Is there anyone here who's a certified expert on the history of the WWE? If there is then I have a favor to ask of you. I am completely new to the world of Pro Wrestling and I need my hips guided through its lore. I need a short and comprehensive summary of all the important wrestlers and eras before I move on to Wikipedia and embark on what may be a couple hours of reading.
Gotta warn you that the world of pro wrestling is much more than the WWE, I'm far from the authority on wrestling history, I'm only going to cover American pro wrestling, and there's a chance that I'll be getting my facts wrong. Hope you have a fire to sit by, because this is going to be a long one...
The beginnings of pro wrestling were actually quite legitimate; the modern style of pro wrestling is derived from a grappling style created in the late 1800s by carnival promoters known as catch-as-catch-can wrestling, and early matches were complete shoots (not scripted, in pro wrestling lingo). However, by the early 1900s, most matches were worked, or staged (nobody knows exactly when due to the kayfabe concept causing everyone involved to portray the matches as if they were real; this is why pro wrestling championships may be hyped as world heavyweight championship from time to time). There wasn't an organization (or promotion) that was organized or big enough to oversee the wrestlers as the WWE does today. During this beginning phase, the top two wrestlers were Martin "Farmer" Burns and Frank Gotch, who legitimately earned most of their wins, with Burns losing less than ten times in matches against over 6,000 separate wrestlers despite weighing less than 160 pounds and Gotch being one of the few people who could legitimately claim to be the undisputed heavyweight champion of the world. Wrestling's popularity took a nosedive in the late 1910s due to doubt over its being legit.
In the 1920s, though, a trio of wrestlers (Ed Lewis, Billy Sandow, and Toots Mondt) created the first popular wrestling promotion and became known as the Gold Dust Trio. They popularized time limits, flashy moves, finishers, and tag teams. By the 1930s, a group of wrestling promotions from all over the USA formed the National Wrestling League, or NWA. This was the first national pro wrestling body in the US, and it was the WWE of its day. Its main star in the early days was Lou Thesz, who unified the championships of the NWA's members into a single world title (he also created the powerbomb, Lou Thesz press (famously used by Stone Cold Steve Austin, and STF (currently used by John Cena).
When television came into its own in the 1920s, the wrestling world adapted to the new medium rather slowly. The first TV shows with pro wrestling didn't show up until WWII was over for a couple of years. During this time, wrestlers were more focused on being TV stars than actually having athletic ability. One of the biggest stars during this time was Gorgeous George, one of the first major wrestlers to have a gimmick and entrance music (Pomp and Circumstance, to be specific). By the end of the decade, though, wrestling programs were mostly kicked off the air due to overexposure.
During the '60s and '70s, the NWA gained some challengers for the national spotlight. The two most prominent were the American Wrestling Association (which temporarily became top dog during the 60s) and the World Wide Wrestling Federation (or WWWF), both of which were originally part of the NWA before they were kicked to the curb. The NWA was still ridiculously popular, though, and its TV show (making use of member Georgia Championship Wrestling) became the most watched show on cable television going into the '80s. This was the era of legendary wrestlers like Lou Albano, Bruno Sammartino, Dusty Rhodes, Harley Race, Billy Graham, Bob Backlund, and was the launching pad for wrestlers like Hulk Hogan and Andre the Giant.
The '80s was an incredibly prosperous time for pro wrestling. Vince McMahon came into control of the WWF (shortened from WWWF in '79) and turned the promotion into a gimmick festival with Hulk Hogan as its face. The WCW was also established during this time, when NWA member Jim Crockett Promotions was forced to sell itself to Ted Turner. Several other non-WWF promotions were forced out of business as well, including the AWA. This was the era of Hulkamania and WrestleMania, and the time period of many legends that inspire prospective wrestlers to this day, including Brutus Beefcake, Jake "The Snake" Roberts, Jimmy "Superfly" Snuka, Ric Flair, Rowdy Roddy Piper, Ricky Steamboat, Randy Savage, and many, MANY others.
The '90s is marked by the Monday Night Wars, one of the biggest inter-company feuds in wrestling and TV history. The WCW and WWF competed for dominance of the airwaves during this time. In 1994, a little promotion known as Eastern Championship Wrestling ditched the NWA in a memorable promo and rebranded itself as EXTREME Championship Wrestling, catapulting the wrestling world into the Dark Age of Media. The resulting competition lead to the creation of WWF's Attitude Era, easily the most violent period in WWF history. Headliners during this period include Bret Hart, Shawn Michaels, Undertaker, Diesel, Lex Luger, Stone Cold Steve Austin, Mick Foley, The Rock, D-Generation X, the Dudley Boyz, the Hardys and the new World order (or nWo).
The new millenium began with the death of most of the WWE's main competitors: WCW was bought out by WWE on March 23, 2001, while ECW filed for bankruptcy on April 4, 2001. Several indie wrestling promotions popped up during this time, like CHIKARA, CZW, Ring of Honor, and the current main WWE competitor, TNA Wrestling. In the WWE, this decade was marked by the Brand Extension, an in-company attempt to foster competition by having different wrestlers and commentators appear on different shows and PPVs, only meeting up again for major PPVs like WrestleMania. Big names that appeared during this period include Bryan Danielson, CM Punk, Brock Lesnar, Randy Orton, Triple H, Batista, Eddie Guerrerro, Chris Benoit, Rey Mysterio, and John Cena.
As for the current decade? Currently, the WWE is stuck on the tone dial between the 2000s and the Attitude Era, and it doesn't know which way to go. Triple H has taken over the onscreen role of COO from Vince McMahon. TNA is in a downward spiral, having gained and lost several classic wrestlers (including Hulk Hogan) faster than the eye could blink. Indie promotions are still stuck in the shadows. People and stables (groups) that became prominent during this decade include Zack Ryder, the Nexus, the Shield, the Usos, the Wyatt Family, Ryback, Jack Swagger, and Sin Cara.
