[13][citation needed] 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.

Other significant wrestlers who were part of the roster included: Big John Studd, André the Giant, Jimmy "Superfly" Snuka, "The Magnificent" Don Muraco, Junkyard Dog, "Mr.

[citation needed] 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.

Stables or groups such as Demolition, Strike Force, The Hart Foundation, The British Bulldogs, The Rockers and The Fabulous Rougeaus helped create a strong tag team division for WWF.

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.

[32] 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.

"[36] 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 the spotlight over the next several years.

[38][39] 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.

[citation needed] 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.

[48] At Survivor Series, WWF's top star, Stone Cold Steve Austin, 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.

Austin would go on to win the next year's Royal Rumble match and come out victorious against The Rock for the WWF Championship at WrestleMania X-Seven with help from his former rival, Mr. McMahon, turning into a villain in the process.

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 a torn quadriceps muscle in 2007 at New Year's Revolution.

The circumstances of his death would provide a medium for his on- and off-screen friend Rey Mysterio to emerge as a major main-eventer and win the 2006 Royal Rumble match and the World Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania 22.

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 the summer.

[79][80] Also in 2009, D-Generation X was reunited by Triple H and Shawn Michaels to feud with the villainous stable The Legacy a group consisting of Cody Rhodes, Ted DiBiase Jr. and their leader Randy Orton.

Punk, who had become a top star during the summer of 2011 due to his infamous "pipe bomb" promo, would win the WWE Championship at the 2011 Survivor Series event and hold it for 434 days before losing to The Rock in 2013 at the 2013 Royal Rumble.

Six days after the end of the first season, the rookies, now calling themselves The Nexus, interfered in the Raw main event match between John Cena and CM Punk, attacking both wrestlers and the announcers, before dismantling the ring area and surrounding equipment.

Bryan would eventually be inserted into the main event of WrestleMania, defeating Randy Orton and Batista in a critically acclaimed triple threat match, and capture the WWE World Heavyweight Championship in the process.

The three former members of The Shield - Dean Ambrose, Roman Reigns, and Seth Rollins - have heavily featured since the start of the New Era, with all three men exchanging the WWE World Heavyweight Championship at Money in the Bank in June 2016.

The March 11 episode of NXT was filmed without spectators at the WWE Performance Center facility in Orlando, as three of the four major sports leagues two days earlier had closed locker rooms to the media as a precautionary measure.

As other sports cancellations and postponements followed, WWE, beginning with the March 13 episode of SmackDown, started filming its weekly programs at the Performance Center with no spectators and only essential staff present.

[144] Live broadcasts returned on April 13, with the existing arrangements continuing; WWE stated to ESPN.com that "we believe it is now more important than ever to provide people with a diversion from these hard times", and that the company's programming "bring[s] families together and deliver a sense of hope, determination and perseverance".

Both fans and several media outlets pointed out that while WWE called these actions "necessary due to the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic", the company also claimed to have "substantial financial resources.

For WrestleMania 37, which took place April 10 and 11, 2021, paying fans - albeit at reduced capacity - attended the event from Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida, and the two night show was promoted as WWE being "Back in Business!".

[164] On September 2, 2023, WWE held Payback their final pay-per-view prior to transfer of ownership, in the main event of which Seth Rollins defeated Shinsuke Nakamura to retain his World Heavyweight Championship.

Discovery (broadcasters of rival promotion AEW), Netflix, Amazon, Endeavor Group Holdings (owners of UFC), and Liberty Media being in the speculation for buying the company[185] with CAA and Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund also on the list.

[191] Vince McMahon stated that "family businesses have to evolve for all the right reasons", and that "given the incredible work that Ari and Endeavor have done to grow the UFC brand — nearly doubling its revenue over the past seven years — and the immense success we've already had in partnering with their team on a number of ventures, I believe that this is without a doubt the best outcome for our shareholders and other stakeholders.

Meanwhile, WWF television announcer Jim Ross repeatedly told those watching live on pay-per-view that what had just transpired was not a wrestling angle or storyline and that Hart was hurt badly, emphasizing the seriousness of the situation.

[citation needed] The next night, after some of the details of the deaths became available, the company aired a recorded statement by its chairman Vince McMahon before their ECW broadcast: Good evening, ladies and gentlemen.