Wrestling and wrestler no longer considered ‘dirty words’ in WWE
“Wrestling” and “wrestler” are no longer considered “dirty words” in WWE.
The two terms had been banned in the company in favor of “sports entertainment” and “sports entertainer” in recent years.
Dave Meltzer addressed this and the more “relaxed” atmosphere under WWE’s new regime in Friday’s edition of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
“It was noted it was more relaxed and calmer, that the women felt there is going to be more focus on them and that the words wrestler and wrestling were no longer dirty words talent was instructed to never use without authorization, and almost everyone considers that a good thing,” Meltzer wrote.
Last September, Meltzer wrote about words WWE talent was prevented from using.
“Blood, choke, belt, strap, diva, head shot, trauma, kayfabe, Mofos, house show, DQ, The Anti-Diva, spinal injuries, victim, violence, violent, wrestling, wrestlers, WWF, wifebeater, curb stomp, phrases including the word “push” and “being over,” babyface, heel, job, jobber, card, strangle, kill and murder,” were listed as prohibited terms.
Ian Carey is the editing manager at F4WOnline and a writer from Toronto, Ontario, Canada. His work has appeared in award-winning publications including NOW Magazine and The Huffington Post. He joined the F4WOnline team in 2019 and moved into the editing manager role in the summer of 2026. Born in Calgary, Alberta, Ian has covered professional wrestling for more than 15 years.