An interesting list of banned terms that WWE distributed to some of their promotional partners for WrestleMania 36 in 2020 has surfaced, courtesy of Fightful Select. The list includes some of the standard banned words like kayfabe or Diva, but there are other terms that have never been reported on such as “needs a push” or “strangle.”
It was noted that there were social media guidelines that instructed associated accounts to not reply to fans in the comments, not to speculate on rumors or future storylines, and to always present WWE and their talents in a positive light.
The term “dirt sheets” was also used as they were told to “be sensitive of the language used and how it may be interpreted by dirt sheets.”
WWE was particular about not encouraging violence among the audience. There were other simple guidelines such as reducing the use of hashtags on Facebook, avoiding words that trigger spam labels from various algorithms, and not using talent names that the brand did not have endorsement rights to. Pedigree, Spear, People’s Eyebrow, and Smell-La-La, were among those terms.
It was also specified that “Sports Entertainment” and “Superstars” were the preferred terms over “wrestling” and “wrestlers,” which has been noted in the past. There were exceptions made when quoting Superstars or executives.
Partners were also instructed to “Always present WWE and talent in a positive light,” and to “Do not use messaging that enables or encourages fans to speak negatively about the product.”
The list of banned terms issued to the partners for WrestleMania 36 looks like this:
* Blood
* Choke
* Belt
* Strap
* Diva
* Head shot
* Trauma
* Kayfabe
* Mofos
* House show
* DQ
* The Anti-Diva
* Spinal injuries
* Victim
* Violence/violent
* Wrestling/wrestlers
* WWF
* Wifebeater
* Curb Stomp
* Needs a push
* To be over
* Babyface
* Heel
* To job/jobber
* Card
* Strangle
* Kill
* Murder
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