COLOSSAL Backstage Update On THE FED (WWE News)
It's lighthearted, but that "Fed" chatter isn't just something WWE fans/haters do.
AEW's Marina Shafir grabbed some attention by referring to WWE as "the fed" during an interview with Renee Paquette on the company's official YouTube channel a few weeks back. That drew some criticism from those who thought Shafir was badmouthing her old promotion, but there's more to the story than first meets the eye.
Via Fightful Select, Sean Ross Sapp answered a fan question about this. They asked if this was "just an internet thing", and wanted to know if it's common for wrestlers to refer to WWE as "the fed". Sapp revealed that he's personally heard pro wrestlers across the board say "the fed" to one another in passing.
Then, he cited one such occasion a few years ago when he overheard Jeff Hardy asking Elias: 'Hey man, are you still with the fed?'. The funny twist on this is that the exchange happened at a WrestleCade fan fest, and signed WWE stars aren't able to appear at those conventions.
So, in other words, Hardy was answering his own question.
According to Fightful's write-up, hearing workers refer to WWE as "the E" or "the fed" is extremely common. This wasn't just something Shafir decided to bust out as a means to bash her old stomping grounds or make light of WWE business. It was a genuine comment.
She wasn't trying to be smart or dismissive. Ross Sapp has confirmed that wrestlers use similar phrasing a lot when they're talking about the market leader. "Fed" is clearly outdated and tied to the old WWF acronym, but it's still widely used behind the scenes.