PG Era

Lore & Background

WWE instituted a number of changes as they began marketing to a younger audience, such as heavily scripting on-screen promos and toning down excessive violence, profanity and sexual content. The earlier parts of the era were defined by superhero-esque fan favorites and one-dimensional villains. While WWE considers the era to have ended in either 2013 or 2014 in favor of a more reality-based era, some describe the PG Era as continuing longer since the 2008 changes remained in effect. The PG Era has received much criticism from fans due to its watered-down violence and family-friendly programming and characters, but it has also been praised as a good business decision.

Reader's Guide

The PG Era began on July 22, 2008, when WWE officially announced the move to TV-PG. The 2008 SummerSlam pay-per-view was the first WWE PPV under the TV-PG rating. Key changes included banning chair shots to the head in 2010, discontinuing bra and panties matches in 2008, and renaming the 'FU' finisher to 'Attitude Adjustment' and the One Night Stand PPV to Extreme Rules. Major stars included John Cena, Randy Orton, Batista, Edge, Rey Mysterio, CM Punk, Daniel Bryan, The Wyatt Family, and The Shield. The era saw declining Nielsen ratings, especially after Raw went to a three-hour format in 2012.

Did You Know?

• The term 'PG' in TV-PG refers to the TV Parental Guidelines, not film classification.
• WWE reported that their revenue had almost tripled since the move to TV-PG due to corporate partnerships from companies such as Mattel and Post Cereals.
• CM Punk's 'Pipebomb' promo in 2011 was delivered with a style and tone far away from typical TV-PG content.