Bret Hart says "ass" on television. What does that mean for PG WWE?

[MrPerfect316]

Nothing wrong with that the world is a dark and scary place right now, and if wrestling is there to make the world more entertained and happy, so be it.

I'm going to make an assumption and say that you were watching in the late 80s early 90s, that would mean that you were quite probably a kid during those times and I would hazard a guess that there may be elements of rose-tinted spectacles coming in. While there was a large amount of the storylines like the Rick Martel and the blinding thing leading to a blindfold match and the Damien biting wrestlers and all that, there was your Hulk Hogan hulking up, the pink and black attack, the USS Intrepid stuff. just like now there is stuff like CM Punk and him effectively starting a cult. There is a lot of stuff out there that is darker in nature that can attract people to the program, IED and Randy Orton being a good example.

Im not really lookin for dark or anything per say, thats why the attitude era didnt do it for me at first until the Rock really got goin and what not. But as i look back now and remember it all, it was pretty great. I just thought the current product is more "kiddified" even compared to the days of which you mentioned which i lived through it all and i love it to this day. Especially the USS Intrepid, man Lex showin up to slam Yokozuna was the greatest thing at the time...loved it.

But nah i dont want dark or even alot of cussing, i just want more of what we used to get and thats a soap opera for men to put it plainly. It just seems as people do say more catered to women and children, which WWF back then was catered to kids too but it was in a different way.

Theres an element missing in todays product and i just cant sometimes put my finger on it. Hard to explain i guess.

 

[JerKash18]

Thank god that Bret said this, it was refreshing. Now, I'm not advocating WWE turing completely to profanity for every promo. However, the WWE has been built on ruthlessness of the former product. Some swearing adds legitimacy to the product of today.

 

[Kanye South]

It's official. The PG Era has gone out of control. I think that when people are actually speculating about what the word "ass" means for a direction of a company, thats a fucking sign of trouble. Bret's dialogue on Raw means nothing at all. I've heard worse in the PG Era, and quite frankly, it wasn't that big of a deal. The veterans get away with more on the mic. DX makes gay jokes and Undertaker talks about taking your friggin soul. Drew McIntyre would be lucky if he could talk about how Shrek and Fiona mysteriously got all those green critters. You do the math.

Anyways, you don't need profanity to be entertaining. Profane words get a cheaper pop in wrestling than Lady Gaga at a gay convention. The WWE is rarely creative anymore, so they now rely on profanity to get them through. Worried about Edge staying face? Don't worry, next week on Smackdown, he'll be sure to call Y2J a meanie crap head. Oooh, that should get the kiddies talking.

 

[proofinlife]

Technically, the PG Rating allows the use of the word "Fuck" once in any given recording posted for the MPAA rating system. The word "Ass" is completely fine, and can be heard multiple times in many PG Films.

Technically, when WWE was PG-13 in the Attitude Era, they could've used the word "Fuck" 3 times per episode, but language was limited to ass, dick, and bitch (pardon my francois). Today they are still technically operating PG with the word "ass" in their scripts.

 

[FromTheSouth]

Technically, the PG Rating allows the use of the word "Fuck" once in any given recording posted for the MPAA rating system. The word "Ass" is completely fine, and can be heard multiple times in many PG Films.

Technically, when WWE was PG-13 in the Attitude Era, they could've used the word "Fuck" 3 times per episode, but language was limited to ass, dick, and bitch (pardon my francois). Today they are still technically operating PG with the word "ass" in their scripts.

Except that you're comparing TV ratings and movie ratings, which is like comparing apples to assholes. TV-MA would be a movie bordering on PG-13/R. The TV ratings are much more strict than the movie ratings are because TV is streamed everywhere, everyone has access to it, and that includes kids.


Now, as far as Bret Hart saying "ass", I am all for it. There is a difference between being PG and being PC. You can edge the show up a little bit before moving to a more restrictive rating. I think it just took Vince a little while to start testing the boundaries of what he could get away with. There was even a reference to "puppies" on SD!.

 

[reddevil69]

who gives a shit if Bret said ass on tv. DX is out there every week saying suck it and giving crotch chops...the implication is that they want the people who aren't down with them to suck their cock...we all speak the commonality of the English language, there is no misinterpreting the gesture. Ten year old kid's are watching this and going to school and saying suck it...I suppose that's ok because HHH is the boss' son in law though right?

 

[Razor]

Bret Hart told Vince to "Bring his ass down to the ring". Didn't see that coming on PG television, but hey its 11 o'clock at night EST on a school night. Shame on some parents for letting kids stay up that late. Anyway, what does it mean that "ass" was said? Was it just a one off thing? Was it Bret just venting and not following protocol? Or...was it Vince loosening the leash and letting things flow a little bit more naturally?

Everyone needs to let go of this PG Bullshit. Seriously.

You know what PG Era even means? It means that you aren't going to get the extreme dumbfuckery present in the Attitude Era. You aren't going to get Live Sex Celebrations, Hand Babies, People getting run over by cars, people being buried alive, the like. You're going to get a more down home, focused, family product.

Saying "ass" is not going to go against the idea of the PG Era. Children can hear the word "ass." Worse than ass has been said on TV for decades. Ass does not go against the idea of a "PG Era," nor does it signal an end to what most on here seem to think is the signal of the end for WWE.

This very thread is indicative of people just being bitchy and acting as if the PG Era is the end all of wrestling. Fucking watch for 5 seconds without trying to be a smartass, and you'll enjoy it. Or keep lamenting about how the Attitude Era showed more tits, so it's better. I can't be arsed to care.

 

[MachoManiac]

Wow. You wouldn't think a little three letter word like "ass" would stir up this much shit on these boards. There are a lot of misconceptions on exactly what the PG rating is. So to inform some of the posters that are acting like an 8 year old getting ready to tell on his older brother for saying a bad word, here is the definition of a PG rating.

Parental Guidance Suggested

This program contains material that parents may find unsuitable for younger children. Many parents may want to watch it with their younger children. The theme itself may call for parental guidance and/or the program may contain one or more of the following:

some suggestive dialogue (D)
infrequent coarse language (L)
some sexual situations (S)
or moderate violence (V)

Did everyone see the part about infrequent coarse language? That line right there answers the question in this threads topic. Bret Hart saying "ass" means nothing, and is very much allowed in the PG era. Also, one thing people seem to forget, NOBODY is forcing WWE to run in a PG format. They can spice things up so to speak whenever they want.

 

[Mat FTW]

I simply think Triple H, Cena, and Bret Hart don't give a fuck about the rules. Think about it, will Cena or HHH ever get fired over rule breaking? Bret Hart has a short cotract so I bet he doesnt give a fuck either. If Primo broke a couple rules, he would be back in WWC, go to TNA or ROH like that.

 

[Thriller Ant]

I simply think Triple H, Cena, and Bret Hart don't give a fuck about the rules. Think about it, will Cena or HHH ever get fired over rule breaking? Bret Hart has a short cotract so I bet he doesnt give a fuck either. If Primo broke a couple rules, he would be back in WWC, go to TNA or ROH like that.

This is a 100% honest question: are you fucking stupid? Like, seriously? You think that because Bret Hart said "ass" that him, Triple H and John Cena don't care about the rules? Go watch any show on the networks and I guarantee that they say ass or damn at least once or twice an episode.

Saying one little word doesn't mean they are not following PG. The change got rid of the tits, blood, middle finger usage, and gratuitous cussing. You know, the stuff they use to try and get ratings when the wrestling isn't that good. Saying ass or damn or hell or even making a sexual innuendo every now and then is ok, I promise.

What really confuses me is what Bret Hart saying that has anything to do with Triple H or Cena. Last time I checked, they have absolutely nothing to do with the topic. I would love to hear about all the rules these two broke, especially since I'm about 98% sure there are none. That was just a fucking stupid, smarky thing to say.

Moral of the post: Anyone who thinks Bret Hart is some kind of rebel or "putting it to Vince" needs to get their head examined. Anyone who thinks that Trips and Cena are involved need a lobotomy.

 

[Mat FTW]

Sigh.
What I am trying to get at is that Bret is trying to make this his greatest feud. He's pulling out all the stops. IF you watch this weeks SD and watched the Raw review, you would notice that they edited Bret, so it sounded like,"Vince! You get your ___ out here right now!"

As for Cena and Hunter, I was trying to respond to the people who posted about Cena and HHH.

 

[Thriller Ant]

Sigh.
What I am trying to get at is that Bret is trying to make this his greatest feud. He's pulling out all the stops. IF you watch this weeks SD and watched the Raw review, you would notice that they edited Bret, so it sounded like,"Vince! You get your ___ out here right now!"

As for Cena and Hunter, I was trying to respond to the people who posted about Cena and HHH.

Saying ass is pulling out all the stops? I knew Bret Hart was kinda overrated, but if "ass" is one of his big guns, then I might have overrated him too. The Raw clips on SmackDown always get chopped to pieces so that doesn't mean anything.

Look, the fact of the matter is that this is an absolutely moot matter. Bret was supposed to go out to the ring and call out Vince. He just happened to say "Get your ass out here." He didn't do it to make this his greatest feud or say fuck it because he can do whatever because of his contract or whatever you said earlier, and you would have to be an absolute moron to believe that.

I didn't read any of the other posts in this thread, but I still want to hear about all these privileges that HHH and Cena apparently have.

 

[Mat FTW]

Try to put yourself in Bret's shoes. This is probably your last stand in WWE. Wouldn't you be less worried about your language than you were 15 years ago? Wouldn't you be in the heat of the moment? I'm not saying that he planned to say ass. I dont care about it. All I'm saying is that he isnt doing this for his career anymore, and he was in the heat of the moment and wasnt so concerned about his wording.

Triple H is the boss's son-in-law, Cena is WWE's soul right now. Vince wont let them go over words.

 

[proofinlife]

I simply think Triple H, Cena, and Bret Hart don't give a fuck about the rules. Think about it, will Cena or HHH ever get fired over rule breaking? Bret Hart has a short cotract so I bet he doesnt give a fuck either. If Primo broke a couple rules, he would be back in WWC, go to TNA or ROH like that.

I have another honest question for you : Are you a complete mark?

They "Don't give a **** about the rules"?????? .......??????????

Seriously, this is pre-scripted entertainment, they are given a promo and general outline to follow, and are told to go out there and sell it and make the fans eat it up. That's their job. Just because they can say a few gratuitous words to pump their promos up doesn't mean they're working outside the box and being "rule breakers". Lmao. No one will get fired for any of this because that's exactly what they've been told to do.

This is seriously the funniest thing I've read all day long. Rep to you Thrilled, that was great.

 

[The Champ]

It's really not a big deal, Rock said ass on SmackDown while the kids were still awake, and nothing really came of it. I mean, it's not like being PG means that they can't utter one of the less offensive curse words every now and then. I think the problem people have with PG is that they feel WWE goes overboard with it, so I think that as long as they stay within the technical boundaries, it doesn't hurt to add something that will really show how intensely Bret feels about this. Obviously, when Rock comes back, he's not exactly going to be totally kid-friendly, and DX still says "suck it" all the time.

 

[The Deadly Viper]

I hope you are right and the PG-Era is coming to a close, but I wouldn't get my hopes up. Maybe like some of the people here have said that Vince is loosening up and he will allow the odd word here and there. However is "ass" such a bad word? I mean PG tele says it all the time. However I would love the old WWE again

 

[The Champ]

I really doubt it. Business-wise, the positives of PG WWE still far outweigh the negatives, and like someone alluded to, the word "ass" actually does fit into the PG requirements. I mean, the very nature of wrestling suggests that these guys can't exactly be nice to each other, and sometimes the odd curse word here and there will show anger or intensity more clearly. It was used at 11:00 PM when most kids were clearly asleep, it's not going to have any kind of serious effect on anything.

 

[MarcyEngelstein]

Bret said "ass" on TV more than once in the mid 90s during the PG era. The live broadcast goes out on a delay. In Canada they bleep out "ass". Since this has been going on for at least 15 years I don't understand why it's cause for a whole thread? What has changed?

 

[The Doctor]

OK guys, I have a little secret for you. This may be a little surprising, but...

THE ATTITUDE ERA WAS TV-PG!

Seriously, go back and check some of the old episodes. Shocking, isn't it?

Listen, people. TV-PG is not the same as PG in movies. PG in movies is more comparable to TV-Y7, and there's no way in hell wrestling will ever be Y7. Stop complaining about the PG Era ruining this and how you can't do this and that in PG, because you're all wrong! The TV-PG rating is a lot more lenient than you people think.

Now, onto the topic: It doesn't mean a thing. So Bret said "ass" at eleven o' clock at night. Big deal. He's a legend, ass isn't that bad of a word, and TV-PG does not mean G. Get over it.

 

[X]

OK guys, I have a little secret for you. This may be a little surprising, but...

THE ATTITUDE ERA WAS TV-PG!

Seriously, go back and check some of the old episodes. Shocking, isn't it?

Hey! You stole my line motherfucker! I was telling people that all summer long when everyone was bitching about the PG Era. WWE programming didn't go above the TV-PG rating until around the end of 1998. It did get bumped up to TV-14 or something along those lines after the PRC fiasco though and remained there for quite a few years.

Anyways, this is the single most ludicrous thread I've ever seen, and I quite like you Suneeboy. I'm considering just kicking this thing into the trash can because of how absurd it is.