WWE is an American entertainment company and professional wrestling promotion based in Stamford, Connecticut. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, itself a majority owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. WWE personnel consists of professional wrestlers, managers, play-by-play and color commentators, ring announcers, interviewers, referees, trainers, producers, script writers, and various other positions. Executives and board members are also listed.
As of 2024, WWE employs over 800 full-time employees as part of its business operations, spread across its three segments: Media, Live Events, and Consumer Products. In addition, they contract with various other vendors and service providers. As part of its Live Events segment, WWE signs performers known as professional wrestlers; these performers are described by the company as "independent contractors", with contracts for performers typically ranging from short developmental to multi-year deals.
Since the reintroduction of the WWE brand extension in 2016, performers are assigned to one of two primary "main roster" brands: Raw and SmackDown. A third brand, NXT, had originally been designated as a developmental brand for the main roster. In 2019, it was elevated to the third main roster brand. In 2021, the brand's weekly television show was rebooted as "NXT 2.0", and was reinstated to its original status as the developmental division for the main roster (Raw and SmackDown), although it has since dropped the "2.0" name. In 2025, WWE introduced a fourth brand, called Evolve, which features wrestlers who are just beginning their training at the WWE Performance Center under the WWE NIL program, as well as wrestlers in independent promotions that are part of the WWE ID program, with the goal of advancing to NXT.
Main roster performers primarily appear on Monday Night Raw and Friday Night SmackDown. Advanced developmental wrestlers appear on NXT, while beginning developmental wrestlers appear on Evolve. Supplementary shows include Main Event, which features Raw and SmackDown wrestlers (with occasional appearances from NXT wrestlers), and LFG, which features Evolve wrestlers. Performers may also appear on other WWE weekly television programming, as well as on its Premium Live Events and untelevised house shows. A majority of personnel in its developmental system train at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida.
For the most part, the brands have their own distinct championships, although some select titles are open to all the brands, such as the WWE Speed Championship for male wrestlers, as well as the WWE Women's Speed Championship and WWE Women's Tag Team Championship for female wrestlers. WWE wrestlers holding championships from Mexican sister promotion Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide (AAA), U.S. partner promotion Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA), and Japanese partner promotion Pro Wrestling Noah (Noah) are also recognized by WWE.
WWE refers to talent not specifically assigned to a brand as "free agents", who may appear on any show.
There are several announcers who cover WWE broadcasts. This group includes backstage interviewers, presenters, ringside commentators, ring announcers, pre-show hosts, and analysts.
Select former or retired WWE wrestlers not on the main roster (sometimes billed as "WWE Legends") and other celebrities and personalities have contracts to make periodic appearancesâÂÂeither on WWE TV or for promotional eventsâÂÂserving as "ambassadors" (public representatives/spokespeople) for the company.
As both NXT and Evolve are based at the Performance Center (PC), PC coaches and trainers also work as producers for those brands.