JBL discusses the banned words list.
Throughout Vince McMahon's reign in WWE, announcers were apparently prohibited from using a number of words, including "pro wrestler" and "belt", and they would allegedly get in trouble if they used these terms. The banned words list has been leaked in the past, and former announcers have talked about it as well.
Speaking on Something to Wrestle, JBL was asked about the banned words list, and he recalled how Michael Cole wrote the announcers' bible, and he thought the list was in there.
"Michael [Cole], at one point, wrote the announcers bible, trying to help people. I believe in there, I don’t I ever read it, don’t tell Michael. ‘I ain’t reading that shit.’ He knows I didn’t. A little different level than a young guy coming in than the old guy who knew what was supposed to happen, wasn’t supposed to happen. I believe the list of banned words, I believe was in that announcers bible. I don’t know that for sure, but there was an announcers bible. I believe, at one point, Michael had written it," JBL said.
When asked whether "belt" was on the list, JBL said that it was, and he agreed with the word being banned. He noted that he hated it, as he believed that championships should not be called belts. JBL quipped that belts keep up your pants.
"Absolutely. I absolutely hate it. These idiots out there, ‘We gotta say belt. We gotta say strap.’ Say something that denigrates the product. I agree completely. A belt keeps up your pants. It’s stupid. You want to do an insider term to get over with your 40 people that respond on Twitter? It’s one of the dumbest things I’ve heard. Call it a title. Call it something prestigious. I hate when the UFC guys, ‘I won this belt.’ Say it’s a title. Say it’s a championship. I completely agree with Vince McMahon on belt as compared to championship or title," JBL said.
JBL was also asked whether "business" and "our industry" were banned, and he said that he didn't remember. He stated that he tried to stay away from those terms because they were too inside baseball. JBL also explained that he had a problem with the term "locker room", as he said that no one cared about it.
"No, I don’t. I think I said that before, so I don’t remember that. I try to stay away from stuff like that because it was too inside baseball. I knew things were inside baseball. You don’t want to say ‘business’ because it makes it feel like it’s too small. I always had a problem with the locker room. Vince, I don’t think did, I don’t know that for sure because I never talked to him about that. Nobody gives a shit about the locker room. These big stars are making millions of dollars now, and they should, I’m happy for them, but you think they are in a community locker room back there? They may be, but that’s not what you want to put over to the fans that it is. You want them to think they’re in a private locker room. I always got mad at anybody, heels or babyfaces, that carried their own bags into the arena. I told guys forever, ‘You’re supposed to be a star.’ Do you see Michael Jordan walking in with his bad with him? No. Somebody carried it for him. There were a lot of things like that, that were simple and Vince wanted to make it appear bigger than a little thing that was an old carny event. You want it to be something like NFL or MLB, it’s perceived differently," JBL said.
Additionally, JBL was asked about "pro wrestler" not being used, with WWE preferring to say "sports entertainer". or "superstar" He noted that he thought it was stupid when talent were determined to say "pro wrestler", and he never understood why people cared about it so much. JBL said that Vince McMahon wanted to create something other than a "pro wrestler" so he could change the perception.
"Guys wanted to die on this hill and I thought it was stupid. Guys wanted to get in ‘pro wrestler.’ ‘Oh, he said pro wrestler. Good for you. That’s going to get you a hell of a push.’ I never understood why people wanted to die on this hill. Vince wanted ‘sports entertainer.’ He wanted ‘superstar.’ He wanted to create something different than pro wrestler. You want to differentiate yourself from the days of the BFW halls or high school gyms. I get that. Today, people don’t associate it with anything like that. It’s different now. Now, if you say ‘pro wrestling,’ it has a different connotation than what it had 20 years ago, but 20 years ago when I was there, it was a negative connotation. I know people in the know liked that because it was part of their inner circle and it made them feel like part of something that nobody else knew, but that’s not where you make money. You don’t make money by catering to your hardcore fans. You make money by Stone Cold bringing in a family of four. By the Rock bringing in this family that wants to come in on a Thanksgiving weekend or Christmas. That’s where you make it. You want to differentiate yourself between the old BWF halls and superstars. Nowadays, that’s not the case because people assume pro wrestling, ‘you’re the guys who sell out big arenas.’ It’s different now. Back then, I agreed with it. It was important to characterize your guys differently than what the insiders would say," JBL said.
During the podcast, JBL said that Vince McMahon saved WWE during the pandemic. Check out his comments here.
Click here to see what JBL had to say about his plans for 2025.
Check out Frankie Kazarian's comments about JBL potentially returning to the ring here.
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