At one point or another, I’m sure you’ve been disappointed with something you’ve seen on RAW or Smackdown. But have you ever been so outraged by WWE programming that you wrote a complaint to the Federal Communications Commission demanding action? Well, believe it or not, many people have, and thankfully David Bixenspan of Mel Magazine has compiled a list of some of the most hilarious and ridiculous complaints from WWE viewers.
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Bixenspan notes that “between the hours of 6:00 a.m. and 10:00 p.m., the public airwaves cannot be used to broadcast “indecent” and “profane” material. Officially speaking, it’s “indecent” if it “portrays sexual or excretory organs or activities in a way that does not meet the three-prong test for obscenity” and it’s “profane” if it “includes ‘grossly offensive’ language that is considered a public nuisance.” Violate those rules and you may get a hefty fine.
For the FCC to actually take action is exceedingly rare these days, but past infractions have included an episode of NYPD Blue featuring “dorsal nudity,”various episodes of Howard Stern’s radio show, and, of course, Janet Jackson’s nipple being visible for a split second during the Super Bowl halftime show. For that last one, the FCC noted in its official action (PDF)that “the Commission received an unprecedented number of complaints alleging that the CBS Network Stations aired indecent material during the program.”
With that in mind, the following slides are all official FCC complaints from real people who took real time out of their day to write out real complaints.
About wrestling.
It’s still real to them, damn it.
Big E “jiratting”
I’ve been watching wrestling for 30 years. I’m pretty sure “tight crotch pants” are pretty standard. This person has no problem with people hitting each other with sledge hammers, but Wade Barrett’s infamous pelvis shake was just too much!ย
Impersonating an officer
Either someoneย was so outraged at seeingย local independant wrestlers come down and arrest Dean Ambrose or this was aย backlogged complaint about the Big Bossman.
Ambrose “assulted”
This one makes sense. The authority angle was getting old and no one wants to be “assulted.”ย
Don’t make us follow the buzzards!
I looked up the match listing for Smackdownย on 10/18/13 and it kicked off with The Wyatts. Apparently their victory over Kofi Kingston and The Miz completely rocked the relgious foundation ofย this entire Hayward, CA town.ย
Rusev, the terrorist.
I hate to imagine this person watching the WWE during the Iron Shiek’s era or when Sgt. Slaughter became an Iraqi sympathizer. And Iย shouldn’t have to state this, but just so we’re clear; attempting to rip down the flag is literally not illegal nor an act of terrorism. Literally. Also, it’s spelled Rusev.ย
Wardrobe malfunction
Someone was so upset about seeing Brie Bella’s nipple that they DVR’d it for “evidence.”ย
Ok, sure.ย
The investigation must still be ongoing.ย
5 knuckle shuffle
How much time do you think this person spent on their “further research”? Did they go down to the library and comb through old hip hop magazines? Did they have three sources? Footnotes? Or did they just compileย the most interesting Google search history in their suburb?ย