WWE Plans ‘Out The Window’ Following The Rock Changes

WWE

The arrival (and departure) of The Rock from WWE screens has changed plans for how stars handle language on screen.

Recently, The Rock’s language has seen a shift from the more family-friendly phrasing that has become common in the PG era of WWE.

According to Dave Meltzer in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, things are changing on the language front, writing:

From not that many weeks ago where talent was told to stay PG, it appears due to Dwayne Johnson, that’s not only out the window for him since he can do what he wants, but also for at least the top talent, even to the point where Paul Heyman did a suck my dick (bleeped out of course) during his Hall of Fame speech and Rock says what he wants when he wants, and we’ve seen examples of Rhodes and C.M. Punk being able to say things that two months ago would not have been allowed.

The fact is that there has been a continuation of a change that has been going on for some time, and really noticeable back in August, of a much younger television audience for the shows, but far greater this past week as compared to last year, indicates from a business standpoint it’s working.

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.

We haven’t seen any examples with underneath talent but we’ve seen far racier language among the top talent and they are trying to create an Attitude Era vibe.

It was recently reported that FOX had been provided with scripts ahead of time and were prepared to hit the censor button when necessary.

There were also reports that The Rock’s profane language had “rubbed up” some WWE stars “the wrong way”, though this was dismissed by some.

The Rock is currently away from WWE and, according to a recent report, may not return until WrestleMania in 2025.

The plan, at the time of writing, is for him to face Cody Rhodes, although there is “no planned date”.

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• language
• The Rock
• wwe

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