History LighterAndSofter / ProfessionalWrestling

* The entirety of pro wrestling in the state of Kentucky became this after they successfully ran out IWA Mid-South after deciding they had seen enough {{garbage wrestl|er}}ing and made many reforms to their athletic commission, especially on the subject of pro wrestling, to ensure IWA MS-S never came back until they cleaned up their act and another promotion like it never came into being in the state again. Ohio Valley Wrestling is the poster child for post IWA M-S wrestling in Kentucky, as OVW will end even main event matches if there is any visible blood for fear of the commission. OVW fans were also notorious for their disapproval of anything vulgar or overtly sexual, though Wrestling/AlSnow made [[AuthorAppeal a strong effort]] to bring burlesque angles into [[HotterAndSexier the promotion]]. IWA Mid-South itself became lighter and softer over the years, though it never gave up hardcore death matches entirely.

* Wrestling/{{SHIMMER}} is noticeably more family friendly than its older sister company, Wrestling/RingOfHonor. A casual glance may not reveal it, as the wrestling style is more or less the same, but watching enough of the matches the same wrestlers have on Ring Of Honor as opposed to SHIMMER will reveal it. Neither promotion [[BeautyIsNeverTarnished hides blood]] but in SHIMMER it's rarely more than wounds from the scrapes and cuts unavoidable in sports, rather than the outright blood baths a "[[NoHoldsBarredContest fight without honor]]" in ROH can degenerate into. Language on SHIMMER also rarely gets stronger than "Pretty Bitchin"[[note]]who are more often referred to as "the {{tag team}} of Nikki Roxx and Ariel"[[/note]], with a single "[[PrecisionFStrike F Bomb]]" dropped shocking the audience[[note]]it could probably be attributed to Ayako Hamada not being a fluent English speaker[[/note]]. At ROH events, the audience themselves drop plenty of F Bombs[[note]][[CrowdChant chanting]] "Fuck The Divas" at Serena Deeb's return match with Wrestling/SaraDelRey against [[Wrestling/KiaStevens Amazing Kong]] and Wrestling/DaizeeHaze, both because Deeb had an "[[RealWomenDontWearDresses anti diva]]" gimmick and as a jab at WWE, who released her that year[[/note]]. Finally, SHIMMER wrestlers are hardly ever played up for sex appeal[[note]]Rayna Von Tosh had a pinup [[TheGimmick gimmick]] but never did more than pull off a pair of {{opera gloves}}[[/note]] and sexual themes are never central to angles. Ariel and SHIMMER co founder Allison Danger were previously part of the "Christopher Street Connection" in Ring Of Honor, a stable of exoticos[[note]]wrestlers who aim to emasculate their opponents into submission during matches through sexual harassment[[/note]], [[WildCard beloved exoticos at that]]. "The Lovely" Lacey, who was part of SHIMMER's first main event, was also central to one of ROH's biggest angles where her having sex with Wrestling/JimmyJacobs[[note]]not shown but part of an important discussion[[/note]] lead to The Age Of The Fall, [[BreakOutCharacter which ended up spilling out of]] ROH into several other feds, including some overseas. Lacey then leaving Jacobs after having sex with Wrestling/AustinAries[[note]]not shown but he kissed and told[[/note]] lead to the end of said Age Of The Fall. Another point on violence, the other events that lead to Age Of The Fall and later brought it to an end involved Lacey requiring reconstructive surgery after being struck by a ''railroad spike''.

** The F-U was also a TakeThat to the F-5 finishing move of Wrestling/BrockLesnar. Officially, one of the reasons for changing the name was that the reference was beyond outdated, as a lot of Cena's present fanbase wasn't even toilet-trained when Lesnar was first wrestling. Curiously, they kept [[ADateWithRosiePalms Five Knuckle Shuffle]].

* Despite what its name implies, [[Wrestling/{{TNA}} Total Nonstop Action]] had plenty of '''[[BuxomIsBetter T]]'''&'''[[ShakingTheRump A]]''' on display when it first started, along with a hearty serving of [[GarbageWrestling hardcore]] GimmickMatches and a general grungy atmosphere meant to be appeal to more mature audiences than WWE's. After they got a deal with Fox Sports Net though, TNA went family friendly, from "Sex Appeal" to "Six Appeal" with its six sided ring. Their pay per views were not quite as toned down and the atmosphere of the product got much heavier after leaving Fox but it has never descended to the level of the early days.

* Wrestling/{{SHIMMER}} is noticeably more family friendly than its older sister company, Wrestling/RingOfHonor. A casual glance may not reveal it, as the wrestling style is more or less the same, but watching enough of the matches the same wrestlers have on Ring Of Honor as opposed to SHIMMER will reveal it. Neither promotion [[BeautyIsNeverTarnished hides blood]] but in SHIMMER it's rarely more than wounds from the scrapes and cuts unavoidable in sports, rather than the outright blood baths a "[[NoHoldsBarredContest fight without honor]]" in ROH can degenerate into. Language on SHIMMER also rarely gets stronger than "Pretty Bitchin"[[note]]who are more often referred to as "the {{tag team}} of Nikki Roxx and Ariel"[[/note]], with a single "[[PrecisionFStrike F Bomb]]" dropped shocking the audience[[note]]it could probably be attributed to Ayako Hamada not being a fluent English speaker[[/note]]. At ROH events, the audience themselves drop plenty of F Bombs[[note]][[CrowdChant chanting]] "Fuck The Divas" at Serena Deeb's return match with Wrestling/SaraDelRey against [[Wrestling/KiaStevens Amazing Kong]] and Wrestling/DaizeeHaze, both because Deeb had an "[[RealWomenDontWearDresses anti diva]]" gimmick and as a jab at WWE, who released her that year[[/note]]. Finally, SHIMMER wrestlers are hardly ever played up for sex appeal[[note]]Rayna Von Tosh had a pinup [[TheGimmick gimmick]] but never did more than pull off a pair of {{opera gloves}}[[/note]] and sexual themes are never central to angles. Ariel and SHIMMER co founder Allison Danger were previously part of the "Christopher Street Connection" in Ring Of Honor, a stable of exoticos[[note]]wrestlers who aim to emasculate their opponents into submission during matches through sexual harassment[[/note]], [[WildCard beloved exoticos at that]]. "The Lovely" Lacey, who was part of SHIMMER's first main event, was also central to one of ROH's biggest angles where her having sex with Wrestling/JimmyJacobs[[note]]not shown but part of an important discussion[[/note]] lead to The Age Of The Fall, [[BreakOutCharacter which ended up spilling out of]] ROH into several other feds, including [[UpToEleven some overseas]]. Lacey then leaving Jacobs after having sex with Wrestling/AustinAries[[note]]not shown but he kissed and told[[/note]] lead to the end of said Age Of The Fall. Another point on violence, the other events that lead to Age Of The Fall and later brought it to an end involved Lacey requiring reconstructive surgery after being struck by a ''railroad spike''.

* WWE's revived "Wrestling/{{ECW}}". It was used more as a launching platform for up and coming wrestlers and a place to dump useless ones. During the last leg of its existence in 2009, the exceptions were midcarders Wrestling/{{Christian}}, Wrestling/WilliamRegal, and [[Wrestling/TheWorldsGreatestTagTeam Shelton Benjamin]], who carried the place. If it hadn't been for them, WWE wouldn't have upper-midcarder/lower main event talent Wrestling/{{Sheamus}}.

* When Wrestling/MickFoley hit legitimate main event status in late 1998, he traded in a lot of the more sado-masochistic elements of his gimmick for a more humorous approach (which Wrestling/TripleH referred to as a "human muppet") that included a sock puppet and a more child-like demeanor. He, however, still retained bits of his CrazyAwesome tolerance for pain which, combined with his new more innocent behavior turned into TheWoobie of the WWF.

* Wrestling/MichelleMcCool compared to her initial heel gimmick. When she first turned in 2009, she was a ruthless BloodKnight who ruthlessly attacked Wrestling/MariaKanellis and Wrestling/EveTorres in an attempt to break their legs, and tried to break Wrestling/{{Melina}}'s jaw. When she hooked up with Layla to form Wrestling/LayCool, she instead became a ditzier ValleyGirl - where her taunts amounted to catty ''Film/MeanGirls''-esque taunts and skits like pouring punch over Wrestling/MickieJames or smearing lipstick over Wrestling/BethPhoenix. Arguably this was in fact a good change - revealing that Michelle had quite a knack for comedy - and she still managed to be treated as a serious competitor. The new gimmick allowed for more slapsticky comeuppances for her too.

* Wrestling/{{SHIMMER}} is noticeably more family friendly than its older sister company, Wrestling/RingOfHonor. A casual glance may not reveal it, as the wrestling style is more or less the same, but watching enough of the matches the same wrestlers have on Ring Of Honor as opposed to SHIMMER will reveal it. Neither promotion [[BeautyIsNeverTarnished hides blood]] but in SHIMMER it's rarely more than wounds from the scrapes and cuts unavoidable in sports, rather than the outright blood baths a "[[NoHoldsBarredContest fight without honor]]" in ROH can degenerate into. Language on SHIMMER also rarely gets stronger than "Pretty Bitchin"[[note]]who are more often referred to as "the {{tag team}} of Nikki Roxx and Ariel"[[/note]], with a single "[[PrecisionFStrike F Bomb]]" dropped shocking the audience[[note]]it could probably be attributed to Ayako Hamada not being a fluent English speaker[[/note]]. At ROH events, the audience themselves drop plenty of F Bombs[[note]][[CrowdChant chanting]] "Fuck The Divas" at Serena Deeb's return match with Wrestling/SaraDelRey against Wrestling/AmazingKong and Wrestling/DaizeeHaze, both because Deeb had an "[[RealWomenDontWearDresses anti diva]]" gimmick and as a jab at WWE, who released her that year[[/note]]. Finally, SHIMMER wrestlers are hardly ever played up for sex appeal[[note]]Rayna Von Tosh had a pinup [[TheGimmick gimmick]] but never did more than pull off a pair of {{opera gloves}}[[/note]] and sexual themes are never central to angles. Ariel and SHIMMER co founder Allison Danger were previously part of the "Christopher Street Connection" in Ring Of Honor, a stable of exoticos[[note]]wrestlers who aim to emasculate their opponents into submission during matches through sexual harassment[[/note]], [[{{Tweener}} beloved exoticos at that]]. "The Lovely" Lacey, who was part of SHIMMER's first main event, was also central to one of ROH's biggest angles where her having sex with Wrestling/JimmyJacobs[[note]]not shown but part of an important discussion[[/note]] lead to The Age Of The Fall, [[BreakOutCharacter which ended up spilling out of]] ROH into several other feds, including [[UpToEleven some overseas]]. Lacey then leaving Jacobs after having sex with Wrestling/AustinAries[[note]]not shown but he kissed and told[[/note]] lead to the end of said Age Of The Fall. Another point on violence, the other events that lead to Age Of The Fall and later brought it to an end involved Lacey requiring reconstructive surgery after being struck by a ''railroad spike''.