A now-deleted tweet started the talk that the WWE would move Monday Night Raw back to the more mature TV-14 rating. The report came from an internal memo from USA Network that Monday Night Raw will change to the TV-14 rating on July 18. The media prematurely picked this up and took it as a fact. PWInsider reports that the company has no plans to move to the TV-14 rating. There were plans to move to the more mature TV rating but those plans were later abandoned. So, the PG Era of the WWE will continue.
When did WWE’s PG Era Start?
The World Wrestling Entertainment started as the WWF in the 1980s and had a TV-PG rating for its shows. The company changed its format when it moved Monday Night Raw to the TV-14 rating in 1998 to compete with WCW Nitro in what was known as the Monday Night Wars. Following the end of the WCW promotion, Monday Night Raw returned to the TV-PG rating as it no longer had any competition for the audience. The WWE states that the return to the PG rating “ushered in a new era of refined and compelling storytelling.” The new format was more family-friendly and appealed to a wider and younger audience. Profanity, chair shots to the head, and other more mature content were dropped from the promotion. The move to the PG rating has been controversial and divisive for fans of the WWE. Insiders have however noted that the more wholesome content made the WWE more appealing to corporate sponsorship.
Changes abound in the WWE
There are some big changes in the WWE. Longtime Chairman and CEO Vince McMahon have stepped down from the wrestling promotion amidst controversy. Paul Levesque, more popularly known as Triple H, is taking the helm of the creative side of the business. Meanwhile, Stephanie McMahon is taking the reigns as the CEO and interim Chairwoman of the company. Fans have noticed that the terms “wrestling” and “wrestler”, which were not in use when Vince McMahon was in charge, are now being used under the watch of Levesque. It is also notable that some wrestlers that were not renewed as part of the promotion, such Dakota Kai, Karrion Kross, Scarlett Bordeaux, Dexter Lumis, and Johnny Gargano, have been returned. Johnny Gargano, one of NXT’s most decorated athletes, returned after a nine-month absence from the promotion when his contract expired. His return was celebrated by fans on the August 22nd edition of Monday night raw. The PG Era will be here to stay, well, at least for the foreseeable future. We just hope that WWE continues to provide better content for fans under the leadership of Paul Levesque and Stephanie McMahon.
