''WWE Magazine'' was the official

professional wrestling Professional wrestling, often shortened to either pro wrestling or wrestling,The term "wrestling" is most often widely used to specifically refer to modern scripted professional wrestling, though it is also used to refer to Real life, real- ...

magazine A magazine is a periodical literature, periodical publication, print or digital, produced on a regular schedule, that contains any of a variety of subject-oriented textual and visual content (media), content forms. Magazines are generally fin ...

WWE World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) is an American professional wrestling promotion. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority-owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. A global integrated media and entertainment company, ...

. This incarnation of the magazine contains lifestyle sections, a monthly calendar, entertainment, work out tips, and other information. It was announced in July 2014 that after thirty years, the magazine would cease production, although special issues would continue to be published.

History

''WWE Magazine'' has gone through many incarnations throughout the years. It was originally known as ''WWF Victory Magazine'' from its debut issue in 1983 through the third issue of publication. Starting with the third issue (April May 1984) it became known as ''World Wrestling Federation Magazine'' (or ''WWF Magazine'' for short), with newly crowned WWF World Heavyweight Champion

Hulk Hogan Terry Gene Bollea (; born August 11, 1953), better known by his ring name Hulk Hogan, is an American retired Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE as a brand ambassador. Known for his flamboyance and massive physiq ...

on the cover. ''WWF Magazine'' would continue to be bi-monthly until June 1987, in which it would become a monthly operation and a staple of the WWF for the next decade. For several years, ''WWF Magazine'' operated as a

kayfabe In professional wrestling, kayfabe (pronounced ) is the portrayal of staged events within the industry as "real" or "true", specifically competition, rivalries, and relationships between participants. The term has evolved to become a code word ...

magazine; stories included biographies of wrestlers and

feud A feud , also known in more extreme cases as a blood feud, vendetta, faida, clan war, gang war, private war, or mob war, is a long-running argument or fight, often between social groups of people, especially family, families or clans. Feuds begin ...

s, as well as previews of upcoming events, editorials, and other features targeted at younger audiences; excerpts from letters to the editor, mainly from fans commenting on the wrestlers and angles, were also published. In the early 1990s, the

World Wide Fund for Nature The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) is a Swiss-based international non-governmental organization founded in 1961 that works in the field of wilderness preservation and the reduction of human impact on the environment. It was formerly named th ...

(also WWF) gained an injunction against the distributor of WWF Magazine in

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

due to disputes regarding the WWF trademark in their home country. In April 1996, the WWF decided to create a second magazine called ''Raw Magazine'', which became a focus on behind the scenes activity, focusing on wrestlers real life profiles. It debuted with the May/June 1996 issue, and was bi-monthly until the January 1998 issue. In May 2002, the World Wrestling Federation became known as World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), and therefore the magazine was changed accordingly to ''WWE Magazine'' starting with the June 2002 issue. In 2006, the magazine changed by moving away from being solely a wrestling magazine. Instead the majority of the magazine contained lifestyle tips, product reviews and photos of WWE's superstars and divas outside the ring. The new style was similar to current

men's magazine This is a list of men's magazines from around the world. These are magazines (periodical print publications) that have been published primarily for a readership of men. The list has been split into subcategories according to the target audienc ...

s, such as ''

Maxim Maxim or Maksim may refer to: Entertainment *Maxim (magazine), ''Maxim'' (magazine), an international men's magazine ** Maxim (Australia), ''Maxim'' (Australia), the Australian edition ** Maxim (India), ''Maxim'' (India), the Indian edition *Maxim ...

'' and ''

Stuff Stuff, stuffed, and stuffing may refer to: *Physical matter *General, unspecific things, or entities Arts, media, and entertainment Books *''Stuff'' (1997), a novel by Joseph Connolly *''Stuff'' (2005), a book by Jeremy Strong Fictional c ...

''. On July 31, 2014, it was announced that ''WWE Magazine'' would cease production due to budget cuts as well as a decline in circulation. The last issue (October 2014) would be available on September 16, 2014. The final edition of ''WWE Magazine'' featured

Seth Rollins Colby Daniel Lopez (born May 28, 1986), better known by the ring name Seth Rollins, is an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw (WWE brand), Raw WWE brand extension, brand and ...

Roman Reigns Leati Joseph Anoaʻi ( ; born May 25, 1985), better known by his ring name Roman Reigns, is an American professional wrestler and former gridiron football, football player. As a wrestler, he has been signed to WWE , where he performs on the Sm ...

and

Dean Ambrose Jonathan David Good (born December 7, 1985) is an American professional wrestler. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he performs under the ring name Jon Moxley and is the current AEW World Champion in his record-setting fourth ...

on the cover, former members of

The Shield ''The Shield'' is an American crime drama television series created by Shawn Ryan and starring Michael Chiklis that aired on FX from March 12, 2002 to November 25, 2008 for seven seasons. The show is known for its portrayal of corrupt police ...

Breaking kayfabe

On very rare occasions,

would be broken; such instances would be if a wrestler had died or if the topic had such far-reaching interest to WWF fans that it could not be ignored. Notable examples of the magazine breaking kayfabe were the 1990 parasailing accident that injured Brutus "the Barber" Beefcake (at the time, one of the WWF's biggest stars), and the 1992 divorce of

Randy Savage Randy Mario Poffo (November 15, 1952 – May 20, 2011), better known by his ring name "Macho Man" Randy Savage, was an American professional wrestler and professional baseball player, best known for his time in the World Wrestling Federation ( ...

and

Miss Elizabeth Elizabeth Ann Hulette (November 19, 1960 – May 1, 2003), best known in professional wrestling circles as Miss Elizabeth, was an American professional wrestling Manager (professional wrestling), manager, occasional professional wrestler and prof ...

. In the September 1993 issue, the magazine was to introduce a semi-regular feature titled "Now It's Our Turn", which was to present the WWF's official (non-kayfabe) explanations/defenses against accusations from former wrestlers and employees. Although one lengthy column focusing on

Superstar Billy Graham A superstar is someone who has great popular appeal and is widely known, prominent, or successful in their field. Celebrities referred to as "superstars" may include individuals who work as actors, musicians, athletes, and other media-based profe ...

was published, the feature did not appear again.

WWE Kids Magazine

''WWE Kids Magazine'' was launched in April 2008 (US) / October 2008 (UK) as a monthly magazine aimed at children aged 6–14. It stopped being published in the United States in September 2014, but continued in the United Kingdom under a licensing agreement until December 2023.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wwe Magazine 1984 establishments in Connecticut 2014 disestablishments in Connecticut Bimonthly magazines published in the United States Sports magazines published in the United States Professional wrestling magazines Magazines established in 1984 Magazines disestablished in 2014 Defunct magazines published in the United States Magazines published in Connecticut WWE

History

Breaking kayfabe

WWE Kids Magazine

See also

References