AEW Reportedly Told To Tone Down The Language By WBD

All Elite Wrestling has reportedly been asked to cut back on the usage of profanities in its programming.

According to Dave Meltzer in the latest Wrestling Observer Newsletter, word has gotten to AEW from Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) that they'd like the "language toned down" going forward.

However, the report noted that WBD's edict made no mention of AEW's wrestlers bleeding during matches.

Incidentally, WBD executives were in attendance during AEW's debut show in Los Angeles earlier this year — at the Kia Forum — when MJF unleashed a profanity-filled rant directed at AEW President Tony Khan. Shortly thereafter, WBD reportedly issued an edict to AEW to remove MJF from all promotional materials.

When AEW first joined the WarnerMedia networks in 2019, Meltzer reported that TNT was "very much behind" the idea of AEW using cursing and blood. And when "Dynamite" was moved from TNT to TBS in 2021, several reports noted that AEW's TV-14 programming will continue to maintain the same standards of practice across its two flagship shows on the network. However, a lot has changed over the last year or so, following the merger between Discovery Inc. and WarnerMedia.  

AEW is reportedly under contract with WBD through 2023, with a one-year option available in the deal for WBD to pick up in 2024. According to a recent report from Brandon Thurston of Wrestlenomics, AEW is likely to negotiate a new TV contract between spring and fall next year. Thurston expects the deal to be the most lucrative one in the upstart company's history.

In a recent interview with TV Insider, Khan stressed that WBD very much considers AEW "part of their plans" going forward, citing the recent Shark Week integration and AEW's wrestlers being invited to a WBD-organized panel at Comic-Con. Khan revealed that AEW and WBD are working together "on another huge partnership" that he's very excited about.