AEW Reportedly Told To Make A Major Change By Warner Brothers Discovery

By Liam Crowley

All Elite Wrestling has never been shy about pushing the limits on its TV-14 television rating. While it's not a weekly occurrence, AEW Dynamite has been home to death matches, bloody title fights, and death-defying stunts. That said, irregularity is not universal among AEW's adult-oriented aspects. Nearly every in-ring promo has utilized the allowed curse words, and some have even gone overboard by dropping f-bombs. Unlike WWE, who's TV-PG rating allows for sparing use of b---h and a--, AEW also has s--t in its vernacular, and fires it off on a consistent basis. 

While WarnerMedia gave the green light to AEW's mature content when the promotion launched on TNT in 2019, the recent merger with Discovery has the company shifting its perspectives. Now dubbed Warner Brothers Discovery, the entertainment giant has slashed completed productions, created new studios, and removed dozens of original content off its streaming service. WBD has already brought down the axe on its films, and it's now turning it to television.

In a new report from the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Dave Meltzer mentioned that Warner Brothers Discovery has told AEW that it would like the "language toned down" in future episodes of AEW Dynamite and AEW Rampage. That said, the edict did not make note of AEW's bloody matches.

It's notable that this week's AEW Dynamite featured significantly less cursing in its promo segments. Ricky Starks said "a--" once in his in-ring promo, while Chris Jericho's confrontation with Daniel Garcia and Bryan Danielson did not use a single curse word.

AEW has had plenty of language-heavy promos throughout the summer, but the most infamous dates back to June 1st. That edition of AEW Dynamite featured the last appearance of MJF. The self-proclaimed Salt of the Earth spat fire at the fans, the locker room, and AEW President Tony Khan. MJF told the crowd that they "don't know s--t" before referring to Khan as a "f--king mark." Ahead of those profanities, MJF alluded to the WBD executives that were backstage at the Los Angeles-based show to watch AEW first-hand.

"Big merger boss. Lot of important executives here to watch your product," MJF said. "Would be a real shame if something bad happened."

This did not go over well with WBD, as it reportedly issued an edict to remove MJF from all promotional materials shortly after his promo. It's still debated as to whether the current MJF situation is legitimate or part of a brewing storyline, but the fact remains that the 26-year-old star has disappeared from everything AEW-related since that promo.

This content-related request comes ahead of a big fall for AEW. The young promotion has a television deal with WBD that doesn't expire until the end of 2023, but are looking to renew it sooner than that. With WBD making significant budget cuts across all divisions, AEW will need to deliver strong ratings while simultaneously abiding by edicts if it wants to secure a bigger television deal.

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