The Rock's return is a reminder of how WWE's PG culture is limiting the product

The Rock has been back on WWE programming recently. He's gearing up for a tag team match with Roman Reigns, where they will take on Cody Rhodes and Seth Rollins at WrestleMania. Since being back on TV, The Rock has quickly immersed himself in the biggest storyline in professional wrestling.

According to former WWE tag team champion Bully Ray, seeing The Rock back in the ring highlights the difference between the current era of wrestling stars and those of the "attitude" era. 

"When you have The Rock, and Roman [Reigns], and Cody [Rhodes] and Seth [Rollins] out there at the same time, you can actually visually see and understand how much bigger the 'Attitude Era' was than this era," Ray said on a recent episode of Busted Open Radio. "And I'm not talking about just generating money, because this era is actually generating more money than the 'Attitude Era,' but [it doesn't have] the larger-than-life superstar."

A notable difference has been how The Rock has been afforded some courtesy when it comes to cursing on air. He seamlessly switches between a PG product and one that's produced for a mature audience. He is bridging the gap between the old WWE and the new. And with it, he's reminding the world why the current version of the company's programming lacks its appearance to older fans. 

Furthermore, it's a stark reminder of why AEW has quickly risen in popularity. Its mature programming provides a product for adult fans to follow. In the attitude era, wrestlers regularly cursed on TV, bled in matches and had intense segments throughout a show. The Rock is bringing some of that edge back to WWE, and it's clearly showing in the ratings and social media hype. 

It's unlikely WWE will make a long-term shift toward more mature programming. They've been incredibly successful with their PG approach over the years. However, having the throwback moments is certainly a way to keep older fans engaged in what could be one of the greatest storylines in wrestling history. 

And who knows, maybe WWE will change their stance on mature programming once they move over to Netflix next year. Either way, The Rock's return is proving to be a smash hit. And it's only going to get bigger once we get to WrestleMania.