5 Things Vince McMahon does not like to hear on commentary
It is no secret that WWE Chairman Vince McMahon does not consider himself to be a professional wrestling promoter in the traditional sense. McMahon, of course, markets WWE as sports entertainment - with its performers referred to as Superstars rather than wrestlers.
"We make movies," declared McMahon when describing his company's product in the 1999 movie Beyond The Mat. McMahon has never much cared for the term "wrestling" and it was, in fact, said to be banned for many years.
This stance appears to have softened in recent times - to the point where WWE even promoted the bout between Edge and Randy Orton at Backlash earlier this year as "The Greatest Wrestling Match Ever".
With that said, McMahon remains firm on many other terms that he simply does not want to hear on WWE programming. Before he revealed himself on television as the owner of WWE and transformed into the heel "Mr. Mahon" character in late 1997, Vince handled commentary duties for the majority of WWE shows.
Vince McMahon is very particular about certain terms not being uttered on WWE television
Although McMahon stepped away from the announcers desk more than two decades ago, he still keeps a keen eye on the commentary teams for both RAW and SmackDown. McMahon will usually produce the teams headed by Tom Phillips and Michael Cole from backstage, reportedly interjecting when he hears something he does not like.
As you will see from this list, there are quite a number of phrases that McMahon has banned from WWE television - with some making far more sense than others. Here are five things that Vince McMahon does not like to hear on WWE commentary.
#5 Vince McMahon does not like the word "Fans"
Let's face it. If you are reading this then you are likely a fan of professional wrestling.
In the view of Vince McMahon, however, WWE does not have "fans". Instead, the company exists in its own "universe" of which the audience are as much a part as the Superstars themselves. It is this logic that saw the phrase "WWE Universe" coined to describe anything attached to WWE.
As soon as the WWE Universe was born, though, the term "fans" became outlawed on WWE television.
It is fair to say that viewers have never really got on board with being referred to in this fashion, with many finding it forced and inauthetic. Despite this, McMahon is fully behind the branding and does not want the audience being referred to as fans on television.