WWE, also known by its legal name of World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc.,^[7][8][9] is an American publicly traded, privately controlled entertainment company that deals primarily in professional wrestling, with major revenue sources also coming from film, music, product licensing and direct product sales.

"WWE" also refers to the professional wrestling promotion itself, founded by Jess McMahon and Toots Mondt in 1952, and, as of 2014, the largest in the world, holding about 320 house shows a year and broadcasting to about 36 million viewers in more than 150 countries.^[10]

As in other professional wrestling promotions, WWE shows are not legitimate sporting contests, but purely entertainment-based, featuring storyline-driven, scripted andchoreographed matches, though they often include moves that can put performers at risk of injury if not performed correctly. WWE first acknowledged this publicly in 1981, breaking the gentlemen's agreement that previously existed among promoters.^[11]

Vince McMahon is the majority owner, chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of the company. Together with his wife Linda, children Shane and Stephanie, and son-in-law Paul "Triple H" Levesque, the McMahon family holds approximately 70% of WWE's equity and 96% of the voting power in the company. The company's headquartersare located in Stamford, Connecticut, with offices in New York City, Los Angeles, London, Shanghai, Tokyo, Singapore, and Mumbai.^[12][13]

The promotion was previously called the Capitol Wrestling Corporation (CWC), the World Wide Wrestling Federation (WWWF), the World Wrestling Federation (WWF), and World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). Since 2011, the company has officially branded itself solely as "WWE", which is no longer an initialism, though the company's legal name was not changed.^[9][14]