10 Big Changes Coming To WWE On Netflix
4. PG Era Over?
How many times have fans witnessed an eye-popping spot on Raw – someone getting driven through the timekeeper’s barricade or the announce desk – and the crowd breaks into a “Holy s***!” chant… only for the broadcast to go mute repeatedly to block out the profanity.
WWE’s “PG Era” has been a much-ridiculed, much-maligned period in the company’s history. John Cena and his kid-friendly routine throughout the late 2000s and 2010s has been the poster child for this mostly blood-free, tamer programming. It’s worth noting that WWE has pushed the envelope several times, and with more consistency in recent years (see The Rock battering Cody Rhodes this year).
Leaving cable television will free Raw from its shackles, allowing the company to get even edgier with its programming. Triple H acknowledged this summer that they won’t have the same censorship or restrictions currently placed on them while on the USA Network.
But does that mean Raw will return to the Attitude Era in January? Hardly. WWE’s business model is predicated on marketing toward families, as well as adolescents and adults. Double-juice cage matches, profanity-filled promos and scantily clad women are not on the docket.
Even CM Punk believes that WWE needs to be careful they don’t fall into the trap of excess with profanity and other expressions: “I don't want people to use Netflix as a crutch to say the f-word… If everybody swears, it doesn't mean anything. If everybody is throwing the bird, it doesn't mean anything. If every show, someone is bleeding and they fall off a building, it doesn't mean anything.”