WWE'RE NOT GONNA TAKE IT: I think it's safe to say, finally, that the last nail has been pounded into the coffin of professional wrestling's late-'90s renaissance. In response to a court ruling on a lawsuit by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), the other WWF (the World Wrestling Federation) has agreed to drop its initials and change its name to World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), thus abandoning nearly four decades of brand recognition. For the past two years the WWF has been specializing in announcements that sound like April Fools jokes: first they spend $200 million to put minor-league football on prime time television, then they buy rival WCW without buying any of the top wrestlers along with it, then they bring back pentagenarian Hulk Hogan to be their champion and top drawing card, and now they've lost a pissing contest to a charity fronted by a panda. In an effort at damage control, Vince McMahon's federation has begun a "Get the 'F' out" campaign; fans at the first show of the WWE era were heard chanting "Get the 'F' Back." Mark your calendars folks: McMahon-Costas II- Thursday, May 16 on HBO. Bet it's better than Tyson-Lewis.
Posted by Stephen Silver at May 10, 2002 02:47 AM