5 WWE things that are now banned but were acceptable 15 years ago

Times have definitely changed in WWE both for the better and for worse. Of course, there are still many fans who state that The Attitude Era was the greatest period of time for WWE, whilst others have become firm fans of the PG era.

As Triple H has noted several times, you adapt or perish and as society has changed WWE has been forced to adapt to these changes and create a product that is suitable for the new generation.

This means that there are several things that are no longer acceptable in a WWE ring that would have been the highlight of the show back in the late 90s and early 2000s.

Here are just five things that are now banned in WWE that 15 years ago would have been deemed acceptable by the paying audience.

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#5. WWE Women's Evening Gown/Bra and Panties/Pudding matches

Whilst these types of matches are not technically "banned" it could be argued that there is no place for them in the current era. Of course, there was a time when the Women's Championship would change hands in an Evening Gown match or the women wrestled at WrestleMania in a bra and panties match.

This was back when WWE promoted the fact that the women on their roster were on the cover of Playboy magazine and made it clear that the men wanted to see these kinds of matches.

The Women's Revolution has ensured that these matches have become a thing of the past and now the athletes coming through the ranks in today's sport are able to be part of Hell in a Cell, TLC, and even had their own pay-per-view back in 2018.

It's taken a few decades but the women in the wrestling business are finally being taken seriously.

#4. All promos have to be pre-approved by WWE officials

There was a time when WWE Superstars would be allowed to head out to the ring and cut a promo that was completely off the cuff. The likes of The Rock and John Cena have become famous for being able to head out to the crowd and control the direction of the audience with their words, but it appears that those days are now over.

Even the stars in WWE who are seemingly the best on the mic are no longer allowed to cut promos without them being scripted. Various reports in recent weeks have noted that Paul Heyman, The Miz, and even The Street Profits now have a majority of their work scripted since many current WWE stars prefer to be told what to say.

There was also a leaked WWE document from a few years ago which noted that tall promo segments had to be pre-approved ahead of the show and the only star who was allowed to do the usual "yeah, boo" stuff with the crowd was John Cena.

#3. Drinking Alcohol in the ring is now banned in WWE

Stone Cold Steve Austin wouldn't be the same man without drinking a few beers in the ring following a Stone Cold Stunner. The WWE Hall of Famer has returned several times over the years and been able to share a drink with some of the up and coming stars in the business, but it appears that beer is no longer on the menu.

Whilst Steve Austin revealed on his Podcast back in 2016 that the beer that he would be seen drinking on TV was always real, this isn't something that is allowed anymore.

The new Wellness Policy dictates that WWE stars should be:

“free of the influence of alcohol when performing for WWE” and are “prohibited from using or consuming alcohol at any time within a twelve-hour period prior to any WWE event or scheduled WWE performance.”

This means that even though Montez Ford makes it seem as though there is alcohol in his red cup when he makes his way to the ring, it's quite likely that it's actually water.

It is also worth noting that The Wellness Policy only applies to full-time WWE stars which means that Steve Austin is free to return and drink beer in the ring when needed.

#2. Chair shots to the head are banned in WWE

More than 15 years ago Eddie Guerrero was part of his final WWE match where he took a chair shot to the head from Mr. Kennedy. Whilst it was later discovered that Guerrero's death wasn't connected to the incident, it was the beginning of a change in WWE.

Guerrero's death pushed for WWE to create the Wellness Policy which has seen many WWE stars suspended for violations over the years. This also began new concussion protocols for WWE which meant that chair shots to the head were no longer allowed.

Despite this being made a rule a number of years ago, there are several WWE stars who have used chair shots in the heads in matches and have been fined as a result. Triple H and The Undertaker back at WrestleMania 27 is one of the biggest examples, despite both men being seasoned athletes and knowing that it was going against the company rules.

Chairs are still a well-used weapon but the company has been able to adapt the use of the weapon and now strikes are mainly to the mid-section and back where it's considered to be safer.

#1. Blading is now banned in WWE

Blading is a subject that every WWE fan has become familiar with over the years. There was once a match type completely created so that one of the wrestlers had to bleed in order for the bout to come to an end.

Two decades go a First Blood match would have been acceptable, but bleeding on WWE TV will now come with a hefty fine. Of course whilst Ric Flair became one of the men who were famous for being able to bleed when needed, several WWE stars still blade in order to add impact to their matches.

Perhaps the most famous incident came back at WrestleMania 31 when Roman Reigns took on Brock Lesnar and The Beast was "busted open" there were questions as to whether he bladed, but the blood humanized Lesnar and told a much bigger story.

The fines for blading are quite severe in WWE as Batista explained on The Talk is Jericho podcast, after he was handed a $100,000 fine for blading in a match against Y2J.

"I knew we weren't supposed to do it… I didn't think the consequences would be so severe. Then he starts passing out fines. So my fine was $100,000… My heart dropped. I thought it would be like $25,000. When he said $100,000, I was just heartbroken. I literally think that he sucked the life out of me that day. I think that's the day that I knew things were never going to be the same."

Blading is still something that happens in WWE, whilst some superstars can't help but bleed in certain matches, but adding fines to the situation has definitely made it less common.