Can you say "belt" in WWE?

No. Despite championship titles having been colloquially referred to as "belts" for decades throughout the pro wrestling industry, direct references to championship "belts" or "straps" have explicitly banned by WWE Chairman & CEO Vince McMahon since the mid-1990s. He insists that his performers only acknowledge championships as "titles" or "championships."

The Origins of WWE‘s Rules on Championship Terminology

According to longtime WWE creative team members, McMahon first introduced guidelines restricting the use of "belt" and "strap" in pre-show talent meetings in 1995 or 1996. He felt that those words sounded too informal and diminished the prestige of his championship titles.

McMahon has always prioritized making WWE championships feel distinguished from rival promotions. When WWE (then WWF) began nationally expanding in the mid-1980s, their championship belts were much larger and made with more expensive materials than competing titles. McMahon has seemingly correlated the terminology used to describe titles with their perceived value.

While never publicly confirmed as official policy, whispers of McMahon fining talents for saying "belt" have persisted for years. WWE commentator Jim Ross claimed McMahon once scolded him backstage for referencing a "belt" on-air. The terminology guideline remains in place nearly 30 years later.

What Other Words and Topics Are Taboo in WWE?

In addition to "belt" and "strap," WWE talents are prohibited or strongly discouraged from using a wide range of insider lingo and references that could hurt the company‘s family-friendly branding. Banned or contentious terminology includes:

Wrestling/Wrestlers – Per a 2020 memo, talents cannot identify as "wrestlers" or refer to their performances as "wrestling matches." McMahon prefers more mainstream branding terminology like WWE "Superstars" competing in "sports entertainment."

Title Is On The Line – Longtime play-by-play announcer Jim Ross claimed he was once strongly reprimanded for saying a championship was "on the line" in a title match. McMahon apparently hated the insider phrase.

House Show – WWE only acknowledges their non-televised live events as "WWE Live Events" to downplay the insider connotation of "house shows" that implies results don‘t matter.

Title Shots – Rather than promise future championship "shots," talents are told to discuss championship "opportunities."

Divas – After transitioning to tout their female talents as full-fledged "Superstars" in 2016, WWE has distanced itself from the Divas era branding.

Talents are also discouraged from making blatant references to violence, injuries, wrestler deaths, hospital trips, insider terms like "heels & faces", and controversial topics that could garner negative mainstream attention. Failure to adhere can hamper opportunities, especially for lower-level talents.

Data: Google Search Interest Over Time

This Google Trends data indicates search interest related to "WWE Belt" has grown more over the past 20 years compared to "WWE Championship". So McMahon‘s terminology efforts haven‘t fully caught on with fans.

What Happens When WWE Talents Go Off-Script?

While some top WWE talents may covertly go off-script to add realism and spontaneity to highly produced WWE TV, speaking freely carries major risks.

Going off-script often leads to immediate chastising from producers through the live TV headset. Repeat offenders risk being taken off TV by McMahon and WWE Creative for extended "re-training." Heels sometimes secretly go off-script to genuinely anger crowds, but stories of forced apologies and creative burials circulate anytime it happens.

In 2022, popular talent Zelina Vega claimed she was briefly released by WWE in late-2020 after standing up to McMahon and pushing for approval to continue streaming on Twitch. Vega says McMahon reprimanded her for "disobedience," indicating he still expects strict adherence to corporate guidelines. Other released stars like Bray Wyatt have suggested rigid creative control and compromised creative freedom contributed to their WWE exits.

How Do Other Promotions Handle Talent Creative Freedom?

WWE‘s obsession with heavily scripting performers and severely limiting verbal autonomy has been widely criticized, especially as competition like AEW affords more creative liberties.

AEW Executive VP Cody Rhodes has reiterated that "bullet points" for top-level promos suffice since much of their talent comes from less restrictive backgrounds. This facilitates a "cooler" product, according to Rhodes. AEW World Champion MJF largely improvises his promos within reason, while stars like Eddie Kingston cut visceral, heartfelt off-the-cuff speeches praised for sounding authentic.

Tony Khan‘s more open-minded branding approach also permits regular references to "professional wrestling," "wrestlers," and "matches." Announcers can freely hype title bouts as championship matches "on the line." This transparency has endeared AEW to longtime fans.

However, controversial ownership comments and advertiser apprehension have forced AEW to also issue some vague content restrictions around violence, profanity, sexism, etc. But their creative process remains far less rigid than McMahon‘s late-90s mindset of trying to eliminate insider terminology that confuses mainstream viewers. WWE‘s methodology led to the arbitrary "belt" ban that persists in the 2020s.

Could McMahon Ever Relent on the "Belt" Ban?

After three decades strictly enforcing this policy through fines and talent scolding, it seems unlikely McMahon will change his stance before eventually relinquishing creative control. Too much time has passed for him to suddenly permit "belt" references without it coming off as strange and inconsistent for longtime viewers.

If Triple H or Stephanie McMahon take over WWE creative one day, perhaps verbal guidelines around "belts" would relax in favor of empowering talent with more promo freedom. But the McMahon family obsession with presentation means they will likely uphold most standards around protecting championship prestige. Don‘t expect to hear Michael Cole proudly proclaim "the WWE Title belt is on the line!" anytime soon.

So can you say belt in WWE? I wouldn‘t try it. The McMahon family of promoters remain steadfast regarding championship terminology nearly 30 years on. Talent value presentation over authenticity.