PG Era

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PG Era
Promotion
World Wrestling Entertainment/WWE
DateJuly 22, 2008 (2008-07-22) – disputed (disputed)
WWF/WWE eras chronology
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Ruthless Aggression Era
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Reality Era

The PG Era, also known as the Universe Era,

orphaned initialism
.

WWE instituted a number of changes as they began marketing to a younger audience, such as heavily scripting on-screen

reality-based era, some describe the PG Era as ongoing since the 2008 changes continue to remain in effect.[a][b] The PG Era has received much criticism from fans due to its watered-down violence and family-friendly program and characters, but it has also been praised as a good business decision as it made the promotion more appealing to a wider audience and corporate sponsors just as it was during the Hulkamania years.[11]

Background

Prior to 1997, WWF (WWE was known as the World Wrestling Federation until May 2002) programming was rated TV-PG.

SmackDown has been rated TV-PG since its inception in 1999.[12]

John Cena, seen here with child fans, was the face of the company during the PG Era, despite being unpopular with some older fans

WWE promoter Vince McMahon states that the Attitude Era of the late 1990s and early 2000s was the result of competition from WCW and forced the company to "go for the jugular". Due to WCW's demise in 2001, McMahon says that they "don't have to" appeal to viewers in the same way and that during the "far more scripted" PG Era, WWE could "give the audience what they want in a far more sophisticated way".[13] WWE says that the move to PG cut the "excess" of the Attitude Era and "ushered in a new era of refined and compelling storytelling".[14] John Cena was face of the company during this time, despite receiving a mixed reception from the audience.[14]

While WWE had been slowly moving towards a more family-friendly format before it,

Chris Benoit double murder and suicide in 2007.[15] Then-WWE CEO Linda McMahon described the transition away from TV-14 as a "cradle to the grave" approach to appeal to younger viewers and encourage brand loyalty.[16] Bryan Alvarez and Lance Storm of Wrestling Observer Newsletter attribute the move to TV-PG as a result of WWE appealing to sponsors,[17] which was confirmed by former WWE chief marketing officer Michelle Wilson.[18]

WWE officially announced the move to TV-PG on July 22, 2008.

Nielsen ratings, which had begun after the demise of WCW but accelerated after Raw went to a three-hour format in 2012.[23]

Changes in content

Chair shots
to the head were banned in the PG Era

As WWE reverted to a more family-friendly style, previous staples in their programming were altered or dropped. Use of

Chair shots to the head became increasingly rare after Chris Benoit's double murder suicide,[15] and were completely banned in 2010.[27] In 2011 following their match at WrestleMania XXVII, wrestlers The Undertaker and Triple H were fined for chair shots to the head, despite the match being well received by the fans.[28]

Also in April 2011, the company ceased going by its full name in reference to the wrestling promotion, strictly only using the "WWE" abbreviation, which became an

orphaned initialism
; the company's legal name, however, remains World Wrestling Entertainment.

From 2008 to the mid-2010s, former WWE head writer Brian Gewirtz stated that the restrictions placed on the writers made it feel as if it was "G Era" rather than the PG Era.

ComicBook.com wrote in 2023 that "While WWE's weekly shows still have a TV-PG rating, they've since leaned back towards their product being accessible to all ages rather than being more kid-friendly."[29] However, Ian Carey of Wrestling Observer Newsletter writes that: "WWE's PG era is not coming to an end anytime soon."[10]

Major storylines and stars

See also: Reality Era and History of WWE

WWE considers the PG Era to have ended in either 2013

The Reality Era, although the exact duration of the era is disputed. Many sources continue to describe WWE as still being in the PG Era because most of their content is still rated TV-PG.[a][b]
For the purposes of this article, only events between 2008–2014 will be covered in the section.

John Cena (left) and The Rock (right) on the April 4, 2011 episode of Raw. They had an on and off cross-generational feud between 2011–2013 and main evented WWE's flagship events WrestleMania XXVIII and WrestleMania 29 consecutively.

Jack Swagger, Mark Henry, Big Show,[35] and The Miz.[37] Older Attitude Era alumni like The Undertaker, Triple H, and Shawn Michaels continued to have prominent matches throughout this time,[38] and The Rock and Brock Lesnar returned to face Cena.[38] This era saw Batista's first departure in 2010,[39] and Shawn Michaels and Edge retired in 2010 and 2011 respectively.[36]

Paige and AJ Lee
were two of the most prominent women in the later part of the PG Era

Women were not an integral part of the show and were treated as a sideshow during the early parts of the era, similar to how they were presented in the 1970s and '80s. However,

Divas Revolution" of 2015.[35]

CM Punk became one of the most popular stars of the era, despite his character being edgier than most seen during this time

During the PG Era, Hardy won the WWE Championship for the first time at Armageddon 2008.[38] His subsequent 2009 feud with CM Punk was described as "shockingly real" given the PG Era, as Punk referenced Hardy's real-life drug addiction. Their rivalry culminated in a match at SummerSlam, which Punk won, and Hardy subsequently left the promotion.[40] CM Punk became a "megastar" in the summer of 2011 during his feud with Cena,[40] the pinnacle of which saw him defeat Cena for the WWE Championship at Money in the Bank and SummerSlam respectively in two well-received matches.[38][41] Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter awarded the John Cena–CM Punk main event match of Money in the Bank 2011 five stars out of five, the first WWE match since 1997 to receive such a rating.[42] Cena and Punk's match on the February 25, 2013 episode of Raw has also been named one of the greatest matches of all times.[43][44] During his 2011 storyline with Cena, Punk performed a shoot promo (known as The Pipebomb), with a style far away from the PG content.[45][46][47] Bleacher Report writes: "Punk turned the company on its head for a few short years and gave fans a taste of what an alternative to the advertiser-obsessed promotion could look like."[35]

Future stars such as

Dean Ambrose, Seth Rollins) made their debuts during this time.[38] The ECW brand was discontinued in 2010 and replaced with NXT, which serves as a developmental brand for the promotion.[38] The Nexus (a stable initially started out by 7 original members of NXT) storyline was heavily featured between 2010–2011, with the decision for Cena to dominate the entire stable throughout its existence being heavily panned by critics.[48][49]

Brock Lesnar's match with John Cena at Extreme Rules 2012 was unusually violent for the PG Era

received polarizing reception from fans and critics.[54][55][56]

Reception

The transition to family-friendly programming was widely discussed during Linda McMahon's 2010 Senate campaign

The move to TV-PG programming has been singled out as WWE's most controversial decision amongst wrestling fans.

muppet characters" because they felt the scripts were "ridiculous",[29] while Batista attributed his 2010 departure to the PG Era, stating that WWE was "in a bad moment" during that time.[39] Bryan Alvarez has been highly critical of WWE storylines throughout the period, but does not blame the TV-PG rating. Alvarez points out that much of the raunchy Attitude Era programming had a TV-PG rating, while viewership declined sharply after the Invasion storyline, which occurred while Raw had a TV-14 rating.[58]

Although noting that the move was unpopular with some fans, Chris Mueller of the

Ruthless Aggression era, but stated that WWE "[gained] respectability again with the advertisers and Hollywood in general. It made it 'safe' for moms and dads to watch with their kids."[29]

Edge compared the PG Era favorably to the Attitude Era, stating that his matches were given more airtime during the PG Era as the latter was more "about the hijinks backstage" than in-ring action.[59] The Miz said that the limitations of the PG Era made them more creative,[37] while Triple H also defended it by emphasizing the importance of storylines over "special effects".[60] Meanwhile, Kurt Angle praised the era as being "good for wrestling" due to non-television reasons such as the health of the wrestlers.[33] Although John Cena sympathized with those who miss the adult-oriented content, citing his personal "adult sense of humor", he defended the PG era, calling it "more digestible": "[operating under] a PG platform, ... has totally globally expanded the WWE and created more fans ... around the world, and allowed all of these performers including myself to go to new and wonderful places".[61]

The transition to TV-PG became a subject of controversy during Linda McMahon's

Superstar Billy Graham said that the move to kid-friendly programming was done so that she would be a more appealing candidate.[62] WWE denied these claims, stating that the 2008 transition to TV-PG occurred "long before McMahon announced her candidacy".[26]

Notes

  1. ^
    CinemaBlend in 2021.[34]
  2. ^ a b On July 14, 2022, Andrew Zarian reported that Raw would begin airing with a TV-14 rating on the following episode. Zarian later reported that the deal had not been finalized. The initial report caused several sources to report that the PG Era had ended, including: Wrestling Observer Newsletter,[4] Pro Wrestling Dot Net,[5] Screen Rant,[6] Súper Luchas,[7] MSN,[8] and Comic Book Resources.[9] The following month, an updated report from Wrestling Observer Newsletter stated that "WWE's PG era is not coming to an end anytime soon."[10]

References

  1. ^ Bixenspan, David (October 29, 2013). "WWE 2K14: 15 Most Memorable Matches from 30 Years of WrestleMania Mode". Bleacher Report. Retrieved August 8, 2023.
  2. ^ a b c "What is your favorite WWE Era?". WWE. Retrieved January 14, 2021.
  3. ^ a b c Triple H vows to end the "Yes!" Movement at WrestleMania: Raw, March 24, 2014 - YouTube
  4. ^ Carey, Ian. "WWE Raw TV-14 rating on USA Network not finalized". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Retrieved July 19, 2022.
  5. ^ Powell, Jason (July 14, 2022). "WWE Raw reportedly ending the PG era, becoming TV-14". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Archived from the original on July 14, 2022. Retrieved July 19, 2022.
  6. ^ Steele, Franklin (July 14, 2022). "WWE Monday Night Raw Will Have New TV-14 Rating Next Week". Screen Rant. Retrieved July 19, 2022.
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  9. ^ Joseph, André (July 14, 2022). "WWE's Family-Friendly PG Era Is Officially Over". Comic Book Resources. Retrieved July 19, 2022.
  10. ^ a b Carey, Ian. "Report: WWE to remain TV-PG for foreseeable future". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Retrieved August 11, 2023.
  11. ^ a b c d e Mueller, Chris (July 20, 2018). "10 Years into the 'PG Era,' Did WWE Make the Right Call?". Bleacher Report. Retrieved December 31, 2020.
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  28. ^ Eck, Kevin (April 6, 2011). "Triple H, The Undertaker fined for chair shot at WrestleMania XXVII". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved January 1, 2021.
  29. ^
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  39. ^ a b Beltrán, William (June 16, 2011). ""Me fui de la WWE porque sentía que no encajaba con su Era PG.": Batista". Súper Luchas (in Spanish). Retrieved December 31, 2020.
  40. ^ a b McCarrick, Michael (May 3, 2020). "Straight Edge Messiah: A Look Back at WWE's Most Underrated Character". Comic Book Resources. Retrieved January 9, 2021.
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  42. ^ Sitterson, Aubrey. "Straight Shoot: Was Taker Vs. HHH Better Than John Cena Vs. Punk?". UGO Networks. Archived from the original on February 1, 2014. Retrieved January 18, 2014.
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External links

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