411MANIA | More on Rumors of Frustration Among WWE Talent Over ‘Double Standard’ For The Rock
There have been reports that WWE talent are frustrated with The Rock getting special privileges when it comes to his promos...
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There have been reports that WWE talent are frustrated with The Rock getting special privileges when it comes to his promos. Eric Bischoff even commented on the rumors in a recent edition of his podcast. The latest Wrestling Observer Newsletter goes into more detail on the perceived double standard when it comes to Rock’s promos.
The belief is that The Rock’s star power and position on the TKO board give him more leeway than any other talent has, particularly for the length and content of his promos. One talent noted that Rock does what he wants and no one is going to tell him differently. He also has a team of representatives that handle any issue that might come up. There was a feeling after Vince McMahon let that his double standards for handpicked stars and part-timers was over, then Rock came back. Wrestlers like John Cena, Roman Reigns, The Undertaker and Brock Lesnar were believed to have different standards during Vince’s time, and now people think Rock “has taken it farther.”
A memo was sent to talent a few weeks ago from Nick Khan, Triple H and EVP of Talent Dan Ventrelle. It noted that WWE is a PG company and there is to be no swearing, not even on social media. However, Rock is then allowed to swear on TV and on his own social media. Rock even mentioned this himself last weekend, noting that standards and practices had an issue with him, but he would “talk from the heart.” The memo specifically told talent not to use the word “ass” on FOX, but Rock did so on last week’s Smackdown. WWE told FOX in advance what was in the Rock Concert. The word ended up being allowed and things that were not allowed were simply bleeped.
By contrast, Cody Rhodes was allowed to curse more in his RAW promo, but that was on USA Network, which is cable.
In addition to content, length has also been a complaint regarding Rock’s segments. However, The Rock Concert last week actually went 30 seconds short, according to Brian Gewirtz (and the WON), and the rest of Smackdown happened as planned. While it felt rushed, this was not the case. WWE planned ahead of time for the segment to go long and structured everything else accordingly.
Talent have been feeling differently about the issue than they did a few weeks ago, primarily because of the memo being sent at the same time Rock said what he said. They were told the company is publicly traded and TV-PG, but feel Rock should set an example if he’s on the board. Some also said they could perform better without the handcuffs and get more over, but aren’t allowed to.
