Leaked document shows every word that Vince McMahon banned from WWE

A full list of words ex-WWE chairman Vince McMahon banned from being said on television has emerged.

McMahon's tenure with the WWE ended in January 2024 when he resigned from his executive chairman position on TKO's board.

His resignation came following sexual abuse and trafficking allegations in a civil complaint by former employee Janel Grant.

It brought McMahon's 42-year association with the promotion, which he bought from his father Vince McMahon Sr., to an end.

McMahon helped turn the WWE into a global juggernaut, eliminating the need for wrestling territories and winning the Monday Night Wars against World Championship Wrestling (WCW).

During his time at the top, McMahon insisted that several rules be followed by on-screen talent.

Some of these are naturally understandable. Commentators were instructed to 'call what they saw' on the monitor to keep the illusion that wrestling is real, while wrestlers were instructed not to "bury' their opponents.

For those who've followed professional wrestling for years, you'll know the words 'understandable' and 'Vince McMahon' rarely align. Some of his more bizarre rules are insisting that wrestlers are called 'superstars', world championships are NEVER called belts and the hospital is a 'medical centre'.

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Vince McMahon's banned words in the WWE

Below is everything from a leaked document shared by u/xholdsteadyx on Reddit, with several references to specific notes Vince and the senior leadership team of the WWE made. Be prepared, some of them will have you questioning everything about the product you grew up watching. Several of these rules have been abolished since Triple H became Chief Content Officer.

• Nobody knows dates, everybody knows when "in two weeks", "tomorrow", etc is.
• Passive/Aggressive Words- The words you choose are important. They can build or bury someone. There is a difference between "Cena was upset by this and asked for a rematch" and "Cena was furious and demanded a rematch". That is what we would use for a good guy. Who is the bad guy? Who is the good guy? In good, simple storytelling, you will always make this clear with the words you choose to use.
• Watch The Monitor- Call what you see on screen, not what you know will happen, or what you see happening when you are in the arena
• Words to avoid: "Belt", "strap"- we don't have belts or straps. We have Championships, Titles. The belt represents something. Talk about what it represents (hard work, dedication), or it means (accomplishment of goals, bulls eye for others) "The business", "Our Industry"
• "Feud"
• "War"
• "Performance"/"performer", "Choreograph"
• "House Show"- use "live event"
• "Backstage"- use "in the back", "in the locker room area"
• "Pro Wrestling" "Pro Wrestler"- use "Superstar", "star", "athlete"
• "International" (use "Global")
• "Shot" (no title shots)
• "Acrobatics"
• "Interesting"
• "DQ"
• "Talent" (use "Star", "Superstar", "Diva")
• "Me", "I"
• Inside Terms- heel, baby face, blown up, shoot, rib, mark, etc
• "U.S."- use "United States"
• "Fans" (When possible, refer to the audience as "you". In other situations, ID them- "Raw fans", "Our fans". "Cena's fans" etc.)
• "Hospital"- use "medical centre."
• "Faction"- use "group"
• Please use "Now available" instead of "On Sale.
• We never want to use the term "the title is on the line". Please use more creative terms like "the title will be defended", etc.

Recent Additions:

Note from VKM 3/6/08

• Less is more
• Layout, make what you have to say more important and make the audience listen to you. -Ask rhetorical questions, then lay out (let the audience digest the material).

Note from VKM 4/21/08

• Per Vince McMahon, going forward, we never want to use the term "the title is on the line". Please use more creative terms like "the title will be defended", etc.

Note from Big (per VKM edict) 10/16/08

• Please do not use the term "Sports Entertainment'. Going forward, please use "Entertainment' in place.