The branded name remained WWE. WWE is the largest pro wrestling promotion in the world. It has promoted some of the most successful wrestlers and storylines, and featured some of the most iconic and significant matches and moments in the history of sports entertainment . WWE airs several high-profile programs, such as Raw and SmackDown , in more than 150 countries, hosts at least 12 pay-per-view events
12482-435: The capital of Brazil was officially moved to Brasília. The territory of the former Federal District became its own state, Guanabara, after the bay that borders it to the east, encompassing just the city of Rio de Janeiro. After the 1964 coup d'état that installed a military dictatorship , the city-state was the only state left in Brazil to oppose the military. Then, in 1975, a presidential decree known as "The Fusion" removed
12640-496: The championship from one wrestler to another, and they generally kept the title for no more than a single month-long program before dropping it to the next babyface. Graham was the only heel character to keep his championship for longer than one month, as the WWWF felt it needed time to build Backlund up as championship material. The WWWF was relatively conservative for promotions of its day; running its major arenas monthly rather than weekly or bi-weekly. Programs generally involved
12798-408: The championship to Bruno Sammartino a month later on May 17, 1963, after suffering a heart attack shortly before the match. To accommodate Rogers' condition, the match was booked to last under a minute. Sammartino would retain the title for seven years, eight months and one day (2,803 days), making his the longest continuous world championship reign in men's wrestling history. Although Sammartino
12956-628: The channel's theme of "stretching the imagination". On June 13, Paul Heyman , former ECW owner and newly appointed figurehead for the ECW brand , recommissioned the ECW World Heavyweight Championship to be the brand's world championship and awarded it to Rob Van Dam as a result of winning the WWE Championship at One Night Stand 2006. Under the WWE banner, ECW was presented in a modernized style to that when it
13114-519: The city to the north and south was facilitated by the consolidation and electrification of Rio's streetcar transit system after 1905. Botafogos natural environment, combined with the fame of the Copacabana Palace Hotel, the luxury hotel of the Americas in the 1930s, helped Rio to gain the reputation it still holds today as a beach party town. This reputation has been somewhat tarnished in recent years by favela violence resulting from
13272-409: The city was largely limited to the neighborhood now known as the historic city center (see below), on the mouth of Guanabara Bay. The city's center of gravity began to shift south and west to the so-called Zona Sul (South Zone) in the early part of the 20th century, when the first tunnel was built under the mountains between Botafogo and the neighborhood that is now known as Copacabana . Expansion of
13430-806: The city's patron saint , which is why it received the canonical name of "Saint Sebastian of Rio de Janeiro." Many Protestant creeds coexist in the city, Presbyterian , Congregational , Lutheran and Anglican Churches. In addition to evangelical churches such as the Baptist , Methodist , Seventh-day Adventist and Pentecostal churches, such as the Universal Church of the Kingdom of God , Assembly of God , Christian Congregation in Brazil and The Foursquare Church . Afro-Brazilian religions such as Umbanda and Candomblé find support in various social segments, although professed by less than 2% of
13588-556: The city's federative status and merged it with the State of Rio de Janeiro , with the city of Rio de Janeiro replacing Niterói as the state's capital, and establishing the Rio de Janeiro Metropolitan Region . In 1992, Rio hosted the Earth Summit , a United Nations conference to fight environmental degradation . Twenty years later, in 2012, the city hosted another conference on sustainable development , named United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development . The city hosted
13746-617: The coast, and type of vegetation or land use. During the winter, cold fronts and dawn/morning sea breezes bring mild temperatures; cold fronts, the Intertropical Convergence Zone (in the form of winds from the Amazon Forest ), the strongest sea-borne winds (often from an extratropical cyclone ) and summer evapotranspiration bring showers or storms. Thus the monsoon-like climate has dry and mild winters and springs, and very wet and warm summers and autumns. As
13904-473: The company during this era. Newcomers Sheamus and Alberto del Rio also registered notable success during this period, winning the WWE Championship in the years 2009 and 2011, respectively. Professional wrestling promotion 1970s and 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s and 2020s A professional wrestling promotion is a company or business that regularly performs shows involving professional wrestling . "Promotion" also describes
14062-749: The company in 2003 and 2004, respectively, while newcomers such as Brock Lesnar, who would become the youngest WWE Champion, and Randy Orton , who became the youngest World Heavyweight Champion, saw huge success. Triple H would also be featured prominently during this time, winning several of his fourteen world championships , as would The Undertaker , whose WrestleMania win streak started gaining fame. Eddie Guerrero , Rey Mysterio , Kurt Angle , Chris Benoit , Edge , Brock Lesnar , Randy Orton , John Cena , Batista , John "Bradshaw" Layfield , and Rob Van Dam were also given main event opportunities and all ended up becoming multiple-time world champions. From mid-2002 to 2003, WWE brought several prominent WCW stars to
14220-613: The company launched WWE Studios , which was originally formed as WWE Films. On June 24, 2002, episode of Raw , Vince McMahon officially named the new era "Ruthless Aggression". Later that same year, after WWE Champion Brock Lesnar became exclusive to the SmackDown! brand and with the creation of the World Heavyweight Championship , all the championships became show-exclusive too. Additionally, both Raw and SmackDown! began to stage individual pay-per-view events featuring only performers from that brand, with only
14378-495: The company used income generated by advertising, television deals, and tape sales to secure talent from rival promoters. Capitol Sports already controlled most of the northeastern territory, but the younger McMahon wanted the WWF to be a national wrestling promotion, something the NWA did not approve of. He withdrew his promotion from the NWA, much like the American Wrestling Association , which controlled
14536-591: The company, including Eric Bischoff , Scott Steiner , Goldberg , Kevin Nash and Ric Flair . The Great American Bash , originally a WCW pay-per-view event, made its debut as a WWE event. In August 2002, Shawn Michaels would also return as a wrestler at SummerSlam after a hiatus of over four years. He would achieve great success, and won the World Heavyweight Championship in the first Elimination Chamber match at Survivor Series . The match between Shawn Michaels and Kurt Angle at WrestleMania 21 has been named one of
14694-657: The entire population and forced entry into houses to kill mosquitoes and rats. The people of the city rebelled against Cruz's policy, in what would be known as the Vaccine Revolt . In 1910, Rio saw the Revolt of the Lash , where Afro-Brazilian crew members in the Brazilian Navy mutinied against the heavy use of corporal punishment , which was similar to the punishment slaves received. The mutineers took control of
14852-531: The event helped propel WrestleMania to become a staple in popular culture, and the use of celebrities has been a staple of the company to the present day. With the success of WrestleMania, other promotions which tried hard to keep the regional territory system alive started to merge under Jim Crockett Promotions (JCP). Starrcade and The Great American Bash were the JCP versions of WrestleMania , but even when operating inside of its territory, JCP had trouble matching
15010-652: The face of the WWF would last until he departed from the company in the summer of 1993. Other stars such as "Macho Man" Randy Savage , "Rowdy" Roddy Piper , The Ultimate Warrior , The Honky Tonk Man , "Million Dollar Man" Ted DiBiase , and others also helped make WWF a financial success in this period. Jim Duggan won the first Royal Rumble match in 1988. While these talents were recognizable as individuals, some talent became better known for their teamwork as part of tag teams. Stables or groups such as Demolition , Strike Force , The Hart Foundation , The British Bulldogs , The Rockers and The Fabulous Rougeaus helped create
15168-552: The first favelas . Inspired by the city of Paris , Passos built the Municipal Theatre , the National Museum of Fine Arts and the National Library in the city's center; brought electric power to Rio and created larger avenues to adapt the city to automobiles . Passos also named Oswaldo Cruz as Director General of Public Health. Cruz's plans to clean the city of diseases included compulsory vaccination of
15326-554: The first South American city to host the event and the second Latin American city (after Mexico City in 1968 ) to host the Games. Since the early 2010s, Rio de Janeiro has been inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site for its arts, urban culture and designed landscapes set around a natural environment. Rio de Janeiro is near the west end of a strip (from Cabo Frio to just east of Ilha Grande ) of Brazil's Atlantic coast close to
15484-436: The first time a heel wrestler had won the main event of Wrestlemania. Stone Cold Steve Austin would make his return to the company at Unforgiven 2000 and then would make his in-ring return at No Mercy , to gain revenge on Rikishi, who had been revealed as the driver of limousine that had struck Austin at Survivor Series. Austin would go on to win the next year's Royal Rumble match and come out victorious against The Rock for
15642-548: The first time, setting up the "McMahon in Every Corner" four-way elimination main event between Big Show (managed by Shane McMahon ), The Rock (managed by Mr. McMahon), Triple H (managed by Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley), and future WWF Commissioner Mick Foley (managed by Linda McMahon ). Triple H won after Mr. McMahon turned on The Rock and thus retained the WWF Championship. This was historically significant as
15800-725: The future is merely speculative. Roughly in the same suburbs ( Nova Iguaçu and surrounding areas, including parts of Campo Grande and Bangu) that correspond to the location of the March 2012, February–March 2013 and January 2015 pseudo-hail ( granizo ) falls, there was a tornado -like phenomenon in January 2011, for the first time in the region's recorded history, causing structural damage and long-lasting blackouts , but no fatalities. The World Meteorological Organization has advised that Brazil, especially its southeastern region, must be prepared for increasingly severe weather occurrences in
15958-467: The greatest matches in WWE history. Though Angle won the match, Michaels received praise for his "courageous effort". In 2006, Michaels would reunite with Triple H to once again form the popular 1990s group D-Generation X (DX). They would have major feuds with The Spirit Squad , the McMahon family, and the newly established Rated-RKO (Edge and Randy Orton), which ended prematurely when Triple H suffered
16116-714: The highest point of Rio de Janeiro, the peak of Pedra Branca; the Quinta da Boa Vista complex; the Botanical Garden ; Rio's Zoo; Parque Lage ; and the Passeio Público , the first public park in the Americas . In addition the Flamengo Park is the largest landfill in the city, extending from the center to the south zone, and containing museums and monuments, in addition to much vegetation. Since 1961,
16274-457: The highest-rated segment in Raw history. The Attitude Era saw WWF expand its television coverage and its business structure, as well. During the summer of 1999, WWF's parent company, Titan Sports, was renamed World Wrestling Federation Entertainment, Inc. (WWFE, Inc. or WWFE), and on October 19, 1999, became a publicly traded company, offering 10 million shares priced at $ 17 each, and began trading on
16432-411: The inhabitants of Rio, or a total of 267,664 people in 1890. As a result of the influx of immigrants to Brazil from the late 19th to the early 20th century, also found in Rio de Janeiro and its metropolitan area are communities of Levantine Arabs who are mostly Christian or Irreligious , Spaniards , Italians , Germans , Japanese , According to an autosomal DNA study from 2009, conducted on
16590-497: The lagoon waters will eventually be suitable for bathing. The decontamination actions involve the transfer of sludge to large craters present in the lagoon itself, and the creation of a new direct and underground connection with the sea, which will contribute to increase the daily water exchange between the two environments. However, during the Olympics the lagoon hosted the rowing competitions and there were numerous concerns about potential infection resulting from human sewage. Rio has
16748-494: The last half of the 19th century. At that time the number of slaves was drastically reduced and the city was developed, with modern drains, animal trams, train stations crossing the city, gas and electric lighting, telephone and telegraph wiring, water and river plumbing. Rio continued as the capital of Brazil after 1889, when the monarchy was replaced by a republic. On 6 February 1889 the Bangu Textile Factory
16906-572: The legitimacy of other promotions' titles unless they share a working agreement. Governing bodies, such as the CyberFight , United Wrestling Network , WWNLive , Allied Independent Wrestling Federations , Union of European Wrestling Alliances, Pro Wrestling International and, previously, the National Wrestling Alliance , act as an umbrella organization which governs titles that are shared among multiple promotions. During
17064-490: The main event match. Following the event, WWE shifted to TV-PG, family-friendly programming. The concept for the Money in the Bank match was introduced in March 2005 by Chris Jericho . Jericho pitched the idea on an episode of Raw to general manager Eric Bischoff , who liked it and promptly signed it for WrestleMania 21, assigning Jericho, Christian , Chris Benoit , Edge , Shelton Benjamin , and Kane to participate in
17222-415: The main events of WrestleMania 22 and WrestleMania 23 , respectively. A popular wrestler during the period was Bobby Lashley from the ECW brand . Cena would defeat Lashley at The Great American Bash in 2007 in a well-received match, shortly after which Lashley left the WWE. After being sidelined due to a shoulder injury for the latter half of 2007, Cena returned in the 2008 Royal Rumble match, winning
17380-418: The major four pay-per-views Royal Rumble , WrestleMania , SummerSlam and Survivor Series remaining dual-branded. The practice of single-brand pay-per-view events was abandoned following WrestleMania 23 . In effect, Raw and SmackDown were operated as two distinct promotions, with a draft lottery taking place each year to determine which talent was assigned to each brand. This lasted until August 2011, when
17538-593: The major wrestling companies increased. In January 1993, WWF created their prime time cable TV program Monday Night Raw , which aired on the USA Network . In 1994, WCW signed Hulk Hogan and other former WWF stars to multi-year contracts, and in 1995 launched Monday Nitro on TNT , to go head to head with Raw , starting the Monday Night War . At WrestleMania X in 1994 a ladder match between Shawn Michaels and Razor Ramon received critical acclaim and
17696-433: The match. Triple H, Randy Orton, Ric Flair, and Batista were part of the villainous stable Evolution , who were prominently featured between 2003 and 2005 until their eventual break-up. Beginning in early 2005, the popularity of Batista would soar much like Cena's, winning the 2005 Royal Rumble and the World Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania 21 from Triple H. Later in 2005, Batista would go on to defeat Triple H in
17854-464: The match. Edge won this inaugural match, and since, many times the match became a way to help elevate new stars to the main event, with winners such as CM Punk , The Miz , Daniel Bryan , Alberto Del Rio , Seth Rollins , and Dean Ambrose . The match format was originally exclusive to the annual WrestleMania until 2010, when the Money in the Bank pay-per-view debuted. In 2017, the first women's Money in
18012-581: The match. However, Batista defeated The Undertaker at Cyber Sunday . Cena and Batista would not face each other for the first time until SummerSlam in 2008, with Batista winning. Randy Orton became prominent during this period, becoming the youngest world champion in WWE history at the age of 24, defeating Chris Benoit at the 2004 SummerSlam event. Dubbed "the Legend Killer," he would go on to have feuds with legendary wrestlers such as The Undertaker and Hulk Hogan, facing them at WrestleMania 21 and
18170-404: The middle of the arena show cards, allowing the company to build upon the match's finish in order to sell tickets to the next event; reliable, popular workers such as Chief Jay Strongbow would then wrestle at the end of the show to send the crowd home happy. The WWWF also featured popular wrestlers based out of non-WWWF territories such as Dusty Rhodes and retained the services of (at the time)
18328-464: The most popular and highly paid wrestler in the world, André the Giant , in between his territorial and international obligations. WWWF held their then-major event Showdown at Shea three times at Flushing, New York's Shea Stadium in 1972, 1976 and 1980. Bruno Sammartino main evented the 1972 and 1980 events, wrestling Pedro Morales to a 75-minute time limit draw in 1972, and defeating Larry Zbyszko in
18486-511: The most recognizable and popular faces in professional wrestling. With reasonable revenue being made, McMahon was able to secure television deals, and WWF was being shown across the United States. McMahon also began selling videotapes of WWF events outside the Northeast through his Coliseum Video distribution company, again angering other promoters. The syndication of WWF programming forced promotions to engage in direct competition with
18644-471: The narcotics trade and militias . Plans for moving the nation's capital city from Rio de Janeiro to the center of Brazil had been occasionally discussed, and when Juscelino Kubitschek was elected president in 1955, it was partially on the strength of promises to build a new capital. Though many thought that it was just campaign rhetoric, Kubitschek managed to have Brasília and a new Federal District built, at great cost, by 1960. On 21 April of that year,
18802-465: The near future, since events such as the catastrophic January 2011 Rio de Janeiro floods and mudslides are not an isolated phenomenon. In early May 2013, winds registering above 90 km/h (56 mph) caused blackouts in 15 neighborhoods of the city and three surrounding municipalities, and killed one person. Rio saw similarly high winds (about 100 km/h (62 mph)) in January 2015. Temperature also varies according to elevation, distance from
18960-476: The necessary capital through a risky all-or-nothing gamble on a supercard concept called WrestleMania in 1985. WrestleMania would be a pay-per-view extravaganza, viewable on closed-circuit television and marketed as the Super Bowl of professional wrestling. WrestleMania was not the first supercard seen in professional wrestling, as the NWA had previously run Starrcade in 1983. However, McMahon's vision
19118-604: The new coffee cultivation in the Paraíba Valley . In order to separate the province from the capital of the Empire, the city was converted in Neutral Municipality in 1834, passing the province of Rio de Janeiro to have Niterói as capital. As a political center of the country, Rio concentrated the political-partisan life of the Empire. It was the main stage of the abolitionist and republican movements in
19276-646: The organization in 1971. Later that year, The Mongols created controversy after they left the WWWF with the WWWF International Tag Team Championship . As a result, the championship would be considered inactive until Luke Graham and Tarzan Tyler won a tournament to claim the championship. They then defeated the Mongols in November 1971, voiding any claim The Mongols had to the championship. In March 1979, for marketing purposes,
19434-499: The other part was assimilated. Rio de Janeiro is home to the largest Portuguese population outside of Lisbon in Portugal. After independence from Portugal, Rio de Janeiro became a destination for hundreds of thousands of immigrants from Portugal, mainly in the early 20th century. The immigrants were mostly poor peasants who subsequently found prosperity in Rio as city workers and small traders. The Portuguese cultural influence
19592-409: The parent company of mixed martial arts promotion Ultimate Fighting Championship , and WWE merged the two companies into a new parent company, TKO Group Holdings . WWE and UFC continue to operate as separate divisions of the company with WWE focusing on professional wrestling and UFC focusing on mixed martial arts . In 2023, WWE's legal name was changed to World Wrestling Entertainment, LLC, though
19750-625: The population, many Cariocas simultaneously observe those practices with Roman Catholicism. The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of São Sebastião do Rio de Janeiro , the Metropolitan See of its respective Ecclesiastical Province , belongs to the Regional Episcopal Council Leste I of the National Conference of Bishops of Brazil (CNBB) (headquartered in Rio until 1977). Founded in 1676, it covers
19908-484: The referee to award the match and the championship to Michaels as if Hart had submitted. While Hart went on to WCW, McMahon received enormous backlash from the media, wrestlers and fans alike, inspiring him to create the Mr. McMahon character, a villainous extension of his status as a promoter. Following Hart's departure, the company implemented a heavy push of popular anti-hero character Stone Cold Steve Austin, whose popularity
20066-549: The return of the Portuguese Royal Family to Lisbon in 1821, but remained as capital of the Kingdom of Brazil . From the colonial period until the first independent era, Rio de Janeiro was a city of slaves. There was a large influx of African slaves to Rio de Janeiro: in 1819, there were 145,000 slaves in the captaincy. In 1840, the number of slaves reached 220,000 people. Between 1811 and 1831, 500,000 to
20224-435: The roster included: Big John Studd , André the Giant , Jimmy "Superfly" Snuka , "The Magnificent" Don Muraco , Junkyard Dog , "Mr. Wonderful" Paul Orndorff , Greg "The Hammer" Valentine , Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat , and Nikolai Volkoff . In 1984, Hogan was pushed to main event status. He defeated WWF World Heavyweight Champion The Iron Sheik at Madison Square Garden on January 23, 1984, and thus evolved into one of
20382-531: The rosters were merged and the Brand Extension was quietly phased out. After the company transitioned into its Ruthless Aggression era, this period still featured many elements of its predecessor the Attitude Era , including the levels of violence, sex, and profanity, but there was less politically incorrect content, and a further emphasis on wrestling was showcased. The two top stars of the Attitude Era, Stone Cold Steve Austin and The Rock, eventually left
20540-526: The sea, the bay is the final receiver of all the tributaries generated along its banks and in the basins of the many rivers and streams that flow into it. The levels of particulate matter in the air are twice as high as that recommended by the World Health Organization , in part because of the large numbers of vehicles in circulation. The waters of Sepetiba Bay are slowly following the path traced by Guanabara Bay, with sewage generated by
20698-418: The second largest municipal GDP in the country, and 30th-largest in the world in 2008. This is estimated at R$ 343 billion. In the city are the headquarters of Brazilian oil, mining, and telecommunications companies, including two of the country's major corporations, Petrobras and Vale , and Latin America's largest telemedia conglomerate, Grupo Globo . The home of many universities and institutes, it
20856-474: The spotlight over the next several years. By mid-1993, Bret "Hit Man" Hart , Shawn Michaels , The Undertaker , Razor Ramon , Diesel , Lex Luger , Yokozuna , Owen Hart , Crush , Tatanka and others all became the stars of what the WWF eventually branded as the "New Generation". Hulk Hogan would leave the company in the summer of 1993 and Hart would become one of the most popular stars of this period until his departure in 1997. Meanwhile, competition between
21014-495: The storylines. As well as short matches, backstage vignettes, shocking angles and levels of depicted violence. WWF rebounded in its ratings and popularity, with Raw Is War finally beating Nitro for the first time in 84 weeks on April 13, 1998. Ratings would continue to rise through 1998 and 1999; a 12-minute match between Stone Cold Steve Austin and the Undertaker drew a 9.5 rating on June 28, 1999. It currently stands as
21172-417: The success of WWF. After Ted Turner purchased majority of JCP's assets, the promotion would become World Championship Wrestling (WCW), providing WWF with a competitor until 2001, when WCW and its trademarks were purchased by WWF. WrestleMania would become an annual pay-per-view phenomenon, being broadcast in nearly 150 countries and almost 20 different languages. Perhaps the peak of the 1980s wrestling boom
21330-590: The success of WrestleMania to create more annual pay-per-views such as SummerSlam , the Royal Rumble and the Survivor Series , the latter two both receiving their names from unique stipulation matches featured at the event. These four shows would be jointly known as the “Big Four” of the company's programming up until the modern day. During the 1980s, Hulk Hogan would cross over into mainstream prominence presented as an all-American hero. Hogan's time as
21488-476: The sugar) than Salvador, Bahia , much farther northeast. On 27 January 1763, the colonial administration in Portuguese America was moved from Salvador to Rio de Janeiro. The city remained primarily a colonial capital until 1808, when the Portuguese royal family and most of the associated Lisbon nobles, fleeing from Napoleon 's invasion of Portugal, moved to Rio de Janeiro. The kingdom's capital
21646-640: The summer. At WrestleMania 21 , he won his first world championship when he defeated John "Bradshaw" Layfield, the WWE Champion at that time. Cena's popularity soared when he was drafted to Raw, where he quickly became the face of WWE, a rise not seen since Austin and Hulk Hogan . Cena's popularity has led to him becoming the all-time record "wish maker" for the Make-A-Wish Foundation , granting over 500 wishes as of August 2017. Cena secured victories over veterans Triple H and Shawn Michaels in
21804-600: The upper Midwest. To become a national promotion, the WWF would have to become bigger than the AWA or any NWA promotion. McMahon's vision for his promotion was starting to become possible when he signed AWA talent Hulk Hogan , who had achieved popularity outside of wrestling – notably for his appearance in Rocky III as Thunderlips. McMahon signed Rowdy Roddy Piper as Hogan's rival, and shortly afterward signed Jesse "The Body" Ventura . Other significant wrestlers who were part of
21962-459: The year, new talent began to emerge for WWF: The Rock , Triple H, Mick Foley , Kurt Angle , The Big Show and Kane strengthened WWF's singles division, while stables such as D-Generation X and the Nation of Domination helped the fight against rival company WCW. WWF head writer Vince Russo also contributed to the formation of D-Generation X in 1997, The Undertaker vs. Kane feud in 1998,
22120-572: Was WrestleMania III at the Pontiac Silverdome , which set a "claimed" attendance record of 93,173. In the main event Hulk Hogan retained the WWF Championship against André the Giant . Hogan and Andre faced each other in a rematch on February 5, 1985, in WWF The Main Event which drew a 15.2 Nielsen rating and 33 million viewers the highest in the history of professional wrestling, this time with Andre winning. McMahon used
22278-514: Was 53.2% female and 46.8% male . The black community was formed by residents whose ancestors had been brought as slaves, mostly from Angola and Mozambique , as well by people of Angolan, Mozambican and West African descent who moved to Rio from other parts of Brazil. Nearly half of the city's population is by phenotype mixed or black. White in Brazil is defined more by having a European-looking phenotype rather than ancestry, and two full siblings can be of different "racial" categories in
22436-537: Was 6.4 °C on August 18, 1933, at the meteorological station in the Bangu neighborhood (deactivated in March 2004). This same station, located in the city's hottest neighborhood, recorded a maximum temperature of 43.1 °C on January 14, 1984, which held the record for the highest temperature in the city until December 26, 2012, when 43.2 °C was recorded at the Santa Cruz station. The record for rainfall within 24 hours
22594-722: Was a failure, having only lasted a single year before closing its doors. Head writer Chris Kreski replaced Vince Russo and Ed Ferrara , who defected to WCW in 1999. Kreski's work was admired for well-planned and detailed storylines, and the transitional period saw feuds and storylines such as the Triple H/Cactus Jack feud, the Triple H/Kurt Angle/ Stephanie McMahon love triangle, and a highly successful feud between The Hardy Boyz , Edge and Christian , and The Dudley Boyz . At Survivor Series , WWF's top star, Stone Cold Steve Austin,
22752-405: Was an independent promotion and was produced following the same format as the other brands, with match rules, such as count outs and disqualifications , being standard. Matches featuring the ruleset of the ECW promotion were classified as being contested under " Extreme Rules " and were only fought when specified otherwise. The brand would continue to operate until February 16, 2010, when the brand
22910-424: Was common, but denied ever being pressured into doing so by McMahon. A week later, McMahon was acquitted of all charges, and was quoted as saying "I'm elated. Just like in wrestling, in the end the good guys always win." With business down in 1992 because of bad press from the steroid scandal – as well as the ring boy and Rita Chatterton sexual assault allegations – Vince McMahon began pushing younger talents into
23068-466: Was defended around the world. The NWA generally promoted strong shooters as champions, to give their worked sport credibility and guard against double-crosses. While doing strong business in the Midwest (the NWA's core region), these wrestlers attracted little interest in the CWC territory. In 1961, the NWA board decided instead to put the championship on bleach blond showman "Nature Boy" Buddy Rogers ,
23226-408: Was established, the city lacked urban planning and sanitation , which helped spread several diseases, such as yellow fever , dysentery , variola , tuberculosis and even black death . Pereira Passos , who was named mayor in 1902, imposed reforms to modernize the city, demolishing the cortiços where most of the poor population lived. These people then moved to live in the city's hills, creating
23384-507: Was fired on-screen by Vince McMahon. Several former Alliance stars were absorbed into the regular WWF roster, such as Booker T , The Hurricane , Lance Storm , and Rob Van Dam . At Vengeance 2001 , Chris Jericho went on to unify the WCW Championship and WWF Championship , beating both The Rock and Steve Austin on the same night. Eventually, Vince McMahon brought back Hollywood Hulk Hogan, Kevin Nash, and Scott Hall to reunite
23542-508: Was founded, with the name of Industrial Progress Company of Brazil (Companhia Progresso Industrial do Brasil). The factory was officially opened on 8 March 1893, in a complex with varying architectural styles like Italianate , Neo-Gothic and a tower in Mansard Roof style. After the opening in 1893, workers from Great Britain arrived in Bangu to work in the textile factory. The old farms became worker villages with red-bricks houses, and
23700-668: Was rendered defunct. In the summer of 2008, WWE began distancing itself from the edgier content of years past, going with a more conservative approach. On July 22, 2008, all WWE programming transitioned to a PG television rating, with the 2008 SummerSlam event being the first pay-per-view event held under PG ratings. Although the SmackDown -brand TV shows were always held under TV-PG ratings since inception in 1999, in 2008, Raw TV shows, which were broadcast in TV-14 ratings, started to be broadcast under TV-PG ratings. While fans would dub this
23858-482: Was rising and was similar to Hulk Hogan 's popularity in the 1980s. During an angle involving Mike Tyson at WrestleMania XIV in March 1998, Austin became WWF Champion by beating Shawn Michaels, giving rise to the Austin era and the despotic Mr. McMahon character, which began a long-lasting feud with Austin; this feud would be very important in the WWF turning the tides in the ratings war with rival company WCW. Later in
24016-657: Was run over by a car at the Joe Louis Arena in Detroit, Michigan to write him off of television due to a serious neck injury. At SummerSlam in 2000, WWF debuted the highly popular Tables, Ladders, and Chairs match , the inaugural match seeing Edge and Christian defeating The Dudley Boyz and The Hardy Boyz for the WWF Tag Team Championship . Prior to WrestleMania 2000 , the McMahon family had gone into an on-screen rivalry with each other for
24174-568: Was said to be ground breaking and to have revolutionized the concept of ladder matches. By mid-1996, with the introduction of the New World Order (nWo), a stable led by former WWF wrestlers Hulk Hogan, Scott Hall (Razor Ramon), and Kevin Nash (Diesel), Nitro started a near two years of ratings domination. More talent would eventually leave WWF for WCW including Ted DiBiase , Curt Hennig , reigning WWF Women's Champion Alundra Blayze and The 1-2-3 Kid while Bret Hart decided to stay with
24332-399: Was solved by introducing a "Brand Extension", with the roster split in half and the talent assigned to either Raw or SmackDown! in a mock draft lottery. Wrestlers, commentators and referees became show-exclusive, and the shows were given separate on-screen General Managers. On the March 25, 2002, episode of Raw , the World Wrestling Federation had the first ever WWF draft lottery , which meant
24490-877: Was the face of the WWWF, wrestlers such as Superstar Billy Graham and Bob Backlund were also hugely popular. The WWWF gained notoriety in the 1970s by holding their biggest shows at Shea Stadium or Madison Square Garden and doing strong business across the entire Northeast megalopolis . They leveraged former, but still popular, wrestlers such as Captain Lou Albano , "Grand Wizard of Wrestling" Ernie Roth and "Classy" Freddie Blassie to act as managers for Sammartino's heel (villainous) opponents. At this time, only babyface (fan favorite) wrestlers were allowed to have long championship reigns, such as Bruno Sammartino, Pedro Morales and Bob Backlund, who all retained for more than one year each. The heel champions, such as Ivan Koloff and Stan Stasiak , were used to " transition "
24648-584: Was the name of Guanabara Bay. Until early in the 18th century, the city was threatened or invaded by several mostly French pirates and buccaneers, such as Jean-François Duclerc and René Duguay-Trouin . In the late 17th century, still during the Sugar Era, the Bandeirantes discovered gold and diamonds in the neighboring captaincy of Minas Gerais , thus Rio de Janeiro became a much more practical port for exporting wealth (gold, precious stones, besides
24806-526: Was to make WWF and the industry itself mainstream, targeting more of the general television audience by exploiting the entertainment side of the industry. With the inaugural WrestleMania, WWF initiated a joint-promotional campaign with MTV , which featured a great deal of WWF coverage and programming, in what was termed the Rock 'n' Wrestling Connection . The mainstream media attention brought on by celebrities including Muhammad Ali , Mr. T and Cyndi Lauper at
24964-537: Was transferred to the city, which, thus, became the only European capital outside of Europe . As there was no physical space or urban structure to accommodate hundreds of noblemen who arrived suddenly, many inhabitants were simply evicted from their homes. In the first decade, several educational establishments were created, such as the Military Academy, the Royal School of Sciences, Arts and Crafts and
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