PG Era
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The PG Era, also known as the Universe Era, was an era of
professional wrestling Professional wrestling, often shortened to either pro wrestling or wrestling,The term "wrestling" is most often widely used to specifically refer to modern scripted professional wrestling, though it is also used to refer to Real life, real- ...
within World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. (WWE), which began on July 22, 2008 after its programming was labeled as TV-PG rating under the
TV Parental Guidelines The TV Parental Guidelines are a television content rating system in the United States that was first proposed on December 19, 1996, by the United States Congress, the American television industry, and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) ...
. WWE instituted a number of changes as they began marketing to a younger audience, such as heavily scripting on-screen
promo PROMO (Promoting Missouri) is a Missouri Missouri (''see #Etymology and pronunciation, pronunciation'') is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territ ...
s and toning down excessive violence, profanity and sexual content. The earlier parts of the era were defined by superhero-esque fan-favorites and one-dimensional
villains A villain (also known as a " black hat", "bad guy" or "baddy"; The New Oxford Dictionary of English (1998) – p.126 "baddy (also baddie) noun (pl. -ies) ''informal'' a villain or criminal in a book, film, etc.". the feminine form is villai ...
. While WWE considers the era to have ended in either 2013 or 2014 in favor of a more reality-based era, some describe the PG Era as continuing longer since the 2008 changes remained in effect. The PG Era has received much criticism from the core American and Canadian fanbase due to its watered-down violence and
family-friendly A family-friendly product or service is one that is considered to be suitable for all members of an average family. Family-friendly restaurants are ones that provide service to families that have young children. Frequently, family-friendly produc ...
program and characters, but it has also been praised as a good business decision as it made the promotion more appealing to a wider audience and corporate sponsors.


Background

Upon the launch of the TV Parental Guidelines in 1997, WWF (WWE was known as the World Wrestling Federation until May 2002) programming was rated TV-PG. Beginning with the January 18, 1999 episode, '' Raw'' shifted to a TV-14 rating amidst direct competition with
World Championship Wrestling World Championship Wrestling (WCW) was an American professional wrestling promotion founded by Ted Turner in 1988, after Turner Broadcasting System, through a subsidiary named Universal Wrestling Corporation, purchased the assets of National W ...
's (WCW) flagship show ''
Nitro Nitro may refer to: Chemistry *Nitrogen, a chemical element and a gas except at very low temperatures, with which many compounds are formed: **Nitro compound, an organic compound containing one or more nitro functional groups, -NO2 **Nitro ligand ...
'' during the
Monday Night War The Monday Night War or the Monday Night Wars, was an era of mainstream televised American professional wrestling, from September 4, 1995 to March 26, 2001, in which the World Wrestling Federation's (WWF; now WWE) '' Monday Night Raw'' (later ' ...
. It remained with that rating until early-June 2008. '' SmackDown'' has been rated TV-PG since its inception in 1999. WWE promoter
Vince McMahon Vincent Kennedy McMahon ( ; born August 24, 1945) is an American businessman and former professional wrestling promoter. McMahon, along with his later-estranged wife Linda McMahon, Linda, is a co-founder of the modern WWE, the world's largest ...
states that the
Attitude Era The Attitude Era was a major era of professional wrestling within the WWE, World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE). The term "WWF Attitude" was used to describe its programming from November 9, 1997 to May 6, 2002. It began during the Monday Ni ...
of the late 1990s and early 2000s was the result of competition from WCW and forced the company to "go for the jugular". Due to WCW's demise in 2001, McMahon says that they "don't have to" appeal to viewers in the same way and that during the "far more scripted" PG Era, WWE could "give the audience what they want in a far more sophisticated way". WWE says that the move to PG cut the "excess" of the Attitude Era and "ushered in a new era of refined and compelling storytelling".
John Cena John Felix Anthony Cena ( ; born April 23, 1977) is an American actor and professional wrestler. As a wrestler, he has been signed to WWE , where he is the current WWE Championship, Undisputed WWE Champion in his record 14th reign, which is ...
was face of the company during this time, despite receiving a mixed reception from the audience. While WWE had been slowly moving towards a more family-friendly format before it,
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writes that this was accelerated after the Chris Benoit double murder and suicide in 2007. Then-WWE CEO
Linda McMahon Linda Marie McMahon ( ; ; born October 4, 1948) is an American politician, business executive, and former professional wrestling promoter who has served as the 13th United States Secretary of Education, United States secretary of education since ...
described the transition away from TV-14 as a "cradle to the grave" approach to appeal to younger viewers and encourage
brand loyalty In marketing and consumer behaviour, brand loyalty describes a consumer's persistent positive feelings towards a familiar brand and their dedication to purchasing the brand's products and/or services repeatedly regardless of deficiencies, a ...
. Bryan Alvarez and
Lance Storm Lance Timothy Evers (; born April 3, 1969), known professionally by his ring name Lance Storm, is a Canadians, Canadian retired professional wrestler. He is signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, where he works as a producer. He is best known ...
of ''
Wrestling Observer Newsletter The ''Wrestling Observer Newsletter'' (''WON'') is a newsletter that covers professional wrestling and mixed martial arts. Founded in print in 1982 by Dave Meltzer, the ''Wrestling Observer'' website merged with Bryan Alvarez's ''Figure Four Wee ...
'' attribute the move to TV-PG as a result of WWE appealing to sponsors, which was confirmed by former WWE chief marketing officer Michelle Wilson. WWE officially announced the move to TV-PG on July 22, 2008. The 2008 SummerSlam pay-per-view (PPV) was the first WWE PPV to carry the TV-PG rating. To appeal to younger fans, WWE released the '' WWE Kids'' magazine in 2008, and debuted the kid-friendly '' Saturday Morning Slam'' television program in 2012. In 2013, WWE reported that their revenue had "nearly tripled" since the move to TV-PG, due to corporate partnerships from companies such as
Mattel Mattel, Inc. ( ) is an American multinational corporation, multinational toy manufacturing and entertainment company headquartered in El Segundo, California. Founded in Los Angeles by Harold Matson and the husband-and-wife duo of Ruth Handler, ...
and
Post Cereals Post Consumer Brands, LLC (previously Post Cereals and Postum Cereals; also known simply as Post) is an American consumer packaged goods food manufacturer headquartered in Lakeville, Minnesota. The company, founded in 1895 by C. W. Post, own ...
. However, the PG Era occurred during a time of gradually declining
Nielsen ratings Nielsen Media Research (NMR) is an American firm that measures media audiences, including television, radio, theatre, films (via the AMC Theatres MAP program), and newspapers. Headquartered in New York City, it is best known for the Nielsen rat ...
, which had begun after the demise of WCW but accelerated after ''Raw'' went to a three-hour format in 2012. The PG Era's duration has been the subject of debate. On April 26, 2024,
Dave Meltzer David Allen Meltzer (born October 24, 1959) is an American journalist, author, and historian who reports on professional wrestling and mixed martial arts. Since 1983, he has been the publisher and editor of the ''Wrestling Observer Newsletter' ...
of ''Wrestling Observer Newsletter'' wrote that, "it was said to us that the Rock interviews and Heyman promo are considered the official end of the PG era. This isn’t to say that the TV shows will be changing . . . but the attempts to keep things PG in the big picture which had been a big thing to the point of the memo being sent out about it several weeks back, such as in social media or in non-television shows, is now no longer the case".


Changes in content

As WWE reverted to a more family-friendly style, previous staples in their programming were altered or dropped. Use of
profanity Profanity, also known as swearing, cursing, or cussing, is the usage of notionally word taboo, offensive words for a variety of purposes, including to demonstrate disrespect or negativity, to relieve pain, to express a strong emotion (such a ...
was toned down. An example of this was when John Cena renamed his finishing maneuver from "FU" to "Attitude Adjustment" or the PPV event WWE One Night Stand changing the name to
WWE Extreme Rules WWE Extreme Rules was an annual professional wrestling List of WWE pay-per-view and livestreaming supercards, event produced by WWE, a Connecticut-based professional wrestling promotion, promotion. It was broadcast live television, live and avail ...
to avoid the sexual connotations. Sexual content involving female wrestlers was heavily toned down, with bra and panties matches being discontinued in 2008. Excessive violence was also toned down. Chair shots to the head became increasingly rare after
Chris Benoit Christopher Michael Benoit ( ; May 21, 1967 – June 24, 2007) was a Canadian Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He worked for various pro-wrestling promotions during his 22-year career, but is notorious for Chris Benoit double-murd ...
's double murder suicide, and were completely banned in 2010. In 2011, following their match at
WrestleMania XXVII WrestleMania XXVII was a 2011 professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) List of WWE pay-per-view and livestreaming supercards, event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). It was the 27th annual WrestleMania and took place on April 3, 20 ...
, The Undertaker and Triple H were both fined for chair shots to the head, despite the match being well received by the fans. Also in April 2011, the company ceased going by its full name in reference to the wrestling promotion, strictly only using the "WWE" abbreviation, which became an
orphaned initialism An acronym is a type of abbreviation consisting of a phrase whose only pronounced elements are the initial letters or initial sounds of words inside that phrase. Acronyms are often spelled with the initial letter of each word in all caps with ...
; the company's legal name, however, remains World Wrestling Entertainment. From 2008 to the mid-2010s, former WWE head writer Brian Gewirtz stated that the restrictions placed on the writers made it feel as if it was "G Era" rather than the PG Era. Amid declining ratings and the launch of rival promotion
All Elite Wrestling All Elite Wrestling (AEW) is an American professional wrestling promotion headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida. It is owned and operated by Shahid Khan, Shahid and Tony Khan, with the latter serving as President (corporate title), president an ...
(AEW) in 2019, it was reported that WWE wanted to move on from PG-style content. Vince McMahon acknowledged that the promotion would be "a bit edgier, but remain in the PG environment." He said the promotion had "graduated from ... gory crap" and was "a more sophisticated product." '' ComicBook.com'' wrote in 2023 that "While WWE's weekly shows still have a TV-PG rating, they've since leaned back towards their product being accessible to all ages rather than being more kid-friendly." However, Ian Carey of ''Wrestling Observer Newsletter'' writes that: "WWE's PG era is not coming to an end anytime soon."


Major storylines and stars

WWE considers the PG Era to have ended in either 2013 or 2014, in favor of The Reality Era, although the exact duration of the era is disputed. Many sources continue to describe WWE as still being in the PG Era because most of their content is still rated TV-PG. For the purposes of this article, only events between 2008–2014 have been covered in the section.
Bleacher Report ''Bleacher Report'' (often abbreviated as B/R) is a website that focuses on sports and sports culture. Its headquarters are in San Francisco, with offices in New York City and London. ''Bleacher Report'' was acquired by Time Warner's Turner B ...
states that "Perhaps the most distinguishable characteristic of WWE's PG Era was its reliance on superhero-esque babyfaces." While John Cena was the biggest star in the company at that time, other major stars during that period included established holdovers (or returning performers) from prior WWE eras, including
Chris Jericho Christopher Keith Irvine (born November 9, 1970), better known by the ring name Chris Jericho, is an American-Canadian professional wrestler, rock musician, and actor. As a wrestler, he has been signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) , where he ...
,
Randy Orton Randal Keith Orton (born April 1, 1980) is an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He has been signed to WWE since 2000, where he performs on the SmackDown (WWE brand), SmackDown brand. Orton is widely regarded as one of t ...
,
Rey Mysterio Óscar Gutiérrez Rubio (born December 11, 1974), better known by his ring name Rey Mysterio, is an American professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw brand. Widely regarded as both one of the greatest '' luch ...
,
Batista Batista is a Spanish language, Spanish or Portuguese language, Portuguese surname. Notable persons with the name include: * Batista (footballer, born 1955), Brazilian football player João Batista da Silva * Dave Bautista, Batista (wrestler) (Dave ...
,
Edge Edge or EDGE may refer to: Technology Computing * Edge computing, a network load-balancing system * Edge device, an entry point to a computer network * Adobe Edge, a graphical development application * Microsoft Edge, a web browser developed by ...
,
Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...
, and
Jeff Hardy Jeffrey Nero Hardy (born August 31, 1977) is an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He is signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) and also appears on partner promotion WWE on its NXT (WWE brand), NXT brand. He is re ...
. The heroic characters were often placed against
villains A villain (also known as a " black hat", "bad guy" or "baddy"; The New Oxford Dictionary of English (1998) – p.126 "baddy (also baddie) noun (pl. -ies) ''informal'' a villain or criminal in a book, film, etc.". the feminine form is villai ...
such as Dolph Ziggler,
Jack Swagger Donald Jacob Hager Jr. (born March 24, 1982) is an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler and former Amateur wrestling, amateur wrestler and Mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist. He currently performs on the independent circ ...
,
Mark Henry Mark Jerrold Henry (born June 12, 1971) is an American former powerlifter, Olympic weightlifter, strongman, and retired professional wrestler currently signed to WWE under a Legends contract. Henry is a two-time Olympian (1992 and 19 ...
,
Big Show Paul Donald Wight II (born February 8, 1972) is an American professional wrestler and actor. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) under his real name of Paul Wight. He is best known for his tenure with World Championship Wrestling (WCW) f ...
, and
The Miz Michael Gregory Mizanin (born October 8, 1980) is an American professional wrestler, actor, and television personality. He is signed to WWE, where he performs on the SmackDown brand under the ring name The Miz. Mizanin first gained fame a ...
. Older Attitude Era alumni like
The Undertaker Mark William Calaway (born March 24, 1965), better known by his ring name the Undertaker, is an American retired Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. Widely regarded as one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time, Calaway ...
,
Triple H Paul Michael Levesque (; born July 27, 1969), also known by the ring name Triple H, is an American business executive and former professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE, where he serves as its chief content officer. Levesque began his wres ...
, and
Shawn Michaels Shawn Michaels (born Michael Shawn Hickenbottom on July 22, 1965) is an American retired professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE, where he is the Senior Vice President of Talent Development, Creative, and oversees the creative aspects of th ...
continued to have prominent matches throughout this time, and The Rock and
Brock Lesnar Brock Edward Lesnar ( ; born July 12, 1977) is an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler and former Mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist, Amateur wrestling, amateur wrestler and professional American football player. As a ...
returned to face Cena. This era saw Batista's first departure in 2010, and Shawn Michaels and Edge retired in 2010 and 2011 respectively. Women were not an integral part of the show and were treated as a sideshow during the early parts of the era, similar to how they were presented in the 1970s and '80s. However,
AJ Lee April Jeanette Mendez (born March 19, 1987) is an American author, screenwriter and retired professional wrestler. She is best known for her time in WWE under the ring name AJ Lee. Mendez began her professional wrestling career in 2007 in New ...
and Paige were given greater prominence as time went on and paved the way for the " Divas Revolution" of 2015. During the PG Era, Jeff Hardy won the
WWE Championship The WWE Championship, also referred to as the Undisputed WWE Championship since April 2024, is a men's professional wrestling world heavyweight championship created and promoted by the American promotion WWE, defended on the SmackDown bran ...
for the first time at Armageddon 2008. His subsequent 2009 feud with
CM Punk Phillip Jack Brooks (born October 26, 1978), better known by his ring name CM Punk, is an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler and actor. He is signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw (WWE brand), Raw brand. Regarded as ...
was described as "shockingly real" given the PG Era, as Punk referenced Hardy's real-life drug addiction. Their rivalry culminated in a TLC match at
SummerSlam SummerSlam is a professional wrestling event, produced annually since 1988 by the world's largest professional wrestling promotion, WWE. Dubbed "The Biggest Party of the Summer", it is considered WWE's second biggest event of the year behind th ...
, which Punk won, and Hardy subsequently left the company. CM Punk became a "megastar" in the summer of 2011 during his feud with John Cena, the pinnacle of which saw him defeat Cena for the WWE Championship at Money in the Bank and
SummerSlam SummerSlam is a professional wrestling event, produced annually since 1988 by the world's largest professional wrestling promotion, WWE. Dubbed "The Biggest Party of the Summer", it is considered WWE's second biggest event of the year behind th ...
respectively in two well-received matches.
Dave Meltzer David Allen Meltzer (born October 24, 1959) is an American journalist, author, and historian who reports on professional wrestling and mixed martial arts. Since 1983, he has been the publisher and editor of the ''Wrestling Observer Newsletter' ...
of the ''
Wrestling Observer Newsletter The ''Wrestling Observer Newsletter'' (''WON'') is a newsletter that covers professional wrestling and mixed martial arts. Founded in print in 1982 by Dave Meltzer, the ''Wrestling Observer'' website merged with Bryan Alvarez's ''Figure Four Wee ...
'' awarded their match at Money in the Bank five stars out of five, the first WWE match since 1997 to receive such a rating. Cena and Punk's match on the February 25, 2013 episode of ''Raw'' has also been named one of the greatest matches of all time. During his 2011 storyline with Cena, Punk delivered a
worked shoot A shoot in professional wrestling is any unplanned, unscripted, or real-life occurrence within a wrestling event. It is a carny term shortened from "straight shooting", which originally referred to a gun in a carnival target shooting game that ...
promo (known as "The Pipebomb"), with a style and tone far away from the typical PG content. Bleacher Report writes: "Punk turned the company on its head for a few short years and gave fans a taste of what an alternative to the advertiser-obsessed promotion could look like." Future stars such as
Alberto Del Rio José Alberto Rodríguez Chucuan (born 25 May 1977) is a Mexican professional wrestler, professional wrestling promoter, sports commentator, and mixed martial artist. He is currently signed to WWE and Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide (AAA), where h ...
, Daniel Bryan,
Sheamus Stephen Farrelly (born 28 January 1978) is an Irish Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw (WWE brand), Raw brand under the ring name Sheamus. Prior to joining WWE, he wrestled on th ...
,
Drew McIntyre Andrew McLean Galloway IV (born 6 June, 1985) is a Scottish Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE, where he performs on the SmackDown (WWE brand), SmackDown brand under the ring name Drew McIntyre. Galloway began ...
, The Wyatt Family (
Bray Wyatt Windham Lawrence Rotunda (May 23, 1987 – August 24, 2023), better known by his ring name Bray Wyatt, was an American professional wrestler, best known for his tenure in WWE from 2009 until his death in 2023. Rotunda was a third-generati ...
,
Luke Harper Jonathan Huber (December 16, 1979 – December 26, 2020) was an American professional wrestler known as Brodie Lee. Huber performed under the ring name Luke Harper in WWE from 2012 to 2019, and as Mr. Brodie Lee in All Elite Wrestling (AEW) ...
and Erick Rowan) and
The Shield ''The Shield'' is an American crime drama television series created by Shawn Ryan and starring Michael Chiklis that aired on FX from March 12, 2002 to November 25, 2008 for seven seasons. The show is known for its portrayal of corrupt police ...
(
Roman Reigns Leati Joseph Anoaʻi ( ; born May 25, 1985), better known by his ring name Roman Reigns, is an American professional wrestler and former gridiron football, football player. As a wrestler, he has been signed to WWE , where he performs on the Sm ...
,
Dean Ambrose Jonathan David Good (born December 7, 1985) is an American professional wrestler. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he performs under the ring name Jon Moxley and is the current AEW World Champion in his record-setting fourth ...
,
Seth Rollins Colby Daniel Lopez (born May 28, 1986), better known by the ring name Seth Rollins, is an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw (WWE brand), Raw WWE brand extension, brand and ...
) all made their debuts during this time. The ECW brand was discontinued in 2010 and replaced with NXT, which serves as a developmental brand for the company. The
Nexus NEXUS is a joint Canada Border Services Agency and U.S. Customs and Border Protection-operated Trusted Traveler and expedited border control program designed for pre-approved, low-risk travelers. Members of the program can avoid waits at border ...
(a stable initially started out by 7 original members of NXT) storyline was heavily featured between 2010–2011, with the decision for John Cena to dominate the entire stable throughout its existence being heavily panned by critics. ''
Grantland ''Grantland'' was a sports and pop-culture blog owned and operated by ESPN. The blog was started in 2011 by veteran writer and sports journalist Bill Simmons, who remained as editor-in-chief until May 2015. ''Grantland'' was named after famed ...
'' columnist David Shoemaker writes that while the path towards the Reality Era began with CM Punk's "insurrection", Brock Lesnar brought "a new era of wrestling legitimacy" when he returned in 2012. Lesnar's on-screen manager,
Paul Heyman Paul Heyman (born September 11, 1965) is an American professional wrestling manager, former executive, promoter, and commentator. He is signed to WWE as the on-screen manager of Seth Rollins, Bron Breakker, and Bronson Reed, and is widely regard ...
, referred to him as the "most non-PG ass kicker of the PG Era" and the violence in his return match with Cena at Extreme Rules 2012 caused the PPV to receive a TV-14 rating on
iTunes iTunes is a media player, media library, and mobile device management (MDM) utility developed by Apple. It is used to purchase, play, download and organize digital multimedia on personal computers running the macOS and Windows operating s ...
. On the April 8, 2013 episode of Raw, fans vocally expressed their displeasure of John Cena defeating The Rock in their match at
WrestleMania 29 WrestleMania 29, also promoted as WrestleMania NY/NJ, was a 2013 professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by WWE. It was the 29th annual WrestleMania and took place on April 7, 2013, at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New J ...
on the previous night, demanding for a change. While WWE considers the Reality Era to have begun in 2014, Shoemaker writes that the Reality Era reached its apex with the ascension of Daniel Bryan that year, but ''ComicBook.com'' considers the end of the PG Era to have happened when CM Punk left the company after Royal Rumble 2014, while Joe Nguyen of ''
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'' believes Seth Rollins' victory over Lesnar at
WrestleMania 31 WrestleMania 31 was a 2015 professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) and livestreaming List of WWE pay-per-view and livestreaming supercards, event produced by WWE. It was the 31st annual WrestleMania and took place on March 29, 2015, at Levi's S ...
in 2015 ended the PG Era. It was during 2015 that John Cena slowly began to transition to a part-time role and WWE began to establish
Roman Reigns Leati Joseph Anoaʻi ( ; born May 25, 1985), better known by his ring name Roman Reigns, is an American professional wrestler and former gridiron football, football player. As a wrestler, he has been signed to WWE , where he performs on the Sm ...
as the new face of the company, which received polarizing reception from fans and critics. Fans heavily panned and criticized WWE's decision to have Reigns win the 2015 Royal rumble match on January 25, 2015.


Reception

The move to TV-PG programming has been singled out as one of WWE's most controversial decisions amongst wrestling fans. The PG Era has also received much criticism from fans due to its watered-down violence and
family-friendly A family-friendly product or service is one that is considered to be suitable for all members of an average family. Family-friendly restaurants are ones that provide service to families that have young children. Frequently, family-friendly produc ...
program and characters. The transition to TV-PG caused some fans to support WWE's competitors, with '' Pro Wrestling Torch'' writer James Caldwell commenting that WWE's programming resembled children's shows such as ''
Barney & Friends ''Barney & Friends'' is an American children's television series created by Sheryl Leach targeted at children ages two to five. The flagship production of the ''Barney'' franchise, it originally aired on PBS under the PBS Kids brand from Ap ...
'' or ''
Blue's Clues ''Blue's Clues'' is an American interactive educational television, educational children's television series created by Traci Paige Johnson, Todd Kessler, and Angela Santomero, Angela C. Santomero. It premiered on Nickelodeon's Nick Jr. block ...
'' when compared to their nearest competitor's at the time,
Total Nonstop Action Wrestling Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (abbreviated as TNA Wrestling or TNA) is an American professional wrestling promotion based in Nashville, Tennessee. It is a subsidiary of Anthem Sports & Entertainment, a Canadian media company owned by busines ...
(TNA), which was promoting more adult-oriented content. Former header writer Brian Gewirtz has stated that WWE's writers joked about "adding in muppet characters" because they felt the scripts were "ridiculous", while Batista attributed his 2010 departure to the PG Era, stating that WWE was "in a bad moment" during that time. Bryan Alvarez has been highly critical of WWE storylines throughout the period, but does not blame the TV-PG rating. Alvarez points out that much of the raunchy Attitude Era programming had a TV-PG rating, while viewership declined sharply after the Invasion storyline, which occurred while ''Raw'' had a TV-14 rating. Although noting that the move was unpopular with some fans, Chris Mueller of the
Bleacher Report ''Bleacher Report'' (often abbreviated as B/R) is a website that focuses on sports and sports culture. Its headquarters are in San Francisco, with offices in New York City and London. ''Bleacher Report'' was acquired by Time Warner's Turner B ...
opined that it was the right thing to do given changing times, writing: "The world is more
politically correct "Political correctness" (adjectivally "politically correct"; commonly abbreviated to P.C.) is a term used to describe language, policies, or measures that are intended to avoid offense or disadvantage to members of particular groups in society. ...
, parents are more cautious about what their kids are watching and advertisers are less willing to back controversial brands." Mueller praised the PG Era as a wise business decision because it made the promotion more appealing to corporate sponsors. Shortly after the transition, ''
Miami Herald The ''Miami Herald'' is an American daily newspaper owned by McClatchy, The McClatchy Company and headquartered in Miami-Dade County, Florida. Founded in 1903, it is the fifth-largest newspaper in Florida, serving Miami-Dade, Broward County, Fl ...
'' writer Jim Varsallone said that the changes in programming were too subtle for casual fans to notice and that he did not get complaints from fans. Gewirtz criticized the era as "jarring" due to there being not being a transition from the edgier Ruthless Aggression era, but stated that WWE " ainedrespectability again with the advertisers and Hollywood in general. It made it 'safe' for moms and dads to watch with their kids." Edge compared the PG Era favorably to the Attitude Era, stating that his matches were given more airtime during the PG Era as the latter was more "about the hijinks backstage" than in-ring action. The Miz said that the limitations of the PG Era made them more creative, while Triple H also defended it by emphasizing the importance of storylines over "special effects". Meanwhile,
Kurt Angle Kurt Steven Angle (born December 9, 1968) is an American retired professional wrestler and amateur wrestling, amateur wrestler. He first earned recognition for winning a Wrestling at the 1996 Summer Olympics – Men's freestyle 100 kg, gold me ...
praised the era as being "good for wrestling" due to non-television reasons such as the health of the wrestlers. Although John Cena sympathized with those who miss the adult-oriented content, citing his personal "adult sense of humor", he defended the PG era, calling it "more digestible": " perating undera PG platform, ... has totally globally expanded the WWE and created more fans ... around the world, and allowed all of these performers including myself to go to new and wonderful places". The transition to TV-PG became a subject of controversy during Linda McMahon's 2010 Senate campaign. US Senator
Chris Dodd Christopher John Dodd (born May 27, 1944) is an American lobbyist, lawyer, and Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party politician who served as a United States senator from Connecticut from 1981 to 2011. Dodd is the List of United Sta ...
accused McMahon of trying to distance herself from professional wrestling, while Superstar Billy Graham said that the move to kid-friendly programming was done so that she would be a more appealing candidate. WWE denied these claims, stating that the 2008 transition to TV-PG occurred "long before McMahon announced her candidacy".


Notes


References


External links


Official WWE website
{{DEFAULTSORT:PG Era, The History of television in the United States 2000s in American television 2010s in American television 2000s in professional wrestling 2010s in professional wrestling