WWE to never allow banned match types ever again - Reports
WWE has kept its gears running for a long time and has gone through several changes throughout its decade's worth of history. Through all of these changes, the company has reformed its brand image many times and has let go of a few controversial practices from its past, including match types.
We've seen WWE go through several phases, from its iconic Attitude Era in the late '90s to transitioning to the Ruthless Aggression Era, during which many wild things took place that would be deemed too extreme today. The Stamford-based wrestling promotion adopted a softer PG era in the late-2000s and began to drop several controversial practices.
The company also decided to ban several extreme match types and decided to go for a more family-friendly product for the modern generation. According to a new report from Ringside News, it's been revealed that the WWE has no plans to bring gimmick matches such as First Blood and Bra & Panties ever again.
It was further noted that the sports entertainment empire is not going to allow its wrestlers to 'blade' again, which has been a way for wrestlers to introduce some 'colored' edge into a match.
There was once a time in the company when many of these gimmick matches were considered normal entertainment. However, WWE is sure to stick with its mostly family-friendly content for its fans, and these match types may never see the light of day ever again.
WWE transitioned from TV-14 to PG back in 2008
Vince McMahon has seen his product go through numerous changes throughout its lengthy run on television to stick with the times. Back in the 80s, fans were accustomed to a family-friendly product for all ages until winds of change began to fly in the next decade.
Ratings steadily began to drop in the mid-90s, and many of its biggest stars, such as Hulk Hogan, Razor Ramon, Diesel, Macho Man Randy Savage, etc., began to jump ship to WCW. The company began to suffer and faced a decline in popularity until it started to experiment with more mature content and allowed edgier stars such as Stone Cold Steve Austin to take center stage.
WWE realized the opportunity in front of them ushered in the Attitude Era and witnessed wrestling's biggest boom period ever. The company would stick to the TV-14 era for a long time until they decided in 2008 to make the product for everyone again and went PG.
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