* Between the eighties and the early aughts, {{Wrestling/WW|E}}F's wrestling evolved from male niche entertainment, to a teen marketing gimmick (what ''seemed'' adult at the time was actually [[Wrestling/AttitudeEra even more juvenile]]) to wholesome "family" television, as even promoters who already had, say, a large female audience, tried to imitate it.
* Prior to coming to the {{Wrestling/WW|E}}F, The Sheepherders were one of the most hardcore {{tag team}}s in pro wrestling. Upon their arrival, Butch Miller and Luke Williams changed their name to Wrestling/TheBushwhackers, became {{face}}s, and played their brawling style more for laughs than for heat.
* Wrestling International New Generation was less serious than [[Wrestling/{{FMW}} Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling]], with a lower volume of garbage matches, more outlandish gimmicks like the Crypt Keeper and more elaborate angles such as the conflict with Víctor Quiñones. IWA Japan was less so, increasing the match variety and garbage density but eventually took on a more comical approach as they still couldn't maintain the levels of violence FMW could.
* 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. (IWA-MS didn't really go away though, they just moved across the river to deregulated Indiana.) 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.
* The "World Entertainment Wrestling" era of Wrestling/{{FMW}}, the trope namer for GarbageWrestler, focused less on that trope naming garbage in favor of Kodo Fuyuki's so called "Sports Entertainment". Of course, lighter and softer for FMW was still on par with Wrestling/{{ECW}}.
* 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 extreme tolerance for pain which, combined with his new more innocent behavior turned into TheWoobie of the WWF.
* If a wrestler gets a start in a promotion with a much different target audience before jumping ship to another, which can be said of practically anyone who started of in ultra violence encouraging no language filter Wrestling/{{CZW}} who went on to be a Chikara regular(such as Wrestling/ChrisHero). Also can happen in a single promotion if it has different shows with different ratings, such as when Gateway Championship Wrestling decided it was going to discontinue its "adult" shows, meaning everyone now had to clean up for a family audience at all times or when a WWE wrestler moved from TV 14 rated Raw/Heat to PG rated Smackdown/Velocity. Then the whole of the WWE turned PG, except for pay per views up until ''Hell'' In A Cell turned pay per view PG too, making all of those continued shows afterward lighter and softer.
* Despite what its name implies, [[Wrestling/{{TNA}} Total Nonstop Action]] had plenty of '''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.
* The entire Wrestling/{{CHIKARA}} wrestling league is built around this. Television production is broken into distinct "seasons", with each season's [=DVD=] release being designed as a comic book cover. Several wrestlers are based on video game and comic book characters. There is no swearing whatsoever, to the point where attempts to start a swearing chant by the crowd are shouted down ''by the rest of the audience''. RuleOfFunny holds sway, with stunts like holding the first minute or so of a match in slow motion, while another has a wrestler who doesn't like where the match is going, so he ''pauses and rewinds'' the match several seconds, starts again, and this time reverses a move he now sees coming.
* 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 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''.
* Wrestling/{{WWE}} shifted their free [=TV=] programming from a [=TV-14=] rating to TV-PG starting in 2008; this was done to help distance the current product from the "anything goes" Wrestling/AttitudeEra (especially in light of the Wrestling/ChrisBenoit tragedy and the steroid scandals brought to light by a Sports Illustrated article in 2006 that named names), due to the company realizing that they are able to fit Wrestling/JohnCena in the same kid-friendly superhero role that Wrestling/HulkHogan played in the '80s, as well as to help attract new advertisers (and a younger demographic). It's also been speculated that the shift was to accommodate Linda [=McMahon=]'s run for the US Senate; an attempt to portray her as a CEO of a "family-friendly" organization, even going so far as to attempt to block all videos on Website/YouTube taken during the Attitude Era. Nevertheless, when the campaign failed, it didn't result into the TV-14 rebound some fans were hoping for. Which may or may not cast doubt on if this was ever really a factor at all. Though teasing a few times that it might be getting edgy again, so far WWE hasn't followed through, and probably aren't going to anytime soon.
* WWE's revived "Wrestling/{{ECW}}". It was used more as a launching platform for up and coming wrestlers (most famously, Wrestling/CMPunk, by far the most successful of its alumni) 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}}.
* Wrestling/JohnCena's "FU" (a common internet acronym for "Fuck You") was renamed to the "Attitude Adjustment". Similarly, the STFU ("Shut The Fuck Up") was renamed to the STS and then the "[[ShapedLikeItself STF Crossface Combo]]" (in short, they only had one good name for the move).
--> '''John Cena''': ''"I know that kids are watching my every move and there are a lot of parents know their kids look up to me and [...] I kind of live by the motto -- 'Hustle, Loyalty, Respect'. If someone is out of line, I think instead of giving them an FU, it's better to give them an attitude adjustment."''
** 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 [[UnusualEuphemism Five Knuckle Shuffle]].
* Wrestling/MichelleMcCool compared to her initial heel gimmick. When she first turned in 2009, she was a ruthless BloodKnight who savagely 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/Layla}} herself began as a very sexual character, as she debuted two years before the PG switch. Even after, she was presented as a DarkActionGirl and FemmeFatale. Upon joining Wrestling/LayCool, her character became ditzier and hammier as opposed to outwardly violent. After the faction disbanded and Layla became a face, she kept the playful comedic edge.
* Wrestling/JillianHall overlaps with DenserAndWackier. Her initial heel character was quite brutal, and was prone to sneak attacks backstage. She eventually adopted a HollywoodToneDeaf character who thought she was a good singer - and was more stupid than actually malicious.
* Wrestling/EveTorres's heel character was initially a "hoeski" who had no problem manipulating Zack Ryder and John Cena to achieve her own wishes. Upon joining the women's division again and becoming Divas' Champion, she instead focused on being more a BitchInSheepsClothing - dropping anything sexually manipulative.
* Wrestling/KellyKelly began as a stripper and {{Fanservice}} dancer (she and Layla were in fact part of the same dance troupe). As they moved into the PG era, Kelly dropped any overt sexuality to be presented as a GirlNextDoor. Likewise her ring work initially had a GoodIsNotNice edge - where she would get borderline heelish, using illegal submissions and screaming in her opponents' faces. Then when she started getting pushed for the Divas' Championship, she adopted a more playful move-set - including giving her opponents a stink face.
----