Posted on by bdamage1
Brian Damage
One of the most popular periods in WWF/WWE history, was the ‘Attitude Era.’ It was crash and burn television which saw WWF creative push the envelope each and every week. We saw scantily clad women, foul language, adult oriented gimmicks and storylines and for the most part, it was extremely popular with viewers on TV and at the arenas. Of course, the Attitude Era wasn’t popular with everyone. Journalists and critics like Phil Mushnick and L. Brent Bozell of the Parents Television Council were very critical of the WWF’s programming. So much so, it inspired Vince McMahon and WWF creative to create their own version of these very vocal critics.
Vince McMahon had always wanted to parody these critics to his shows in the past, but was always leery to fully pull the trigger on a full-fledged gimmick and storyline. He started and stopped with creating Dustin Runnels as a religious zealot who would form a group called Evangelists Against Television Movies & Entertainment or EATME for short. McMahon was either talked out of it or just didn’t think it could work. As the days, weeks and months went by, groups like the PTC were still going after the WWF and more importantly their advertisers in an attempt to shut down the promotion.
In 2000, Vince had seen and heard enough and decided to finally go with a gimmick to parody his critics. This, despite opposition from people like Bruce Prichard who didn’t think it was a good idea to shine a light on these people criticizing the WWF’s product. Vince ignored the advice of his people and went ahead with his idea. Stevie Richards, who was rarely used by the WWF, was chosen for the gimmick. At the time, Richards was most remembered for being the lackey to Raven in ECW and also the leader of the nWo parody group called the bWo aka The Blue World Order. According to Prichard, Stevie was chosen mainly because he was rarely seen and because Richards seemingly was most like the character McMahon envisioned in real life.
Richards would have his long hair cut short and was dressed in a shirt and tie and renamed Steven Richards to compliment the ultra conservative character. Richards said that the gimmick was supposedly only going to last a few months to send the message Vince wanted to send, but it eventually turned into something much more. Steven Richards would often come out interrupting bikini contests and lingerie pillow fights to get instant heat with fans and it worked. The boos and hatred from fans, inspired Vince to keep pushing the character and making it grow into a faction.
Bull Buchanan was added simply because he was another wrestler not used often by the WWF and could add “muscle” to Richards cause. Other members were added like Ivory because she also had similar traits to Steven Richards behind the scenes. Val Venis and the Godfather were added due to their very adult themed gimmicks of a porn star and pimp respectively. It was an easy way for the faction to draw heat to itself. Supposedly, it was Richards who suggested that the group be pushed more like a cult than an ultra conservative group to last longer using the idea of how Raven’s Flock in ECW and WCW was pushed. The group was named ‘The Right to Censor’ or RTC for short.
One individual that was very upset about being placed in the RTC was Charles Wright aka The Godfather turned The Goodfather in RTC. Wright was angry that they put him in the faction and actually blamed Steven Richards for that decision. Wright admittedly said years later that he would bully Richards backstage and try to make his life miserable. One scripted segment called for Richards to repeatedly slap the Goodfather across the face. Wright warned Richards backstage, that if he slapped him too hard, he would kick his ass afterwards. It all led to Richards throwing weak looking slaps at the Goodfather which apparently led to Shane McMahon getting angry at Richards behind the scenes.
Charles Wright was so miserable and upset, he decided to quit the WWF and walk away. It took Wright’s good friend, the Undertaker to go directly to Vince McMahon about the situation. That led Vince to put the tag team titles on the Goodfather and Bull Buchanan to try and appease Wright. It worked for the interim, as Wright felt loyalty to the WWF and things would eventually work itself out.
Sean Morley aka Val Venis was also not thrilled with being placed in the RTC, but unlike Charles Wright, realized that perhaps the porn star gimmick had run its course and decided to make the best of the situation. To stand out a little differently from his Right to Censor brethren, Morley added white pants to his attire. The look was an attempt to look like a Good Humor ice cream man and it worked.
At one point, Stacy ‘The Kat’ Carter was kidnapped and was to be brainwashed and added to the faction. The angle was ultimately dropped after news leaked out that Carter was having an affair with another wrestler while married to Jerry ‘The King’ Lawler. The Right to Censor lasted for over a year. Vince McMahon made the choice to break up the faction and drop the gimmick altogether. Steven Richards felt that the RTC still had legs to it when the decision was made to dissolve the faction. No doubt, the Right to Censor had a very impactful presence in the WWF for the year they were in existence.