WWE’s PG Era Is Officially Over

Change continues to sweep through WWE.

In the lead-up to WrestleMania, WWE’s main event picture was given an extra dimension by the arrival of The Rock. Aside from his huge star power, the Hollywood megastar brought a completely new feeling to WWE television throwing out many of the rules designed to keep the company’s stars in line.

Rock repeatedly swore on television, delivered a series of X-rated promos on social media, and beat Cody Rhodes so badly in one segment that he bled heavily. All of the above have been hugely discouraged in the PG era, but the sports entertainment giant is now moving into a bold new future.

Writing in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Dave Meltzer noted that Rock’s promos and Paul Heyman’s expletive-filled Hall of Fame speech marked the official end of the “PG era.”

“It was said to us that the Rock interviews and Heyman promo are considered the official end of the PG era. This isn’t to say that the TV shows will be changing.

That is something talked about but no decision has been made, but I’m guessing a decision will be made at the end of the year when Raw goes to Netflix and NXT to CW, based on what those broadcasters want and also what sponsors will be comfortable with.

So that will be determined months from now, but the attempts to keep things PG in the big picture which had been a big thing to the point of the memo being sent out about it several weeks back, such as in social media or in non-television shows, is now no longer the case.”

It had previously been reported that WWE’s ban on the use of blood was also over.

WWE Has Closed The Book On ECW

Meltzer also wrote that Paul Heyman’s induction into the WWE Hall of Fame signalled a “spiritual closing of the book” on ECW.

“Another thing about the Heyman speech, which set social media records for a Hall of Fame speech viewing, is that it was also meant as the spiritual closing of the book by WWE on ECW and essentially having it be the Hall of Fame key act.

That’s why Heyman spent so much time on it, why Stephanie McMahon wore an ECW bonnet in the front row during the speech and why Tommy Dreamer, RVD and The Dudleys were placed where they were to hug Heyman as he came out.

Heyman was going in any way as Paul Levesque’s first-ever Hall of Fame pick, and being in Philadelphia, but it was very much to acknowledge ECW in Philadelphia.”

Heyman was inducted into the Hall of Fame alongside Bull Nakano, Muhammad Ali, the US Express, Thunderbolt Patterson, and Lia Maivia.