10 Phrases that WWE commentators are banned from using

WWE fans have no idea how daunting and difficult the task of a WWE commentator is. Vince McMahon himself was a commentator up until the mid-1990s, but then, he wasn't able to be in the ear of other commentators like today.

That's the biggest challenge. You're on live television, you're basically the gateway to telling millions of people across the world the multiple stories that take place inside the world of WWE.

We've seen commentators rotate, come, and go, but what the job is - it's anything but easy. Apart from just having Vince McMahon in their ears, they also have a whole set of restrictions and "Do's" and "Don'ts" that they strictly have to follow.

Nowadays, the training of commentators is done in the WWE Performance Center, the same place where wrestlers train as well. Corey Graves, Renee Young, Byron Saxton, Percy Watson, Nigel McGuinness are just a few of the others who have been trained inside WWE's PC.

However, based on a list of sheets that was leaked onto Reddit's Squared Circle, a shocking list of restrictions and instructions to commentators was revealed. The Boss himself has a lot of specifications and requirements of his program, and he likes to take full control of it. Let's take a look at some of the words and phrases that WWE commentators are not allowed to use under any circumstances.

#10 "Title changing hands"

Fans often refer to the change of championship to the "title changing hands". However, WWE doesn't allow this. For them, a superstar has either won the championship or lost the championship. In fact, they hardly ever say "the title is on the line". Instead, they choose to say "the title will be defended" instead.

You'd think that such minor things wouldn't make a difference, but you're about to be very surprised!

#9 "Title shot"

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Vince McMahon doesn't like the words "Title shot". In an interview, Mick Foley revealed that Braun Strowman had used the words "title shot" in a promo. When he went backstage, McMahon had shouted at him, saying that he was supposed to say "title opportunity" and not "shot". Can you imagine Strowman being shouted at?

#8. "Belt" or "Strap"

For WWE, there's a clear difference between a "belt" and a "championship". They emphasise on the word "Championship" because their titles are supposed to represent prestige - the top prizes of the industry. In order to add value to them, they need to be referred to by those names.

If they are to use "belt" or "strap", it cheapens the championship and doesn't give fans the same perception that they intend to give out. Think of the last time you ever heard the words "belt" or "strap" being used on WWE television. Spoiler - you won't remember.

#7. "Grandaddy of them all"

Given that iconic events such as the Superbowl happily put the number every year, you would think that it would be the same for WrestleMania. However, after WrestleMania 30, Vince McMahon decided that not only would numbering it make the event seem "old", but the same would happen if it continued to be referred to as "The Grandaddy of them all".

In our opinion, mentioning the age only ups the prestige of the event, but clearly, McMahon sees it differently. It's been years since WrestleMania was referred to as the "Grandaddy of them all".

#6. "Choke" or "Choked out"

Likely due to the PG rating, WWE and Vince McMahon want to avoid using the word "Choke". While sleeper holds and rear naked choke fall under that category, WWE makes sure that the commentators refer to it as a "submission hold" instead.

For example, The Undertaker's triangle choke became Undertaker's "Triangle submission hold".

#5 House show

WWE house shows have been an integral part of the company for decades now. Dating back to even before the Golden Era, WWE has been on the road and have entertained fans with non-televised events.

These events are normally considered to be fun because WWE superstars don't have the same restrictions that they do on television. They can go out there, be interactive with the audience and have fun. However, one thing that WWE insists is that they're not referred to as "house shows", but "Live Events". Whenever the announcers plug the future non-televised events in, they refer to them as "WWE Live Events".

#4 "Pro Wrestling" or "Pro Wrestlers"

For years, WWE has proudly called themselves the leaders of sports entertainment, not pro wrestling. While other promotions happily refer to the pro wrestling aspect of it, WWE insists on emphasising on the word "entertainment".

For over two decades now, WWE has used the term "Sports Entertainment". It's believed that this was done for legal purposes in the early 90s. You'll never hear the words "Wrestling", "Pro Wrestling" or "Pro Wrestlers". They're either "WWE Superstars" or "Sports Entertainers".

#3 "Hospital"

We've seen many times in WWE where superstars have faced beatdowns and were taken away in an ambulance into a hospital (in kayfabe). However, WWE makes sure that the announcers never use the word "hospital", and this is for a good reason.

Reportedly, during a live show, a WWE superstar was kayfabe injured and taken to the hospital. A bunch of fans had frantically called the local hospitals to see if the superstar was admitted. To ensure that this never happened again, Vince McMahon ordered that commentators begin using the term "local medical facility", a practice that's followed to date.

#2 "He/She"

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Admittedly, WWE is a bit more liberal on this, so it isn't outright banned. However, commentators are discouraged from saying "he" or "she". Rather, they're told to refer to the superstar by name for effect.

Why that's the case, go figure!

#1 "Feud"

While WWE fans love using the word "feud" to describe a storyline between two competitors going at each other, WWE certainly doesn't! They prefer to use the word "rivalry" instead.

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