The WWE house shows/live events are some of the more spontaneous shows the company has. Only at a live show can you see something like Kevin Owens imitating The Rock with The People’s Elbow or Seth Rollins hulking up like Hulk Hogan. But for all their spontaneity, there are some rules that the shows must follow.
Recently, the WWE’s rules for house shows were revealed, and it shows how micromanaged that even the WWE house shows are.
The house shows rules come from the two live events that took place on Saturday, December, 10 in Lowell, Massachusetts and Sunday, December 11, 2016, in White Plains, NY.
Some of these rules are common occurrences that fans could see on all WWE programming like stopping the match to clean up and stop bleeding, as well as the usual notes regarding the talent’s wellbeing and doctor’s discretion, but others rules seem a lot more unusual.
John Cena has his own rule which states “NO ONE IS TO DO THE YEA-BOO STUFF EXCEPT JOHN CENA.”
Other interesting rules limit the types of matches and the weapons that fans are allowed to use and read, “PRODUCER/AGENT NOTES: NO LOW BLOWS, ALSO ANY USE OF CHAIRS, TABLES, OR OTHER OBJECTS MUST BE APPROVED FIRST.”
This rule implies that all house show matches that have some stipulation like a ‘No Holds Barred match’ or No Disqualification are approved by the producer long before the start of the show.
The rules of the live events even dictate that house show promos must be approved ahead of time either by Michael Hayes, the current head of the road agents and producers, or the agent/producer who is working that show.
Though promos aren’t allowed, it appears that impromptu discussions with fans are okay, as Kevin Owens was caught on camera telling a child not to wear his gear and not to touch him because he was wearing a Roman Reigns T-shirt.
The detailed rules that referees and talents must follow only confirm the comments made by former WWE writer Kevin Marshall (courtesy: CageSide Seats), who said that his role as a creative writer became more about finding out what Vince McMahon wanted because he micromanages the shows so much.
Another example of McMahon micromanaging the show were the rules for the announce team, which were released last year, specifying words they are not allowed to use like calling the talents “professional wrestlers” or using the word “hatred” to describe animosity amongst wrestlers in storylines.
If all these scripts and rules are to be believed, then the WWE may undergo some noticeable changes if McMahon steps down and his successor doesn’t wish to run the company the way he did.
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