WWE quirks, linguistic and otherwise

[Sean Liska]

In classic WWE, a heel manager getting sent to the back is another ad break.

[S.L.L.]

Nowadays:

 

- Babyface getting sent to the floor signals a commercial break.

I pretty much watch all WWE programming on DVR. It's become almost Pavlovian in that I'll reach for the remote to fast-forward through the commercials when a guy is thrown to the floor.

 

It's usually a sure thing, but if Michael Cole is announcing, I'd at least wait until he notes that the guy in the ring is in control, and asks if he can "keep it rolling when we come back".

[Bix]

I was re-reading part of "Chris and Nancy," and there's a transcript of Vince's speech at the beginning of the tribute. He made a reference to "the authorities."

[Log]

I just noticed that the backstage area is always refered to as "the locker room area". Not that it's odd or anything, it's just that's what it's always called.

[sek69]

I just noticed that the backstage area is always refered to as "the locker room area". Not that it's odd or anything, it's just that's what it's always called.

 

What's odd is in video games, it's almost always referred to as "the backstage area". Then again, WWE games seem to operate under their own rules (for example: the video Bix posted of Edge and Christian reuniting in Smackdown vs Raw from this year playing their kazoos to Benoit's old theme).

[rovert]

Foley's book was on verge of being interesting on this topic and just stopped. Bascially besides the obvious ones we've all heard Vince hates pronouns and under no circumstances could Undertaker be referred to as Taker.

[Bix]

Lita mentioned the latter in her book. It was something along the lines of "Taker is your friend who you know backstage and hang out with sometimes. The Undertaker is the on-screen superstar."

[Cox]

Wait, you read Lita's book? Why???

[rovert]

Lita's book was a fairly interesting read actually, it aint Chyna's book or anything like that.

[sek69]

I still want to know what Vince's deal is with pronouns. You can tell who's headset he's yelling into when they start saying things like "John Cena was just slammed onto John Cena's back" and it always sounds awkward as hell.

[rovert]

I still want to know what Vince's deal is with pronouns. You can tell who's headset he's yelling into when they start saying things like "John Cena was just slammed onto John Cena's back" and it always sounds awkward as hell.

Foley just says Vince HATES (ALL CAPS) them in his book a couple of times.

 

Just a guess but maybe thinks Superstars arent people.

[flyonthewall2983]

I noticed that directly after the Benoit incident they tried to avoid any death references, to the point of Cena talking about his "never say quit" attitude and Orton telling Dusty, "You're a legend, and I'm the legend...you know what."

 

I remember that, it sounded so stupid. That was definitely the end of that part of his gimmick, thank God.

[Guest Slickster]

Would have worked better as "You're a legend...and you know what I do to legends."

[sek69]

So does WWE have some sort of criteria on which to base if second generation wrestlers get to use their family names? Cody Rhodes and Ted DiBiase Jr get to keep their famous names (minus the Jr, but that's another Vince quirk) but Joe Hennig and the Rotunda brothers don't. Then you have the Harts: Harry gets to keep his last name and while Natalya doesn't have a last name like most of the women, they mention her father all the time. You could go back further to guys like Carlito and Primo, who didn't have a last name until they started teaming together.

 

Considering half the roster in FCW is second generation, it should be interesting to see who keeps their name and who doesn't.

[sek69]

Another one that has to be a Vince quirk since all the announcers do it: starting a train of thought with "some people say".

[Johnny Sorrow]

Another one that has to be a Vince quirk since all the announcers do it: starting a train of thought with "some people say".

Well you know, he wasn't "Vader", he was "The Man They Call Vader" I'd guess that "some people" are "they".

[Al]

So does WWE have some sort of criteria on which to base if second generation wrestlers get to use their family names? Cody Rhodes and Ted DiBiase Jr get to keep their famous names (minus the Jr, but that's another Vince quirk) but Joe Hennig and the Rotunda brothers don't. Then you have the Harts: Harry gets to keep his last name and while Natalya doesn't have a last name like most of the women, they mention her father all the time. You could go back further to guys like Carlito and Primo, who didn't have a last name until they started teaming together.

 

Considering half the roster in FCW is second generation, it should be interesting to see who keeps their name and who doesn't.

Well Rhodes and Dibiase are fairly famous names, but Hennig is known under the Mr. Perfect persona while Rotunda was more famous in WWE for the IRS gimmick. Perhaps it has to do with the popularity of those individual names.

 

Also worth noting Alberto Del Rio. They don't play up his bloodlines at all.

[Marty]

I rewatched some of the Savage DVD recently. Did Elizabeth have any other look on her face that wasn't "concerned"?

[sek69]

Regarding family names in WWE, from the WON:

 

And best of all, Shaul Guerrero, the daughter of Vickie & Eddy, has been renamed Raquel Diaz. However, she is acknowledged as Vickie’s daughter, does the “Excuse me,” and everything. If you’re wondering why they would take the Guerrero name, from one of the most famous wrestling families in history away, blame it on Stacy Keibler, Brock Lesnar and Bobby Lashley. All three left WWE, and used their WWE names (since it was their real names) on outside endeavors and Vince McMahon decided both he wanted to own all the names because he didn’t want people becoming stars on his television and then go into other entertainment ventures with the names he popularized. Even a Guerrero.

So they acknowledge who her parents are, yet give her one of those stupidly obvious "take two celebrity names and put them together" developmental names.

[Victator]

They rather solely own a piece of shit than share something good.

[El-P]

Regarding family names in WWE, from the WON:

 

And best of all, Shaul Guerrero, the daughter of Vickie & Eddy, has been renamed Raquel Diaz. However, she is acknowledged as Vickie’s daughter, does the “Excuse me,” and everything. If you’re wondering why they would take the Guerrero name, from one of the most famous wrestling families in history away, blame it on Stacy Keibler, Brock Lesnar and Bobby Lashley. All three left WWE, and used their WWE names (since it was their real names) on outside endeavors and Vince McMahon decided both he wanted to own all the names because he didn’t want people becoming stars on his television and then go into other entertainment ventures with the names he popularized. Even a Guerrero.

So they acknowledge who her parents are, yet give her one of those stupidly obvious "take two celebrity names and put them together" developmental names.

 

Fuck corporate wrestling. It is so ridiculous at this point.

[Log]

I've worked in television news for 10 years now. I have never, ever heard anyone refer to themselves as a "broadcast journalist". I'd say that 99% of the times I've heard that term, it's been on WWF/E programming.

[flyonthewall2983]

I wouldn't be surprised if that's actually an old term used back around the infancy of television.

[sek69]

With the current storyline of Randy Orton punting Nexus members back to developmental, starting a drinking game for every time someone says "skull" on Raw would result in someone dying from alcohol poisoning.

[Ditch]

Interesting that one of the trademarks of a top WWE babyface is kicking people in the head so hard they get a concussion.