History of WWE-The Cult Brand- Part 1. Review on Wrestling

Hi people....... I want to write about a phenomena that literally shook the world, including myself, from childhood. For those who are wondering about what is a "cult brand" , let me elaborate on that. Like religious cults that can attract thousands of devotees, branding gurus always wondered whether they can have loyal "followers" for product brands too. In a marketing terms, can a dream of making certain products - with the right combination of positioning and branding - take on magnetic characteristics and galvanize die-hard customers who become moving and vocal brand ambassodars? This is the power of cult branding where companies do not need to blow a fortune on advertising. The world has always witnessed cult brands in the form of a Harley Davidson rally, or a Star Trek Convention where thousands of fans are ready to spend good words and tons of money. Some of the other successful cult brands are Oprah Winfrey, Apple, Volkswagen Beetle, Linux, and WWF (now known as WWE).

Today, WWE is not a mere form of sport or entertainment media but "unarguably "the biggest business form in the world. A crooked story reveals that WWE finds its roots from 2 cavemen wrestling over a dead deer. It seems that there was a third who saw this fight and started calling other fellow cavemen about that gruesome fight. As more and more people came to see the fight, the cavemen (now called as Cave Mcman) who made the initial discovery started charging fruits, skins, spearheads, etc. for admission to viewing the fight. And so the promoter of wrestling was officially born. Obviously a goofed story. Neither do I believe in it. The history of wrestling goes back to the 18th century. Here, wrestling matches were done by people who wanted to display their strength or athletic prowess. These people used to travel as gypsies to various places and pose challenges to locals there to participate and win. Often, members of the troop used to pose as a local and accept the challenge. And, audience used to bet on the pre-determined result. And, lesser odds would automatically win making the troop richer and richer.

By the end of 19th century, these workers had realized the huge potential of this art and decided to polish it by making it professional. Thus, the idea of pay-per-view of wrestling matches was born. Stats reveal the first official Heavyweight Wrestling Champion by the name of George Hackenschmidt. It is said that he was the European Wrestling Champion and became the first World Champ when he defeated the American Wrestling Champion, Tom Jenkins, at the historic Madison Square Garden on May 4, 1905. This Russian lion was unstoppable for three years but finally defeated by an Iowa farmer, Frank Gotch. This was the first instance of the big popularity boom of the wrestling phenomena. This farmer held the title for five years until he decided to retire finally in 1913. Many wrestlers started self-proclaiming themselves as the next champion but to no avail.

Finally, Joe Stretcher became the new Champion in 1915. The promoters of the sport started holding the event across the entire country. Wrestlers began to perform in certain regions of the country, winning various titles, and then moving from one region to another. Like all businesses, Wrestling too suffered losses during the Great Depression of the 1930s. With the advent of television in 1940s, the world of wrestling was born. Soon, it became an entertainment mode where flamboyant men with stunning blonde hair, colorful robes, rocking music, etc. used to entertain and thrill the audience with their antics. This led to the start of an association -The National Wrestling Alliance(NWA) formed by various promoters from all across the country. It was decided that the entire organization would identify only one undisputed champion, who would defend his title henceforth.

One of the greatest champions of all times i.e. Lou Thesz was of those early NWA days who held his title for a span of 7 years. Others wrestling stars of those days were the original Nature Boy Buddy Rogers, Classy Freddie Blassie, and Fabulous Moolah(made women wrestling famous). In 1952, Vincent James McMahon(father of the now WWE chairman VIncent Kennedy McMahon) began Capitol Wrestling in Washington DC. This ran shows in the DC area, then signed a TV deal and got exclusive rights to show fights in Madison Square Garden, New York. This arena is home to one of the greatest spectacles of wrestling history i.e. Wrestle Mania started by Vincent K. McMahon. In 1963, the name of Capitol Wrestling was changed to the World Wide Wrestling Federation (WWWF). WWWF crowned Buddy Rogers as its champion. However, on May 17 1963, in only 48 seconds, Rogers was defeated by Bruno Sammartino for the title and then went to become the most successful heavyweight champions of all time, holding the title for a record 8 years.

1970s saw wrestlers such as Harley Race, The American Dream Dusty Rhodes, Nature Boy Ric Flair. In 1982, the sport was sold by the father McMahon to his son who was a literary genius to transform the game of profesional wrestling into what we witness it right now. He needed a face and a name for his new idea. On November 13, 1979, a little-known wrestler called Terry Bollea, introduced by Vince McMahon, made his golden entry into the game of professional wrestling who we now know as "Hulk Hogan". And, for the first time, the cult brand phenomena was born by a group of die-hard fans of Hogan who referred themselves as "Hulkamaniacs". Hogan wrestled three matches in Pennysylvania during one of the Federation’s marathon television screenings. He was victorious in all three bouts. It was said that Bollea was physically bigger than Lou Ferrigno, who was at that time starring in the popular TV Series "The Incredible Hulk". Thus, he got the term "Hulk".

Hogan managed by "Classy" Freddie Blassie battled with the then-WWWF champ Bob BackLund, "Mr. U.S.A." Tony Atlas , Abdullah the Butcher , the Iron Sheikh and Andre the Giant. 36,295 fans witnessed the biggest match of all time when Hogan defeated Andre on August 9, 1980 at the Showdown at Shea.However, Hogan was fired by McMahon from the company when he played a cameo in Rocky III as the boss did not want his pro wrestlers to become actors. 1980s saw many wrestling greats like Rowdy Roddy Piper, "Mr. Wonderful" Paul Orndorff, King Kong Bundy, "The Million Dollar Man" Ted Dibiase, "Macho Man" Randy Savage, etc. ---------------- Like it. More of this is on way. I will continue my review in PART-II. Eager to listen Comments. Bye.