8 Most Brutal Hardcore Moments Of WWE's PG Era
Some of the most violent wrestling matches to take place since WWE went PG.
July 22nd 2008 is a date that will live in infamy among WWE fans. This was the day that, after years of pressure from sponsors and special interest groups, the company decreed that all of its programming adhere to a PG rating.
Gone were the days of blood, cursing, and swimsuit contests. WWE was now a family-friendly business... that promoted fights where people punch each other in the head. Try not to think about that for too long. Fans were worried that this new sanitised version of WWE would be unwatchable to anyone under the age of five. While it hasn't always been great, there have been a few moments that reminded older viewers of how things used to be.
The following examples all flouted the PG rules with reckless abandon. Wince-inducing violence was very much back on the menu for one night only and some of the wrestlers involved even got in trouble for daring to take things to the extreme. Many of these moments would be considered tame by Attitude Era standards, but in a PG world, they blew people's minds.
8. Gargano And Ciampa Go To War
While it might not have been on a proper TV network during its initial run, NXT is still part of the WWE umbrella, so it can't stray too far from its PG mandate. That being said, we'll just be including one entry from the developmental show on this list, and it's a good one.
In 2018, Johnny Gargano and Tomasso Ciampa had three TakeOver matches and all of them got pretty wild. The first one was an unsanctioned fight at TakeOver: New Orleans. This battle got hardcore, especially when Gargano powerbombed his former partner onto the exposed concrete floor.
Two months later, they fought again at TakeOver: Chicago II. This 'Chicago Street Fight' ended with Gargano taking a DDT onto the uncovered wooden boards of the ring for a handcuffed Ciampa to seal the victory.
This epic rivalry concluded at TakeOver: Brooklyn 4 with a Last Man Standing stipulation. There isn't one standout spot from this match, but needless to say they still knocked seven shades of stuffing out of each other. The Gargano-Ciampa went on for far too long and got very silly in places, but it still produced its share of brilliantly brutal moments.