Friday, October 12, 2007

Microsoft Office

Microsoft Office
The Microsoft Office logo.

Microsoft Office Word, Excel, Powerpoint, and Onenote (the components of Microsoft Office Home & Student 2007) on Windows Vista.
Maintainer: Microsoft
Stable release: • 2007 RTM (12.0.6017.5000) (Windows)

• 2004 Service Pack 3 (11.3.6) (Mac OS X) [+/−]
Preview release: Microsoft Office 2008 (Mac OSX) [+/−]
OS: Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X
Use: Office suite
License: Proprietary
Website: office.microsoft.com

Microsoft Office is an office suite from Microsoft for Microsoft Windows and Apple Mac OS X operating systems. Along with core office applications, it includes associated servers and web-based services. Recent versions of Office are referred as "Office system".

Office was introduced by Microsoft in 1989 on the Mac,[1] with a version for Windows in 1990.[2] Initially a marketing term for a bundled set of applications, the first version of Office contained Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel, and Microsoft PowerPoint. Additionally, a "Pro" version of Office included Microsoft Access and Schedule Plus. Over the years, Office applications have grown substantially closer with shared features such as a common spell checker, OLE data integration and Microsoft Visual Basic for Applications scripting language. A major feature of the Office suite is the ability for users and third party companies to write Component Object Model add-ins, which are supplemental programs that extend the capabilities of an application by adding custom commands and specialized features. Microsoft also positions Office as a development platform for line-of-business software.

The current versions are Office 2007 for Windows, launched on January 30, 2007,[3] and Office 2004 for Mac, released May 19, 2004[4]. Office 2007, announced on February 15, 2006[5], was released on November 30, 2006 for businesses via volume License and MSDN channels. It features a distinct user interface and a new XML-based primary file format. The new Mac version, Microsoft Office 2008 for Mac, is expected to be released in January 2008.[6]

Contents

[hide]

[edit] Common Office programs

These programs are included in most editions of Microsoft Office 2007 and Office 2004 for Mac.

[edit] Word

Main article: Microsoft Word

Microsoft Word is a word processor and was long considered to be the main program of Office, although with the rise of electronic communication that distinction has now passed to Outlook. Word possesses a dominant market share in the word processor market. Its proprietary DOC format is considered a de facto standard, although its most recent version, Word 2007 uses a new XML-based format called .DOCX based on the Office Open XML ECMA standard, but has the capability of saving and opening the old .DOC format. Word is also available in some editions of Microsoft Works. It is available for the Windows and Mac platforms. The first version of Word, released in the fall of 1983, was for the DOS operating system and had the distinction of introducing the mouse to a broad population. Word 1.0 could be purchased with a bundled mouse, though one was not required. The following spring Apple introduced the Mac, and Microsoft released Word for the Mac, which became the most popular Mac application and which, like all Mac apps, required the use of a mouse.

Common extensions: .doc (Word 97-2003), .docx (Word 2007), .dot (Word 97-2003 Template), .dotx (Word 2007 XML Template)

[edit] Excel

Main article: Microsoft Excel

Microsoft Excel is a spreadsheet program. Like Microsoft Word, it possesses a dominant market share. It was originally a competitor to the dominant Lotus 1-2-3, but it eventually outsold it and became the de facto standard. It is available for the Windows and Mac platforms.

Common extensions: .xls (Excel 97-2003), .xlsx (Excel 2007)

[edit] Outlook/Entourage

Main articles: Microsoft Outlook and Microsoft Entourage

Microsoft Outlook, not to be confused with Outlook Express, is a personal information manager and e-mail communication software. The replacement for Windows Messaging, Microsoft Mail and Schedule+ (Plus) starting in Office 97, it includes an e-mail client, calendar, task manager and address book. Although historically it has been offered for the Mac, the closest to an equivalent for Mac OS X is Microsoft Entourage, which offers a slightly different feature set.

Common extensions: .msg, .pst (Outlook 97-2007)

[edit] PowerPoint

Main article: Microsoft PowerPoint

Microsoft PowerPoint is a popular presentation program for Windows and Mac. It is used to create slideshows, composed of text, graphics, movies and other objects, which can be displayed on-screen and navigated through by the presenter or printed out on transparencies or slides. Office Mobile for Windows Mobile 5.0 and later features a version of PowerPoint called PowerPoint Mobile. It also possesses a dominant market share. Movies, videos, sounds and music, as well as wordart and autoshapes can be added to slideshows. It is available for the Windows and Mac platforms.

Common extensions: .ppt (Powerpoint 97-2003), .pptx (Powerpoint 2007), .pot, .pps

[edit] Other programs

[edit] Web services

[edit] Server components

[edit] Cross-platform

Microsoft develops Office for Windows and Mac platforms. Beginning with Mac Office 4.2, the Mac and Windows versions of Office share the same file format. Consequently, any Mac with Office 4.2 or later can read documents created with Windows Office 4.2 or later, and vice-versa. Recently, Microsoft announced discontinuation of Visual Basic for Applications support in future versions of Office for Mac. In addition, it has also ceased development on Microsoft Virtual PC. [2].

There were efforts in the mid 1990s to port Office to RISC processors such as NEC / MIPS and IBM/ PowerPC, but they met problems such as memory access being hampered by data structure alignment requirements. Difficulties in porting Office may have been a factor in discontinuing Windows NT on non-Intel platforms.[citation needed]

[edit] Editions

The newest version of Microsoft Office is 2007, which was released at the same time as Windows Vista (on January 30, 2007). The different editions of Microsoft Office 2007 are: [7]

  • Microsoft Office Home & Student 2007
  • Microsoft Office Standard 2007
  • Microsoft Office Small Business 2007
  • Microsoft Office Professional 2007
  • Microsoft Office Ultimate 2007

Limited Availability

  • Microsoft Office Basic 2007 (Available only through OEMs)
  • Microsoft Office Professional Plus 2007 (Available only through volume licensing)
  • Microsoft Office Enterprise 2007 (Available only through volume licensing)
Basic Home & Student Standard Small Business Professional Ultimate Professional Plus Enterprise
Word Word Word Word Word Word Word Word
Excel Excel Excel Excel Excel Excel Excel Excel

PowerPoint PowerPoint PowerPoint PowerPoint PowerPoint PowerPoint PowerPoint
Outlook
Outlook Outlook Outlook Outlook Outlook Outlook



Accounting Express Accounting Express Accounting Express




Publisher Publisher Publisher Publisher Publisher




Access Access Access Access





InfoPath InfoPath InfoPath





Groove
Groove

OneNote


OneNote
OneNote






Communicator Communicator

Microsoft Office for Mac 2004 is available in three editions.[8] All three editions include Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Entourage. The professional edition includes Virtual PC. Also, the Student and Teacher Edition cannot be upgraded when a later version of Office is released.

  • Office for Mac 2004 Student and Teacher Edition
  • Office for Mac 2004 Standard Edition
  • Office for Mac 2004 Professional Edition

[edit] Support lifecycle

Beginning in 2002, Microsoft instituted a policy of Support Lifecycles including: [3] [4]

  • Earlier versions than Office 97 (including Outlook 97) are no longer supported.
  • Office 97 (including Outlook 98) – Mainstream hotfix support ended on August 31, 2001. Extended hotfix support ended on February 28, 2002. Assisted support ended on January 16, 2004.
  • Office 2000 – Mainstream support ended June 30, 2004. Extended support is available through July 14, 2009.
  • Office XP – Mainstream support ended July 11, 2006. Extended support will be provided until July 12, 2011.
  • Office 2003 - Mainstream support will end on January 13, 2009. Extended support will end at January 14, 2014.
  • Office 2007 - Mainstream support will end on April 10, 2012. Extended support will end on April 11, 2017.
  • Current and future versions - Mainstream support will end 5 years after release, or 2 years after the next release, whenever time is later, and extended support will end 5 years after that.

[edit] Versions and Editions

Most versions of Microsoft Office (including 97 and later, and possibly 4.3) use their own widget set and do not exactly match the native operating system. This is more apparent in the 2002 or XP release of Microsoft Office where the standard menus were replaced with a coloured flat looking, shadowed menu style. Similarly, Microsoft Office 2007 introduces a whole new widget system, dubbed "Ribbon", but now known as the "Fluent user interface". [9] The same widget used in Microsoft Office is also used in the Visual Studio product line, though the "Fluent UI" was not announced to be included in future versions of Visual Studio.

Both Windows and Office use "Service Packs" to update software, Office used to release non-cumulative "Service Releases", which were discontinued after Office 2000 Service Release 1.

Office programs have contained substantial Easter eggs. For example, Excel 97 contained a reasonably functional flight-simulator. [5]

[edit] Versions for Microsoft Windows

Office 95 editions:

Standard Professional
Word Word
Excel Excel
PowerPoint PowerPoint
Schedule+ Schedule+

Access

Office 2000 Editions:

Standard Small Business Professional Premium Developer
Word Word Word Word Word
Excel Excel Excel Excel Excel
Outlook Outlook Outlook Outlook Outlook
PowerPoint Small Business Tools PowerPoint PowerPoint PowerPoint

Publisher Publisher Publisher Publisher


Access Access Access



FrontPage FrontPage



PhotoDraw PhotoDraw




Visual Basic
for Applications




Access Runtime

Office XP Editions:

Standard Professional Professional with FrontPage Professional Special Edition Developer
Word Word Word Word Word
Excel Excel Excel Excel Excel
Outlook Outlook Outlook Outlook Outlook
PowerPoint PowerPoint PowerPoint PowerPoint PowerPoint

Access Access Access Access


FrontPage FrontPage FrontPage



Publisher




Office Developer Tools

[edit] Versions for Mac OS

The Microsoft Office 2004 for Mac logo.
The Microsoft Office 2004 for Mac logo.
  • Office 1 (Word 3, etc.): Released 1990.
  • Office 2 (Word 4, etc.): Released 1992.
  • Office 3 (Word 5, Excel 4, PowerPoint 3, etc.): Released 1993.
  • Office 4.2 (Word 6.0, Excel 5, PowerPoint 4, etc.): Released 1994.
  • Office 4.2.1 (The first Power Mac-aware version and the last 68K version; Word 6.0.1, Excel 5, PowerPoint 4, etc.): Released June 2, 1994.
  • Office 98 (Word/Excel/PowerPoint 98 (v8.0), etc.): Released March 15, 1998.
  • Office 2001 (Word 2001 (v9.0), etc.): Released October 11, 2000.
  • Office v. X (The first Mac OS X/Aqua edition; Word X, etc.): Current version 10.1.9, Released November 19, 2001.
  • Office 2004 (Word 2004, etc.): Current version 11.3.6, Released May 11, 2004.
  • Office 2008 (Word 2008, etc.): Current version N/A, Due to be Released January 2008. [11]

Both Office v. X and 2004 suites run on Intel Macs through the Rosetta emulation layer. Microsoft has announced that Office 2008 for Mac will have universal binaries capable of running natively on both PowerPC and Intel Macs.[12] While the Office Open XML format will be built into Office 2008 for Mac, it is also supported on Office 2004 for Mac with a free conversion tool. [13]Mac versions do not use Product Activation.

[edit] Defunct programs

  • Microsoft Binder – Incorporates several documents into one file and was originally designed as a container system for storing related documents in a single file. The complexity of use and learning curve led to little usage and was removed from releases after Office 2000. .obd-files
  • Microsoft FrontPage – Web design software (also requires its own server program for some functionality). Offered only as a stand-alone program for the 2003 version (not part of the pre-2003 office suites, was sold separately). In 2006, Microsoft announced that this was to be discontinued and to be replaced by two different software packages: Microsoft SharePoint Designer and Microsoft Expression Web.
  • Microsoft Mail – Mail client (in old versions of Office, later replaced by Microsoft Schedule Plus and subsequently Microsoft Outlook). .mmf-files
  • Microsoft PhotoDraw – A graphics program that was first released as part of the Office 2000 Premium Edition. A later version for Windows XP compatibility was released, known as PhotoDraw 2000 Version 2. Microsoft discontinued the program in 2001. .mix-files
  • Microsoft Photo Editor – Photo-editing/raster-graphics software in older Office versions, and again in XP. It was temporarily supplemented by Microsoft PhotoDraw in Office 2000 Premium edition.
  • Microsoft Schedule Plus – Released with Office 95. It featured a planner, to-do list, and contact information. Its functions were incorporated into Microsoft Outlook. .scd-files
  • Microsoft Virtual PC – Included with Microsoft Office Professional Edition 2004. Obsolete from 2006 as Macs use same Intel architecture as Windows PCs. It emulated a standard PC and its hardware.
  • Microsoft Vizact 2000 – A program that "activated" documents using HTML, adding effects such as animation. It allows users to create dynamic documents for the Web. Development has ended due to unpopularity.
  • Office Assistant, included since 1997 as a part of Microsoft Agent technology, is a system that uses animated characters to offer unrequested context-sensitive suggestions to users and access to relevant parts of the help system. The Assistant is often dubbed "Clippy" or "Clippit," due to its default to a paper clip character, coded as CLIPPIT.ACS. The Office Assistant was hidden by default in Office XP and following mixed public response, not installed by default in Office 2003. It has been removed entirely in Office 2007.

[edit] Criticisms

Microsoft Office is commonly criticised for its security issues and infections from macro viruses.[14] Secunia reports that out of the 15 vulnerabilities reported in 2006 for Microsoft Office 2003 (Standard Edition), 20% are unpatched, 33% are marked as Extremely Critical and 53% are marked as Highly Critical.[15]

Microsoft Office for Windows requires a plugin to save files in PDF, unlike other suites such as OpenOffice.org that have this feature built-in.[16] Built-in PDF support was to be added to Microsoft Office 2007, but for legal reasons it had to be removed. However, it is available as a free add-on from Microsoft's website.[17][18]

Microsoft Office 2008 for the Mac is dropping VBA support.[19] Although Microsoft is replacing this with support for AppleScript, it will mean that macros created with Office for Windows will not run on Office for the Mac, and vice versa.

[edit] See also

 Microsoft Portal

[edit] References

  1. ^ Microsoft Company. The History of Computing Project (2006-10-26). Retrieved on 2006-11-09.
  2. ^ Chronology of Personal Computer Software. Retrieved on 2007-04-05.
  3. ^ Office 2007 To Be Launched on January 30, 2007, Too.
  4. ^ Microsoft (May 19, 2006). Microsoft Office 2004 for Mac Spotted Helping Customers Work Smarter to Play Harder. Microsoft. Retrieved on 2006-12-24.
  5. ^ Microsoft (February 15, 2006). Customers to Receive Better Solutions and More Product Options With 2007 Microsoft Office Release. Microsoft. Retrieved on 2006-12-24.
  6. ^ Forbes (August 2, 2007). Microsoft Delays Office for Mac Release.
  7. ^ 2007 Microsoft Office suites, Retrieved on 2007-08-20
  8. ^ Microsoft Office 2004 for Mac Editions, Retrieved on 2007-08-20
  9. ^ Office Fluent user interface overview
  10. ^ Foley, Mary Jo (2007-02-14). Office 14: Think first half of 2009. All about Microsoft blog. ZDNet. Retrieved on 2007-02-15.
  11. ^ Forbes (August 2, 2007). Microsoft Delays Office for Mac Release.
  12. ^ Dalrymple, Jim. "Microsoft reveals details of Office 2008 for Mac", Macworld, 2007-01-09. Retrieved on 2007-01-09.
  13. ^ Microsoft Office Open XML File Format Converter for Mac 0.2 (Beta). Microsoft (July 31, 2007).
  14. ^ Sooman, Derek (2005-04-13). Fresh Microsoft Office security problems found. TechSpot.com. Retrieved on 2006-11-09.
  15. ^ Vulnerability Report: Microsoft Office 2003 Standard Edition. Secunia. Retrieved on 2006-11-09.
  16. ^ Beer, Stan (2006-06-03). Adobe yet to explain why no PDF in Microsoft Office. IT Wire. Retrieved on 2006-11-09.
  17. ^ Legal issues around PDF support. Brian Jones:Open XML Formats (2006-06-02). Retrieved on 2006-06-03.
  18. ^ Follow-up on PDF legal issues. Brian Jones:Open XML Formats (2006-06-03). Retrieved on 2006-06-03.
  19. ^ WWDC: Microsoft updates Universal status of Mac apps. Macworld (2006-08-07). Retrieved on 2007-05-25.

[edit] External links

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World Wrestling Entertainment

World Wrestling Entertainment

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World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc.
Type Public (NYSE: WWE)
Founded 1952
Headquarters Stamford, Connecticut, U.S.
Key people Vince McMahon, Chairman
Linda McMahon, CEO
Shane McMahon, Executive Vice President of Global Media
Stephanie McMahon-Levesque, Executive Vice President of Creative Writing
Industry Professional wrestling, sports entertainment
Revenue $400.3 million USD (2006)[1]
Operating income $71.5 million USD (2006)[1]
Net income $47.0 million USD (2006)[1]
Employees 460 (April 2006, excluding wrestlers)[2]
Website WWE.com
Corporate WWE Web Site

World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. (WWE) is a publicly traded, privately controlled integrated media (focusing in television, Internet, and live events), and sports entertainment company dealing primarily in the professional wrestling industry, with major revenue sources also coming from film, music, product licensing, and direct product sales. Vince McMahon is the majority owner and Chairman of the company and his wife Linda McMahon holds the position of Chief Executive Officer (CEO). Together with their children, Executive Vice President of Global Media Shane McMahon and Executive Vice President of Talent and Creative Writing Stephanie McMahon-Levesque, the McMahons hold approximately 70% of WWE's economic interest and 96% of all voting power in the company.

The company's global headquarters are located at 1241 East Main Street in Stamford, Connecticut. It has offices in Los Angeles and in New York City; its international offices are located in both London and Toronto. The company was previously known as Titan Sports before changing to World Wrestling Federation Entertainment, Inc., and most recently becoming World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc.

WWE's business focus is on professional wrestling, the simulated sport combining original wrestling with scripted drama and pre-determined outcomes. It is currently the largest professional wrestling promotion in the world, and holds an extensive library of videos representing a significant portion of the visual history of professional wrestling. The promotion previously existed as the Capitol Wrestling Corporation, which promoted under the banner of the World Wide Wrestling Federation (WWWF), and later the World Wrestling Federation (WWF). WWE promotes under three brands; RAW, SmackDown! and ECW. WWE is also home to two of the three current world heavyweight championships recognized by Pro Wrestling Illustrated.

WWE's revenue in fiscal 2006 (from May 2005 to April 2006) was approximately US$400 million, with a net profit of approximately $47 million. As of August 2006, the company's market capitalization is over $1 billion. Its stock is traded on the NYSE as WWE.

WWE is currently under investigation by the United States House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform regarding their talent wellness policy, after the death of one of their performers possibly being linked to steroid abuse.[3]

In August 2007, WWE made the decision to suspend ten professional wrestlers for violating their Wellness Policy after it emerged they were all customers of Signature Pharmacy in Orlando, Florida. According to a statement attributed to WWE attorney Jerry McDevitt, an eleventh wrestler was later added to the suspension list. [4]

On September 26, 2007, it was announced that WWE would be expanding its international operations. Alongside the current international offices in London and Toronto, a new international office would be established in Sydney. [5]

Contents

[hide]

Company history

Main article: History of World Wrestling Entertainment

Capitol Wrestling

Roderick James "Jess" McMahon was a boxing promoter whose achievements included co-promoting a bout in 1915 between Jess Willard and Jack Johnson. In 1926, while working with Tex Rickard (who actually despised wrestling to such a degree he prevented wrestling events from being held at Madison Square Garden between 1939 and 1948), he started promoting boxing in Madison Square Garden in New York. The first match during their partnership was a light-heavyweight championship match between Jack Delaney and Paul Berlenbach.

Around the same time, professional wrestler Joseph Raymond "Toots" Mondt created a new style of professional wrestling that he called Slam Bang Western Style Wrestling to make the sport more appealing to spectators. He then formed a promotion with wrestling champion Ed Lewis and his manager Billy Sandow. They persuaded many wrestlers to sign contracts with their Gold Dust Trio. After much success, a disagreement over power caused the trio to dissolve and, with it, their promotion. Mondt formed partnerships with several other promoters, including Jack Curley in New York City. When Curley was dying, Mondt moved to take over New York wrestling with the aid of several bookers, one of whom was Jess McMahon.

Together, Roderick McMahon and Raymond Mondt created the Capitol Wrestling Corporation (CWC). The CWC joined the National Wrestling Alliance in 1953. Also in that year, Ray Fabiani, one of Mondt's associates, brought in Vincent J. McMahon to replace his father Jess in the promotion. McMahon and Mondt were a successful combination, and within a short time, they controlled approximately 70% of the NWA's booking, largely due to their dominance in the heavily populated Northeast region. Mondt taught McMahon about booking and how to work in the wrestling business.

Due to the dominance in the Northeast by the promotion, AWA legend & WWE Hall of Famer Nick Bockwinkel referred to the CWC the "Northeast Triangle" in The Spectacular Legacy of the AWA DVD to signify a triangle-like shape covering the CWC's territory; Pittsburgh, Washington, D. C., and Maine being the "points" of the triangle.

World Wide Wrestling Federation

The NWA recognized an undisputed NWA World Heavyweight Champion that went from wrestling company to wrestling company in the alliance and defended the belt around the world. In 1963, the champion was "Nature Boy" Buddy Rogers.

The rest of the NWA was unhappy with Mondt because he rarely allowed Rogers to wrestle outside of the Northeast. Mondt and McMahon wanted Rogers to keep the NWA World Championship, but Rogers was unwilling to sacrifice his $25,000 deposit on the belt (title holders at the time had to pay a deposit to insure they honored their commitments as champion). Rogers lost the NWA World Championship to Lou Thesz in a one-fall match in Toronto, Ontario 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.

In April, Rogers was awarded the new WWWF World Championship following an apocryphal tournament in Rio de Janeiro. He lost the title 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.

Mondt left the company in the late sixties.

Although the WWWF had withdrawn from the NWA, Vince McMahon Sr. still sat on the NWA Board of Directors, no other territory was recognized in the Northeast, and several "champion vs. champion" matches occurred (usually ending in a double disqualification or some other non-decisive ending).

In March 1979, the WWWF became the World Wrestling Federation (WWF). The change was purely cosmetic, and the ownership and front office personnel remained unchanged during this period.

World Wrestling Federation

In 1980, the son of Vincent J. McMahon, Vincent Kennedy McMahon, founded Titan Sports, Inc. and in 1982 purchased Capitol Wrestling Corporation from his father. The elder McMahon had long since established the northeastern territory as one of the most vibrant members of the NWA. He had long since recognized that professional wrestling was more about entertainment than actual sport. Against his father's wishes, McMahon began an expansion process that fundamentally changed the sport.

The WWF was not the only promotion to have broken ranks with the NWA; the American Wrestling Association (AWA) had long ago ceased being an official NWA member (although like the WWF, they seldom left their own territory). But in neither instance did the defecting member attempt to undermine the territory system that had been the foundation of the industry for more than half a century.

Other promoters were furious when McMahon began syndicating WWF television shows to television stations across the United States, in areas outside of the WWF's traditional northeastern stronghold. McMahon also began selling videotapes of WWF events outside the Northeast through his Coliseum Video distribution company. He effectively broke the unwritten law of regionalism around which the entire industry had been based. To make matters worse, McMahon used the income generated by advertising, television deals, and tape sales to poach talent from rival promoters. Wrestling promoters nationwide were now in direct competition with the WWF.


The first step in McMahon's attempt to go national was to sign AWA superstar Hulk Hogan, who, due to his appearance in Rocky III had a national recognition that few other wrestlers could manage. To play Hogan's nemesis, he signed North Carolina badboy Roddy Piper, and also another bodybuilder in the "Superstar" Billy Graham mold, Jesse Ventura (although Ventura rarely wrestled in the WWF at that point due to the lung disorder that caused his retirement, moving to the commentator booth alongside Gorilla Monsoon). McMahon built a superstar roster consisting of these men on top, in addition to New York mainstays like André the Giant, Jimmy Snuka and Don Muraco, and wandering journeymen like Paul Orndorff, Greg Valentine, Ricky Steamboat and the Iron Sheik. It has long been a point of contention whether McMahon could have gone national without Hogan's presence, or vice versa.

According to several reports, the elder McMahon warned his son: "Vinny, what are you doing? You'll wind up at the bottom of a river." In spite of such warnings, the younger McMahon had an even bolder ambition: the WWF would tour nationally. However, such a venture required huge capital investment; one that placed the WWF on the verge of financial collapse.

The future of not just McMahon's experiment, but also the WWF, the NWA, and the whole industry came down to the success or failure of McMahon's groundbreaking concept, WrestleMania. WrestleMania was a pay-per-view extravaganza (in some areas; most areas of the country saw WrestleMania available on closed-circuit television) that McMahon marketed as being the Super Bowl of professional wrestling.

The concept of a wrestling super card was nothing new in North America; the NWA had been running Starrcade a few years prior to WrestleMania, and even the elder McMahon had marketed large Shea Stadium cards viewable in closed-circuit locations. However, McMahon wanted to take the WWF to the mainstream, targeting the public who were not regular wrestling fans. He drew the interest of the mainstream media by inviting celebrities such as Mr. T and Cyndi Lauper to participate in the event. MTV, in particular, featured a great deal of WWF coverage and programming at this time, in what was termed the Rock 'n' Wrestling Connection.

The Golden Age

The original WrestleMania, held in 1985, was a resounding success. This event is sometimes credited as the debut of what McMahon called "sports entertainment". However, as mentioned above, his father had emphasized pro wrestling's entertainment value some years before. The WWF did incredible business on the shoulders of McMahon and his all-American babyface hero, Hulk Hogan, for the next several years, creating what some observers dubbed a second golden age for professional wrestling. The introduction of Saturday Night's Main Event on NBC in mid-1985 marked the first time that professional wrestling had been broadcast on network television since the 1950s. However, by the 1990s the WWF's fortunes steadily declined as fans were tired of Hulk Hogan's ability to beat anyone and everyone whenever he wanted.

The New Generation

The WWF hit a low point in the wake of allegations of steroid abuse and distribution made against it in 1994; there were also allegations of sexual harassment made by WWF employees. McMahon was eventually exonerated, but it was a public relations nightmare for the WWF. The steroid trial cost the WWF an estimated $5 million at a time when revenues were at an all-time low. To compensate, McMahon cut the pay of both wrestlers and front office personnel – close to 40% in the latter case (and about 50% for top level managers such as Bobby Heenan and Jimmy Hart, who both left). This helped drive many WWF wrestlers to its only major competition, World Championship Wrestling (WCW), between 1993 and 1996. During this period, the WWF promoted itself under the banner of "The New WWF Generation," featuring Shawn Michaels, Diesel, Razor Ramon, Bret Hart, and The Undertaker. In an effort to promote them and other young talent as the new superstars of the ring, the WWF began to play on the age restrictions which former WWF wrestlers such as Hulk Hogan and Randy Savage (who by now were working for WCW) now faced. This is best seen in the "Billionaire Ted" parodies of early 1996 (a reference to WCW's owner and patron, media mogul Ted Turner) which culminated in a "rasslin'" match during the warm-up to WrestleMania XII.

The Attitude Era

During the 1990s wrestling boom, starting with Steve Austin's now infamous Austin 3:16 speech, shortly after defeating Jake Roberts in the tournament finals at the 1996 King of the Ring pay-per-view, the WWF moved away from its "family era" and began broadcasting more violence, swearing, and more edgy angles in its attempt to compete with WCW. After Bret Hart left for WCW following the infamous Montreal Screwjob incident, Vince McMahon used the resulting backlash in the creation of his "Mr. McMahon" character, a dictatorial and fierce ruler who favored heels who were "good for business" over "misfit" faces like Austin. This, in turn, led to the Austin vs. McMahon feud, which, along with the formation of D-Generation X, laid the foundation for the Attitude Era. The Attitude Era also featured the established Monday Night Wars, where both WCW and the WWF had Monday night shows that competed against each other in the ratings.


Business advances

On April 29, 1999, the WWF made its return to terrestrial television by launching a special program known as SmackDown! on the fledgling UPN network. The Thursday-night show became a weekly series on August 26, 1999.

On the back of the success of the Attitude Era, on October 19, 1999 the WWF's parent company, Titan Sports (by this time renamed World Wrestling Federation Entertainment, Inc.) became a publicly traded company, offering 10 million shares priced at $17 each.[6] WWF announced its desire to diversify, including creating a nightclub in Times Square, producing feature films, and book publishing.

In 2000 the WWF, in collaboration with television network NBC, announced the creation of the XFL, a new professional football league that debuted in 2001.[7] The league had surprisingly 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 primetime 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 a deal with UPN, McMahon shut down the XFL.[8]

Acquisition of WCW and ECW

With the success of the Attitude Era, WCW's already shaky financial situation deteriorated even further. It only survived because Ted Turner retained control over it as a result of Turner Broadcasting System's merger with Time Warner. However, after Time Warner merged with AOL, Turner's power was considerably reduced, and the newly merged company decided to shed its dead weight, namely WCW which was now losing scores of millions of dollars each year. In March 2001, WWF Entertainment, Inc. acquired World Championship Wrestling, Inc. from AOL Time Warner for a number reported to be around $7 million.[9] With this purchase, WWF was now the largest wrestling promotion in the world, and the only one in North America with mainstream exposure. It remained so until the launch of Total Nonstop Action Wrestling in 2002.

The assets of Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW), which had folded after filing for bankruptcy protection in April 2001, were purchased by WWE in mid-2003.

World Wrestling Entertainment

In 2000, the World Wildlife Fund (also WWF), an environmental organization now called the World Wide Fund for Nature, sued the World Wrestling Federation. A British court agreed that Titan Sports had violated a 1994 agreement which had limited the permissible use of the WWF initials overseas, particularly in merchandising.[10]

On Sunday May 5, 2002, the company quietly changed all references on its website from "WWF" to "WWE", while switching the URL from WWF.com to WWE.com. The next day, a press release announced the official name change from World Wrestling Federation Entertainment, Inc. to World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., or WWE, and the change was publicized later that day during a telecast of Monday Night RAW, which emanated from the Hartford Civic Center in Hartford, Connecticut. For a short time, WWE used the slogan "Get The 'F' Out".[11] The company had also been ordered by court to stop using the old WWF Attitude logo on any of its properties and to censor all past references to WWF, as they no longer owned the trademark to the initials WWF in 'specified circumstances'.[12] However, despite litigation, WWE is still permitted use of the original WWF logo, which was used from 1984 through 1997, as well as the "New WWF Generation" logo, which was used from 1994 through 1998. Furthermore, the company may still make use of the full "World Wrestling Federation" and "World Wrestling Federation Entertainment" names without consequence.

In April 2002, about a month before the name change, WWE decided to create two separate rosters, one on RAW, the other on SmackDown! due to the overabundance of talent left over from the Invasion storyline (which involved talent from the absorbed ECW and WCW rosters interacting in WWF storylines). This is known as the WWE Brand Extension. Following the Brand Extension, a yearly Draft Lottery was instituted to exchange members of each roster and generally refresh the lineups.

In August 2002, the company launched WWE Niagara Falls, a retail establishment in Niagara Falls, Ontario.

In late 2005 WWE RAW returned after a brief 5-year stint on TNN (now Spike TV) to its original home USA Network. In the TNN days, WWE got all advertising revenue during commercial breaks into their own pockets, now on USA Network, USA Network gets all advertising revenue. So, WWE had to invest into other lines of products introducing WWE 24/7, an on-demand subscription-only channel which shows classic wrestling matches from WWE's vast video library (more than 80,000 hours) and WWE produced content other than wrestling.

In 2006, due to contracts with NBC Universal, parent company of USA Network, WWE had the chance to revive its classic Saturday night show WWE Saturday Night's Main Event (SNME) on NBC after a 13-year hiatus. WWE had so the chance to promote the company on a national network and not only on cable channels like The CW and USA Network. SNME airs occasionally on NBC as a WWE special series.

On May 26, 2006, WWE revived Extreme Championship Wrestling as its third brand. The new ECW program airs Tuesday nights, on the Sci Fi Channel.[13]

WWE Wellness Program

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The WWE Talent Wellness Program is a comprehensive drug, alcohol, and cardiac screening program exclusive to World Wrestling Entertainment, initiated in February 2006, shortly after the sudden death of one of their highest profile talents, 38 year old Eddie Guerrero. The policy tests for recreational drug use and abuse of prescription medication, including anabolic steroids. Under the guidelines of the policy, talent is also tested annually for pre-existing or developing cardiac issues. The drug testing is handled by Aegis Sciences Corporation. The cardiac evaluations are handled by New York Cardiology Associates P.C. The program has recently been defended heavily by WWE and it's employees in the wake of several illegal pharmacy busts that link WWE performers to steroid purchases even after the policy was put into place. WWE openly suspended/released 11 performers immediately following release of their names in conjunction with anabolic steroid purchases. The program has fallen under intense scrutiny from members of the media and experts in the field of doping, who claim that not only has WWE overlooked, if not, encouraged steroid use prior to these pharmacy busts, but that the steroid testing itself is blatantly misleading. Under the WWE drug testing policy, positive test thresholds for anabolic steroids are more than twice that of all other major sporting outfits including the Olympic committee.

Current title holders

Main article: List of current champions in WWE
Brand Championship Current Champion Date won Date aired
RAW WWE Championship Randy Orton October 7, 2007 October 7, 2007
WWE Intercontinental Championship Jeff Hardy September 2, 2007 September 3, 2007
WWE Women's Championship Beth Phoenix October 7, 2007 October 7, 2007
World Tag Team Championship Lance Cade and Trevor Murdoch September 8, 2007 N/A (House show)
SmackDown! World Heavyweight Championship Batista September 16, 2007 September 16, 2007
WWE United States Championship Montel Vontavious Porter May 20, 2007 May 20, 2007
WWE Cruiserweight Championship Vacant September 25, 2007 September 28, 2007
WWE Tag Team Championship Matt Hardy and Montel Vontavious Porter August 28, 2007 August 31, 2007
ECW ECW Championship CM Punk September 1, 2007 September 4, 2007

Other wrestler accomplishments

Brand Accomplishment Latest winner Date won
RAW, SmackDown!, ECW Royal Rumble The Undertaker January 28, 2007
Money in the Bank Edge May 7, 2007
Diva Search Layla El August 16, 2006

Current developmental territory champions

Promotion Championship
or accomplishment		 Current champion(s) Date won Date aired
OVW OVW Heavyweight Champion Michael W. Kruel July 28, 2007 N/A (House show)
OVW Television Champion Ted McNailer September 19, 2007 September 22, 2007
OVW Southern Tag Team Champions Vacant October 3, 2007 October 6, 2007
OVW Women's Champion Roucka September 19, 2007 September 22, 2007
FCW FCW Southern Heavyweight Champion Harry Smith June 26, 2007 N/A (House show)

Defunct promotion championships and accomplishments

²Acquisition of WCW and ECW.

Defunct developmental territories championships

Expansion beyond wrestling

In addition to licensing wrestling and performers' likenesses to video game companies such as EA and THQ to capitalize on the market for their entertainment dollar, WWE has moved into other areas of interest in order to market their product.

  • WWE Films: A subsidiary of WWE created in 2002 to create and develop feature film properties for the professional wrestlers within the company.
  • WWE Niagara Falls: A retail and entertainment establishment that is located in Niagara Falls, Ontario and owned by WWE.
  • WWE Records: A subsidiary that specializes in compilation albums of WWE wrestlers' entrance themes. Also releases titles that have been actually performed by the wrestlers themselves.
  • WWE Home Video: A subsidiary that specializes in distributing compilation VHS and DVD copies of WWE pay-per-view events, compilations of WWE wrestlers' performances, and biographies of WWE performers.
  • WWE Books: A subsidiary of WWE that serves to publish autobiographies of and fiction based on WWE personalities, behind-the-scenes guides to WWE, illustrated books, calendars, young adult books, and other general nonfiction books.

WWE executive officers

World Wrestling Entertainment headquarters, Stamford, Connecticut
World Wrestling Entertainment headquarters, Stamford, Connecticut

WWE board of directors

  • Vincent K. McMahon (Chairman of the Board of Directors - WWE) [14][26]
  • Linda E. McMahon (Chief Executive Officer - WWE) [15][26]
  • Michael Sileck (Chief Operating Officer - WWE) [26]
  • Lowell P. Weicker, Jr. (Former Governor of the State of Connecticut and United States Senator) [26]
  • David Kenin (Executive Vice President of Programming - Hallmark Channel) [26]
  • Joseph Perkins (President - Communications Consultants, Inc.) [26]
  • Michael B. Solomon (Managing Principal - Gladwyne Partners, LLC) [26]
  • Robert A. Bowman (Chief Executive Officer - Major League Baseball Advanced Media) [26]

References

  1. ^ a b c World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. Reports Q4 Results (PDF) 4. Retrieved on 2006-08-28.
  2. ^ WWE 2006 10-K Report. WWE.com. Retrieved on 2006-08-28.
  3. ^ Congress wants WWE's info on steroids, doping. Retrieved on 2007-07-29.
  4. ^ "WWE Suspends Yet Another Wrestler". Headline Planet (2007-09-01).
  5. ^ "WWE: Flexing its Muscle" (2007-09-01).
  6. ^ WWF Enters the Stock Market (19). Retrieved on 2007-05-05.
  7. ^ WWE Entertainment, Inc. announces the formation of the XFL -- a new professional football league (03). Retrieved on 2007-05-05.
  8. ^ XFL folds after disappointing first season (10). Retrieved on 2007-05-05.
  9. ^ WWE Entertainment, Inc. Acquires WCW from Turner Broadcasting (23). Retrieved on 2007-05-05.
  10. ^ Agreement-WWF-World Wide Fund for Nature and Titan Sports Inc.. Retrieved on 2006-11-23.
  11. ^ World Wrestling Federation Entertainment Drops The "F" To Emphasize the "E" for Entertainment.. WWE. Retrieved on 2006-08-28.
  12. ^ corporate.wwe.com
  13. ^ WWE brings ECW to Sci Fi Channel. WWE.com. Retrieved on 2006-08-28.
  14. ^ a b WWE Corporate Biography of Vince McMahon. Retrieved on 2007-05-20.
  15. ^ a b WWE Corporate Biography of Linda McMahon. Retrieved on 2007-05-20.
  16. ^ WWE Corporate Biography of Michael Sileck. Retrieved on 2007-05-20.
  17. ^ WWE Corporate Biography of Shane McMahon. Retrieved on 2007-05-20.
  18. ^ WWE Corporate Biography of Kevin Dunn. Retrieved on 2007-05-20.
  19. ^ WWE Corporate Biography of Frank Serpe. Retrieved on 2007-05-20.
  20. ^ WWE Corporate Biography of Donna Goldsmith. Retrieved on 2007-05-20.
  21. ^ WWE Corporate Biography of Geof Rochester. Retrieved on 2007-05-20.
  22. ^ WWE Corporate Biography of Stephanie McMahon-Levesque. Retrieved on 2007-05-20.
  23. ^ WWE Corporate Biography of Edward Kaufman. Retrieved on 2007-05-20.
  24. ^ WWE Corporate Biography of John Laurinaitis. Retrieved on 2007-05-20.
  25. ^ WWE Corporate Biography of Joel Simon. Retrieved on 2007-05-20.
  26. ^ a b c d e f g h Corporate Board of Directors. Retrieved on 2007-05-20.

External links

World Wrestling Entertainment
History
Black Saturday • Monday Night Wars • Montreal Screwjob • The Invasion • Brand Extension • WWE Video Library
Programming
RAW • SmackDown! • ECW
Current programming • Former programming • Pay-per-views
Developmental territories
Ohio Valley Wrestling • Florida Championship Wrestling
Former and defunct developmental territories
Deep South Wrestling • Heartland Wrestling Association • International Wrestling Association • Memphis Championship Wrestling
Subsidiaries
WWE Films • WWE Niagara Falls • WWE Records • WWE Video Games • WWE Home Video • WWE Books
Defunct subsidiaries
Coliseum Video • World Bodybuilding Federation • The World • XFL
Other wrestling organizations acquired
World Championship Wrestling (history) • Extreme Championship Wrestling
Talent
Current roster • WWE Divas • Alumni • Hall of Fame (inductees) • Diva Search • Tough Enough • WWE Draft •

List of current champions in WWE

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