The World Wrestling Federation (WWF), later renamed World Wresting Entertainment (WWE), has been entertaining loyal fans since the 1980s.  For many years, the WWF was the dominant form of wrestling entertainment in the United States, but the late 1990s witnessed another competitor, World Championship Wrestling (WCW), make a serious push for supremacy.  In a wise business decision, the WWF positioned itself to absorb its main competitor.

On this day, March 26th, in 2001, the World Wrestling Federation purchased World Championship Wrestling for $7 million from AOL Time Warner. The acquisition made the WWF the largest wrestling promotion in the world, in addition to be the only North American wrestling company with mainstream appeal.  The WWF continued to expand its wrestling empire in 2003 by purchasing its last substantial competitor Extreme Championship Wrestling.

The WWE’s business acquisitions in the early 2000s have led to continued success for the company today.  As of 2011, the WWE has more than $380 million in assets.