5 weird WWE facts you may not have known
WWE has been around for almost 60 years at this point. It started as the Capital Wrestling Corporation, but reformed as the World Wide Wrestling Federation after splitting from the NWA in 1963. It's undergone several name changes since, but for the purpose of this article, we will refer to it simply as WWE.
Under Vince McMahon, WWE has become the largest promotion in the history of pro wrestling, drawing millions of fans from all over the globe every year. It's also become something of a media empire in its own right, but you guys can argue about that in the comments - we're not discussing it here.
What we are discussing are some of the more interesting details of WWE history. Call it "trivia." Call them "fun facts to know and tell." Or you can call them "things I already knew, you dorks." We don't care. We just want you to enjoy.
Let's begin with something a bit timely.
#5. John Cena was the first person to point at the WrestleMania sign
The whole "pointing at the sign" trope is so ingrained in WWE's culture that seems a decades-old tradition at this point. What many may not realize is that it's relatively new.
In researching for this piece, we've gathered that the promotion first began hanging the iconic WrestleMania sign at the events leading up to the Show of Shows around WrestleMania XX, back in 2004. It wasn't until four years later that the whole 'pointing-at-the-thing' thing really started.
In 2008, following a shocking and, let's be honest, nearly miraculously quick comeback from injury, John Cena won that year's Royal Rumble. It was then that he hit the turnbuckles and pointed at the WrestleMania sign, indicating "yep... John Cena's going to WrestleMania."
So, yeah, it feels like the whole "pointing at the sign" trope is something they've been doing forever. However, the next time someone does that and your friend asks "when did they start doing that?", you can tell them.
Now for something completely different.