The Rock’s recent promos on WWE TV and on social media continue to be a talking point.
With the sports entertainment promotion marketed as a PG company, profanity is pretty much prohibited on broadcasts with only the occasional swear word being allowed in exceptional circumstances and is anticipated well ahead of time. This rule also extends to social media, with stars not allowed to use non-PG insults despite there being no broadcast rules on the platforms.
However, as has been noted in recent weeks, the rules do not apply to The People’s Champion. Not only are The Rock’s social media promos filled with expletive-filled tirades, but the segments on SmackDown would not be fit for broadcast on a PG show if the network did not hit the censor button at the right time.
Speaking on Wrestling Observer Radio about the promos, Dave Meltzer stated that FOX gets the script ahead of time and knows exactly when to hit the bleep button:
“They bleeped a lot of stuff on SmackDown. The deal with the TV [promos], FOX gets the script ahead of time so they know when to bleep. Because the whole thing, The Rock promo, obviously it’s completely scripted. If it was anyone else, they would just be not allowed to say it.
But with The Rock, it’s like he can say whatever he wants, but they know what he’s gonna say and when he’s gonna say it, so anything they wanna bleep out, they will bleep out. And they know when to bleep it out because they’re told ahead of time. So that’s kind of the gist of the promo and why certain things were bleeped out and everything like that, and they didn’t miss on anything.”
WWE Stars Upset By The Rock’s Promos
Although The People’s Champion being back in the company has made WrestleMania 40 feel bigger than ever and has provided a bump in ratings, not everyone is thrilled about the free will Rock has in regard to his segments and social media activity. According to a new report, some in WWE are irritated by the double standard that is in place following The Rock’s return.
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