JBL reveals why Vince McMahon banned word in WWE

John Bradshaw Layfield (JBL) followed several rules as a WWE commentator regarding words and phrases. In a recent podcast episode, he revealed why former WWE Chairman Vince McMahon did not allow announcers to use the word "hospital."

Throughout WWE history, dozens of wrestlers have been wheeled into the back of an ambulance after being stretchered out of an arena as part of a storyline. During McMahon's 40-year tenure as WWE's creative figurehead, commentators did not use the word "hospital" during ambulance segments. Instead, they would say wrestlers were heading to a "local medical facility."

On Something to Wrestle, JBL said McMahon did not want fans to call the nearby hospital if they thought a wrestler was legitimately injured:

"Vince wanted always to keep things on a more cerebral level, and so that was I think the reason for the medical center. And, plus, he didn't want people to be able to call the hospital, I think was a lot of it. So, you didn't wanna say he's at the Baltimore Hospital because people would call the hospital back then. But if he's at a local medical center, you have no idea where he went. He could have gone to an outpatient emergency room or something. That way you have the plausible deniability of saying, 'Well, he was at a different place.'" [40:00 – 40:28]

Several years ago, a list of banned WWE words circulated online. While Vince McMahon had the final say on banned words, JBL clarified that the list was created by fellow commentator Michael Cole.

JBL addresses Vince McMahon's dislike of certain words

According to JBL, Vince McMahon wanted commentators to use "sophisticated" language instead of words like "that" and "the."

The Hall of Famer also revealed that McMahon instructed announcers to avoid saying the word "very" before adjectives:

"Vince didn't like a lot of things like 'very,'" JBL added. "Like you're 'very' happy. Learn English [was Vince McMahon's mindset]. Say 'ecstatic,' say something. Vince didn't like that because he thought it sounded redneck-ish or stupid. He wanted better words. He wanted a more sophisticated commentary than that. And he hated the word 'that.' You say the word 'that' arm. Oh my God. Phew, that's a no-no! That is a no-no! It's 'the' arm or it's the 'right' arm. It's not 'that' arm. Vince hated the term 'that' and 'the.'" [35:39 – 36:11]

In the same episode, JBL disclosed the truth about speculation he was responsible for Mauro Ranallo's WWE exit in 2017.

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Please credit Something to Wrestle and give an H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription if you use quotes from this article.