World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) is an American professional wrestling promotion. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority-owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. A global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into fields outside of wrestling, including film, football, and various other business ventures. The company is additionally involved in licensing its intellectual property to companies to produce video games and action figures.
In Your House was a series of professional wrestling supercard events created by WWE, a professional wrestling promotion based in Connecticut. The events originally aired on pay-per-view (PPV) from May 1995 to February 1999 when the promotion was still called the World Wrestling Federation. In 2020, WWE revived In Your House for its developmental brand NXT. The 2020 event was streamed exclusively on the WWE Network with the 2021 event also available via traditional PPV and the livestreaming service Peacock, while the 2022 event was only available via WWE's livestreaming platforms. A total of 30 In Your House events were held between May 1995 and June 2022.
The WWE Cruiserweight Championship was a professional wrestling championship originally used in World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and later, World Wrestling Federation/Entertainment (WWF/WWE). It was contested by wrestlers under 225 lbs, billed as cruiserweights. Following the acquisition of WCW by the then-WWF in 2001, it became a WWF championship and replaced the WWF Light Heavyweight Championship. During the first WWE brand extension, it was the only title to be exclusive to the SmackDown! brand during its entire tenure.
The WWF Light Heavyweight Championship was a professional wrestling championship in the World Wrestling Federation promotion. The title was challenged by light heavyweights at a maximum weight of 215 lbs. It was created on March 26, 1981, for the Universal Wrestling Association (UWA) in a partnership between the WWF and UWA. On June 16, 1995, the title moved to Michinoku Pro Wrestling, but due to WWF's ownership of the title, it was returned to the WWF in 1997, the year which WWE recognizes as the beginning of the championship's lineage. The inaugural champion in UWA was Perro Aguayo, however, the WWE considers the inaugural champion to be Taka Michinoku, with his reign beginning on December 7, 1997. It was retired on March 8, 2002, with X-Pac as the final champion.
In professional wrestling, Cruiserweight is a weight class but also a term for a fast-paced, aerial-based style of performer. The term was first coined in the United States in 1996 by World Championship Wrestling. Prior to this, the terms "Light Heavyweight" and "Junior Heavyweight" were more commonly in use. The older term Junior Heavyweight is still favored in Japan, where many titles for lighter-weight competitors are called Junior Heavyweight titles. Prominent titles include New Japan Pro-Wrestling's IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship, Pro Wrestling Noah's GHC Junior Heavyweight Championship, and All Japan Pro Wrestling's World Junior Heavyweight championships.
The WWE Draft is a process used by the American professional wrestling promotion WWE to refresh its rosters between the Raw and SmackDown brands when a brand extension is in effect. Wrestlers from the promotion's developmental brand NXT (2016–present) are also eligible to be drafted to Raw and SmackDown. Two of WWE's former brands, ECW (2006–2009) and 205 Live (2019), have also taken part in the draft during the promotion's various brand split periods.
Championship unification is the act of combining two or more separate professional wrestling championships into a single title.
The brand extension, also referred to as the brand split, is the separation of the American professional wrestling promotion WWE's roster of wrestlers into distinct divisions, or "brands". The promotion's wrestlers are assigned to a brand via the annual WWE Draft and exclusively perform on that brand's weekly television show, with some exceptions. Throughout its history, WWE has utilized the brand extension twice. The first brand split occurred from 2002 to 2011, while the ongoing second began in 2016.
The American professional wrestling promotion WWE has maintained several men's and women's tag team championships since Capitol Wrestling Corporation (CWC) seceded from the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) in 1963 to become the World Wide Wrestling Federation (WWWF), which was later subjected to various name changes, including World Wrestling Federation (WWF) and World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE)—in April 2011, the company ceased using its full name and has since just been referred to as WWE. The first men's tag team title, the Northeast version of the NWA World Tag Team Championship, preceded the company's creation, as it was established in 1957 for CWC as a version of the NWA World Tag Team Championship, while the first women's tag team title, the WWF Women's Tag Team Championship, was established in 1983. Whenever the WWE brand extension has been implemented, separate tag team championships have been created or allocated for each brand.
The American professional wrestling promotion WWE has maintained several women's championships since 1983, when the World Wrestling Federation established the WWF Women's Tag Team Championship. One year later, the WWF bought the NWA Women's Championship and renamed it the WWF Women's Championship, establishing their first women's world championship. Although the title preceded the company's creation, the WWF claimed a lineage that began in 1956. Whenever the WWE brand extension has been implemented, separate women's championships have been created or allocated for each brand.
The NXT Cruiserweight Championship was a professional wrestling championship that was created and promoted by the American promotion WWE. Before its retirement, it was defended across the NXT, NXT UK, and 205 Live brand divisions, which were developmental territories for WWE. During its short tenure, it was the promotion's only championship with a weight limit, wherein only wrestlers 205 lb and under—designated as cruiserweights—could compete for the title.
Raw is a brand of the American professional wrestling promotion WWE that was established on March 25, 2002. Brands are divisions of WWE's roster where wrestlers are assigned to perform on a weekly basis when a brand extension is in effect. Wrestlers assigned to Raw primarily appear on the brand's weekly television program, Monday Night Raw, also referred to simply as Raw. It is one of WWE's two main brands, along with SmackDown, collectively referred to as WWE's main roster. The brand extension was discontinued between August 2011 and July 2016.
The NXT North American Championship is a professional wrestling championship created and promoted by the American promotion WWE. It is defended as the secondary men's championship of NXT, the promotion's developmental brand. The current champion is Oba Femi, who is in his first reign. He won the title by defeating SmackDown's Dragon Lee in his NXT Breakout Tournament contract cash-in match on the January 9, 2024, episode of NXT.
205 Live was a brand of the American professional wrestling promotion WWE that was established in November 2016 and discontinued in February 2022. Brands are divisions of WWE's roster where wrestlers are assigned to perform on a weekly basis when a brand extension is in effect. Wrestlers assigned to 205 Live primarily appeared on the brand's weekly television program, 205 Live. From October 2019 to February 2022, the brand served as a sub-brand of WWE's developmental territory, NXT, which allowed 205 Live wrestlers to also appear on its show, NXT.
NXT UK was a brand of the American professional wrestling promotion WWE that was introduced in December 2016. Brands are divisions of WWE's roster where wrestlers are assigned to perform on a weekly basis. Wrestlers assigned to NXT UK primarily appeared on the brand's weekly television program, NXT UK, and the brand's periodic livestreaming events. The brand served as a sub-brand of WWE's developmental territory, NXT, with NXT UK wrestlers also occasionally appearing on its show, NXT, as well as NXT's major events. Unlike WWE's other brands, NXT UK was produced exclusively in the United Kingdom and was specifically centered on wrestlers from the country.
The American professional wrestling promotion WWE has maintained several men's world championships since Capitol Wrestling Corporation seceded from the National Wrestling Alliance in 1963 to become the World Wide Wrestling Federation (WWWF), which was later subjected to various name changes, including World Wrestling Federation (WWF) and World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE)—in April 2011, the company ceased using its full name and has since just been referred to as WWE. The company's first world championship was the WWE Championship, which was established along with the promotion's creation in 1963 as the WWWF World Heavyweight Championship; it is still active today and is WWE's oldest active title. Whenever the WWE brand extension has been implemented, separate world championships have been created or allocated for each brand.
The American professional wrestling promotion WWE has maintained several secondary championships since Capitol Wrestling Corporation seceded from the National Wrestling Alliance in 1963 to become the World Wide Wrestling Federation (WWWF), which was later subjected to various name changes, including World Wrestling Federation (WWF) and World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE)—in April 2011, the company ceased using its full name and has since just been referred to as WWE. The company's first men's secondary championship was the NWA United States Television Championship, which was established in 1957 as a version of the NWA Television Championship, while the first and only women's secondary title, the NXT Women's North American Championship, was established in 2024. Whenever the WWE brand extension has been implemented, separate secondary championships have been created or allocated for each brand.
