#4 ‘Feud/War’
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For this entry, one could probably blame WWE going PG and its family-friendly sponsors.
Because apparently, the narrative of a rivalry between two or more Superstars cannot be considered neither a feud nor a war, presumably because such language is inappropriate for WWE’s target audience, who are apparently too impressionable to hear the words ‘feud’ and ‘war’ (though these same sponsors are totally on board with the same audience being exposed to choreographed and dangerous physical violence every week).
I can almost picture these same people demanding this change as Sheila Broflovski from the movie South Park: Bigger, Longer and Uncut, when she throws out the following line: “Horrific, Deplorable violence is okay, as long as people don't say any naughty words!” Apparently, ‘war’ and ‘feud’ are naughty words in WWE, and so they’ve been banned.
The problem here is that those are useful terms in describing the bitterness and personal level of a rivalry. It’s painfully obvious to virtually everyone watching that these wrestlers aren’t literally going to war with each other, but saying such a thing helps build of a feud to make it feel important.
Moreover, ‘feud’ is a better term than ‘rivalry’ because ‘feud’ implies a longer length and greater importance to the conflict between those wrestlers.
It’s a weird term to have banned, really, considering WWE has a loose-fitting rule regarding actual curse words, but the terms ‘war’ and ‘feud’ to describe what should be a bitter rivalry are taboo words. The mind boggles.
