When it comes to freedom to say what you want in pro wrestling promos, it helps to be the most famous entertainment star in the world. Oh, and being on the board of directors for the company you’re currently performing in certainly doesn’t hurt either.
Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson is both of those things. So when it comes to the question of what he is and isn’t allowed to say on WWE TV, the rules are a bit different for him.
Earlier this week, Aaron Varble of SE Scoops wrote an article detailing how some WWE talent had raised questions about double standards when it came to what Johnson was allowed to say. Notably, Varble mentioned a memo to talent from Nick Khan, Paul Levesque and Dan Ventrelle asking wrestlers to stick to “PG guidelines on TV and also on social media” when it came to language.
Johnson has certainly not done that during his current run as part of The Bloodline and a foil to Cody Rhodes and Seth Rollins. He’s cursed frequently in his taped (and undeniably entertaining) promos for social media, for one.
But as Dave Meltzer broke down in this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter (subscription required), The Rock has also been allowed to say things on SmackDown and Raw that other talent would not.
All talent had been told never to use the word “ass” on FOX because they don’t want it, and Johnson then said it multiple times in his promo on 3/15. For the Memphis show, the WWE notified FOX in advance of Johnson’s “Rock Concert” script, and while they allowed “ass”, there were other things not allowed but they knew in advance when it would be said so they knew when to bleep rather than go dark as in previous weeks. They did allow ass which others haven’t been allowed to say, and bitches, but there was stuff bleeped as well. Rhodes in his comeback promo on USA, which is not as strict, was allowed by the company to use the term bitch and asshole.
The idea that there is one set of guidelines for top stars and another for everyone else isn’t new, with Meltzer explaining that John Cena, Roman Reigns, The Undertaker and Brock Lesnar are examples of stars who have been afforded more leeway in the past.
Still, what stands out in this case is that Johnson is working within a story that has three other main event talents involved, and it’s not even clear if they have the same latitude that he does. Meltzer does say that “Rhodes was allowed a lot more leeway in his comeback promo on Raw,” which did seem like the case.
Maybe the March 22 episode of SmackDown will be a good test, as Rhodes and Reigns are scheduled to have a face-to-face segment and Johnson isn’t advertised to appear. In the meantime, the whole situation has an “it’s good to be king” feel to it, and it’s hard to imagine WWE will deviate from what it’s doing even if other wrestlers might grumble a bit behind the scenes.
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