WWE has quietly kept a list of “banned words” that Vince McMahon forbids wrestlers and on-screen personalities from saying on WWE programming. More than 30 of those banned terms were confirmed last year by the Wrestling Observer’s Dave Meltzer and centered around words relating to violence or insider phrases like “getting over” or “babyface/heel.” Meltzer noted on the latest Wrestling Observer Radio that another term has been added, “non-title.” The phrase is often used when a champion is competing in a match but their championship isn’t on the line for whatever reason.
In recent years the phrase “contender match” has frequently been used to mean the same thing. With that addition, here’s the updated list of WWE’s banned words. We’ll upload this list again with any potential updates.
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- Wrestling
- Wrestlers
- Belt
- Blood
- Choke
- Diva
- Strap
- Kayfabe
- Mofos
- Head Shot
- Trauma
- DQ
- The Anti-Diva
- Spinal Injuries
- Victim
- Violence/Violent
- WWF
- Wifebeater
- Curb Stomp
- Strangle
- Kill
- Murder
- Kayfabe
- House Show
- DQ
- Push
- Being Over
- Babyface
- Heel
- Job/Jobber
- Card
- Non-Title
Another quirk of WWE programming — its numerous camera cuts during matches — was explained by former WWE VP Mike Mansury in a new interview with Conrad Thompson recently.
“I will choose to protect the nameless person, but I will say the rapid camera cutting, to my recollection, that came into play when The Shield debuted,” Mansury said. “The whole purpose behind it, was to make what you see on-screen with the three characters of The Shield and the push, was to make it seem all that more chaotic. At the time, it worked. I can see now, after so many years of doing it, a lot of viewers feel like they’re on a queasy thrill ride, but that was the intent of it initially. A lot of it is done to protect the magic. You don’t want to expose the business. A big part of the business is how it’s done on TV. If you’re exposing the magic, you’re killing the fun for everybody. That’s the approach and the rapid camera cut situation, it was born out of creating and exciting and chaotic feel for when the Shield were doing the three-on-one beatdowns early in their run. It’s hard to break some habits, but shoutout to the gentleman who shares my initials who created that concept.”
