WWE Magazine - History

History

WWE Magazine has gone through many incarnations throughout the years. It was originally known as WWF Victory Magazine from its debut issue 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 Champion Hulk Hogan 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 magazine; stories included biographies of wrestlers and feuds, 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 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.

Shortly before that, the WWF/E had split up into two brands, Raw and SmackDown!. WWE Magazine and Raw Magazine were unaffected, however, until the January 2004 issues, in which WWE decided to have separate magazines for their respective brands. Raw Magazine retained its name but followed the style of WWE Magazine however, it focused solely on the Raw brand. WWE Magazine became SmackDown! Magazine, and would focus solely on the SmackDown! brand. That lasted until the summer of 2006, in which Raw Magazine and SmackDown Magazine would be discontinued and a new WWE Magazine would debut with the August 2006 issue (Dave Batista cover).

The new WWE Magazine was designed to move away from being solely a wrestling magazine. Instead the majority of the magazine contains lifestyle tips, product reviews and photos of WWE's superstars and divas outside the ring. The new style is similar to current men's magazines, such as Maxim and Stuff.

In the May 2012 issue, a new "Jerk of the Month" belt debuted with Daniel Bryan wearing the belt in the issue. It replaced the police mugshots which had been featured since the May 2008 issue. It was later replaced with a trophy.