- published: 04 Apr 2016
- views: 11240
World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. (doing business as WWE, Inc.;NYSE: WWE) is an American publicly traded, privately controlled entertainment company dealing primarily in professional wrestling, with major revenue sources also coming from film, music, product licensing, and direct product sales. It is currently the largest professional wrestling promotion in the world, reaching 13 million viewers in the U.S. and broadcasting its shows in 30 languages to more than 145 countries. It promotes under two brands, known as Raw and SmackDown.
Vince McMahon is the majority owner, chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of the company. Together with his wife Linda McMahon, and their children Shane McMahon and Stephanie McMahon-Levesque (WWE Executive Vice President of Talent and Creative Writing), the McMahons hold approximately 70% of WWE's economic interest and 96% of the voting power in the company. The company's headquarters are located in Stamford, Connecticut with offices in New York City, Los Angeles, London, Shanghai, Tokyo, Singapore, and Mumbai.
Brock Edward Lesnar (/ˈlɛznər/; born July 12, 1977) is an American professional wrestler, actor, former mixed martial artist and amateur wrestler, signed with WWE and appearing on its Raw brand. He is also a former UFC Heavyweight Champion and former #1 ranked mixed martial arts (MMA) Heavyweight by Sherdog; he was ranked #5 before he announced his retirement at the end of 2011. Lesnar is an accomplished amateur wrestler, winning the 2000 NCAA heavyweight wrestling championship and placing second in 1999, losing in the finals to 1999 world freestyle wrestling champion and future New England Patriots offensive lineman Stephen Neal.
He gained prominence in World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) from 2002 to 2004, where he is a former three-time WWE Champion, becoming the youngest WWE Champion at age 25 with his first reign. Lesnar was the 2002 King of the Ring and the winner of the 2003 Royal Rumble. After leaving WWE, Lesnar pursued a career in the NFL. He played during the preseason for the Minnesota Vikings, but ended up being a late cut. Lesnar returned to professional wrestling at the end of 2005, and joined New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW), where he won the IWGP Heavyweight Championship in his first match. He was officially stripped of the title by NJPW in July 2006, and took the physical belt with him to Inoki Genome Federation (IGF), where he was still recognized as IWGP Champion until June 2007.