The World (originally opened as WWF New York) was a

World Wrestling Entertainment World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., d/b/a as WWE, is an American professional wrestling promotion. A global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into other fields, including film, American football, and vario ...

(

WWE World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., d/b/a as WWE, is an American professional wrestling promotion. A global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into other fields, including film, American football, and vario ...

) themed restaurant, nightclub and retail store in

Times Square Times Square is a major commercial intersection, tourist destination, entertainment hub, and neighborhood in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. It is formed by the junction of Broadway, Seventh Avenue, and 42nd Street. Together with adjacent ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, leased in the Paramount Theatre building. The venue was best known for featuring in segments on ''Monday Night Raw'', and having ''Sunday Night Heat'' emanate from its complex, hosted by Michael Cole and

Tazz Peter Senerchia (born October 11, 1967), better known by the ring name Taz (also spelled Tazz) is an American radio personality, color commentator, and retired professional wrestler signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) as a commentator and manage ...

from October 2000 to February 2002. The venue would also host special events such as ''Raw's 10th Anniversary'' and various autograph signings and appearances from WWE performers.

History

WWF New York

In November 1999, WWF Chairman

Vince McMahon Vincent Kennedy McMahon (; born August 24, 1945) is an American media proprietor and retired professional wrestling promoter, executive, and performer. From 1982 to 2022, he served as the chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of WWE, the w ...

leased space at the Paramount Theatre in Times Square in Manhattan. The complex consisted of a retail store with merchandise on the first floor and a nightclub, restaurant and arcade underground. The venue featured various pieces of WWF memorabilia on display with superstar entrance music playing throughout the store, mainly music composed by Jim Johnston. Wrestling fans from around the Metropolitan New York City area, as well as from around the world, went to the complex as they would show pay-per-views, ''

Raw Raw is an adjective usually describing: * Raw materials, basic materials from which products are manufactured or made * Raw food, uncooked food Raw or RAW may also refer to: Computing and electronics * .RAW, a proprietary mass spectrometry dat ...

'', ''

SmackDown ''WWE SmackDown'', also known as ''Friday Night SmackDown'' or simply ''SmackDown'', is an American professional wrestling television program produced by WWE that as of currently airs live every Friday at 8 p.m. ET on Fox. Fox Deportes simulc ...

'', and other events on monitors all around the nightclub, including showing them on a big screen. A fee was charged for admission to the events. The restaurant exclusively showed pay-per-views live from the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

at no charge. The venue hosted two musical performances by the Misfits in 2001. Later in April 2002,

Prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. Th ...

performed a spontaneous 'after party' at the club following a concert mere hours earlier. The after show featured special guests

Alicia Keys Alicia Augello Cook (born January 25, 1981), known professionally as Alicia Keys, is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. A classically trained pianist, Keys started composing songs when she was 12 and was signed at 15 years old by Col ...

Questlove Ahmir Khalib Thompson (born January 20, 1971), known professionally as Questlove (stylized as ), is an American musician, record producer, disc jockey, filmmaker, music journalist, and actor. He is the drummer and joint frontman (with Black Thou ...

, George Clinton,

Larry Graham Larry Graham Jr. (born August 14, 1946) is an American bassist and baritone singer, both with the psychedelic soul/funk band Sly and the Family Stone and as the founder and frontman of Graham Central Station. In 1980, he released the single "O ...

, and

Doug E. Fresh Doug E. Fresh (born September 17, 1966) is a Barbados-born American rapper, record producer, and beatboxer, also known as the "Human Beat Box". The pioneer of 20th-century American beatboxing, Fresh is able to accurately imitate drum machines an ...

performing together. The interior venue and exterior sidewalk appeared in the WWF game series as a wrestling location. The games included ''SmackDown! 2: Know Your Role'', ''SmackDown! Just Bring It'', ''

SmackDown! Shut Your Mouth ''WWE SmackDown! Shut Your Mouth'' (known as ''Exciting Pro Wrestling 4'' in Japan) is a professional wrestling video game released on the PlayStation 2 console by THQ and developed by Yuke's. It is the fourth game in the ''WWE SmackDown!'' vide ...

'' and '' SmackDown Here Comes the Pain''.

The World

In May 2002, the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) was renamed to World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) due to a

legal battle - A lawsuit is a proceeding by a party or parties against another in the civil court of law. The archaic term "suit in law" is found in only a small number of laws still in effect today. The term "lawsuit" is used in reference to a civil acti ...

over the 'WWF' initials with the

World Wildlife Fund The World Wide Fund for Nature Inc. (WWF) is an 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 the Wo ...

. Instead of renaming the venue from ''WWF New York'' to ''WWE New York'', the decision was made to rename it to ''The World'' in an attempt to attract an audience other than just WWE fanatics. The venue would still operate the gift store selling WWE merchandise, and the nightclub would continue to host special WWE events and superstar appearances. In July 2002, the venue inspired the opening of a sister-venue,

WWE Niagara Falls WWE Niagara Falls was a retail store located in Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada. It was owned and operated by Canadian Niagara Hotels Inc., with its name and branding being licensed by the WWE. It was the second WWE establishment to open up after T ...

, which featured a gift store and

drop tower A drop tower or big drop is a type of amusement ride incorporating a central structure or tower. Drop towers vary in height, passenger capacity, lift type, and brake type. Many are custom-made, although there are some mass-produced designs. Th ...

theme ride. Unlike The World, the Niagara Falls location was owned by Canadian Niagara Hotels Inc. with a licensing agreement from the WWE.

Closure

In February 2003,

Linda McMahon Linda Marie McMahon (née Edwards; October 4, 1948) is an American political executive, retired professional wrestler, executive, and performer. She served as the 25th administrator of the Small Business Administration from 2017 to 2019. McMahon ...

, the CEO at the time, elected to close the restaurant and nightclub sections so WWE could concentrate more on their global efforts. The retail shop closed two months later. The complex remained closed for two years until 2005, when the

Hard Rock Cafe Hard Rock Cafe, Inc. is a British-based multinational chain of theme restaurants, memorabilia shops, casinos and museums founded in 1971 by Isaac Tigrett and Peter Morton in London. In 1979, the cafe began covering its walls with rock and rol ...

took over the lease and the business. On August 16, 2006, WWE returned to the location for the 2006 Diva Search finale. WWE also held press conferences at the Hard Rock Cafe for

WrestleMania WrestleMania is a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) and livestreaming event held annually between mid-March and mid-April by WWE, the world's largest professional wrestling promotion. Since premiering in 1985, 37 editions followed, mos ...

24, 25, 27 and 30.

References

External links