| Former type | Themed-Restaurant |
|---|---|
| Industry | Entertainment restaurant |
| Founded | 1999 in New York City |
| Defunct | 2003 |
| Headquarters | New York City |
| Key people | Vince McMahon, Chairman of the Board of WWE |
The World was a WWE-themed restaurant/nightclub in Times Square in New York City, in the Paramount Theater building on the corner of Broadway and 43rd Street.
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In 1999, Chairman Vince McMahon leased space at the Paramount Theater in Times Square in Manhattan. He opened the complex in late 1999. The complex consisted of a retail store with merchandise on the 1st floor and an underground nightclub. 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, SmackDown!, 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 at no charge. Wrestlers, commentators and interviewers made appearances at the complex and even hosted all events live from the complex. From October 2000 to May 2002, Heat emanated from the complex, hosted by Michael Cole and Tazz. The complex was featured in video games WWE Smackdown! Know Your Role,WWE Smackdown Just Bring It! and WWE SmackDown! Shut Your Mouth used for the season mode and falls count anywhere matches. During The Invasion storyline Chris Kanyon tried taking over the nightclub and renaming it The Alliance New York, but it was only for one Monday Night Raw and forgotten the following SmackDown!.
In February 2003, WWE CEO Linda McMahon decided to close the nightclub so WWE could concentrate more on their global efforts. The retail shop then closed in April of that same year.
The complex remained closed until 2005, when the Hard Rock Cafe took over the lease and the business. On August 16, 2006, WWE returned to the location for the 2006 Diva Search finale. The WWE also held press conferences in Hard Rock Cafe for Wrestlemanias 24, 25 and 27.
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