Vince McMahon’s Name Banned from WWE Television

Vince McMahon’s name reportedly faced a “ban” from WWE television after the CM Punk segment on RAW this week.

In an intense exchange on WWE RAW, CM Punk, Drew McIntyre, and Seth Rollins engaged in a verbal showdown, setting the stage for CM Punk’s role as the guest commentator for the World Heavyweight Championship match at WrestleMania.

During the segment, CM Punk sparked controversy by alluding to Vince McMahon, questioning Drew McIntyre about who appointed him as the Chosen One.

Discussing the segment on Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer highlighted concerns among some that allowing the three men to speak unscripted, especially when McMahon’s name was mentioned, might not have been wise due to an alleged ban on mentioning McMahon’s name on WWE television.

Meltzer shared, “It was not scripted word for word, which most things on that show are. They let the guys have free reign. There was one moment where there were a lot of people thinking this might not be a good idea. It was the Vince McMahon reference.”

He further explained, “One of the things is that Vince McMahon’s name is not allowed to be mentioned on the TV, but McIntyre changed focus and never mentioned the name and they got out of it. They went a little long but there was no negativity from it.”

Meltzer also mentioned insider insights, saying, “One person told me that Levesque knew they were probably gonna go long, so the matches that didn’t have the entrances, before the show they already planned that that was gonna be the case. So it wasn’t that they came up with that to save time.”

The dynamics of allowing unscripted dialogue, particularly when it touches on sensitive topics like the mention of Vince McMahon, underscore the details of WWE’s programming and the challenges in balancing creative freedom with adherence to guidelines.

What are your thoughts on this approach? Should WWE continue to explore unscripted segments, or is a more controlled environment preferable? Share your views in the comments below.