WWE’s roots stretch back to 1953 and the Capitol Wrestling Corporation, a regional promotion that would evolve over the following decades into the World Wrestling Federation and, eventually, WWE. Under Vince McMahon, who took control in the early 1980s, the promotion expanded from a regional business into a national — and eventually global — phenomenon, launching WrestleMania in 1985 and blending athletic competition with scripted, soap-opera storytelling into a genre the company itself termed ‘sports entertainment’. The company rebranded from WWF to WWE in 2002 following a legal dispute with the World Wildlife Fund over the WWF initials.
WWE’s history is generally understood through a series of distinct eras, each defined by its own breakout stars and tone. The 1980s ‘Golden Era’ was built around Hulk Hogan and Andre the Giant; the early-to-mid 1990s ‘New Generation’ era shifted focus toward smaller, more technically gifted performers as the previous decade’s biggest stars moved on; and the ‘Attitude Era’ of the late 1990s and early 2000s, driven by Stone Cold Steve Austin and The Rock, is widely regarded as the company’s commercial peak. Further eras followed under names like Ruthless Aggression and the familyfriendly PG Era, each reflecting a shift in tone as the company adapted to changing audiences and television standards. WWE has continued to evolve since, most recently moving Monday Night Raw to Netflix in January 2025 under a landmark, decade-long broadcast deal reportedly worth over $5 billion, bringing the promotion to an entirely new streaming audience.
Bret ‘Hitman’ Hart stands as one of the defining figures of WWE’s New Generation era, renowned as much for his technical precision in the ring as for his self-styled billing as ‘the best there is, the best there was, and the best there ever will be’. A multiple-time WWE Champion, Hart carried the promotion through a transitional period between two of its most star-driven eras, and remains part of the legendary Hart wrestling dynasty out of Calgary’s famous ‘Hart family Dungeon’, which has produced multiple generations of professional wrestlers.
Few entertainment properties have sustained the kind of live, weekly audience WWE has managed across seven decades, and its collector culture is just as enduring, spanning championship belt replicas, action figures, trading cards, and signed memorabilia tied to performers across every era of the company’s history. WrestleMania remains one of the biggest annual events in all of sports entertainment, regularly filling major stadiums and drawing huge pay-per-view and streaming audiences worldwide.
With WWE now under the same corporate umbrella as UFC following its merger into TKO Group, the promotion’s reach and commercial ambitions continue to grow, and its convention circuit has become just as active as its television schedule.
At Pioneer Signings, our WWE archive currently features a Bret ‘Hitman’ Hart Funko Pop #68, signed by one of the most technically respected performers of his generation. Given how deep WWE’s roster runs across decades of eras and storylines, it’s a strong opening piece for the franchise, and we’re looking to bring further wrestling legends into our archive as it grows.