The Undertaker, one of the most iconic figures in the entire history of professional wrestling, thinks that the early 2000s rebranding of the WWE was actually an improvement for the company.
In 2002, the World Wrestling Federation, which had grown to become an overwhelmingly dominant force in sports entertainment under the ownership of Vince McMahon, faced a legal battle with the World Wide Fund for Nature.
While the company was then legally known as Titan Sports, it was widely known (and promoted itself) as the WWF; however, that term was trademarked by the conservation group.
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For years, the two groups bickered in various courts and made agreements that allowed the wrestling organization to use its logo to a limited degree. Then, in 2002, the company formally reorganized as World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. Since 2011, it now solely brands itself as WWE, presumably because it’s a bit catchier.
While many diehard fans still have nostalgia for the WWF brand, the Undertaker recently asserted that rebranding as the WWE essentially allowed the organization to rejuvenate itself and remake its image.
In a recent episode of his “Six Feet Under With Mark Calaway” (the icon’s legal name) podcast, the Undertaker claimed that the rebrand was a cunning strategic move by McMahon. He said, “I just think he seized the moment and [said], ‘You know what, it’s time for a little bit of change,’ and it wasn’t worth fighting it. I don’t think anybody was going to confuse the World Wrestling Federation with the World Wildlife Fund. They were way … it was just semantics.”
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Whether or not McMahon intended to give his company a shot in the arm with the name change, the Undertaker feels that’s what happened. He continued, pointing out that the company had already previously been known as the World Wide Wrestling Federation and that name changes were pretty constant.
“Originally it was WWWF, they took the ‘W’ off and it was a whole new facelift kind of deal with the WWE,” Undertaker said. “We changed our branding and the way everything looked and it worked for the better.”
At this point, the WWE has been operating under that name for more than 20 years. So, nostalgia or not, it appears that the name has stuck.
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