Although there had been a lot of talk of some frustration among talent in aWWE about the double standard that comes with having The Rock back on television as he uses a lot of adult language in his promos. In contrast, others couldn’t do the same at the time, so more wrestlers would have more freedom in this department.
Fans have wanted WWE to do more Attitude Era-style programming for years, but due to its PG rating, that hadn’t been allowed under the Vince McMahon regime. Fast forward to this year, under the creative vision of Triple H, things have changed.
WWE even allowed Cody Rhodes to bleed during an angle with the former WWE Champion. Rhodes and Punk have also used more adult language. Paul Heyman used explicit language during his Hall of Fame speech as well.
In the latest edition of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Dave Meltzer reported that things have changed after the company sent out a memo to talent reminding them to keep their language PG weeks ago.
It was said that staying PG is also out the window for at least top talent as well. It’s still unclear what the mandate will be like for the rest of the roster.
Meltzer wrote, “We were told that everything is up in the air as far as going forward as there is a recognition that going farther in this direction will draw a younger audience, as it did 25 years ago, but they also want to not be in a position where sponsors are squeamish so it’s a balancing act. But if Rock doesn’t have 100 percent carte blanche to do what he wants, he has at last close to that.”
