WWE Hall of Famer reveals shocking reason behind Vince McMahon banning word “HOSPITAL” on TV
Former WWE Champion reveals several backstage stories about Vince McMahon banning certain words from television.
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JBL reveals why Vince McMahon didn't want people to use the term hospital (via WWE)
During Vince McMahon’s leadership, WWE was known for enforcing several unusual rules. Certain words were banned from being used on television, specific moves were prohibited, and he didn’t even want people sneezing in front of him. Commentators, in particular, faced intense scrutiny. Former commentator JBL recently shared yet another bizarre rule that they were required to follow.
Speaking on Something to Wrestle, JBL revealed that McMahon didn’t allow anyone to use the word “hospital” during WWE programming. If the commentators named a particular hospital, he thought that fans would call the place and ask for details about the injured superstar.
Furthermore, if they mentioned a local hospital, he thought fans would figure out the nearest hospitals to the arena and begin calling them. Thus, Vince McMahon instructed everyone to use the term “local medical center.” This could mean virtually any place, giving the promotion “plausible deniability” in case fans did start making calls.
JBL says Vince McMahon was against using the term ‘hospital’ on television because he didn’t want fans to call the local hospitals
— WrestlingWorldCC (@WrestlingWCC) January 5, 2025
“If you say, ‘He’s at a local medical center,’ you have no idea where he went. You have the plausible deniability” pic.twitter.com/XtOYiNV0qz
McMahon had plenty of other weird rules while running WWE. The one that is generally talked about the most is his straight refusal to use the terms “wrestler” and “wrestling.” Instead, he preferred “superstar” and “sports entertainment.” He also told the backstage interviewers to bend their knees so that the wrestlers looked taller, controlled the color of the ring gear, and many other things that no one ever understood the reason for.
JBL reveals Michael Cole wrote an announcers’ bible featuring all the rules set by Vince McMahon
Speaking on the same podcast, the former Raw commentator also revealed that Vince McMahon’s rules got so overwhelming that Michael Cole ended up writing an announcers’ bible to help others out. This book contained a list of all the banned words that they were not allowed to use.
McMahon had once also screamed at Michael Cole for using the word “that arm.” He wanted his commentators to be specific and mention whether it was the right arm or the left arm. Other banned words included belt, feud, and fans. Additionally, he wanted his commentary team to be sophisticated by using terms like “ecstatic” instead of “very happy.”
The WWE Universe has noted the vast improvement in Cole’s work over the past two years. The quality of his commentary has vastly improved since he became free from these restrictions. He has even received a lot of praise from fans and WWE officials alike for his recent segments.
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Mokshit Batra
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