23 years of World Wrestling Entertainment: Know why WWF changed its name to WWE in 2002?

World Wrestling Entertainment, also known as WWE, is the biggest company in professional wrestling. Currently, it is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings and is not a legitimate sporting show but rather an entertainment-based performance theatre, featuring storyline-driven, scripted, and pre-booked matches. If you are also fond of WWE and have watched several of its popular shows like Raw and SmackDown, then you must also have noticed the mention of WWF or World Wrestling Federation when old videos are telecast. Yes, WWE was previously known as WWF. So, what happened to this acronym, and why is it not used now at all? Let's find out.

Why did WWF change its name to WWE?

The reasoning behind the WWE acronym is used in place of WWF. WWF changed its name to WWE on May 6, 2002 (23 years ago) due to a legal dispute with the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), a wildlife organisation, which has been using this acronym since 1961, much before the professional wrestling company began promoting their shows with these initials.

The World Wildlife Fund argued that the wrestling company's use of the initials 'WWF' and logo violated their trademark and caused confusion with their organisation. In May 2002, the then Vince McMahon-led company lost the lawsuit and was forced to change its name.

The settlement

WWE was allowed to use its old 'WWF' logos and the term 'World Wrestling Federation', but was prohibited from using the word 'WWF' and the scratch logo. Even the sale of merchandise with the 'WWF' initials is also prohibited.

Meanwhile, WWE recently concluded its annual flagship show, WrestleMania, with its 41st edition. It was held on April 19 and 20 at Allegiant Stadium in Paradise, Nevada. The next monthly special event is Backlash, which is scheduled to be held on May 10, 2025, at the Enterprise Center in St Louis, Missouri