WWE staff were banned from saying one-word wrestling term in meetings, Road Dogg says
WWE Hall of Famer Road Dogg recently disclosed details about John Laurinaitis correcting him after he said a banned word in a backstage meeting.
Road Dogg, real name Brian James, returned to WWE in 2011 as a producer after 10 years away from the company. Vince McMahon was initially against rehiring the former D-Generation X member before Triple H changed his mind.
On his Oh You Didn't Know? podcast, Road Dogg recalled how he once used the word "strap" to describe a championship. Laurinaitis, a talent relations executive at the time, told him he was not allowed to say the word.
"I said in a meeting, 'You could put the strap on him [unnamed wrestler]. He's been working hard. He's a good kid,'" Road Dogg stated. "And Johnny said, 'Er, Brian, we don't say strap.' 'Oh, okay, my bad,' and everybody looked at me like I was the devil! 'We're not allowed to say specific words? Understood, got it.'"
Road Dogg has worked in various behind-the-scenes roles over the last decade. He currently serves as WWE's Senior Vice President of Live Events.
Vince McMahon banned several words and phrases in WWE
"Strap" is not the only word forbidden during Vince McMahon's 40-year tenure in charge of creative. "Choke" and "victim" were among a long list of words that people within the company were allegedly not allowed to say on television.
"Belt" was also banned long before Becky Lynch began referring to herself as "Becky 2 Belts" in 2019 after WrestleMania 35.
Triple H replaced McMahon as WWE's creative figurehead in July 2022. Shortly after that, superstars started using the words "wrestler" and "wrestling" on television again. McMahon, who prefers to market his events as entertainment, previously banned references to wrestling.
What do you make of wrestlers being banned from saying certain words? Let us know in the comments section below.
Please credit Oh You Didn't Know? and give a H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription if you use quotes from this article.