Ridley |
05-07-2002 12:10 PM |
Here's the reason for the name change, reported by IGN :
After losing a worldwide court battle recently with the World Wildlife Fund (i.e. WWF) in the UK, which prevents the newly named WWE from using the WWF acronym going forward, the WWE "will utilize this opportunity to position ourselves emphasizing the entertainment aspect of our company, and, at the same time, allay the concerns of the Fund," said Linda McMahon, CEO of World Wrestling Entertainment.
Although the two companies are entirely different and operate in completely different fields, the UK court deemed that there may be substantial confusion in the worldwide marketplace because the two companies use the letters "WWF." Put plainly, the World Wildlife Fund does not want to be associated with the World Wrestling Federation in any way.
Companies such as THQ will change the names of their upcoming wrestling games to reflect the new name. We already have new box art for THQ's upcoming WWEX8 for GameCube, below.
"As World Wrestling Federation Entertainment, we have entertained millions of fans around the United States and around the globe," said McMahon. "Our new name puts the emphasis on the "E" for entertainment, what our company does best. WWE provides us with a global identity that is distinct and unencumbered, which is critical to our U.S. and international growth plans." "World Wrestling Entertainment and WWE will now be the identity that we use from the television base we have established in 130 countries," she continued. "As WWE, we will launch our further expanded U.S. and international touring, our international expansion of branded merchandise and licensed products, and our further integration into the film, publishing and music businesses."
It makes sense changing the name, when you really think about it. I mean the main focus of the two companies are completely different and both have different reputations and I really don't think the World Wildlife Fund wants to be confused with the World Wrestling Federation ;). Frankly, I been wondering why this didn't happen earlier :unsure:.
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