***In an update to the original story, WWE Raw is not moving to a TV-14 Rating on July 18th after all. Updated information can be found here.***
For the first time in almost fifteen years, WWE is reverting to a TV-14 rating for its weekly programming!
The PG Era of WWE has meant that blood, scenes of a sexual nature, and profanity were outright banned as the organisation moved from professional wrestling to sports entertainment. This has had a huge impact on the perception of the company, with many believing its TV-PG rating – initiated by Raw’s 22 July 2008 broadcast – to be a hindrance.
This won’t last much longer, however, as Andrew Zarian of the Mat Men Podcast is reporting that, beginning with this coming Monday’s (18 July) episode of Raw, a TV-14 rating will be in effect. Essentially, the PG Era is over:
https://twitter.com/AndrewZarian/status/1547638048615043073
There are no further details as of yet, but this will no doubt entice fans to tune into Monday’s broadcast of Raw to see what, if any, changes are made straight off the bat.
WrestleVotes had previously reported in November 2021 that the sports entertainment giant was considering pulling the rating back for NXT 2.0, allowing the brand to operate on a TV-14 rating away from the main roster. USA Network executives were said to be unopposed to the idea at the time; presumably, this will remain the case moving forward.
Despite the often strict rules from WWE towards its Superstars, there have been certain instances where the line has been crossed. A notable example came in the summer of 2019 when, following Braun Strowman and Bobby Lashley crashing through the screens, Corey Graves yelled “holy sh*t”.
Coincidentally, that came on the first episode of Raw penned by Paul Heyman. With reports from PWTorch’s Wade Keller that the former ECW owner is expected to once again become involved creatively with WWE, the TV-14 rating could have a huge effect on WWE programming moving forward.