Vince McMahon’s name was allegedly “banned” from WWE television following a CM Punk segment on RAW, according to rumors.
CM Punk, Drew McIntyre, and Seth Rollins got into a furious argument on WWE RAW, raising the possibility that Punk may be a guest commentator for the World Heavyweight Championship event at WrestleMania.
During the segment, CM Punk provoked controversy by making references to Vince McMahon and challenging Drew McIntyre on his designation as the Chosen One.
Speaking on the episode on Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer raised concerns about permitting unscripted conversation, particularly when McMahon’s name was brought up. He said it might not have been a smart move given an alleged prohibition against bringing up McMahon’s name on WWE television.
“It wasn’t scripted word for word, which most things on that show are,” Meltzer clarified. They gave the boys carte blanche. There was a time when many people were considering whether or not this was a good idea. The reference was to Vince McMahon.”
He elaborated, saying, “One of the issues is that Vince McMahon’s name cannot be uttered on television; however, McIntyre altered the subject and avoided bringing up the name, so they were able to go past it. They stayed a little too long, but it didn’t have any bad effects.”
“Levesque knew they were probably going to go long,” Meltzer said, revealing more insider information. “The matches that didn’t have the entrances were already planned to be that way before the show,” she said. Therefore, they did not devise that in order to save time.”
The event serves as a reminder of the difficulties in permitting unscripted conversation, especially when it touches on delicate subjects like Vince McMahon. It clarifies the complexities of WWE’s programming and the difficulties in striking a balance between artistic license and conformity to rules.
