As the changes continue to come thick and fast in WWE, Roman Reigns decided to get in on the action during the latest edition of SmackDown.
On August 5th it was reported that a couple of words that had traditionally been on WWE’s ‘banned list’ were now allowed to be used freely.
For a number of years, words and phrases such as “wrestler,” “wrestling,” and “WWE fans” weren’t allowed to be used on television by talent or commentators. This led to the company creating almost it’s own language where wrestlers became Superstars and fans were the “WWE Universe.”
However following the departure of Vince McMahon it has been reported that words such as “wrestling” and “wrestler” are no longer considered taboo. Following the August 5th episode of SmackDown it appears that there is also another term that can be added to the ‘allowed list.’
During a promo at the end of the show, Roman Reigns flanked by The Usos, addressed his recent win over Brock Lesnar at SummerSlam. Noticeably the trio were without Wise Man Paul Heyman who was on the end of an F-5 through the announce table at the summer spectacular. Interestingly, Reigns said that Heyman had spent time in the hospital rather than the “local medical facility” as he would have had to have done previously.
While in isolation the tweaks seem inconsequential, it is such changes which have shown fans that WWE are moving on from Vince McMahon’s tenure at the head of the company.
To hammer this point home, Reigns’ promo and confrontation with Drew McIntyre was interrupted by a re-debuting Karrion Kross and Scarlett. The pair had been released by WWE back in November.
Kross attacked McIntyre, while Scarlett came to the ring and left an hourglass on the mat as the show went off the air. It has since been reported that WWE have big plans for the pair following their return to the company.