Vince McMahon Says WWE Will Remain ‘A PG Environment’ And Calls Attitude Era ‘Gory Crap’

Vince McMahon has slammed ideas that WWE will drift away from its PG rating by calling the beloved 'Attitude Era' of wrestling "gory crap."

The WWE chairman and CEO, 73, admitted during the company's Q2 2019 earnings conference call that the product would remain in "a PG environment."

According to TheWrap, he did hint that WWE could become "a bit edgier" going forward.

"There will be something we do in terms of a direction of content -- more controversy, better storylines, etc," he said.

"But at the same time, we're not gonna go back to the quote 'Attitude Era,' and we're not gonna do blood and guts and things of that nature, such as being done on perhaps a new potential competitor."

WWE has a new rival business to compete with in the form of All Elite Wrestling, which will begin its live two-hour weekly TV shows on US network TNT from 2nd October.

McMahon ushered in the famed Attitude Era during the height of the 'Monday Night Wars' with former rival promotion WCW from the late 1990s to early 2000s.

The Attitude Era showcased an edgier product with shock-evoking storylines, oversexualised content and an emphasis on violence.

But the WWE boss slated the idea of ever returning to the Attitude Era by saying that a "more sophisticated product" will attract better managers and writers.

He added: "We're not gonna go back to that gory crap that we graduated from."

WWE Hall of Famer Mick Foley said in June that the company planned to bring back 'certain elements' of the Attitude Era for the third-hour slot of Raw.

"The idea is that the third hour is going to get rougher, wilder and more unpredictable," the hardcore veteran told talkSPORT at the time.

"When I was General Manager, I knew that people were breaking towards the SmackDown show because it was the darling of the internet.

"The idea was 'why don't you try [having] a third hour.' It was like a giant albatross around your neck. The third hour is really difficult.

"I think it's an idea to have the third hour more unpredictable and more like the Attitude Era."

Reports also emerged earlier this month that WWE could potentially drop the PG rating to bring its older fan base back to the product.

Should WWE drop the PG rating?

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Featured Image Credit: WWE

Topics: Vince McMahon, WWE News, All Elite Wrestling, WWE

Adnan Riaz

Adnan Riaz is a journalist for SPORTbible. He studied for a B.A. in History at the University of York and followed it up with an M.A. in Multimedia Journalism at MMU. Before he started writing about sports, he spent over four years in the gaming press. He has worked for several publications, including Hardcore Gamer, LADbible and the Manchester Evening News. Follow him on Twitter to find out what he is working on next. Got a story tip for Adnan? Email him: [email protected]

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