Right to Censor
Encyclopedia
The Right to Censor was a professional wrestling
faction in the World Wrestling Federation
from mid-2000 to early 2001. The group was a parody
of the Parents Television Council
(PTC), who was protesting the level of violence and sexual content in WWF programming and threatening to boycott several of their sponsors.
The uniform of the Right to Censor was a white button up shirt and black tie, with black slacks for the men (although Val Venis wore white slacks on occasion) and a long black skirt for the women, which parodies the look of a Mormon
missionary. Eventually Ivory, the only woman recruited to the group, was forced to adopt the black slacks out of necessity due to the skirt limiting her in-ring abilities.
Instead of the standard musical theme, the entrance of RTC members was accompanied by the sound of shrill alarms and buzzers with an underlying swing jazz beat.
began to randomly appear on WWF programming to cover up the bodies of scantily clad women or remove "hardcore
" weapons such as tables from matches. He apparently took offense to the Acolytes
's rowdy reputation and disapproved of the Dudleys
' use of tables. He was eventually joined by Bull Buchanan
, The Goodfather
(formerly the Godfather), Val Venis
, and Ivory
. The group temporarily forced The Kat
into its fold, but The Kat and the WWF parted ways before that storyline could completely play itself out. Before being forced into the group, The Kat was starting a group called Right to Nudity, which was to play on The Kat's infamous pay-per-view
stunt where she appeared completely topless. Her group was what brought her to Right to Censor's attention.
The Right to Censor came out victorious in at least one match of every pay-per-view they participated in from mid-2000 to early 2001. At SummerSlam 2000
, Richards, Buchanan, and The Goodfather won a 6-man tag match against Too Cool
and Rikishi
. At the next pay-per-view, Unforgiven, the RTC (now with Val Venis) won an 8-man tag match against the APA
and the Dudley Boyz. Even though The Goodfather and Bull Buchanan lost the Dudley Invitational at No Mercy 2000, Venis and Richards managed to defeat Chyna and Mr. Ass
in a tag match. When Women's Champion
Ivory joined the group, she won 3 pay-per-view matches in a row for the group. She defeated Lita in a title match at Survivor Series 2000
while The Goodfather and Buchanan lost a Survivor Series Elimination Match. At Armageddon 2000
, Ivory came out victorious once again in a triple-threat title match against Molly Holly and Trish Stratus
, and Val Venis also was victorious over Chyna. Meanwhile, Buchanan and The Goodfather continued the losing streak when they lost the Tag Team titles to Edge
and Christian
in a Fatal Four-Way tag match. At the 2001 Royal Rumble
, Ivory once again retained her title by defeating Chyna; on the other hand, Buchanan, The Goodfather, and Venis all failed in their attempt to win the Royal Rumble Match. No Way Out 2001
that year marked the last time the RTC would win a match at a pay-per-view when Steven Richards defeated Jerry Lawler
.
The group had a moderate level of success, with Buchanan and The Goodfather holding the Tag Team Championship and Ivory capturing the WWF Women's Championship before entering in to a high-profile feud
with Chyna.
was the symbolic end of the Right to Censor, since the stable lost all of the matches they were scheduled to participate in, Buchanan, Venis, and The Goodfather lost a 6-man tag match against the APA and Tazz
while Ivory lost her title to Chyna.
The following night on Raw is War
marked the last appearance of the group, when Richards, Buchanan and The Goodfather faced the Brothers of Destruction
in a handicap match. The group was finally disbanded when Steven Richards was hit with the Last Ride by The Undertaker. The Goodfather, Buchanan and Val Venis all walked out and left him lying in the ring. After this, the group's members were kept off television for a period of time before Richards adopted a psychotic gimmick while Bull Buchanan was briefly rebranded as B2 (B-Squared) and made a bodyguard for the then-debuting John Cena
before departing the WWE. The rest of the group reverted to their previous personas before the advent of the faction.
Professional wrestling
Professional wrestling is a mode of spectacle, combining athletics and theatrical performance.Roland Barthes, "The World of Wrestling", Mythologies, 1957 It takes the form of events, held by touring companies, which mimic a title match combat sport...
faction in the World Wrestling Federation
World Wrestling Entertainment
World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. is an American publicly traded, privately controlled entertainment company dealing primarily in professional wrestling, with major revenue sources also coming from film, music, product licensing, and direct product sales...
from mid-2000 to early 2001. The group was a parody
Parody
A parody , in current usage, is an imitative work created to mock, comment on, or trivialise an original work, its subject, author, style, or some other target, by means of humorous, satiric or ironic imitation...
of the Parents Television Council
Parents Television Council
The Parents Television Council is a U.S. based advocacy group founded by conservative activist L. Brent Bozell III in 1995 using the National Legion of Decency as a model...
(PTC), who was protesting the level of violence and sexual content in WWF programming and threatening to boycott several of their sponsors.
The uniform of the Right to Censor was a white button up shirt and black tie, with black slacks for the men (although Val Venis wore white slacks on occasion) and a long black skirt for the women, which parodies the look of a Mormon
Mormon
The term Mormon most commonly denotes an adherent, practitioner, follower, or constituent of Mormonism, which is the largest branch of the Latter Day Saint movement in restorationist Christianity...
missionary. Eventually Ivory, the only woman recruited to the group, was forced to adopt the black slacks out of necessity due to the skirt limiting her in-ring abilities.
Instead of the standard musical theme, the entrance of RTC members was accompanied by the sound of shrill alarms and buzzers with an underlying swing jazz beat.
Formation and feuds
The group was formed when wrestler Steven RichardsStevie Richards
Michael Manna is an American professional wrestler, better known by the ring name Stevie Richards. Also known by his ring names, Steven Richards and Dr...
began to randomly appear on WWF programming to cover up the bodies of scantily clad women or remove "hardcore
Hardcore wrestling
Hardcore wrestling is a form of professional wrestling that eschews traditional concepts of match rules in favor of matches that take place in unusual environments, using foreign objects that are not normally permitted...
" weapons such as tables from matches. He apparently took offense to the Acolytes
Acolytes Protection Agency
The Acolytes Protection Agency , was a professional wrestling tag team that consisted of Bradshaw and Faarooq. They wrestled for the American promotion World Wrestling Federation/Entertainment between October 1998 and March 2004....
's rowdy reputation and disapproved of the Dudleys
Dudley Boyz
Team 3D was a professional wrestling tag team, consisting of Brother Ray and Brother Devon, formerly sporadically joined into a stable by Brother Runt on several intervals...
' use of tables. He was eventually joined by Bull Buchanan
Barry Buchanan
Barry Buchanan is an American professional wrestler, best known for his appearances as Bull Buchanan and B-2 in the World Wrestling Federation/Entertainment.-National Championship Wrestling :...
, The Goodfather
Charles Wright (wrestler)
Charles Wright is an American businessman and former professional wrestler. He is best known for his tenure with the World Wrestling Federation throughout the 1990s and early 2000s under the ring names Papa Shango, Kama, Kama Mustafa, The Godfather, and The Goodfather .After leaving the wrestling...
(formerly the Godfather), Val Venis
Sean Morley
Sean Allen Morley is a Canadian professional wrestler better known by his ring name Val Venis, during his time with World Wrestling Federation, later known as World Wrestling Entertainment...
, and Ivory
Lisa Moretti
Lisa Moretti is a retired American professional wrestler. She is best known for her appearances with World Wrestling Entertainment between 1999 and 2005 under the ring name Ivory...
. The group temporarily forced The Kat
Stacy Carter
Stacy Carter , better known as Miss Kitty or The Kat, is an American former professional wrestling valet.During her tenure in the World Wrestling Federation, she held the Women's Championship once, although she was not a trained wrestler...
into its fold, but The Kat and the WWF parted ways before that storyline could completely play itself out. Before being forced into the group, The Kat was starting a group called Right to Nudity, which was to play on The Kat's infamous pay-per-view
Pay-per-view
Pay-per-view provides a service by which a television audience can purchase events to view via private telecast. The broadcaster shows the event at the same time to everyone ordering it...
stunt where she appeared completely topless. Her group was what brought her to Right to Censor's attention.
The Right to Censor came out victorious in at least one match of every pay-per-view they participated in from mid-2000 to early 2001. At SummerSlam 2000
SummerSlam (2000)
SummerSlam was the thirteenth annual SummerSlam professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by the World Wrestling Federation . The event took place on August 27, 2000 at the Raleigh Entertainment and Sports Arena in Raleigh, North Carolina....
, Richards, Buchanan, and The Goodfather won a 6-man tag match against Too Cool
Too Cool
Too Cool is a professional wrestling tag team and former faction most notably active in World Wrestling Federation / Entertainment between 1998 and 2001 and for a short time in 2004.-1998–1999:...
and Rikishi
Solofa Fatu
Solofa F. Fatu, Jr. is an American professional wrestler, best known under the ring name Rikishi.-The Samoan Swat Team:...
. At the next pay-per-view, Unforgiven, the RTC (now with Val Venis) won an 8-man tag match against the APA
Acolytes Protection Agency
The Acolytes Protection Agency , was a professional wrestling tag team that consisted of Bradshaw and Faarooq. They wrestled for the American promotion World Wrestling Federation/Entertainment between October 1998 and March 2004....
and the Dudley Boyz. Even though The Goodfather and Bull Buchanan lost the Dudley Invitational at No Mercy 2000, Venis and Richards managed to defeat Chyna and Mr. Ass
Monty Sopp
Monty Kip Sopp is an American professional wrestler, best known as Billy Gunn during his tenure for World Wrestling Entertainment. He is probably best known as one of the members of the New Age Outlaws. He also worked for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling under the ring name Kip James...
in a tag match. When Women's Champion
WWE Women's Championship
The WWE Women's Championship was a professional wrestling championship in the World Wrestling Entertainment promotion. Created in 1956, it was the oldest active professional wrestling championship in World Wrestling Entertainment history until its retirement in 2010 as a result from a unification...
Ivory joined the group, she won 3 pay-per-view matches in a row for the group. She defeated Lita in a title match at Survivor Series 2000
Survivor Series (2000)
Survivor Series was the fourteenth annual Survivor Series professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by the World Wrestling Federation . It took place on November 19, 2000 at the Ice Palace in Tampa, Florida....
while The Goodfather and Buchanan lost a Survivor Series Elimination Match. At Armageddon 2000
Armageddon (2000)
Armageddon was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by World Wrestling Federation that took place on December 10, 2000, at the Birmingham-Jefferson Civic Center in Birmingham, Alabama. It was the second annual Armageddon event....
, Ivory came out victorious once again in a triple-threat title match against Molly Holly and Trish Stratus
Trish Stratus
Patricia Anne Stratigias , better known by her ring name Trish Stratus, is a Canadian professional wrestler, actress and television personality currently signed with WWE. She is also a former fitness model....
, and Val Venis also was victorious over Chyna. Meanwhile, Buchanan and The Goodfather continued the losing streak when they lost the Tag Team titles to Edge
Adam Copeland
Adam Joseph Copeland is a retired Canadian professional wrestler and actor, better known by his ring name Edge. He is currently signed to WWE under a Legends contract....
and Christian
Jason Reso
William Jason Reso is a Canadian professional wrestler and actor, better known by his ring names Christian and Christian Cage...
in a Fatal Four-Way tag match. At the 2001 Royal Rumble
Royal Rumble (2001)
Royal Rumble was the fourteenth annual Royal Rumble professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by the World Wrestling Federation...
, Ivory once again retained her title by defeating Chyna; on the other hand, Buchanan, The Goodfather, and Venis all failed in their attempt to win the Royal Rumble Match. No Way Out 2001
No Way Out (2001)
No Way Out was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by the World Wrestling Federation . It was the third such annual event and took place on February 25, 2001 at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas, Nevada....
that year marked the last time the RTC would win a match at a pay-per-view when Steven Richards defeated Jerry Lawler
Jerry Lawler
Jerry O'Neil Lawler is an American professional wrestler, wrestling commentator, musician, businessman, commercial artist and film actor, known throughout the wrestling world as Jerry "The King" Lawler. He is currently signed to WWE, working on its Raw brand as the color commentator and occasional...
.
The group had a moderate level of success, with Buchanan and The Goodfather holding the Tag Team Championship and Ivory capturing the WWF Women's Championship before entering in to a high-profile feud
Feud (professional wrestling)
A professional wrestling feud is a staged rivalry between multiple wrestlers or alliances of wrestlers. They are integrated into ongoing storylines, particularly in events which are televised...
with Chyna.
Split
WrestleMania X-SevenWrestleMania X-Seven
WrestleMania X-Seven was the seventeenth annual WrestleMania professional wrestling pay-per-view produced by the World Wrestling Federation . It took place on April 1, 2001 at the Reliant Astrodome in Houston, Texas. The event was the first WrestleMania held in the state of Texas...
was the symbolic end of the Right to Censor, since the stable lost all of the matches they were scheduled to participate in, Buchanan, Venis, and The Goodfather lost a 6-man tag match against the APA and Tazz
Tazz
Peter Senerchia is a retired American professional wrestler and current color commentator best known by his ring name Tazz, originally Tazmaniac and later shortened to simply Taz...
while Ivory lost her title to Chyna.
The following night on Raw is War
WWE RAW
WWE Raw ) is a sports entertainment television program for WWE that currently airs on the USA Network in the United States...
marked the last appearance of the group, when Richards, Buchanan and The Goodfather faced the Brothers of Destruction
Brothers of Destruction
The Brothers of Destruction was a professional wrestling tag team consisting of The Undertaker and Kane, both currently wrestling for World Wrestling Entertainment on its SmackDown roster.-History:...
in a handicap match. The group was finally disbanded when Steven Richards was hit with the Last Ride by The Undertaker. The Goodfather, Buchanan and Val Venis all walked out and left him lying in the ring. After this, the group's members were kept off television for a period of time before Richards adopted a psychotic gimmick while Bull Buchanan was briefly rebranded as B2 (B-Squared) and made a bodyguard for the then-debuting John Cena
John Cena
John Felix Anthony Cena is an American professional wrestler, actor, rapper, and television personality. He is currently signed to WWE as a member of its WWE Raw brand....
before departing the WWE. The rest of the group reverted to their previous personas before the advent of the faction.
Championships and accomplishments
- World Wrestling FederationWorld Wrestling EntertainmentWorld Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. is an American publicly traded, privately controlled entertainment company dealing primarily in professional wrestling, with major revenue sources also coming from film, music, product licensing, and direct product sales...
- WWF Tag Team Championship (1 time) - Buchanan and Goodfather
- WWF Women's ChampionshipWWE Women's ChampionshipThe WWE Women's Championship was a professional wrestling championship in the World Wrestling Entertainment promotion. Created in 1956, it was the oldest active professional wrestling championship in World Wrestling Entertainment history until its retirement in 2010 as a result from a unification...
(1 time) - Ivory