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4[[quoteright:221:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/wwe_2014_logo_6882.png]]
5[[caption-width-right:221:Then. Now. Forever. Together.]]
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7[[https://www.wwe.com WWE]], short for World Wrestling Entertainment,[[note]]Currently marketed solely as WWE, but World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. remains the legal name of the company[[/note]] is a [[InsistentTerminology "global entertainment"]] juggernaut specializing in {{professional wrestling}}. It was formerly known as the Capital Wrestling Corporation, World Wide Wrestling Federation and World Wrestling Federation. In 2002, a trademark dispute with the nonprofit World Wide Fund for Nature required the company to settle on the current initialism.
8
9The company was founded in [[TheFifties 1952]] by Roderick "Jess" [=McMahon=] (1882-1954) and Raymond "Toots" Mondt (1894-1976) to promote wrestling matches in the UsefulNotes/NewYorkCity area. Vincent J. [=McMahon=] (1914-1984) took over in 1954, following the death of his father. Vincent expanded the company to cover the entire northeastern United States from Washington, D.C. to Pittsburgh to Maine. Run by [[Wrestling/VinceMcMahon Vincent K. McMahon]] (1945-) after acquiring the company from his father in 1982, the then-WWF revolutionized -- and monopolized -- the pro wrestling world in the [[TheEighties 1980s]], using a series of closed-circuit broadcast events, colorful characters, and clever cross-promotion with Creator/{{MTV}} to transform wrestling from a regionalized industry with a series of small players in a loose confederation into its own private Idaho, and transforming themselves into a multi-billion-dollar global entertainment conglomerate. In 2022, [=McMahon=] stepped down from day-to-day management of the company he owned, and would fully resign from the company in 2024 after a sex scandal, leaving the promotion in the hands of WWE President Nick Khan, with son-in-law [[Wrestling/TripleH Paul "Triple H" Levesque]] (1969-) taking his place as head booker. In 2023, WWE announced a merger with the UsefulNotes/UltimateFightingChampionship, creating a large combat sports powerhouse owned by UFC owner Endeavor Group Holdings.
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14
15WWE currently has five different television shows that they produce weekly: ''[[Wrestling/WWERaw Raw]]'' and ''[[Wrestling/WWESmackDown SmackDown]]'' are the A shows, which air live on weekly television, and are currently treated as two separate brands, with the characters and storylines not interacting except at special pay-per-view events.[[note]]This is not always the case; they were initially split in 2002, merged in 2012, and re-split in 2016. Though cross-pollination between the two shows happens pretty regularly[[/note]] ''[[Wrestling/{{WWENXT}} NXT]]'' started out as a developmental show, but thanks to heavily featuring technically-gifted former indy darlings and the quality of its matches and storylines, has gained a fanbase and become a brand unto itself, albeit one often treated by WWE booking as subordinate to ''Raw'' or ''[=SmackDown=]'' (though the focus has since mostly shifted back to developing new talent). ''[[Wrestling/WWEMainEvent Main Event]]'' acts as the BShow for ''Raw'' and ''[=SmackDown=]'', while ''NXT Level Up'' (stylized as "LVL UP") is [=NXT's=] B show.
16
17They currently hold twelve [[InsistentTerminology Premium Live Events]] (formerly called pay-pay-views) a year[[note]]All featuring Main Roster talent. It's worth nothing that since 2014, NXT runs their own group of [=PLEs=] called NXT: Takeover featuring talent from that brand[[/note]]:
18* '''Big 5:''' ''Wrestling/RoyalRumble'', ''Wrestling/WrestleMania'', ''Wrestling/MoneyInTheBank'',[[note]]It was deemed a tentpole event by WWE in October 2021, elevating its status.[[/note]] ''Wrestling/SummerSlam'', ''Wrestling/SurvivorSeries''
19* '''Other [=PPVs=]:''' ''[[Wrestling/WWEFastlane Fastlane]]'', ''Wrestling/EliminationChamber'', ''Wrestling/{{Backlash}}'', ''Extreme Rules'', ''Wrestling/HellInACell'', ''TLC: Tables, Ladders, and Chairs'', ''Clash of Champions''
20
21Four magazines about WWE (''WWE Magazine'', ''WWE Kids'', ''WWE Presents'', and ''Raw Magazine'') were also published.
22
23WWE also operates its own [[Creator/WWEStudios film studio]], which produces star vehicles for its talents, mostly comedy and [[DirectToVideo straight-to-DVD]] fare. For every ''[[Film/TheScorpionKing Scorpion King]]'' ([[Creator/DwayneJohnson Rock]]) and ''[[Film/TheMarine Marine]]'' ([[Creator/JohnCena Cena]]), for instance, you get ''Film/LeprechaunOrigins'' (Wrestling/{{Hornswoggle}}) and ''The Chaperone'' (Wrestling/TripleH). The ''Marine'' series is showing healthy life on Blu-ray, though, with Cena being succeeded by Wrestling/TedDiBiaseJr and Wrestling/TheMiz.
24
25WWE launched its own subscription 24/7 web-stream and on-demand service, the WWE Network, on February 24, 2014, which carries WWE's pay-per-views and B-shows, as well as NXT, a number of original documentary/reality programs, and selections from [=WWE's=] ''massive'' tape library (in addition to 70 years worth of their own footage WWE owns the rights to Wrestling/{{WCW}}, Wrestling/{{ECW}}, Wrestling/{{SMW}}, the Wrestling/{{AWA}}, [[Wrestling/VonErichFamily WCCW]], and several other promotions that don't have a page.) In January 2021, WWE announced that it would close the service in the United States and move all programming to Creator/{{Peacock}}, for that service's premium subscribers, though it will remain in operation overseas.
26
27[[folder:Championships]]
28WWE currently recognizes 13 championships across three brands;
29
30!! ''Inter-Brand''
31* '''Undisputed Tag Team Champions: Wrestling/TheJudgmentDay ([[Wrestling/FergalDevitt Finn Bálor]] and Damian Priest)''' since October 16, 2023
32* '''[[https://www.wwe.com/classics/titlehistory/wwe-womens-tag-team-championship WWE Women's Tag Team Champions]]: The Kabuki Warriors ([[Wrestling/KanakoUrai Asuka]] and Kairi Sane)''' since January 26, 2024
33
34!!''Raw''
35* '''[[https://www.wwe.com/classics/titlehistory/world-heavyweight-championship World Heavyweight Champion]]: [[Wrestling/SethRollins Seth "Freakin'" Rollins]]''' since May 27, 2023
36* '''[[http://www.wwe.com/classics/titlehistory/intercontinental Intercontinental Champion]]: [[Wrestling/{{Walter}} GUNTHER]]''' since June 10, 2022
37* '''[[http://www.wwe.com/classics/titlehistory/smackdown-womens-championship Women's World Champion]]: Wrestling/RheaRipley''' since April 1, 2023
38
39!!''[=SmackDown=]''
40* '''Undisputed WWE Universal Champion: Wrestling/RomanReigns''' since April 3, 2022 [[note]]Unified the WWE Championship with the Universal Championship, initial reign beginning August 30, 2020 [[/note]]
41* '''[[http://www.wwe.com/classics/titlehistory/unitedstates United States Champion]]: Creator/LoganPaul''' since November 4, 2023
42* '''[[https://www.wwe.com/classics/titlehistory/wwe-womens-championship WWE Women's Champion]]: [[Wrestling/IoShirai IYO SKY]]''' since August 5, 2023
43
44!!''NXT''
45* '''[[http://www.wwe.com/classics/titlehistory/nxt-championship NXT Champion]]: Ilja Dragunov''' since September 30, 2023
46* '''[[http://www.wwe.com/classics/titlehistory/nxt-north-american-championship NXT North American Champion]]: Oba Femi''' since January 9, 2024
47* '''[[http://www.wwe.com/classics/titlehistory/nxt-tag-team-championship NXT Tag Team Champions]]: The [=WolfDogs=] (Wrestling/BaronCorbin and Bron Breakker)''' since February 13, 2024
48* '''[[http://www.wwe.com/classics/titlehistory/nxt-womens-championship NXT Women's Champion]]: Lyra Valkyria''' since October 24, 2023
49* '''[[https://www.wwe.com/classics/titlehistory/nxt-uk-heritage-cup NXT Heritage Cup]]''' [[note]]Unlike other championships, the NXT Heritage Cup is represented by a trophy instead of a title belt. It is defended just like any other championship, but all matches are contested under British Rounds Rules [[/note]] ''': Charlie Dempsey''' since February 27, 2024
50[[/folder]]
51----
52!!Tropes associated with WWE:
53* AbortedArc: Happens not infrequently, owing to many storylines only being developed as they go along rather than pre-planned in their entirety; plus they are played out in a volatile live environment where participants can get injured mid-arc or otherwise fall from favour. Plots can be dropped abruptly due to an unfavourable initial response from higher-ups (like Wrestling/VinceMcMahon), a change of writers, or unexpected audience reactions sending the wrestlers involved onto a different path or even through the HeelFaceRevolvingDoor.
54* {{Acrofatic}}: There have been numerous wrestlers who, despite their bulk, have been able to pull off some impressive moves more suited to lighter wrestlers: Wrestling/DustyRhodes was able to get airborne for dropkicks, Wrestling/{{Vader}} was able to use the top turnbuckle quite effectively. And then there's Wrestling/BigShow who, when he's on top of his game, has a knack for pulling off feats that a 500 pound man has no business attempting.
55* ActionGirl: At least half of the women qualify. For the rest, [[FauxActionGirl hope they are not being pushed as wrestlers]]. However since the Women's Evolution took off back in 2015, the WWE Women's Division has eventually evolved into a [[WorldOfActionGirls World of Action Girls]] with talents coming from the United States, Canada, England, Scotland, Australia and even Japan.
56* ActionPolitician: Wrestling/{{Kane}}, who was elected Mayor of Knox County, Tennessee in 2018. He showed up on ''Raw'' to capture R-Truth's 24/7 Championship, and even teases doing a chokeslam.
57* AffablyEvil: Wrestling/MickFoley, especially in his early years as a psychotic wrestler with multiple personas.
58* AllAmericanFace:
59** Wrestling/HulkHogan, Wrestling/SgtSlaughter [before and after his feud with Hulk Hogan], Wrestling/TheUndertaker when he had his biker gimmick, Wrestling/JohnCena, to the extreme. Subverted with Wrestling/KurtAngle, [[Wrestling/JohnBradshawLayfield JBL]], and Wrestling/JackSwagger. Wrestling/LexLuger was also this starting in 1994 until his run with WWE ended in 1995.
60** Wrestling/TorrieWilson dressed up as [[{{Eagleland}} Uncle Sam]] (top hat, striped coat, and bow tie) to promote the 2004 Great American Bash (although this was clearly {{Fanservice}} more than anything else). Wrestling/JohnBradshawLayfield tried the same thing the following year - but it didn't go over as well.
61** While it was normally subverted by Wrestling/KurtAngle, it was played very straight whenever he made a HeelFaceTurn.
62** Sgt. Slaughter even [[SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome BARKED OUT THE PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE to a roaring crowd.]] [[invoked]]
63** Inverted by the Real Americans; they ''[[HeroicWannabe thought]]'' they were this, but were really {{Eagleland}} Type 2-tinged heels.
64* AlliterativeName: [[Wrestling/TripleH Hunter Hearst Helmsley]], Mike "Wrestling/TheMiz" Mizanin, Wrestling/KofiKingston, Wrestling/MichelleMcCool, Wrestling/HulkHogan, Duke "The Dumpster" Droese, The Wrestling/BigBossman, [[Wrestling/CarlitoColon Carlito Carribean Cool]], [[Wrestling/ScottHall Razor Ramon]], Wrestling/JeffJarrett, Wrestling/RomanReigns...
65* AmbiguouslyGay: Wrestling/{{Billy|Gunn}} & Chuck, until October 2002 when Chuck proposed to Billy and it was revealed a week later to just be a publicity stunt, giving Billy a CMOF when the reveal came.
66--> '''Billy:''' I'm not gay, and even if I was, I wouldn't marry Chuck.
67* AndThatsTerrible: If the {{Heel}}s and the announcers didn't tell you who the heels were, most people wouldn't know who to boo.
68* ArcHero: While the company mostly investments on their "definitive Face of the Company" it doesn't mean they won't build another superstar to serve as the contemporary. At times, these superstars will get lucky to gain equal prestige and recognition to the company's top talent or be one themselves.
69* TheArtifact:
70** Several finishers and hometowns no longer fit with their gimmicks. Most notable being Wrestling/TripleH, who started in the WWF as an upper-class blueblood, but since that is no longer his gimmick, his finisher (The Pedigree), his hometown (Greenwich, Connecticut), and even his ring name ("Triple H" refers to the initials of his original WWE ring name, Hunter Hearst Helmsley) don't fit. Though he really does live in Greenwich (but contrary to his original gimmick, wasn't born there, actually hailing from Nashua, NH).
71** Even more glaring is Wrestling/TheUndertaker, who, in what is currently portrayed as an at-least-semi-realistic combat sports league, is ''[[AnthropomorphicPersonification Death himself]]''.
72** Believe it or not, Wrestling/StoneColdSteveAustin was once a GorgeousGeorge type with blonde hair. The name of his finishing move - the "Stunner" - is an oblique reference to this.
73** Ghanaian wrestler Wrestling/KofiKingston was initially billed as Jamaican, and his character's surname is the capital of Jamaica. It's now acknowledged that he's from Ghana, but the name has stuck as the character remains a Jamaican culture enthusiast. In his case it helps that there are actual Ghanaians with the name Kingston.
74** Before he changed its name to the LighterAndSofter "Attitude Adjustment", Wrestling/JohnCena's finishing move, the "FU", was this when Wrestling/BrockLesnar was off the roster, because it was named for its similarity to Lesnar's finishing move, the "F5" (both start from the fireman's carry position). His submission move is also the STF, originally the STFU.
75* AscendedExtra:
76** There are almost innumerable examples in WWE of talents appearing as an extra in some sort of non-competitive capacity (as in, not even a {{Jobber}} that gets to wrestle a match) before becoming very visible in-ring performers. These early appearances are sometimes [[DevelopmentGag referenced in angles.]]
77** Lita and Victoria started out as The Godfather's Hoes. Carmella, Alexa and Becky were part of Adam Rose's entourage (the "Rosebuds"). Alexa was part of the Triple H's posse, too, which explains her very large rocket. The fast track to being a top female superstar is to sneak into another star's entourage.
78** One of the most notable in recent memory was Wrestling/CMPunk posing as a mobster of Wrestling/JohnCena's elaborate Wrestling/WrestleMania 22 entrance in Chicago, Punk's hometown. (Before that, Punk had matches on ''Heat'' before his WM appearance.) Several years later, Punk would become Cena's biggest rival and feud with him in what could be argued was a pivotal angle for WWE and for the wrestling industry itself. Punk himself would even mention this during the build-up to their match at ''Money in the Bank''.
79** {{Wrestling/Hornswoggle}} got a ton of segments: A romance angle with {{Wrestling/Melina}}. He messed around with Jonathan Coachman and Wrestling/StevenRegal. He eventually won Vince's love for a few weeks and was pitted against Wrestling/TheGreatKhali (Getting booked into a long-term angle with Vince can really make your career. The only person it didn’t really benefit was Wrestling/KevinOwens, but he was already main-event caliber, anyway.) Him and Finlay tore it up a bit as buds. Then he got to compete in a mini five-man Rumble against little people equivalents of [[Wrestling/KenAnderson Mr. Kennedy]], John Cena, {{Wrestling/Kane}}, Batista, and Khali. He turned out to be the anonymous GM. A computer, who was being operated by a dwarf half-son of the CEO of the company, was in charge of Wrestling/TheAuthority for the better part of a year or so. Then he and Finlay turned on [=McMahon=], causing [=McMahon=] to beat up Hornswoggle with [[Wrestling/JohnBradshawLayfield JBL's]] help. Then JBL revealed Finlay was Hornswoggle’s real dad and that led to them feuding. It led to him and Finlay opening [=WM24=]. Hornswoggle retired as the undefeated Cruiserweight Champion.
80** Another impressive example is [=WrestleMania=] XXX, where Wrestling/TripleH's entrance depicted him in full EvilOverlord mode sitting on a throne surrounded by a cadre of masked ladies. Said ladies were Wrestling/CharlotteFlair, Wrestling/SashaBanks, and Wrestling/AlexaBliss, all of whom were in NXT at the time (and this was before NXT became the hottest thing in wrestling). By 2021, all three would not only be on the roster, but each has multiple Women's Title reigns to their credit and be on the [=WrestleMania=] card in those title matches three years later.
81** Speaking of which, the women's roster has a whole ever since the rebranding of the WWE Divas Division to the WWE Women's Division which allowed more nuanced and serious storylines, increased number of women's matches on the shows, unique characters and allowing the women to compete in stipulation matches that were previously been reserved for men such as the Royal Rumble match, the Elimination Chamber match, the Hell in a Cell match, the Money in the Bank ladder match, the TLC match, Falls Count Anywhere match, street fights, Last Woman Standing match and steel cage matches. As a result, fans have pretty much stopped using women's matches as the bathroom break these days.
82** All the way back at ''[=WrestleMania=] VI'' in 1990, saw the tag team of Rhythm n' Blues being driven out to the ring in a 1950s-style car. The man driving the car was none other than future WCW superstar Wrestling/DiamondDallasPage.
83* AssKicksYou: Any wrestler who would use a butt-drop as a move, including Wrestling/{{Yokozuna}}, [[Wrestling/JohnTenta Earthquake]], Wrestling/DoinkTheClown, Wrestling/{{Rikishi}}, and Wrestling/{{Goldust}}. Wrestling/{{Goldust}}, Wrestling/{{Naomi|Wrestler}}, and [[Wrestling/KanakoUrai Asuka]] use a jumping butt attack (a butt-butt, the name is most associated with 1980s great Wrestling/IcemanKingParsons.)
84* AssShove:
85** The [[Wrestling/JimRoss JR]] colonoscopy skits.
86** "[[Wrestling/DwayneJohnson The Rock]] is going to take (some object, usually his boot but other times whistles, a camera, the Smoking Skull championship belt, Curtis Hughes, et al), shine it up nice and pretty, turn that sumbitch sideways and stick it straight up your candy ass!"
87** Rikishi would use this to attack his opponents after knocking them down in the ring turnbuckles, shoving his own ass in their faces in a move dubbed "The Stink Face."
88** Wrestling/StoneColdSteveAustin did this to Wrestling/VinceMcMahon with a catheter when he was in the hospital. Vince's pained scream upon the catheter's entry into his rectum says it all.
89* TheAssimilator: Since its inception, WWE's biggest draws cut their teeth someplace else. Verne Gagne with his AWA was the wizard behind most of the 80s Superstars. The Attitude Era was dominated by ex-Wrestling/{{WCW}} guys whom Wrestling/EricBischoff fired because he [[ItWillNeverCatchOn thought they couldn't draw]]. The 2000s drifted away from WWE's southern base to incorporate some [[Wrestling/{{ECW}} East Coast names]]. Later, the company primarily poached [[Wrestling/RingOfHonor ROH]] wrestlers.
90* AttackOfThePoliticalAd: In 2004, Wrestling/MickFoley thought the big giant screens seen at political conventions resembled the Titantron, and since politics was, in his eyes, an imitation of WWE, he figured maybe WWE could imitate politics. This resulted in a pitch to Vince [=McMahon=] for an angle where Wrestling/RandyOrton would do political attack ads against Mick Foley. "Mick Foley claims to be a hardcore legend, but is he really?" [=McMahon=] laughed and approved the idea for storyline in early 2004.
91* AuthorAppeal:
92** [=McMahon=] is a 6'2" (1.88 m) ex-bodybuilder himself, and it's no secret Vince seems to think tall, very muscular men make the ideal wrestler. So it's no surprise those types are often the champion. Just ask Wrestling/HulkHogan, Wrestling/UltimateWarrior, Wrestling/{{Batista}}, Wrestling/BrockLesnar, and Wrestling/TripleH, to name a few. When you're wrestling in front of 17-60,0000 fans inside a massive dome, the size of the wrestler does matter. And the extra padding comes in handy when taking bumps. Philosopher Wrestling/KevinNash spelled it out in his inimitable style:
93--->"You put two fucking guys[[note]]Wrestling/ChrisBenoit and Wrestling/EddieGuerrero at ''[=WrestleMania=] XX''.[[/note]] (that were great workers) that were the same height as the fucking referees, and... I'm sorry, man. Are you going to watch a porno movie with a guy with [[BiggerIsBetterInBed a three-inch dick?]]"
94** Wrestling/SuperstarBillyGraham got the wheels turning on the concept of a larger-than-life, charismatic, ex-bodybuilder type. Hulk Hogan followed this basic outline, but in being the megastar he was, he set the mold and was the true prototype of a patented Vinnie Mac babyface superman: Goofy, wins often, rainbow-colored merch, spouts slogans.
95** Vince doesn't care much for high spots ("flippy shit!") or martial arts, thus eliminating the main draw of Cruiserweight Divisions. When they do appear on ''Raw'', it usually involves said Cruiserweights doing Heavyweight spots (suplexes and holds). Shawn Michaels, Wrestling/ChrisJericho, and Wrestling/ReyMysterioJr are all superstars who have figured out how to incorporate these spots into a Heavyweight-style match. Wrestling/JohnMorrison seems to have figured out how to game the system, too. Wrestling/EvanBourne is terrible at it. Most conspicuous of all was [[Wrestling/SeanWaltman X-Pac]] back when he was being pushed; a series of neck injuries forced him to wrestle like a big man, despite his small stature. NXT has a little more leeway when it comes to this style. This is probably one of the few that can be justified; Hayabusa once missed a springboard moonsault and didn't walk for a decade. Vince's strong dislike of high flying moves makes a lot more sense when you factor in corporate liability and teaching kids (many of them underage) to try these lethal moves in their backyard. And then, there is always Benoit...
96*** That said, either Vince's hardline stance against cruiserweights of various shades is softening or someone was able to convince him of their niche value - in 2016, after what felt like ''years'' of rumors, the division was revived; first with a [[Wrestling/WWECruiserweightClassic tournament]], then with WWE signing a large chunk of the field to contracts for a division to be featured on Wrestling/{{WWERAW}} with its own championship, and then with the division getting its own [[http://www.wwe.com/article/205-live-premieres-nov-29-on-wwe-network one-hour WWE Network time block.]]
97** Also applies to people under Vince. Wrestling/TripleH often has the same mindset as Vince but also has called for "Wrestling/RingOfHonor-types", Wrestling/JohnLaurinaitis hired bikini models (e.g., Wrestling/KellyKelly) and people with interest in Japanese wrestling (e.g., MVP), Wrestling/JimRoss brought in fitness models (e.g., Wrestling/TrishStratus) and along with Jerry Brisco likes bringing in college athletes (e.g., Wrestling/BrockLesnar and Wrestling/TheWorldsGreatestTagTeam).
98* AuthorAvatar: The [=McMahon=] family (and to an extent, Wrestling/TripleH, who married into the family)
99* AwesomeMomentOfCrowning: The winner of ''Wrestling/KingOfTheRing''. Wrestling/HarleyRace originated the gimmick of wearing an ermine cape and crown, sometimes accompanied by a "Queen" who is picked from his valets -- in Harley's case, The Magnificent Moolah. Wrestling/{{Sherri|Martel}} went all LadyMacbeth and attacked [[Wrestling/RandySavage Macho "King" Randy Savage]] when he lost a retirement match. Sharmell would claim the scepter while married to winner Wrestling/BookerT. A more meta example with Wrestling/StoneColdSteveAustin who won ''King of the Ring'' but instead of receiving a crown, gave his iconic "Austin 3:16" speech which was only the beginning towards his megastardom.
100* BadBoss:
101** Wrestling/VinceMcMahon. In fact it's the entire premise for his onscreen persona. Before Vince, there were no heel bosses. Wrestling/EricBischoff also deserves credit for turning heel after a run as Wrestling/{{WCW}}'s milquetoast commentator; though his position as Exec Producer of WCW was inside knowledge, his heel turn made it official, and he 'took over'' WCW with the help of his stable, the Wrestling/NewWorldOrder. This is what inspired commentator Vince to do the same.
102** Eric, as ''RAW'' general manager, better fit this trope -- as did Wrestling/PaulHeyman as both ''[=SmackDown=]'' general manager and ECW chairman. Longtime ''[=SmackDown=]'' general manager Wrestling/TeddyLong, however, is an inversion: He tolerates no disrespect or LoopholeAbuse by the heels.
103* BadassBiker: [=The Disciples Of Apocalypse=], Wrestling/TheUndertaker's "American Badass"/"Big Evil" gimmick, Wrestling/BulletClub.
104* BadassFamily: The Guerreros, the [=McMahons=], The Samoans, the Harts/Neidharts, Wrestling/TheWyattFamily
105* BadassLongcoat: Both the Undertaker and Edge have worn long coats during their entrances, and the two are definitely badass.
106* BadassBoast: If you don't boast about something, there is something wrong.
107-->'''Wrestling/TripleH''': Now either fight me, or sit around and bleed![[note]]This was said to Wrestling/BrockLesnar one week after their altercation on Raw, after Wrestling/TripleH split Brock's head open, and Triple H challenging him to fight at Wrestling/WrestleMania[[/note]].
108* BadMoodAsAnExcuse: Used in excess by heel characters, though face characters aren't immune to this, either. In general, it's dangerous to your well being to be around a wrestler when they're frustrated.
109* BattleStrip: Many wrestlers take off their shirts and coats before a match, some actually ripping it off.
110* BigBad: Wrestling/VinceMcMahon, nearly constantly. In the year 2006, he took this [[ExaggeratedTrope Up to Eleven]] by paying off a bewilderingly diverse CarnivalOfKillers (Shelton Benjamin, the Spirit Squad, Chris Masters, and Umaga just to name a ''few'') to either convert to [[ParodyReligion McMahonism]], rid WWE of [[Wrestling/DGenerationX D-Generation X]], or both. In fact, practically every heel on RAW (and even some from [=SmackDown!=] and ECW) were either on the take or pressed into working for Mr. [=McMahon=].
111* BigFun: Wrestling/HaystacksCalhoun, Wrestling/UncleElmer, Wrestling/{{Rikishi}} (as a face)
112* BilingualBonus:
113** Sometimes people such as Wrestling/ReyMysterioJr or Wrestling/{{Maryse}} will cut part of a promo in their native language, or sometimes the whole thing.
114** Inadvertently inverted by Maryse on the 09.27.2010 edition of RAW: she and Wrestling/{{Ted DiBiase|Jr}} received a piece of paper with "next week, you will be mine" written on it. Maryse read it in French first, saying: "la semaine dernière, tu étais à moi", which translates as "last week, you were mine", (in other words, ''not'' what was written), and probably made many French-speaking fans weep.
115* BlackAndGrayMorality: Admittedly, pretty much every character in WWE has been a heel at some point during his or her career. Very few even come close to being full-time heroes like Wrestling/TitoSantana and [[Wrestling/ReyMysterioJr Rey Mysterio]], although there are some who just barely miss out (like Wrestling/JeffHardy, Wrestling/KofiKingston, and Wrestling/RTruth). Wrestling/HulkHogan and Wrestling/JohnCena had heel runs early in their careers but have since become permanent babyfaces.
116** BlackAndWhiteMorality: Doesn't stop most feuds from being presented as this, though. The '80s/Hulkamania era is probably where this was played the straightest, with all the faces essentially being portrayed as real life superheroes and all the heels being played like real life supervillains, with very little room for ambiguity. BlackAndGrayMorality really took off in the Nineties, when anti-heroes and the HeelFaceRevolvingDoor started to become much more common.
117* BlessedWithSuck:
118** Anyone who wins the Money in the Bank briefcase will, without fail, start to go on a losing streak. This has been averted [[Wrestling/RobVanDam by]] [[Wrestling/EdgeWrestler some]] [[Wrestling/JohnCena though]].
119** In a sense, any champion, as holding a title puts a giant bullseye on a wrestler's back. The Hardcore and 24/7 titles in particular require the current holder to be ''incredibly'' vigilant and wary of their surroundings.
120* BookEnds:
121** The first and last Wrestling/RoyalRumble of the TurnOfTheMillennium are won by [[Wrestling/DwayneJohnson third]] [[Wrestling/RandyOrton generation]] superstars.
122** TheNewTens began and ended pretty much the same way;
123*** The decade begins and ends with an estranged [[Wrestling/BretHart top]] [[Wrestling/CMPunk wrestler]] returning to the company in a non-wrestling capacity after his highly controversial exit.
124*** Wrestling/{{Batista}} ended his original tenure with the company in 2010. He had his last match before his official retirement in 2019.
125** The April of both the second year and the penultimate year has a prominent non-U.S. born wrestler with a one-syllable name ending in "-ge" announcing their retirement due to neck-related CareerEndingInjury. The only difference is that the 2011 retiree was [[Wrestling/EdgeWrestler male]] and the 2018 retiree [[Wrestling/{{Paige}} female]].
126*** In December 2019, [[Wrestling/BryanDanielson Daniel Bryan]] gives himself an ImportantHaircut to mirror his debut look in 2010. Wrestling/{{Sheamus}} also reverts to his original hairstyle since 2014 around the same time.
127* BreakingTheFourthWall:
128** It's extremely rare that they actually do this, rather than just LeaningOnTheFourthWall, but it finally happened (pretty much) in NXT season 3. During Goldust and Wrestling/{{Aksana}}'s wedding, Wrestling/MichaelCole wondered aloud why Goldust was getting along with his brother after seemingly hating him previously, and Josh Matthews responded with "You know this is fake, right?" After a few seconds of mock-disbelief, they went right back into taking the ceremony pseudo-seriously. Until the re-launch at a developmental territory, NXT in general had increasingly begun to break or lean on the fourth wall, whether it was through commentary or someone like Wrestling/DolphZiggler mockingly accusing a challenge of being rigged and Matt Striker simply answering with "Ya think?" The pros at their seats were also generally not in character and so it wasn't uncommon to see the various heels and faces chatting or otherwise doing something unrelated to the show.
129** During his now-iconic worked shoot promo in 2011, Wrestling/CMPunk briefly made reference to the fourth wall, even going so far as to waving directly to the camera. Since then, his character has given him the freedom to escape the confines of the show's premise anytime he wants.
130---> '''CM Punk:''' Woops, I'm breakin' the fourth wall!
131** Most WorkedShoot angles are this by default, since they hinge on acknowledging that wrestling is scripted and the people involved are playing characters and are booked to win/lose/play the character they play. A lot of this happened before and during the ECW One Night Stand PPV in 2005, particularly from Joey Styles and Paul Heyman, where they pretended to shoot on WWE.
132* BreakTheCutie: Done very, very cruelly with Wrestling/MickieJames. There's a reason that more than one wrestling publication called that angle pretty much a humiliation for not just WWE, but the entire industry.
133* BreakTheHaughty:
134** This was done to Wrestling/{{Lita}} after her retirement match at Survivor Series 2006, when Cryme Tyme auctioned off a box of her unmentionables, which included her panties and yeast cream.
135** Wrestling/VinceMcMahon did this to Wrestling/TrishStratus on a ''Raw'' segment in 2000, forcing her to bark like a dog and take her clothes off, before dumping sewage on her.
136** Done to Wrestling/VickieGuerrero as she was on her way out of her first stint with the company. After she lost a Hogpen Match at Extreme Rules 2009 (which was humiliating enough in itself) she announced on ''Raw'' the next night that she would resign as General Manager. This prompted Wrestling/{{Edge|Wrestler}}, her on-screen husband at the time, to come out and [[HumiliationConga repeatedly insult and demean her, admitting he never really loved her before asking for a divorce]].
137* BrickJoke:
138** During the 900th episode of ''Raw'', Wrestling/{{Edge|Wrestler}} referred to Wrestling/{{Sheamus}} as [[Franchise/TheMuppets Beaker]]. On the Halloween 2011 episode of Raw, when the Muppets guest hosted ''Raw'' to promote [[Film/TheMuppets2011 their new movie]], Sheamus came face to face with Beaker. Turns out they're cousins.
139** Over a decade and a half ago, there was a storyline involving Wrestling/MarkHenry, [[DirtyOldWoman Mae Young]], and the latter [[{{Squick}} giving birth to a hand.]] About 16 years later on [[MilestoneCelebration RAW 1000]], the "hand baby" ''actually reappears''. [[note]]as a young man wearing a giant hand costume[[/note]]
140* BroadStrokes: WWE is notorious with these, particularly in a wrestler's championship accomplishments. Most notable examples include;
141** The history of the Wrestling/BigGoldBelt. WWE doesn't consider the reigns of wrestlers who won it in Wrestling/{{WCW}} as valid to their history as world champions unless they've won WWE's World Title beforehand[[labelnote:Examples]]Wrestling/HulkHogan, Wrestling/RandySavage, Wrestling/KevinNash, Wrestling/BretHart, Wrestling/SidEudy, [[Wrestling/DwayneJohnson The Rock]][[/labelnote]] or subsequently won any of the company's World Titles[[labelnote:Examples]]Wrestling/RicFlair, Wrestling/ChrisJericho, Wrestling/KurtAngle, Wrestling/{{Goldberg}}, Wrestling/BookerT. The only notable exclusion is Wrestling/ChrisBenoit, who prior to his own CanonDiscontinuity since June 2007, only has his World Title reign from 2004 recognized but never his 1-day reign in 2000[[/labelnote]].
142** Upon her return in 2009, Wrestling/GailKim was touted as a two-time Women's Champion. She only has one Womens' Title reign in WWE, which was in her debut in 2003. The other title reign they're referring to was her inaugural reign as the [[Wrestling/ImpactWrestling TNA Knockout's Champion]] in 2007.
143** Superstars' title reign(s) in NXT. The Women's Championship reigns are included in the superstar's title history (and is even a requirement for the Wrestling/{{Grand Slam|Champion}}) in the main roster. The male title reigns (NXT World, North American, and TagTeam Chamionships) aren't, though they're not completely ignored[[labelnote:Examples]]The main roster World (WWE or/and Universal) Championship reigns of former NXT Champions Wrestling/SethRollins, [[Wrestling/FergalDevitt Finn Bálor]], Wrestling/KevinOwens, and Wrestling/DrewMcIntyre are acknowledged separately (collectively in Rollins' case) from their NXT World Championship reigns[[/labelnote]].
144* ButtMonkey:
145** Wrestling/SantinoMarella, after his initial baby face run failed to get over in Italy.
146** Wrestling/ChavoGuerreroJr. Because there's nothing more humiliating than jobbing to Wrestling/{{Hornswoggle}} over and over and over again. [[spoiler: Or doing it while wearing an eagle costume.]] When his uncle Wrestling/EddieGuerrero (who was only three years older, and like an older brother to him) died, and the company engaged in about a year of what fans derisively refer to as "Eddiesploitation", it was [[Wrestling/ReyMysterioJr Rey Mysterio]] who got the big push as Eddie's successor. Despite the fact that Mysterio and Eddie had little connection beyond both being Hispanic and having feuded several times in the past. It's been said that Chavo was offered the big push before Rey, but turned it down.
147** Two words: Wrestling/MichaelCole. Two more words: Wrestling/JillianHall.
148* CardCarryingVillain:
149** Kaientai from the "Wrestling/AttitudeEra". They were [[LargeHam EEEEEVVVIIILLLL!!!! INDEED!!!]]
150** "Million Dollar Man" Wrestling/TedDiBiase made many ''Franchise/{{Batman}}'' villains look subdued, for crying out loud. ("Everyone's got a price! BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!")
151** Most heels during the 80's and early 90's would count.
152* CatchPhrase: And how! Check out the [[Characters/{{WWE}} Character Page]] for examples.
153* TheChewToy: The SpanishAnnouncersTable, which seems to exist solely so wrestlers can take bumps through it.
154* {{Chickification}}: While male WWE performers have consistently been referred to as Superstars (after "Superstar" Billy Graham), until ''[=WrestleNania=]'' 32 female WWE performers were referred to as Divas (after [[HystericalWoman catty, self-serving, high-maintenance women]] everywhere). They were easily spotted by their hair extensions, breast implants, and non-stop jiggling/squealing whenever they move.
155** WWE has more examples on the trope's page itself than any other published series. Going from the long running Fabulous Moolah, the huge draw that was Wendi Richter and the jeered villainy of Wrestling/SherriMartel to the career damaging run of Bertha Faye and pay per view pillow fights between diva search contestants, the company's whole women's division started strong in 1956 but has been afflicted with this trope since 1995. During the prototype Diva Search (ten years before it was officially called that), John Laurinaitis immediately crossed off a ton of applicants and told everyone that the message from upstairs was, "We're looking for [[TheBeautifulElite 10s]]".
156** WWE is more anxious about bruising their cosmetic surgery than putting on a watchable match, a casualty of Mickie's exploding implant. Wrestling/GailKim was busy throwing unconvincing punches when she thought, ''nope, f**k it, I'm done'' during a Battle Royale and walked right out. Thing is, nobody even noticed until she stomped backstage and told Johnny Ace that she quit. [[WeHaveReserves He laughed in her face.]]
157** The Women's Championship itself was Chickified in 2010 when they retired the Women's Championship and replaced it with a garish [[PinkMeansFeminine pink and silver butterfly shaped-belt]] called the Divas Championship. No prior history carries over to the belt, either, which is pretty convenient. Even JBL made an on-air comment about AJ being the longest reigning Divas champion of all time (which [[MetaphoricallyTrue technically she is]]) by snarkily bringing up the Fabulous Moolah, who had the single longest reign with ''any'' championship ''ever''. Now anytime the company wants to push a Diva, all they have to do now is break AJ's streak, which is not hard. [[Wrestling/BellaTwins Nikki Bella]] currently holds this illustrious honor.
158** Word is Bruce Prichard didn't think women belonged in wrestling except as arm candy, and that was the start of the decline. There were always exceptions like Mickie James and Trish Stratus (who got her start in modeling) managing to transcend the roles handed to them. But WWE never really changed with the times, and with shifting attitudes toward women in both Hollywood and MMA (not to mention the easy availability of porn), the juvenilia of the 90s looks more out of place than ever, as the Diva segments hemorrhaged viewers and the company perversely trained swimsuit models to have bad matches, as it's supposedly "sexier" that way.
159** Thankfully, thanks to a Twitter row between AJ Lee and Stephanie [=McMahon=], this seems to finally be changing. NXT's women have been allowed to work like the men for a couple years now, putting on some of the best matches period in recent years at the NXT quarterly [=TakeOver=] specials, and 3 of them were recently called up to the main roster to start a "Divas Revolution". Their debut segment on Raw got huge "This Is Awesome" chants, and since then not only have the main shows often had two different women's matches booked, but the matches themselves are booked normally, instead of the "bathroom break" pattern of 5 minute long badly booked matches that had been stinking up the women's division for years.
160* ChuckCunninghamSyndrome: A case where it happened to a ''championship title''. The WWF Light Heavyweight Title was infamous for not only disappearing frequently, but also for its champions to disappear once they'd lost the belt. Towards the end of his second reign, Dean Malenko didn't even bother carrying the belt to the ring with him. When the title was finally deactivated for good, X-Pac who was at the height of [[XPacHeat the trope he named]] was champion and got injured, taking the title out of the company. Presumably, he still has the belt to this day.
161* {{Cloudcuckooland}}: According to Wrestling/{{Ivory}} on the 2000 VHS ''WWF Divas: Postcard from the Caribbean'':
162-->"Nobody's normal here, we're all a little bit wacko."
163* CoolMask: Wrestling/{{Kane}}, Wrestling/{{Rey Mysterio|Jr}}, [[Wrestling/MickFoley Mankind]], both incarnations of Wrestling/SinCara.
164* CoolOldLady: Wrestling/MaeYoung and Wrestling/TheFabulousMoolah, both pioneers of women's wrestling who could ''still'' wrestle and take bumps in the Attitude Era despite their advanced age.
165* CoolShades: Wrestling/{{Edge|Wrestler}}, Wrestling/{{Batista}}, Wrestling/JohnMorrison, Wrestling/BretHart.
166* ContinuityCavalcade: Wrestling/{{Kane}} gives a delightful speech about his past while in an anger management class on the August 27, 2012 edition of ''[[Wrestling/WWERaw Raw]]''. HilarityEnsues.
167--> "I grew up locked in a basement, suffering severe psychological and emotional scarring when [[Wrestling/TheUndertaker my brother]] set my parents on fire. From there, I shifted around among a series of mental institutions until I was grown, at which point I buried my brother alive... twice. Since then, I've set a couple of people on fire and abducted various co-workers. Oh, and I, uh, [[UnnecessaryRoughness once electrocuted]] a [[Wrestling/ShaneMcMahon man]]'s [[GroinAttack testicles]]. Years ago, [[DiscontinuityNod I had a girlfriend named Katie]] but [[OldShame let's just say that didn't turn out too well]].[[note]] Referring to the Katie Vick storyline, one of the most infamous in wrestling history, and winner of Website/WrestleCrap's Gooker Award as the worst wrestling storyline of 2002.[[/note]] My real father is a guy named Wrestling/PaulBearer, who I recently trapped in a meat locker. I've been [[Wrestling/{{Lita}} married]], divorced, broke up my ex-wife's [[Wrestling/EdgeWrestler wedding]] and tombstoned the priest. [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking And, for reasons never quite explained, I have an unhealthy obsession with torturing Pete Rose.]][[note]] At three consecutive ''Wrestling/WrestleMania'' events (XIV through XVI), the former baseball great had a storyline encounter with Kane, each time ending up on the receiving end of one of Kane's finishing moves.[[/note]]
168* CorruptCorporateExecutive: In kayfabe, WWE as presented is probably ''the worst company of all time''. With corrupt officials, abusive bosses and a loose grasp of the law (company mergers, children's custody, etc. being settled by wrestling matches), it's strange that WWE has never come under federal investigation.
169* CrossoverRelatives: When Franchise/TheMuppets appeared on ''WWE Raw [=SuperShow=]'', it was revealed that Sheamus (often mocked for his Beaker-like hairdo) was related to Beaker in an unspecified way when they got into a conversation and Sheamus said he'd be unable to make the family reunion, but asked Beaker to tell Aunt Teresa "Hello".
170* CurbStompBattle:
171** Happens from time-to-time. Usually, between an incoming BigBad and a {{Jobber}}.
172** Occasionally subverted too. Drew [=McIntyre=] made his debut like a standard jobber (starting in the ring with no entrance)... only to end up squashing the superstar he was facing and declaring himself the Chosen One.
173** This was taken [[ExaggeratedTrope Up to Eleven]] in the Rey Mysterio vs JBL match at [=WrestleMania=] 25. Rey Rey won the match in a matter of seconds.
174** Wrestling/UltimateWarrior made a career out of them.
175** Any match with a budding superstar or tag team is this.
176* DarkerAndEdgier: The Wrestling/AttitudeEra, the period in the late 1990s and early 2000s where the product was loaded with ultra-violence and sex appeal. Has recently become this since 2016 when the WWE entered the [[WWENewEra New Era]] (particularly ever since [[Wrestling/TripleH Triple H]] replaced Vince [=McMahon=] as WWE's Head of Creative back in July of 2022) has content on WWE TV Programming has gotten more violent and darker despite maintaining its TV-PG rating. And it's not just the men who are engaging in more violent and intense feuds: their female counterparts have also gotten involved in more violent and meaningful storylines in which the focus is on pure hatred towards each other and not childish catfights where the heels tend to mock their rivals' looks.
177* DarkIsNotEvil:
178** Wrestling/TheUndertaker, if he's a face.
179** 'Taker is often rivaled in this department by Wrestling/RandyOrton. Despite being known as "The Viper" and hardly ''ever'' smiling, he gets enormous cheers from the fans. It must have been a DracoInLeatherPants transition.
180*** A popular theory about Orton's popularity is that he reminds fans of Wrestling/StoneColdSteveAustin. He dresses in similar clothing (black boots and trunks), has a snake-like nickname (The Viper compared to Austin's Texas Rattlesnake), works a slow, deliberate "no-frills" style similar to Austin's and his finisher, the RKO bears a passing similarity to Austin's Stone Cold Stunner. Orton, coincidentally (or perhaps deliberately) has since shaved his head and begun using the Lou Thesz Press.
181** Austin himself fits as well. He's a Type V Antihero (hero in name only) who dresses in dark colors, drinks beer, attacks people unprovoked (sometimes even women, civilians and the elderly) and is generally loathsome... He then turned that dial up to 11 and exacerbated this behavior as part of a FaceHeelTurn; despite the announcers screaming how reprehensible these actions were, and the other wrestlers condemning him, fans continued to cheer him simply because he was Stone Cold Steve Austin. As a result, his turn never quite took and he was turned back relatively quickly.
182* ADayInTheLimelight: Everyone - and we mean ''everyone'' - gets one in WWE. Don't believe us? Just ask [[EnsembleDarkhorse Hornswoggle]].
183* DeepSouth:
184** [[Wrestling/CadeAndMurdoch Lance Cade and Trevor Murdoch]], Jesse and [[Wrestling/DrewHankinson Festus]], Jamie Noble.
185** Also, Wrestling/{{Jeff|Hardy}} and Wrestling/MattHardy to a certain extent.
186** Florida-born Wrestling/MichelleMcCool is sort of a [[AlphaBitch bitchy Southern belle]] as a heel.
187** Hillbilly Jim (and his "kin"), full stop. Ditto the Godwinns.
188** Wrestling/TheWyattFamily combines the ''Film/{{Deliverance}}''-style of this trope with a Manson-style cult. Wrestling/BrayWyatt himself is from Florida.
189** The [[RedBaron Sassy Southern Belle]] Wrestling/LaceyEvans, who takes on a 1940s-esque military lady gimmick.
190* DemotedToExtra:
191** This happens whenever a wrestler who usually who is in the midcard, and his/hers storyline and feud ends, he/she all but disappears, but might show up just to have one off match against someone, as there is a another feud that is starting up. Can also happen in the top card and said wrestler get dropped to mid card (or lower). It can be due to they are not over enough, or someone got hurt and they just get dropped as a result.
192** Time and the trajectory of their careers shows that Matt Hardy was always over, but not in a main event sense after he came back. Edge was clearly positioned as the star coming out of their feud, enjoying World Title feuds with the biggest wrestling star in a generation while Hardy moved to ''[=Smackdown=]'' where he wrestled with MNM and the Hurricane in nothing feuds. However, WWE rehiring him was probably the best thing for him because he might've sabotaged his career for good: before that, he came up with [[RippedFromTheHeadlines a school shooter gimmick]] (Angelic Diablo!) who wore trenchcoats and posed with guns.
193** Since the 2010s, many prominent mid-carders such as Wrestling/KofiKingston, Wrestling/DamienSandow, Wrestling/CodyRhodes, and Wrestling/WadeBarrett have been pushed aside by the likes of such part-time talent like [[Wrestling/DwayneJohnson The Rock]] and Wrestling/BrockLesnar for one simple reason: part-timers sell, most of the mid-card do not. Averted for now by Kingston, who's now part of the extremely entertaining heel stable/tag team The New Day, which became so popular they were quickly turnedf back face and became one of the hottest things in WWE. As of 2019 he even became WWE Champion while the other three all left the company in 2016.
194** When Wrestling/TripleH took over WWE Creative following Vince's departure in 2022, he relegated the 24/7 Championship (which had been a prominent staple in comedy skits on ''Raw'') to premium live events. Even when the current 24/7 Champion Dana Brooke had a match with Dakota Kai, the belt was nowhere to be seen. This is in stark contrast to the Intercontinental and US title championships, which Triple H made more prominent over the weeks. When the belt finally appeared again on ''Raw'', Wrestling/NikkiCross quickly captured it from Dana Brooke before [[TakeThat throwing it in the trash]], putting an end to the belt and deactivating it.
195* DesignatedVillain: [[invoked]] Some of the heels who get the most negative reactions from audiences are really more annoying or misguided than truly evil. Wrestling/JillianHall (whose only real crime is [[HollywoodToneDeaf having an atrocious singing voice]] and not realizing it) is a perfect example. If such a heel is booked to be part of an important or semi-important storyline, the writers will usually have him or her quickly [[KickTheDog kick dogs]].
196* DiscontinuityNod:
197** In a 2007 promo on ''Raw'', Wrestling/ShawnMichaels and Wrestling/TripleH took shots at the infamous Katie Vick angle.
198--->'''Wrestling/ShawnMichaels:''' I don't know [[WhoWritesThisCrap who writes this garbage]], but this is the worst debacle since that whole Katie Vick thing years ago!
199** Wrestling/CMPunk also took shots at Katie Vick in an episode of ''Raw''.
200--->'''Wrestling/CMPunk:''' Just look it up on Website/YouTube, and it'll drive you to drink, and then you can come to me and I'll save you!
201** Wrestling/{{Kane}}'s anger management speech on a 2012 episode of ''Raw'' also referred to the Katie Vick storyline. See Continuity Cavalcade above.
202** Amidst the bizarrely entertaining hodgepodge of half-intentional comedy that is NXT season 3, there have been at least a few of these; for example, during the Goldust/Aksana wedding, Wrestling/MichaelCole said of the minister "Is that Al Wilson?" (See OutWithABang below.)
203* DisproportionateRetribution: Very popular with heels, and often a starting point for a feud. Faces aren't exactly innocent of using this either.
204* DoubleSidedBook: During the ''Wrestling/RuthlessAggressionEra'', the company's souvenir programs were divided into two parts printed upside-down from each other, with one half showing the roster of ''[[Wrestling/WWERaw Monday Night Raw]]'' and the other half showing the roster of ''[[Wrestling/WWESmackdown Thursday Night SmackDown]]''.
205* DraftingMechanic: WWE has used a (scripted) draft from 2002-2011, then again starting in 2016, to distribute talent between its various "brands". This is done to create drama (splitting tag teams, separating rivals, etc.), sometimes move championship titles between the shows, refresh the brand's talent, and open up fresh storylines.
206* TheDragon: Shane O'Mac to his father Vince when both are heels. Alternatively ([[CoDragons or perhaps at the same time]]), Vince will use a top heel wrestler as this. The best example is [[Wrestling/DwayneJohnson The Rock]] when he was the "Corporate Champion".
207%%** Randy Orton in Evolution, with Flair playing The Evil Genius and Batista playing TheBrute and Triple H being the BigBad.
208* DragonAscendant: [[Wrestling/DwayneJohnson The Rock]] in Wrestling/TheNationOfDomination and Wrestling/TripleH in [[Wrestling/DGenerationX D-Generation X]].
209* DumbMuscle:
210** Often played straight, with a cocky heel accompanied by large, [[TheVoiceless silent]], not-especially-bright {{Mooks}} – but sometimes subverted: some very muscular wrestlers like Batista, Wrestling/BobbyLashley or Wrestling/TripleH, although not being geniuses, aren't stupid either.
211** One of Wrestling/TripleH's {{Red Baron}}s is even "The Cerebral Assassin".
212* EarlyBirdCameo: Many superstars are used as enhancement talent or extras for skits before joining the main roster.
213* EndOfAnEra: July 22, 2022, ''four decades'' after acquiring the company from his father, Vince [=McMahon=] retires from WWE, to be replaced by his daughter Stephanie as CEO (sharing the position with Nick Khan) and his son-in-law Triple H as head of creative.
214* EnemyMine:
215** Virtually a given in any Triple Threat Match. Is especially funny in the Wrestling/RoyalRumble Match, particularly in 2005 when Wrestling/MuhammadHassan tried to participate. He didn't last too long.
216** The build up to Team WWE vs. Wrestling/TheNexus at ''Summerslam 2010'' involved Wrestling/JohnCena and Wrestling/BretHart forging a fragile alliance with Wrestling/{{Edge|Wrestler}} and Wrestling/ChrisJericho. In a matter of weeks, Edge and Jericho would join the team, quit the team, and rejoin six days before the match. The only thing that kept the team together was mutual hate for Nexus, and it only lasted until Edge and Jericho's eliminations from the team.
217* EvenTheGirlsWantHer: Wrestling/KellyKelly. There was more than a little LesYay evident when Wrestling/CandiceMichelle enthusiastically accepted Kelly's invitation to join her in an ECW dance performance. Before that, Wrestling/TrishStratus and Wrestling/TorrieWilson, though they were not happy about it.
218* EvenTheGuysWantHim: Wrestling/JohnMorrison and Wrestling/ShawnMichaels, notably.
219* EvilIsPetty: Often used to gain heel heat, especially if said heel isn't getting the right kind of audience reaction. Wrestling/KurtAngle once tried every offense tactic in the book in one promo "and these people still cheer for him"!
220* EvilLaugh: [[Wrestling/TedDiBiase Ted DiBiase Sr.]], Wrestling/DoinkTheClown, Wrestling/{{Boogeyman}}, Wrestling/VickieGuerrero...many.
221* EvilPowerVacuum:
222** 2009-2011 was ''horrible'' for WWE's main event, and arguably the source for both the demise of the brand extension in 2011 and the company's reliance on part-timers in the New Tens. Starting with the departure of Wrestling/JeffHardy, several top stars left the company, went into retirement, or adopted part-timer status over this period of time: Wrestling/ShawnMichaels, Wrestling/{{Batista}}, Wrestling/ChrisJericho, Wrestling/TripleH, Wrestling/TheUndertaker, and Wrestling/{{Edge|Wrestler}}. By the time of Edge's retirement, the main event scene had decayed to only two main event talent: Wrestling/JohnCena and Wrestling/RandyOrton. WWE had already seen the writing on the wall in 2010 and had done its best to elevate the midcard of both shows to find a new top star to help with the problem, but it wasn't until Wrestling/CMPunk's ascent to superstardom during the "Summer of Punk II" in 2011 that they actually got one. After Punk, Wrestling/DanielBryan began to steadily build his popularity, and Wrestling/TheShield (all of whom were earmarked for top spots in developmental) debuted and began their own steady push, leaving all four men waiting in the wings for when the time was right. When Punk legitimately walked out on the company at the beginning of 2014, they pulled the trigger on Bryan at ''Wrestling/WrestleMania XXX'' and broke up the Shield a few months after that (and after having Wrestling/{{Evolution}} put them over), injecting four new main eventers into the roster relatively at the same time, filling the vacuum for the next couple of years.
223** The injury epidemic of early 2016 was so bad that, at one point, there was only ''one'' active main eventer in the entire main roster ([[Wrestling/JonMoxley Dean Ambrose]]). Everyone else was either a part-timer or injured. This was particularly bad, as that was during the Road to ''Wrestling/WrestleMania''. After that, the company made more of an effort to push more people to the top -- Wrestling/AJStyles, [[Wrestling/FergalDevitt Finn Balor]], and Wrestling/KevinOwens carved out a place in the main event scene by winning world titles and feuding with the already established main eventers: the former members of Wrestling/TheShield, Wrestling/JohnCena, and Wrestling/RandyOrton.
224** The forced hiatus of Wrestling/RomanReigns thanks to his leukemia tore a massive hole in the main event scene, because the brand split spread out all the upper-midcard/main event talent between ''RAW'' and ''[=SmackDown=]'' -- combined with another injury epidemic that hit the company at the same time, there were only four actual main event talents on RAW in total: Wrestling/BraunStrowman, [[Wrestling/FergalDevitt Finn Balor]], and Reigns' ex-Shield teammates, [[Wrestling/JonMoxley Dean Ambrose]] and Wrestling/SethRollins. Of those four, only Strowman was actually competing as a main eventer; Balor was in the midcard and Ambrose and Rollins were in the tag team division. The latter two were forced to break up the same night that Reigns revealed his condition to the world (by accelerating Ambrose's planned FaceHeelTurn) just so the company could have a top heel and a top face to fill the void.
225* {{Expy}}:
226** Some of the next generation of wrestlers like Wrestling/RandyOrton and Wrestling/JohnMorrison seem a bit like they're a call back to previous superstars. Randy as mentioned above has crossed into Steve Austin territory while Wrestling/JohnMorrison wouldn't seem too far out of place alongside Wrestling/ShawnMichaels.
227** Wrestling/TedDiBiaseJr was one to his [[Wrestling/TedDiBiase father]] during his post-Legacy heel run.
228** Husky Harris was repackaged in NXT as Wrestling/BrayWyatt, an expy of Wrestling/DanSpivey's short-lived Waylon Mercy character from the mid-'90s which was itself an expy of Max Cady, Creator/RobertDeNiro's character from the Martin Scorsese remake of ''Film/CapeFear''.
229* TheFace: Someone who comes along just once a decade. The Big Five. Namely, [[Wrestling/BrunoSammartino Bruno]], Hogan, Austin, Rock (more or less a [[SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute torch-carrier]] for Austin after the injury), and Cena; guys who fundamentally changed wrestling and left WWE far different than they found it. Billy Graham also deserves a ton of credit for introducing feuds: a long-running story arc leading up to the big blowoff. (In the olden days, heels never stood a chance unless it was against a midcard scrub, and then only to make the face look even more powerful.)
230* FaceHeelTurn: A standard procedure. Often used to start a new storyline or to advance an old one.
231** HeelFaceTurn: This is pretty common among the main-eventers, as fans start to want to cheer for a fascinating heel but don't want to feel "dirty" doing it.
232** HeelFaceRevolvingDoor: Happens when a wrestler turns within months of previous turn. Wrestling/{{Kane}} and Wrestling/BigShow are prone to this, and the women used to switch between the two without much notice or setup.
233*** Wrestling/TheMiz in 2013 pulled this off several times, but reverted to being a fulll-time heel in 2014.
234*** Wrestling/{{Chyna}} was notorious for switching sides multiple times on the same show.
235* FascinatingEyebrow: [[Wrestling/DwayneJohnson The Rock's]] The People's[=/=]Corporate Eyebrow
236* FatBastard:
237** Wrestling/KingKongBundy, [[Wrestling/JohnTenta Earthquake]], Wrestling/{{Yokozuna}}, [[Wrestling/MikeShaw Bastion Booger]], Big Daddy V to name a few.
238** Subverted by Wrestling/HaystacksCalhoun, who was grotesquely fat but [[BigFun hailed as a hero by the fans]]. Also subverted during Rikishi's face periods, where he came across as more of a comedic goof.
239* FiveMovesOfDoom: {{Trope Namer|s}} is Wrestling/BretHart, though the TropeCodifier is Wrestling/JohnCena and an Ur-Example is Wrestling/HulkHogan.
240* ForeignWrestlingHeel:
241** Played straight with Wrestling/TheIronSheik, Wrestling/{{Kamala}}, Wrestling/VladimirKozlov, Wrestling/WilliamRegal, Wrestling/TheGreatKhali, practically every Canadian heel ever, and Finlay when he was heel. Averted by the likes of Wrestling/KofiKingston, Wrestling/YoshiTatsu and Finlay as a face, but played so straight with practically everyone of foreign extraction ever seen in WWE at some point in their careers, it's become one of Vinnie Mac's defining tropes - not that it's ever been confined to WWE, of course. Even applied to wrestlers [[FakeNationality who are not actually foreign or even of the same racial background as the character portrayed]], providing they don't need to speak a lot - e.g. Jimmy Yang, a Korean-American, played [[Wrestling/YoshihiroTajiri Tajiri]]'s {{Mook|s}} 'Akio' in a ''Japanese'' stable (some time before he subverted this trope by becoming 'Jimmy Wang Yang', [[StereotypeFlip a 'foreign'-looking chap who happens to act like he's a cowboy]], which is therefore amusing), or Yokozuna, a quasi-'Japanese' Polynesian wrestler played by Rodney Anoai of the great Samoan wrestling dynasty. Many of this family have been presented as semi-savages when their ethnic background is recognized, from the Wild Samoans to Wrestling/{{Umaga}}. The Canadian Bret Hart got massive heel heat in America by proclaiming his home country's superiority, yet simultaneously retained a fanatically loyal Canadian fanbase that kept the Hitman face north of the border (and in the rest of the world) – which presumably made his opponents Evil Foreigners from a Canadian perspective. Years later, the various incarnations of La Resistance were always Evil Foreigners (whether billed as from France or Quebec, except for one delirious babyface night in Montreal), which led to the absurd commentary habit of referring to them as first "French sympathizers" and subsequently "Quebec sympathizers" – prompting some mystification amongst those who had missed the exact point at which the USA or indeed WWE had declared war on France and Quebec...
242** WWE had always been rather supportive of the armed forces (witness Tribute to the Troops). That might explain it.
243** Subverted when WWE did the "Kerwin White" gimmick with Chavo Guerrero, showing him pretending to want to be a stereotypical preppy white dude. After his Uncle Eddie's death, the gimmick died with him. (It should be noted that both Eddie and Chavo were/are American.)
244** As of 2010, WWE has toned down their usage of this trope - they now have a plethora of foreigners (such as WickedCultured Wrestling/AlbertoDelRio, GeniusBruiser Wrestling/WadeBarrett, MilesGloriosus Wrestling/{{Sheamus}}, ViolentGlaswegian Wrestling/DrewMcIntyre), and while many of them are heels, none of them are evil because they are foreign - each has a full-on heel gimmick to get heat. Sheamus and Del Rio would evenutally turn face, and while Del Rio was quickly turned back, Sheamus has continued to have success as both face and heel. [=McIntyre=] would become a face upon his return to the company in 2017. Only Barrett has remained a heel for his entire career.
245** And as of 2012, an equal number of foreigners who are face. As with the heels, they're the good guys with their own characters rather than using their foreigner status as their sole defining feature.
246** Revived by {{Fake Russian}}s Wrestling/RusevAndLana in 2014 (previously using the gimmick in NXT as well) despite generally being thought of as a DeadHorseTrope, and it's been surprisingly successful at garnering heat considering Cesaro got almost no heat at all while he did his anti-American United States Champion run just a few years earlier. This was dropped once Rusev reverted back to being Bulgarian.
247* FriendlyNeighborhoodVampire: [[Wrestling/DavidHeath Gangrel]]. (He never really got the stardom to be a face or a heel.)
248* FunWithAcronyms: Let's see: '''I'''rwin '''R'''. '''S'''hyster, [[WrestlingDoesntPay the wrestling taxman]]...'''H'''enry '''O'''. '''G'''odwin and '''P'''hineas '''I'''. '''G'''odwin, wrestling swine-farmers, '''M'''ontel '''V'''ontavious '''P'''orter, the CaptainErsatz for Terrell Owens, Rosey the '''S'''uper '''H'''ero '''I'''n '''T'''raining...
249* GenderEqualEnsemble: Recently has pretty much become this, especially since Triple H took over as women's matches have increased and have gotten longer. In addition, it's not unusual for a women's match to main event a show (especially on RAW where there is a lack of male main eventers due to Roman Reigns not appearing much on the show).
250* TheGenericGuy: Prior to the Women's Evolution, the WWE's women roster (then known as the WWE Divas) was criticized by numerous fans for having a bunch of cookie-cutter models with virtually no wrestling ability whatsoever (there were a few women who managed to break the archetype such as Wrestling/AJLee, Natalya, Paige and Wrestling/BethPhoenix). Thankfully when Triple H replaced John Laurinaitis as WWE's Head of Talent, he began to gradually phase out the models and replaced them with indie wrestlers who don't fit the Diva mold while most of the cookie-cutter wrestlers are now on the men's side of things. These days, fans consider the WWE Women's Division more entertaining than the men's division.
251* GenreShift: [[Wrestling/{{WWENXT}} NXT]] went from being a show of finding the next breakout star, full of challenges and the like, to become sort of a third brand in 2012 after they had abandoned the challenges some months prior, to then becoming a show for their developmental talent. It was broadcasted on WWE.com up until the end of season 5, then it was moved to Hulu, so not many were aware of this. It's now part of the WWE Network, and are being talked about more, so the awareness factor has increased.
252* GeodesicCast: The Brand Extension to [[Wrestling/WWERaw Raw]] and [[Wrestling/WWESmackdown Smackdown]] (and briefly Wrestling/{{ECW}}) from 2002 up to 2011, and again starting 2016 when it was reinstated. Add [[Wrestling/{{WWENXT}} NXT]] (which itself later got a UK edition), which has become recognizable a brand as either TV program and [[http://www.wwe.com/article/205-live-premieres-nov-29-on-wwe-network 205 Live]], which each have its own rosters.
253%%* GettingCrapPastTheRadar: Please check the trope page to make sure your example fits the current definition.
254* TheGiant: Wrestling/AndreTheGiant, [[Wrestling/KevinNash Kevin "Diesel" Nash]], Wrestling/BigShow and Wrestling/TheGreatKhali, and to a lesser extent, Wrestling/{{Kane}}, and Wrestling/TheUndertaker.
255* GimmickMatches: The WWE is responsible for a number of them, with Hell in a Cell, the Royal Rumble, the Elimination Chamber, Money in the Bank, etc. all having their own [=PPVs=].
256* GirlOnGirlIsHot: Wrestling/DawnMarie made out with Wrestling/TorrieWilson in a segment on ''[=SmackDown=]'' in 2002, and in 2003, ''Raw'' briefly introduced a recurring segment called ''HLA'' featuring a couple of lesbians kissing.
257* GrubTub: Before the PG-era (2007-), occasionally there would be pudding matches, where female wrestlers would battle each other in a larger kiddie pool filled with chocolate pudding.
258* {{Hammerspace}}: Under the ring is pretty much this. In addition to the fact that pretty much anything can be found underneath it, Hornswoggle ''lives'' under it in {{kayfabe}}. And DX once had to go under it as part of a storyline where Hornswoggle sued them, discovering an ''entire building'' under the ring populated by people of Hornswoggle's size. This was previously mentioned by JBL, but no one believed him...
259* TheHero: The top {{Face}}s fill the role. The most notable examples are Wrestling/HulkHogan (for the 80s Golden Age), Wrestling/BretHart (for the [[Wrestling/WWENewGenerationEra New Generation Era]]), Wrestling/ShawnMichaels, Wrestling/StoneColdSteveAustin (for the Wrestling/AttitudeEra), [[Wrestling/DwayneJohnson The Rock]], Wrestling/JohnCena, Wrestling/{{Batista}}, Wrestling/{{Rey Mysterio|Jr}}, Wrestling/CMPunk, [[Wrestling/BryanDanielson Daniel Bryan]], Wrestling/RomanReigns, and Wrestling/BeckyLynch, though Austin, Rock, Punk, and initially Lynch are more [[AntiHero anti-heroes]].
260* HideYourGays: [[ZigZaggingTrope Zigzagged]] with Darren Young, the first openly gay superstar to come out while still in the company. On the one hand, [[SubvertedTrope the company hasn't tried to cover up anything about his sexuality]], and [[InvertedTrope has in fact been very supportive of it]]. On the other hand, he was purposely left out of a company tour of the United Arab Emirates, since [[EnforcedTrope homosexuality is illegal in that part of the world]], and [[DoubleSubversion his boyfriend's face was later airbrushed out of a skit]] on ''WWE Swerved.'' This later turned out to be a ''[[RuleOfThree triple]]''-subversion, since Titus O'Neil's kids were also given the airbrush treatment, leading to many people suggesting that Darren's boyfriend simply hadn't given WWE permission to show his face on TV. (Conversely, WWE not only later put Titus's real-life sons onscreen, but featured them in a TV angle.)
261* HijackedByGanon:
262** [[Wrestling/HarveyWippleman Dr. Harvey Wippleman]] unleashing Wrestling/GiantGonzalez on Wrestling/TheUndertaker at ''Wrestling/RoyalRumble 1993'' as revenge for Taker having defeated Wrestling/{{Kamala}} in the casket match at ''Wrestling/SurvivorSeries 1992,'' leading to Kamala's HeelFaceTurn and his siding with Reverend Slick.
263** [[spoiler:Wrestling/VinceMcMahon]] as the Higher Power in 1999. Wrestling/TripleH hijacking Wrestling/{{Test}}'s kayfabe wedding to Wrestling/StephanieMcMahon (and push) in the same year.
264** Wrestling/StoneColdSteveAustin getting run over by a car driven by Rikishi: Triple H was revealed as the mastermind out of nowhere a month into the feud.
265* HistoryRepeats: Those who wanted a second Wrestling/AttitudeEra have thus far remained disappointed; however, the apparent re-focus on match quality, the revival in particular of women as [[ActionGirl wrestling talents]] as opposed to (or more accurately, [[AmazonianBeauty along]] [[CuteBruiser with]]) being nice to look at, and the heavy influx of talent resulting in an outright brand split, the mid-2010s are taking a very similar path to the Wrestling/RuthlessAggressionEra of the 2000s.
266* {{Hunk}}s: ''Oh''-so-naturally, in an industry comprising of big, muscular men fighting around for dominance in shirtless, skimpy clothing. And with such large variety of sizes, shapes and colors, [[EatingTheEyeCandy it's practical eye candy]] [[FemaleGaze for ladies (and guys) alike]]!
267* IHaveManyNames:
268** Most of the wrestlers have had more than one name (or at least more than one gimmick) during their runs.
269** The company itself has gone through this. From Capitol Wrestling Corporation to World Wide Wrestling Federation to World Wrestling Federation to World Wrestling Entertainment to WWE, Inc. (World Wrestling Entertainment is still the legal name of the company.)
270** Subverted by Mark Calaway, AKA "The Undertaker". While the gimmick has changed during his 20+ year run, he's been The Undertaker through pretty much his entire run. He's only wrestled under a different name, Kane the Undertaker, at the very beginning of his WWE career, and only for the first couple of weeks.
271* IdiotBall: The most frequently-occurring case is when a wrestler completely switches focus from the opponent they have lying on the mat to yell at someone (either the ref, or whomever came to the aid of their opponent) in the opposite direction or outside the ring. 9 times out of 10, this results in them turning and walking straight into the opponent's finisher; the remaining 1 is a successful roll-up. This can happen merely when an interloper's ''entrance music'' is played.
272* InformedAbility: NXT rookie Michael Tarver never knocked anyone out in '1.9 seconds' on screen. That is, until the NXT riot. His first victim? ''Wrestling/JohnCena.''
273* InsistentTerminology:
274** Professional wrestling soon gave way to "Sports Entertainment" and, as of 2010, "''Live'' Entertainment."
275** As mentioned by Wrestling/JoeyStyles in a WorkedShoot, WWE's insistence upon calling the wrestlers "Superstars" (which, to be fair, they have done since the 80s).
276** Likewise, from the Attitude Era until April 2016, female wrestlers were referred to as "Divas", despite the negative connotations the word carries about a woman being egotistical, flighty, and overbearing and/or with a large sense of entitlement. It sort of made sense in the NinetiesAntiHero environment of the Attitude Era but [[TotallyRadical at best]] [[TheArtifact comes off as really 1990s]] when used with no sense of irony in any era since. This even carries over to the [=WWE=] women's singles title being the "Divas Championship", choosing to eliminate the Women's Championship that had been in [=WWE=] for over fifty years. Somewhat averted by Wrestling/AJLee in her 2014 worked shoot on Wrestling/StephanieMcMahon, where she repeatedly used the word "woman" to refer to herself and other female talent. Afterwards it became more common for announcers and wrestlers to use "woman" or "girl" where "Diva" would have been ordinarily used, before the term was effectively retired at ''[=WrestleMania=] 32'', with the Divas Championship being retired and replaced by a second Women's Championship.
277** WWE doesn't have bookers, it has "writers". They don't work angles, they run storylines. The "superstars" don't have [[TheGimmick gimmicks]], but "characters", superstars don't operate in the locker room but "backstage". This started to become true to an extent, as WWE began favoring soap opera and Hollywood writers over pro wrestling bookers, resulting in WWE programming becoming more heavily scripted. "Superstars" are often told what to say word for word and sometimes have their matches planned out hold to hold in advance. For better or worse, WWE has effectively distanced itself from a lot of what makes pro wrestling, with some "superstars" prioritizing ''acting classes'' over tapes or training. Because of WWE's size and wide distribution, occasionally workers from other companies talk about "characters" or "writers" even if nothing of the sort is present just because WWE is so pervasive. In fact, one can judge WWE's foothold in any given area by going to a wrestling event and taking note of how much or how little of its terminology they fall into.
278** Taken to the next level when [=TVWeek=] wrote a press release about Drew Carey being inducted into the "Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame" (referring to the WWE Hall of Fame) and WWE '''demanded''' the headline be changed because it included the words "Pro Wrestling". Read more about it [[http://www.tvweek.com/blogs/2011/03/whoaa-nellie-when-brands-go-horribly-wrong-pstvince-mcmahon-and-the-wwe-are-no-longer-in-the-wrestli.php here]]. To be fair, the WWE Hall of Fame does not represent the industry as whole, so there were likely more reasons beyond simply the terminology, plus there is an actual independently-run [[http://www.pwhf.org Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame]] as well.
279** WWE does not have "fans". Rather, they have the collective "[=WWE=] Universe".
280** Championship belts are almost never referred to as objects in the modern era. Instead, they are referred to as the "championship" the belt represents, rather than as a "belt"; ex: "John Cena is holding up the [=WWE=] championship!", as opposed to "He is holding up the championship belt!"[[note]]This led to a comical bit when Mick Foley was on commentary and slipped up, then tried to cover himself when he said a wrestler was looking at "the World Heavyweight title belt... which is representative of being the World Heavyweight champion"[[/note]] If you're lucky, you'll find them referring to it as "title", but never "belt".
281*** One exception was made for Becky Lynch due to the popularity of "[[Wrestling/BeckyLynch Becky Two Belts]]", but WWE soon dropped it by having Becky lose one belt. It most likely wasn't because of this particular use of terminology, but then again, [[SanitySlippage with Vince McMahon you can never know]].
282** Personal pronouns, while not forbidden on commentary, are unusually rare. It's very common to hear a wrestler referred to by name and then referred to by name again in the very next sentence, even after it's been clearly established who the announcers are referring to and a pronoun (he, she, them, etc.) would be perfectly acceptable.
283** Superstars don't get title shots, but title opportunities.(and at least on Superstar got into trouble for asking for a shot)
284* InsaneTrollLogic: Wrestling/StephanieMcMahon claimed, of Creator/RondaRousey, that her attack on Wrestling/TripleH was brutal and savage, and that, unlike the UFC, WWE would not allow that type of behavior. This is despite the fact that, in {{kayfabe}}, the number of violent incidents between competitors is exponentially greater in WWE than in the UFC.
285* InvincibleHero:
286** Wrestling/HulkHogan for most of his career, Wrestling/JohnCena at times (2005-2006, 2008-2012)
287** The Wrestling/UltimateWarrior was arguably the worst offender. How many times did you EVER see the Ultimate Warrior put someone over clean? Answer for most fans: zero times.
288* InvincibleVillain: Wrestling/TripleH and Wrestling/StephanieMcMahon.
289* {{Jobber}}: In the 1990s, it was Wrestling/BarryHorowitz. Also, Al Snow and Wrestling/TheJOBSquad".. Wrestling/SteveLombardi, the Brooklyn Brawler, was the traditional "virgin-slayer" in the 80s and 90s, just about everyone who wasn't jobbing got their first win over him. In 2008 Colin Delaney lost so often, losing actually became his gimmick. These days, the go-to jobber is Wrestling/HeathSlater, to the point that he led a stable many consider to be the modern-day J.O.B. Squad -- The Social Outcasts. With Slater in this faction are regular enhancement talents Wrestling/BoDallas, Wrestling/CurtisAxel, and Wrestling/AdamRose.
290* JuxtaposedHalvesShot: The posters for the WWE ''Invasion'' PPV had half Vince [=McMahon=] and half Shane [=McMahon=], since the invading force was the WCW/ECW contingent led by Shane. WWE Superstars always opened with a montage of them.
291* KidAppealCharacter: Wrestling/HulkHogan, Wrestling/ReyMysterioJr and Wrestling/JohnCena, Wrestling/JeffHardy to a lesser extent.
292* KidsPreferBoxes: [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8AxogCo4dV4 This Christmas promo]] for [=WWEshop=].com and the Elimination Chamber playset.
293* LameComeback: Very often, a face and a heel will converse and the face will mock and insult the heel. And virtually every single time, the heel will either respond with spluttering outrage or by saying some variation of "You think you're pretty funny, huh?"
294* LampshadeHanging: WWE.com posted this [[http://27.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_ltu50vZYGb1r5ymzxo1_1280.jpg job opening]] for the RAW General Manager position when it was vacant in-universe in late 2011.
295* LargeHam:
296** Wrestling/VinceMcMahon: "YOUUUUU'RE... FIREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEED!"
297** Also, Wrestling/SantinoMarella.
298** WorldOfHam: This is actually the manner in which many of the wrestlers portray themselves, showing their own personalities turned [[ExaggeratedTrope Up to Eleven]].
299* LanternJawOfJustice: The Great Khali, so, ''so'' much.
300* LaxativePrank: Wrestling/EddieGuerrero did this to The Big Show using a bagful of spiked burritos.
301* LeParkour: Wrestling/JohnMorrison practices this both in-ring and outside.
302* LeaningOnTheFourthWall:
303** Many, many instances. Wrestling/TripleH, especially, ''loves'' this one.
304** During most of the backstage segments that aren't direct promos or interviews, most superstars don't acknowledge that there is a camera crew right there in the room with them. They'll sometimes openly discuss secret plans as if they were the only ones in the room and the people who's backs they're sneaking behind couldn't just watch the show later on DVR. Kane is a notable exception; towards the end of most backstage skits he's in, he'll give an evil stare directly into the camera.
305** NXT season 3. The show was due to be "cancelled" mid-season in order to bring Smackdown to the [=SyFy=] network, and WWE apparently took this as an opportunity to launch into full-blown self-referential insanity, especially at the commentary table. Wrestling/MichaelCole constantly derided the show as being terrible and "quit" at one point. He was briefly replaced by Wrestling/CMPunk, which resulted in an episode where the commentary (aside from seeing a substantial increase in quality) reached a nearly ''Series/MysteryScienceTheater3000'' level of mocking, and it stayed right around that level ever since. In addition to just trashing the show in general, the commentary frequently danced around kayfabe.
306* LesserStar: The reason fans (and [[Wrestling/CMPunk some wrestlers]]) whine so much about getting into the "main event" is because unless you are in the main event, you aren't going to get a compelling, sustained storyline in WWE. Everything else is a halftime show. In the 80s this wasn't an issue in the WWF because the secondary and tag titles held some importance. The Intercontinental champ seemed like a ''big'' deal. Those same titles are no longer valued by the company, and so the fans ignore them in turn.
307* LighterAndSofter:
308** Well, they discontinued ''WWE Magazine'', but kept the kids' version of it...
309** Since WWE's free shows became rated TV-PG, starting in 2008. The pay-per-views were rated TV-14, until the ''Hell in a Cell'' PPV, which was rated TV-PG. That's just the culture of the Aughts, though: Attitude was a reflection of the 90s, South Park and Jerry Springer. WWE has always been a funhouse mirror of popular culture, and if the culture isn't as edgy, and more PC, then so it with WWE. It's quite possible that VKM is now basing his decisions, also, as a grandfather rather than a businessman.
310** The general consensus on the revived ECW (WWECW) brand. Despite several warnings (from [[Wrestling/PaulHeyman Heyman]] and others) that it was a terrible idea to stick to formula [[TorchesAndPitchforks in one of the former ECW strongholds]] and to only throw in ''one'' of the original ECW guys to [[InNameOnly keep the crowd happy]], ''One Night Stand'' played out no differently from ''Raw'', with [[Wrestling/BigShow Show]] main-eventing with {{Wrestling/Batista}}. The crowd, which had been pretty affable until this point, started booing like crazy which Wrestling/JoeyStyles actually tried to play off as a "mixed reaction". Maybe he meant "mixed" between those giving the finger and those chanting for refunds. ''December to Dismember'', broadcast from Georgia later that year, was nothing more than an Elimination Chamber event attended by actively ''hostile'' southerners. Also visible in the crowd are businessmen in suits waving [[Wrestling/JimFullington inflatable kendo sticks]]. Yikes. These were preceded by a pair of not-bad [=PPVs=], ''One Night Stand '05'' and ''[='=]06'', which at least featured some tables and ladders.
311** The addition of little-person wrestler Hornswoggle and his inclusion in many storylines seemed to come at the very beginning of this new phase of WWE's existence. Curiously, many fans don't seem to like the panto matches he's involved in very much. Actually, nowadays JBL and Cole go out to lunch whenever the Little Bastard appears, as if they're tired of him as well..
312** ''Saturday Morning Slam'' on Creator/TheCW's {{Creator/Vortexx}} Saturday morning block is even more lighter & softer than its other programming, being rated TV-G as opposed to TV-PG. The show places more of an emphasis on colorful characters to appeal to a younger audience, and matches featured on the show tend to focus on the athletic aspects of pro wrestling, with WWE higher-ups even forbidding moves that target the head.
313** Shortly before her release, the company had Sherri put over [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bqr8bLaGYe8 Todd Pettengil]], the geeky host of the kids-themed ''WWF Mania'' (causing a young [[{{Website/WrestleCrap}} RD Reynolds']] head to explode). Judging by her excitement, you'd think she was off to meet Benedict Cumberbatch.
314* LongGame: Wrestling/{{Kane}}'s multi-year plan for revenge against Wrestling/{{The Undertaker}} in 2010 qualifies as this. Also, Wrestling/{{Randy Orton}} to a lesser extent in 2009 when he revealed that his recent actions towards Triple H were all part of a plan for revenge against Triple H after Triple H kicked him out of Evolution in 2004.
315* LoserLeavesTown: The Career Threatening Match forces a wrestler to leave the company if he loses said match. Comes in numerous variants, including the ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin 'Loser Gets Fired' match. When the Brand Extension was in full force and you didn't move between Raw or Smackdown unless there was a Draft, you had the Loser Leave Raw/Smackdown, and had to move over to the other brand.
316* LoudGulp: Wrestling/VinceMcMahon has turned this into an art.
317* LoveTriangle: "Personal issues draw money." -- Jerry Jarrett. When the news about the Matt-Lita-Edge love triangle leaked out, all hell broke loose. WWE fired Matt for airing heir dirty laundry in public, then only acknowledged it as a storyline because the audience wouldn't let it go (the "YOU SCREWED MATT" chants). Note that, at the time this came out, Lita had been [[AndNowYouMustMarryMe forced into marriage]] with {{Wrestling/Kane}}. WWE kept her as a sympathetic babyface for months even after the crowds had turned on her. The fans crapped on her in Madison Square Garden: Heel Trish was playing defense for babyface Lita, who came out on crutches. So Matt got rehired because someone saw money in it ("WE WANT MATT" and "SLUT" chants all day), and the storyline with Kane was dropped in favor of a ''everything you're watching is not real but THIS IS real'' story, giving Edge and Lita a bigger push--almost rewarding them for what happened. (Edge mentioned in one of his documentaries that folks backstage were pissed at him, too. Triple H requested that Edge be fired.)
318##What they were going for was reinforcing the ''[[NormallyIWouldBeDeadNow Matt Hardy Will Not Die]]'' tagline. At SS, Matt lost due to a fluke (the face-plant in top of the turnbuckle) and Edge made the most of it. Edge just kept kicking him in the skull until the Ref called for the bell after Matt kept getting up and motioning ''[[BringIt come at me]]'' at Edge.
319##The cycle repeated itself several times: Edge beat Matt towards what appears to be a complete inability to defend himself before Matt pulled off some piece of suicidal devastation and regained control. One such match ended in a no-contest when Matt Side Effected them both into a bunch of electrical boxes.
320##On paper and in-storyline, they were 1-1 until the Loser Leaves Town match, in which Lita incapacitated him with the ropes to end the feud.
321* MacGuffinMelee: For a while, the Hardcore Title was defended on the "24/7 rule." Anybody could challenge for the belt at any time 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, no matter what the champ was doing, as long as they had a WWF ref to call the match. Frequently the new champ would then be attacked by one of his friends, who would win the belt only to be challenged in turn, and so on. The SpiritualSuccessor is the 24/7 title.
322* ManipulativeBastard: Edge and Wrestling/TripleH, and sometimes Mr. [=McMahon=].
323* ManOfWealthAndTaste: This was basically Wrestling/TedDiBiase's entire "Million Dollar Man" character in a nutshell. Wrestling/{{Ric Flair}} also qualifies.
324* ManipulativeEditing: Used in-universe for a Wrestling/JohnLaurinaitis [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PF21NLkonrw "People Power"]] video package for Over The Limit 2012 in the style of a business commercial. John Laurinaitis, the heel authority figure who is routinely booed, is made to look like a well-loved politician as the praises of People Power are sung by the charts and voiceover.
325* MeleeATrois: Triple Threat Matches and Fatal ''x''-Ways, usually. Upped to "always" when a title's on the line.
326* MisplacedAccent: Kofi Kingston is from Ghana (West Africa) but was initially billed as 'Jamaican' and used an accent approximately more like he's from Jamaica.
327* TheMistress: Wrestling/{{Vince McMahon}} has had several on-screen mistresses, most notably Wrestling/TrishStratus and Wrestling/{{Sable}}.
328* {{Mooks}}: If Wrestling/VinceMcMahon is a [[BigBad heel]], pretty much every heel can be considered this, since he can summon them whenever he wants. To a lesser extent, a lower-level heel authority figure or even main heel wrestlers can use lower card heels this way, especially if they have a PowerStable that's larger than five members.
329* MuggedForDisguise: In one episode, the Bella Twins stole Wrestling/{{Paige}}'s outfit just before a match. Paige compensated by grabbing a random Rosebud (a CelebrityCameo from indie wrestler Leva Bates) and dragging her into a dressing room. Cue Paige making her ring entrance in the unfortunate fan's purple fairy costume.
330* MundaneMadeAwesome: Some of the wrestlers' signature moves count as this, as they're made to look more devastating during a match than they would be in reality. The "People's Elbow" is a perfect example; it's nothing more than a standing elbow drop, but thanks to The Rock's charisma, it's sold as a finishing move, and the crowd goes crazy for it. Also of note is The Big Show's knockout punch - which doesn't need much to be sold as a finisher as it's being delivered by a ''7 foot tall, 500 pound behemoth.''
331* NamedByDemocracy: The fans were asked to name every program on the WWE Network. Also how Air Boom (Wrestling/EvanBourne and Wrestling/KofiKingston) and Wrestling/TeamHellNo got their names.
332* NeverMyFault: Commonplace. A heel can ''never'' accept they lost a match legitimately, they will accuse their opponent of using illegitimate tactics or manipulating a weakness. Can often lead into another feud arc if they blame their loss on an ally involved (and usually try beat that point into them).
333* NinetiesAntiHero: Wrestling/StoneColdSteveAustin pretty much codified the trope for ProfessionalWrestling, let alone WWE. He was followed by "Bikertaker", The Rock (as a face) and Wrestling/TripleH's non-DX face character.
334* NonIndicativeName: For sixteen years the WWF Light Heavyweight title was under the jurisdiction of the International Wrestling Grand Prix and Universal Wrestling Association. When the WWF finally got around to using the belt, they [[CanonDiscontinuity ignored]] everything IWGP, UWA and anyone else for that matter, had done with it.
335* NotUsingTheZWord: More like "Not Using the W Word"; WWE is notorious for frequent attempts to distance itself from the concept of "wrestling"; instances include (but are not limited to) billing itself as "Sports Entertainment" rather than 'professional wrestling', press releases to magazines playing the trope straight, exclusively referring to wrestlers as "Superstars" rather than 'wrestlers', referring to its fanbase as "the WWE Universe"; and, most lately, discarding its own ''name'' (World Wrestling Entertainment) – 'WWE' is now officially not an acronym; although the company's legal name is still World Wrestling Entertainment, it does business exclusively as WWE. However, it would be zig-zagged afterwards; the word "wrestler" was part of Wrestling/CMPunk's InsistentTerminology, and by the end of the 2010s, WWE has relented somewhat on the policy, reportedly due to falling ratings.
336* NowBuyTheMerchandise:
337** Listen up kids, if you want to become a champion, there's 3 things that you have to do: Do your exercises, say your prayers, and eat your...[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HaOA2wWUuks ice cream bars.]] Six a day if possible.
338** Sensational Sherri [[http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m5y2iw7rHd1qlyce9o1_400.gif approves.]]
339* ObstructiveBureaucrat: Wrestling/JohnLaurinaitis
340* OddlyOvertrainedSecurity: Inverted. Their security guards are absolutely destroyed whenever they’re called in to restore order.
341* TheOmniscientCouncilOfVagueness:
342** The "[[TheFaceless anonymous]]" ''RAW'' general manager ('played' by a laptop) was a bit of a mixed bag. It really depended on who was reading his/her[[note]]well, ''[[Wrestling/Hornswoggle his]]''[[/note]] emails. A heel like Cole could get away with murder while escaping responsibility for what the GM ordered. Other times, the GM would help out the babyfaces.
343** It seems like WWE is publicly owned even in kayfabe now, hence the implication that the Board of Directors is independent of Vince and can go over him. This used to be the role of the "President" who seemed to have all the executive power. (Back when Vince was still "just" a color commentator.) Jack Tunney was a sort of super-commissioner.
344** In kayfabe, WWE's "board of directors" are mostly faceless and nameless. The board is by design ambiguous: It can either help The Authority or hurt them (e.g. The same board that fired Vince also fired HHH during the walkout storyline). In terms of power, the board seems to rule over all: they can hire/fire anyone they want, they can cook up any match that they want, and they can choose to strip a title if they want. It seems that this power is kept in reserve, as the day-to-day issues are handled by the [=McMahons=].
345** Vince is the Chairman in reality, but in Kayfabe the last times he was on television, it was as a figurehead. Stephanie and Hunter are the ones answering to the [=BoD=] right now. The board kept the Authority from doing stuff like firing Bryan when he became a threat to Orton's title reign, and maintains a check on Stephanie's rasher decisions.
346* TheOnlyOneAllowedToDefeatYou: Wrestling/{{Sheamus}}' justification for helping Wrestling/JohnCena against Wrestling/TheNexus, on an episode of Raw.
347* OnlyOneName: Many wrestlers in WWE history have gone by just one name, and in the PG Era onward, several wrestlers have debuted with a full-name in-ring moniker, only to have their first or last name stricken from their character. Examples: Sheamus (O'Shaunnesy), (Alexander) Rusev, (Buddy) Murphy, (Matt) Riddle, (Gene) Snitsky, Big E (Langston), Natalya (Neidhart), (Antonio) Cesaro, (Luke) Harper, (Erick) Rowan, and more.
348* OutWithABang: Al Wilson, in what's probably an angle most people have repressed.
349* OverlyLongGag: Admit it - the fans shouting out "WHAT!?" grates on the nerves, seeing as Wrestling/{{Stone Cold|SteveAustin}} (who started it up) has long been largely out of the picture, and it was only 'relevant' during his brief heel run over a ''decade'' ago.
350* PaperThinDisguise: Wrestling/{{Hulk Hogan}} as "Mr. America" in 2003. Also Wrestling/SantinoMarella as his own twin sister, "Santina Marella", in 2009.
351* PartsUnknown:
352** [[Wrestling/UltimateWarrior The Ultimate Warrior]], of course
353** Wrestling/TheUndertaker, from "Death Valley", at least in his supernatural gimmick. He was billed from his actual hometown of Houston, TX in his BadassBiker run.
354** Wrestling/LunaVachon, from "The Other Side of Darkness"
355** [[Wrestling/MickFoley Mankind]], from "The Boiler Room"
356** Damien Demento, from "The Outer Reaches of Your Mind"
357** The Wrestling/{{Boogeyman}}, from "The Bottomless Pit"
358** Shawn Stasiak, from "Planet Stasiak"
359** Who (Jim "The Anvil" Neidhart), from "Who Knows Where"
360* PeoplesRepublicOfTyranny: Invoked by John Laurinaitis with "People Power".
361* PintSizedPowerhouse: Wrestling/ReyMysterioJr may be short, but he's also noticeably quicker than the vast majority of the guys he wrestles against. He's held his own against more than his share of big guys.
362* PlayingWithFire: Kane; the Inferno Match; occasionally the wrestlers' pyros.
363* PoliticallyIncorrectVillain: Inverted by Wrestling/MuhammadHassan. Thuggin' and Buggin' Enterprises was a straight example. Kerwin White was the most extreme. Zeb Colter takes this [[ExaggeratedTrope Up to Eleven]].
364* PokeThePoodle: One storyline had Tyson Kidd feuding with Yoshi Tatsu. Tyson's claim to villain/big heel act to get Yoshi angry? He broke Yoshi's action figure.
365* PowerStable: Some examples:
366** The Heenan Family (80s-'92)
367** Wrestling/TheNationOfDomination (1996-1998)
368** The New Hart Foundation (1997)
369** Wrestling/DGenerationX (1997-2000, 2006-2010)
370** Wrestling/MinistryOfDarkness (1998-1999)
371** Wrestling/TheCorporation (1998-1999)
372** Wrestling/TheAlliance (2001)
373** Wrestling/{{Evolution}} (2003-2005, 2014)
374** The Cabinet (2004-2005)
375** La Familia (2007-2008)
376** Legacy (2008-2010)
377** Wrestling/TheNexus (2010-2011)
378** [[Wrestling/TheNexus The Corre]] (2011)
379** Wrestling/TheShield (2012 - 2014, 2017-2018, 2019)
380** Wrestling/TheWyattFamily (2012-2014, 2015-2017)
381** Wrestling/TheAuthority (2013-2016)
382** Wrestling/TheNewDay (2014-Present)
383** [[Wrestling/BulletClub The Club]] (2016-2020)
384** Unnamed Wrestling/SethRollins/Authors of Pain/Buddy Murphy alliance (2019-2020)
385* [[MusclesAreMeaningful Prejudiced For Pecs]]: Wrestling/RickRude told Austin that. "Dammit, Steve, this is an upper body business."
386** WWE is behind the inflated size expectations of wrestlers in USA, though WCW shares the blame/credit. Before the WWF got a national TV deal, a 180 lbs man was considered on the small side but still a valid heavyweight. In WWF and WCW 220 lbs was considered ''[[http://i.imgur.com/b1pxbgW.jpg too small]]'' for a heavyweight.
387** On the women's side WWE ''deflated'' size expectations. A 130 lbs woman used to be considered on the small side but still a valid heavyweight (which is itself a deflation, as the 138 Fabulous Moolah was initially considered too small to be a heavyweight by Jack Pfefer and got the Women's championship by virtue of the NWA deciding to not put a weight limit on the belt). By 2003 or so, 120 lbs was considered standard for WWE "divas". Thus watching WWE shows can be a pretty jarring experience for fans of US independent or foreign shows when they see wrestlers normally considered "towering" (Wrestling/ClaudioCastagnoli) or "tiny" (Wrestling/{{Jacqueline}}) suddenly look pretty average. WWE occasionally does go against the grain, such as with 190 lbs Daniel Bryan or 180 lbs Chyna but they tend to be exceptions that prove the rule. Bryan's first World Championship reign was presented as him comically fleeing from Big Show and Mark Henry while Chyna was more famous for fighting men as none of the other woman gave her any real challenge-Lita got credit for simply not being {{squash| match}}ed by her.
388** After the fall of WCW the 220 lbs Chris Benoit as World Heavyweight Champion was a big deal in 2004. With the '''[[SignificantMonogram C]]'''ruiser '''W'''eight '''C'''lassic in 2016, it was stated the weight limit would be 205 lbs, which theoretically means anyone weighing at least 205 can also be a heavyweight champion in WWE, still higher than contemporary boxing but ''lower'' than any other major pro wrestling promotion with weight classes(and most MMA promotions, as the sport's pro wrestling roots gave them similar weight classes). This may not change who actually gets the belt, but it's a step.
389* PrecisionFStrike:
390** WWE has never been huge on strong swearing, so typically, the worst you'll ever hear is the word "shit" (censored on television) every now and then, to dramatize a situation.
391** WWE crowds also invoke this trope, saving their most vitriolic chants, such as "Bullshit", "Fuck you, [wrestler]" or even "Shut the fuck up" (towards Wrestling/RomanReigns the night after he "[[TenMinuteRetirement retired]]" Wrestling/TheUndertaker) for only the most displeasing situations, such as the aforementioned Roman Reigns incident as well as Wrestling/JohnCena's appearance at the Hammerstein Ballroom for 2006's ''ECW One Night Stand''.
392* ProgressivelyPrettier: In 2004 WWE decided on a "new direction" for its women's division, which basically amounted too "If you have a big nose, get it reduced. If you don't have big breasts, get them fixed. If you're noticeably pudgy anywhere besides your butt or breasts, slim down. If you're bulkier than a gymnast, slim down. If you're more toned than a skateboarder, get softer. If your hair tightly curls, straighten it. Maybe get that jaw line cut back too." Because developmental was still being run by traditionalist wrestling and sports promoters, all sorts of athletes would be brought in and then find no amount of strong lockups, technically sound mat wrestling, agility, striking, power or [[ChewingTheScenery scenery chewing]] would get them out of developmental but a new set of double Ds would at least get them attention. A select few were largely spared the "diva makeover", such as Beth Phoenix due to WWE being in quick need for a competent baby face opponent for Mickie James after Trish Stratus was injured, but most such as James herself were cases of nothing until boob job. After Serena Deeb realized the "wrestling" route was a dead end and went cosmetic she got a contract and was moved to an ''in house'' developmental program that didn't do outside bookings, meaning less work for 2 years until she finally got on the "main roster". Then Deeb was released eight months later with only one televised match. Deeb would get a measure of vindication, as after retiring on the independent circuit WWE offered her a coaching job, proving it was more likely her rhinoplasty rather than her wrestling that was insufficient.
393* ProstheticLimbReveal: This was Zach Gowen's introduction. He's planted in the audience, Wrestling/RoddyPiper drags him into the ring, and gives him a step over toe hold - only for his leg to pop off.
394* PutOnABus: Whenever someone is out due to injury, gets suspended or leaves the company. [[TheBusCameBack They usually come back]] after a while. [[LongBusTrip For some it takes longer than others.]]
395* PutOnABusToHell:
396** Wrestling/WendiRichter, who was booked in a match against a mysterious masked opponent known as "The Spider Lady", would soon find out what happens if you're holding a WWF championship and refuse to sign a contract extension. Vince [[CharlieBrownFromOuttaTown brought back Moolah as the Spider Lady]] and, with help from the referee, stripped Richter of the Women's Title without her knowing. Richter, who clearly kicked out of a small package from Moolah, was still counted out at three. This incident came be known as the "original" screwjob. (See below.) Wendi's since appeared on ''Raw'' and was inducted into the Wrestling/WWEHallOfFame.
397** Wrestling/{{Madusa}} anouncing her debut on ''Wrestling/WCWMondayNitro'' by dropping the WWE Women's title belt in a trashcan. Vince was afraid that Wrestling/BretHart would do the same, and Hart became the recipient of the "Wrestling/MontrealScrewjob". After Bret, too, left for WCW, Vince dedicated a lot of time burying him in his shows and claimed, quite infamously, that "Bret screwed Bret". After Bret became interested in making a DVD for the WWE, Vince wasted no time in making amends with him and admitting, albeit vaguely, that it was partly his fault.
398* RealMenWearPink: At least if it's Cancer Awareness Month, something WWE has every year in October. The Harts always wear pink.
399* ReasonableAuthorityFigure: Any {{face}} GM. Wrestling/TeddyLong, Wrestling/MickFoley, [[Wrestling/BryanDanielson Daniel Bryan]] and Wrestling/BookerT come to mind.
400** TyrantTakesTheHelm:
401*** Whenever a {{heel}} gets GM power.
402*** Wrestling/VickieGuerrero. Wrestling/JohnLaurinaitis.
403*** Really, most times Vince asserts his authority.
404* RecognizableBySound: Regularly employed in WWE productions, where a wrestler's entrance music indicates he is on his way to the ring, often to the detriment of the wrestler already in the ring. Oftentimes, a unique sound precedes the theme. Examples include Wrestling/TheUndertaker's gong, Wrestling/StoneColdSteveAustin's glass shatter, and Wrestling/{{Kane}}'s hellfire pyro.
405* RedshirtArmy: In addition to having the world’s [[EasilyDistractedReferee most easily distracted]] and [[GlassJawReferee weakest]] referees in-{{Kayfabe}}, the WWE’s security guards tend to be absolutely incompetent at their job. The WWE has no shortage of security personnel, and they easily are knocked out in droves by Heels and Faces alike when called in to bring back order. The few who survive the onslaught [[ScrewThisImOuttaHere run away]], in a moment of being GenreSavvy.
406* ReformedButNotTamed: A number of wrestlers will make a HeelFaceTurn and still behave like heels. The noticeable change is that they start feuding with heels instead of faces and stop insulting the audience in their promos. Wrestling/StoneColdSteveAustin and [[Wrestling/DwayneJohnson The Rock]] are prime examples.
407* ReligionOfEvil:
408** Undertaker and the entire Wrestling/MinistryOfDarkness during the Wrestling/AttitudeEra. Also an inadvertent CosmopolitanCouncil.
409** Wrestling/VinceMcMahon would briefly create [=McMahonism=], mostly as retaliation for Wrestling/ShawnMichaels' newfound born-again status.
410** The cult of "straight edge" appeared to look this way thanks to Wrestling/CMPunk and his now-defunct "Straight Edge Society."
411** Whatever the ''hell'' Wrestling/TheWyattFamily follows - or at least Erick Rowan, Luke Harper, and Braun Strowman. (Bray Wyatt already believes himself to be [[AGodAmI a god]], so...)
412* RingOldies:
413** Finlay, Wrestling/TheUndertaker, Wrestling/ShawnMichaels, and Wrestling/{{Kane}} are all 50 or older, and Wrestling/TripleH is nearing 50. Wrestling/HulkHogan is past 60. However, special mention goes to Wrestling/RicFlair who (after "[[TenMinuteRetirement retiring]]" at 59) wrestled until 63, finally retiring from in-ring work shortly after Wrestling/JerryLawler (born in the same year as Flair) suffered his near-fatal heart attack on ''Raw''.
414** None of them can hold a candle to Wrestling/TheFabulousMoolah, who won a match on her 80th birthday.
415** Or Wrestling/MaeYoung, who took a table bump (to clarify for non-fans, that means getting smashed through a table) from the [[Wrestling/TheDudleyBoys Dudleys]] in her 80s... and who claimed to have a standing invitation to wrestle Wrestling/VinceMcMahon's (currently preschooler) granddaughter, Aurora Levesque, on Mae's 100th birthday. Young would have turned 100 in the year 2023, at which point young Aurora will be sixteen plus change. Unfortunately, she died in 2014, so that won't happen.
416* RulingCouple: Wrestling/TripleH and Wrestling/{{Stephanie McMahon}}.
417* RunningGag: Whenever Raw or Smackdown comes to Corpus Christi, it's become a tradition that something - or someone - will get tossed into the Gulf of Mexico.
418* SdrawkcabAlias: While not in the typical sense, WWE loves to take a wrestlers' real names and change it around to get their ring name. Wrestling/BryanDanielson became Daniel Bryan, and [[Wrestling/{{Fandango}} Curtis Jonathan Hussey became Johnny Curtis]]. This isn't a new thing, either. Wrestling/ShawnMichaels is legally named Michael Shawn Hickenbottom.
419* StillTheLeader: [[Wrestling/RonSimmons Faarooq]], after [[Wrestling/DwayneJohnson The Rock]] took over leadership of Wrestling/{{the Nation|OfDomination}}.
420* SuplexFinisher: Somewhat surprisingly, very few wrestlers use a suplex as an actual finishing move. The most notable examples are probably [[Wrestling/CurtHennig Mr. Perfect's]] Perfectplex and the T-Bone Suplex of Shelton Benjamin. There are also, to some extent, Wrestling/{{Goldust}}'s Final Cut, Wrestling/{{Goldberg}}'s Jackhammer and Al Snow's Snowplow brainbuster. Notable examples where a variety is used as the direct set-up for a finisher include Wrestling/EddieGuerrero's Three Amigos twisting snap suplexes (for the Frog Splash), and the trifecta of German suplexes often used by Wrestling/ChrisBenoit (for the Diving Headbutt) and Wrestling/KurtAngle.
421* SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome:
422** When CM Punk went off on his infamous "[[TheReasonYouSuckSpeech Pipe Bomb]]" WorkedShoot, his microphone was '''cut off''' after he started mocking the entire company on camera. It was announced immediately after that he had been suspended indefinitely, which is what would happen if any other professional athlete did something so brazen.
423** Despite Mick Foley saying that the various WWF/WWE [[RingOldies Legends]] can return and claim the 24/7 title for themselves, [[Wrestling/PatPatterson most]] [[Wrestling/TedDiBiase of]] [[Wrestling/{{Madusa}} them]] only manage to hold onto it for a few minutes due to their (relatively) old age preventing them from defending the title against the ''entire WWE roster'' across all brands.
424* TagTeam: Including many TagTeamTwins such as the Killer Bees, [[Wrestling/TheUsos Jimmy and Jey Uso]] and the Wrestling/BellaTwins, the Blu Twins and Gymini.
425* TalkShowWithFists: Just to name a few:
426** WWE Prime Time: A ''[=SportsCenter=]'' type panel, usually centered around [[Wrestling/BobbyHeenan Heenan]] and [[Wrestling/GorillaMonsoon Gorilla]] catfighting from across a table while Vince [[OnlySaneMan tried to keep order.]]
427** ''Wrestling Spotlight'': Wrestling/MissElizabeth (the Kelly to Vince's Regis) and Vince reacted to each match from the comfort of a TV studio. After Macho dumped her, Liz went on a sabbatical, saddling Vince with "Queen" Sherri. She made quick work of him, demanding a huge throne for herself and using the show to put the heels over. Vince was replaced by [[FoxNewsLiberal an even wimpier host]], Sean Mooney, who [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BXFXVEL24C8#t=430s regularly had his life threatened]] by the heel guests.
428** [[Wrestling/JesseVentura The Body Shop]]
429** [[Wrestling/JakeRoberts The Snake Pit]]
430** [[Wrestling/RoddyPiper Piper's Pit]]
431** [[Wrestling/BrucePrichard The Brother Love Show]], a parody of televangelists on deep cable.
432** [[Wrestling/BrutusBeefcake Brutus Beefcake's Barber Shop]]
433** [[Wrestling/JerryLawler The King's Court]]
434** [[Wrestling/ShawnMichaels The Heartbreak Hotel]], with [[FengSchwing a heart-shaped bed]] in lieu of chairs. Classic.
435** [[Wrestling/PaulBearer The Funeral Parlour]]
436** [[Wrestling/EdgeWrestler The Cutting Edge]]
437** [[Wrestling/{{Christian}} The Peep Show]]
438** [[Wrestling/ChrisJericho The Highlight Reel]]
439** [[Wrestling/TheMiz MizTV]]. Before that there's the Dirt Sheet with on-off TagTeam partner Wrestling/JohnMorrison, which came back when Morrison returned to WWE in 2020.
440** [[Wrestling/CarlitoColon Carlito's Cabana]]
441** [[Wrestling/MontelVontaviousPorter MVP's VIP Lounge]]
442** [[Wrestling/JonMoxley The Ambrose Asylum]]
443** [[Wrestling/KevinOwens The Kevin Owens Show]]
444** [[Wrestling/SethRollins Rollins Report]]
445** [[Wrestling/AlexaBliss A Moment of Bliss]]
446* TakeThat:
447** During the Wrestling/MondayNightWars, and against those who left WWE on bad terms.
448** ''Billionaire Ted's Wrasslin' War Room''! WWF made fun of how WCW was [[GloryDays basically a retirement home]], featuring such greats as the Nacho Man, the Huckster, and Scheme Gene. (Huckster is so old he can no longer do moves... so instead, he poses).
449** The MoralGuardians, the Wrestling/RightToCensor, is a TakeThat towards the Parents' Television Council.
450* TearsOfJoy: Whenever someone wins their first championship.
451* ThirdPersonPerson: [[Wrestling/DwayneJohnson The Rock]] says that The Rock hasn't been mentioned yet!
452* ToneShift: The history of WWE is defined by its main eventers:
453## [[Wrestling/WWEGoldenAgeEra "Rock n' Wrestling" Era]]: In the late 80s, fans grew up watching Hulk Hogan telling us to eat your vitamins and say your prayers. They grew up watching a dead man wrestle. A guy with a red Mohawk who acted like a rooster. A guy from the ''G.I. Joe'' cartoons who then turned on America. A male supermodel. A man named after a boat. A barber. We can keep going. The "new generation" in WWE isn't thought of as highly as others simply because they didn't have Hogan and Savage (and others like them), over-the-top larger-than-life personalities with the charisma to sell ice cubes to Eskimos.
454## [[Wrestling/WWENewGenerationEra "New Generation" Era]]: The WWF was trying to transition from a live-action cartoon back to a wrestling company, and the fans were...not as receptive as the WWF had hoped. '93-'96 was the "eye of the hurricane" so to speak, the calm between the storms: The WWF at the time was going through a turnover in talents after WCW had cleaned them out. They lost some of the gimmickry eventually and pulled off a more athletically-driven program prior to Attitude taking over, but in the early-to-mid 90's, there was a garbageman, a repo man, hog farmers, a Native American dude, Max Moon, a dentist, a hockey player, and so on. They repackaged the company after the steroid trials, trying to clean up their act with guys like Bret Hart, Hennig, Flair, and Shawn Michaels.
455## Wrestling/AttitudeEra: 1997-2001. This era changed wrestling from being aimed at kids, to being aimed at teenagers. The landscape isn't the same today as it was then. Austin, HHH, Shawn, Foley, Taker etc. were veterans who toiled in the midcard for years. They were competitive. They were hungry to succeed. They had their pick of WWE, WCW and ECW. After the Wrestling/MontrealScrewjob (which created the evil Mr. [=McMahon=] character), and Austin defeating Shawn Micheals for the WWF title, thus igniting the Attitude Era. WWF changed from a warm & fuzzy program to a much more controversial one revolving around the Austin character, who drank beer on TV, gave everyone the middle finger, and raised hell. [=DX=] and Goldust were making sex jokes, groping audience members and acting like total degenerates. Women were used as eye candy to appeal to male viewers. It was all about controversy and getting ratings. ''Smackdown!'' debuted as a B-Show based on one of The Rock's edgier catchphrases. In some ways, the most embarrassing chapter in the company's history, and in others the most exciting (because it's just so unpredictable).
456## Wrestling/RuthlessAggressionEra: 2001-2008. Like the New Generation era, was a transitional period for WWE. With the demise of WCW and ECW, the company regressed back to its roots, though not entirely: Wrestling was still TV-14 at this time, allowing sexuality, swearing, blood, among other things. The RA era was an extension of the Attitude Era; a mix of new talent and old talent, and a rebuilding time for WWE. An era that made many of it's own historic moments, such as ''Raw'' having a Women's Main Event, having the Cruiserweight Title Match as a main event (when Matt Hardy took on Rey Mysterio) and, for the first time, TLC was featured as a singles match. Other highlights include the formation of the group Evolution that launched the careers of both Batista and Randy Orton, the return of HBK to wrestling from a 4 year hiatus, and the start of John Cena's career (in which he stumbled upon his rap gimmick that launched his popularity).
457## [[Wrestling/WWEPGEra "PG" Era]]: 2008-2016. Many claim that wrestling went "PG" because Linda [=McMahon=] was running for senate and she wanted a squeaky clean image, divorced from the past decade of debauchery and sophomoric humor (she lost both races in part due to her televised appearances during the Attitude Era). However, the shift back to a "safer" family-oriented show was out of necessity for WWE's survival. Rampant drug and alcohol abuse, wrestler after wrestler being crippled by the dangerous stunts, the death of Wrestling/EddieGuerrero and the Wrestling/ChrisBenoit murder-suicide, former wrestlers dying from drug abuse, governmental scrutiny (that means the FBI), and every talking head known to man out to crucify pro wrestling in general and WWE in particular--all of that meant big-money advertisers pulling out. It was quickly discovered that Cena appealed to women and children more than the diehard male 18-34 male demographic of wrestling fans; thus WWE attracted a more mainstream audience, which meant more money. Other popularity-driven decisions included bookings of The Shield and experiments with new talent, including call ups from NXT. Indeed, WWE has made a remarkable turnaround: It's seen (again) by the mainstream as family entertainment. Big-money advertisers are lining up, the government isn't hounding them anymore, the media has stopped digging around WWE trash cans looking for scandals, WWE performers (especially John Cena) are in high demand in other forms of entertainment and make frequent media appearances. For a while, the downgrade to PG ironically destroyed what little credibility and class the women's division had, as it was forbidden for female wrestlers to get beaten up by men, so they had catfights for the audience's amusement.
458## [[Wrestling/WWENewEra "The New Era"]]: 2016-2023. By the end of the PG Era, audiences, on-air talent, and even authority figures were occasionally letting it be known that the company's direction wasn't quite where it could be. A series of changes were instituted to adjust the company's business model. Women were once again billed as legitimate wrestling talents and ''not'' "Divas", thanks largely to the efforts of the "Four Horsewomen" and Paige, who came up during the PG Era. Several high profile performers were called up from developmental, signed, or pulled away from top competing brands like NJPW and independent promotions, and, unusually, allowed to keep their same monikers, the prime example being Wrestling/AJStyles. Shane [=McMahon=] returned as a ReasonableAuthorityFigure to balance out the rest of his family, resulting in ''Smackdown!'' (now ''Smackdown LIVE'') and ''RAW'' once again being treated as competing A-shows. The Cruiserweight Classic tournament led to the resurrected division getting its own show, the UK Championship tournament and other efforts similarly signaled expansion, etc. All of the above was the first year of this "New Era", and by 2019, the WWE's most popular star was, for the first time in its history, [[Wrestling/BeckyLynch a woman]].
459## [[Wrestling/WWEEndeavorEra Endeavor Era]]: 2023-present. By 2023, a series of scandals regarding Vince [=McMahon=] has caused him in real life to resign in disgrace but not before selling the company to Endeavour Group Holdings, the parent company of UFC. With the resignation of [=McMahon=], Triple H has gotten complete creative control and has made many adjustments towards the storylines including making the tag team division more important than ever, adding a second world championship after Roman Reigns united the previous two and gradually making Wrestling/LAKnight a top superstar. Some notable returns many thought weren't possible include Kairi Sane, Naomi, and especially Cody Rhodes and CM Punk, the former due to helping to start and was the face of WWE's [[Wrestling/AllEliteWrestling new competition]] and the latter due to having a notorious walkout and grudge against the company for many years. This is also the first time in a long time that the head on-screen authority figure wasn't a villain who was trying to make the faces life a living hell but a ReasonableAuthorityFigure.
460* TookALevelInBadass:
461** Wrestling/StoneColdSteveAustin is probably the ultimate example of this trope in ProfessionalWrestling. He started out as just a random henchman of Wrestling/TedDiBiase, but thanks to the now-legendary promo at the 1996 Wrestling/KingOfTheRing event ("Austin 3:16 says I just whooped your ass!"), he gradually transformed into the stone-cold badass that fans eventually grew to love, cementing his place as a true legend of the ring and helping to put pro wrestling on the map in the late 90s.
462** Wrestling/DwayneJohnson. He is one of the most prominent examples of RescuedFromTheScrappyHeap in pro wrestling for a reason. When he started his career in 1996 as Rocky Maivia, he was a talented face with a super-nice-guy persona that was despised by fans, but after he [[FaceHeelTurn turned heel]], and changed his ring name to The Rock, he began his rise as the "most electrifying man in sports entertainment".
463** Wrestling/JeffHardy, full stop. When he and his brother Matt debuted in the company in the late 1990s, they [[{{Jobber}} lost every single one of their matches for a while]]. Ten years later, Jeff won the WWE Championship. Matt is a good example as well.
464** Wrestling/TheMiz transformed over time from a clownish DirtyCoward to a legitimately threatening heel. When he became ''WWE Champion'' in November 2010, it's a bit surprising that [[PuffOfLogic the entire universe didn't explode as a result]].
465** Wrestling/StacyKeibler - After more than three years of mostly being used as eye candy, Stacy finally got a push of sorts in October of 2004 when she pinned Wrestling/MollyHolly to become Number One Contender to Wrestling/TrishStratus's Women's Championship. Although she didn't win her one-on-one with Stratus, Keibler got a second opportunity soon afterward when she entered a seven-woman Battle Royal at ''Taboo Tuesday'' and made it two-thirds of the way through before getting eliminated by Holly.
466** Wrestling/CandiceMichelle - She will go down in history as the first Diva Search contestant (2004) to win the Women's Championship. She accomplished this in June 2007, when she pinned then-champion Wrestling/{{Melina}} at the first-ever ''Night Of Champions''. She held the title for nearly four months, finally losing it to Wrestling/BethPhoenix.
467** Wrestling/MariaKanellis - Another 2004 Diva Search contestant, she started out as a "dim-witted" backstage interviewer for comic relief on ''Monday Night Raw''. She made occasional forays into the ring over the next few years, finally becoming more or less a full-time wrestler in 2008. That's when she became the first woman to pin Beth Phoenix since Phoenix had won the Women's Championship (though the match was non-title, and Kanellis needed some help from Candice Michelle to score the win). Kanellis and Phoenix met again at ''Wrestling/WrestleMania XXIV'' in a tag-team match that also included Wrestling/AshleyMassaro and Melina Perez, and Kanellis almost certainly would have pinned Phoenix clean if it hadn't been for interference by Wrestling/SantinoMarella.
468** Wrestling/KellyKelly - She joined the relaunched ''ECW on [=SyFy=]'' in June of 2006 as an exotic dancer [[InsistentTerminology ("exhibitionist," to use her term)]] with practically no wrestling skills. After just over a year of training, she began to appear in the ring sporadically and then full-time after being drafted to ''Monday Night Raw'' in 2008. She appeared in back-to-back (2008 and 2009) Divas Elimination Matches at ''Survivor Series'', eliminating two opponents between them. Finally, she won the Divas Championship from Brie Bella on June 20, 2011, after being voted Number One Contender by the fans.
469** Wrestling/TrishStratus - ''Seven time'' Women's Champion, who started out as a valet for T&A and eye candy for Vince [=McMahon=], and who was initially so bad in the ring that she could ''botch a catfight''. In fact, much like how WWE saw its tag team division more so as a BreakupBreakout factory than anything else over time ever since Wrestling/ShawnMichaels went from one of the Rockers to one of the greatest of all time, WWE's insistence on turning models into wrestlers is largely due to this trope working so well for Trish.
470** Wrestling/JohnCena went from a comic-relief white-boy rapper to possibly the biggest face in the federation. Key moments in the transition included marking his return from injury by [[DavidVersusGoliath lifting Rikishi above his head]], and slapping Vince in the face.
471* TomboynessUpgrade: Becky Lynch is a major example: she debuted as a tomboyish type known as the "Irish Lass Licker," but when she became "The Man," her tomboyishness became even more pronounced as her aggression and masculine characteristics only upped to an ante that was followed by other female talents as such as Rhea Ripley, Nikki Cross and Sonya Deville, among others. Speaking of which, the entire WWE Women's Division has a whole has become this ever since the WWE Divas Division was rebranded as the WWE Women's Division which moved away from {{Fanservice}} matches such as bra-and-the-panties matches, pillow fights, pudding matches, costume battle royals and bikini contests as well as women acting catty and childish. Nowadays, WWE's current female talents are presented in the same manner as their male counterparts including [[NoHoldsBarredBeatdown more violent brawls which sometimes included the entire WWE women's roster]], serious trash-talking and the ability to compete in match stipulations that were previously been reserved for men such as Hell in a Cell matches and the Royal Rumble match.
472* [[TrashTheSet Trash The TitanTron]]:
473** Happens each time when WWE upgrades its [=TitanTron=]. For example, on an episode of Raw in 2008, Triple H throws his sledgehammer at the [=TitanTron=] to make way for the current [=TitanTron=] HD set used on Raw, [=SmackDown=], ECW, and Superstars.
474** The [[Wrestling/TheNexus NXT rookies]] took this one pretty literally on the 6/7/10 Raw, when they took out ''everyone'' at ringside (down to the bell-ringer and medical personnel) and gave a NoHoldsBarredBeatdown to Wrestling/JohnCena.
475* UnPerson:
476** Wrestling/ChrisBenoit, though he is still mentioned in WWE's official title histories, match results, etc., as well as 2009's WWE Encyclopedia. It doesn't even mention that he's dead!
477** Wrestling/VinceMcMahon tried to invoke this with Wrestling/CMPunk after he left the company after winning at the 2011 Wrestling/MoneyInTheBank PPV, and taking the WWE Championship with him. Off course this only lasted one or two weeks, as he came back after they had held a tournament to crown a new winner. Has unfortunately come true with his 2014 walkout, although to a much lesser degree than with Benoit.
478* UnrelatedBrothers:
479** Long-time childhood friends Wrestling/{{Edge|Wrestler}} and Wrestling/{{Christian}}. Whose being kayfabe brothers in the past is no longer acknowledged.
480** Wrestling/{{Kane}} and Wrestling/TheUndertaker.
481** [[Wrestling/MattCardona Zack Ryder]] and Curt Hawkins was for a short while in WWE listed as the Major Brothers, before their name change.
482** The Basham Brothers. Despite their similar appearance, Doug Basham (his real name) and Danny Basham (born Daniel Hollie) are not related, much less "twins" as Doug is six years older.
483* [[Franks2000InchTV Vince's 2000-inch Titantron,]] [[Wrestling/ChrisJericho the obscenely expensive Jeritron 5000]]
484* TheUsualAdversaries: Wrestling/ScottHall once mentioned that if Vince sees [[TheatricsOfPain you can sell really well]], then he will make you sell all the time i.e Wrestling/DolphZiggler.
485* VileVillainSaccharineShow: Even though the [=WWE=] has turned LighterAndSofter ever since entering [[Wrestling/WWEPGEra the PG era]], some incredibly deranged and nightmarish heels still stuck out like sore thumbs.
486** Wrestling/TheWyattFamily was a cult of deranged and unsettling hillbillies who were lead by its namesake cult leader who called himself "The Eater of Worlds".
487** Wrestling/BrayWyatt, the aforementioned cult leader, somehow got [[ExaggeratedTrope even worse]] when he was rebranded as a DepravedKidsShowHost who could turn into "The Fiend", a demonic MonsterClown who straight up ''tried to kill people'' and whose matches had him bring the '''decapitated head''' of his previous gimmick.
488* WhamEpisode: [[WhamEpisode/ProfessionalWrestling Among other memorable moments]]:
489** 4/11/11. Wrestling/{{Edge|Wrestler}} retiring.
490** June 7th 2010, Wrestling/TheNexus wrecks havoc on Raw.
491* WildCard: Whoever is currently the commissioner of WWE/GM of ''Raw''. Gorilla Monsoon took over in 1995, followed by Roddy Piper, then Gorilla again. When Gorilla retired in 1997, the Presidency was officially replaced with the Commissioner position. Michaels, Foley, and Regal have each served as commish. Past [=GMs=] include Bischoff, [[Wrestling/BradMaddox Maddox]], and Vickie. Sometimes the GM has unlimited power, sometimes none.
492* WildSamoan: The Wild Samoans, Wrestling/{{Umaga}}, [[Wrestling/{{Meng}} Haku]], Wrestling/JimmySnuka, and Wrestling/{{Rikishi}}. Averted by Wrestling/{{Yokozuna}} (who was Samoan but played a Japanese-style sumo wrestler), Manu, Rosey, Wrestling/TheUsos, Wrestling/{{Tamina|Snuka}}, Wrestling/SamoaJoe, Solo Sikoa and [[Wrestling/RomanReigns Roman Reigns]]. Oh, and [[Wrestling/DwayneJohnson The Rock]]. There were also Wrestling/TheHeadshrinkers and The Islanders (though Haku was a Tongan).
493* WorldsStrongestMan: Nickname used by several wrestlers including Wrestling/MarkHenry, Ted Arcidi, Wrestling/KenPatera, and Dino Bravo.
494* WrestlingDoesntPay: Especially JustForFun/{{egregious}} in the late '80s and early '90s. Later examples include [[Wrestling/MikeBucci Simon Dean]], The Boogeyman, and Wrestling/{{Fandango}}.
495* WrestlingMonster: Wrestling/{{Vader}}, The Undertaker, Papa Shango, Kane, Bill Goldberg, The Boogeyman, [[Wrestling/KiaStevens Kharma]]...
496* YesMan: The general attitude of Wrestling/VinceMcMahon to some people is that he refuses to take "no" for an answer. Pretty much a job description for anybody on the writing team not related to the [=McMahons=], according to virtually everyone.

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