Everything you need to know about the show that revolutionised professional wrestling
WWE (World Wrestling Entertainment) is the largest wrestling promotion in the world.
In July this year the brand made record quarterly revenue of £155m and reached a record 1.52m subscribers.
Owner Vince McMahon saw WWE make record quarterly revenue in JulyUnlike amateur wrestling, fights are not contested, but rather staged for entertainment purposes.
Here is all you need to know about the company that has become synonymous with professional wrestling.
How did WWE start?
WWE was founded in 1952 by Jess McMahon, grandfather of current owner Vince McMahon, as Capital Wrestling Corporation (CWC).
In 1972 it became WWWF before changing its name to WWF (World Wrestling Federation) in 1979, which was the name under which it enjoyed a golden age and became a worldwide brand.
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WWF became WWE in 1999 to avoid its name continuing to clash with the World Wildlife Fund.
It has traded on the New York Stock Exchange as WWE ever since.
What time is WWE on and where can I watch it?
WWE Raw is shown every Monday night in America, or Tuesday morning at 1am in the UK, on Sky Sports 5.
WWE Smackdown is broadcast a day later on the same channel at the same time.
Re-runs are shown on Sky Sports throughout the week.
Wrestlers in WWE are contracted exclusively to either Raw or Smackdown.
WWE is shown live on Sky SportsSpecial pay-per-view events are also available at least one per month on Sky Box Office.
The last pay-per-view event of 2016 will be Roadblock on December 18, which will be an exclusive Raw show.
On January 29 the Royal Rumble, one of the company’s most iconic events, will be held in San Antonio.
Should I watch Raw or Smackdown?
Raw has always been presented by wrestling fanatics as the bigger event, but lasts a marathon three hours, meaning you have to stay up until 4am to see all of it in the UK.
Smackdown, the following night, is a more digestible two hours.
Fans of John Cena may prefer to watch SmackdownIn terms of your favourite wrestlers, Raw boasts Brock Lesnar, Seth Rollins, Triple H, Rusev, Goldberg and The Big Show.
While on Smackdown you can watch the likes of John Cena, The Undertaker, Kane, Dean Ambrose, Dolph Ziggler and Randy Orton.
Raw’s WWE Universal Championship is held by Kevin Owens, while AJ Styles holds Smackdown’s WWE World Championship.
The decision is yours…
WWE NXT match stopped by referee after spot goes brutally wrong during TV taping
