This past week, there was some major heat between WWE and Fighting Spirit, a magazine based out of the U.K. that covers professional wrestling as well as MMA. In the latest issue, the magazine printed a memo sent out by WWE to members of the video gaming press covering the upcoming SmackDown vs. Raw 2009 video game as WWE wants to control how the game is portrayed in previews.

WWE told the video game press that they could not show any screenshots of the Superstars bleeding or using weapons. Additionally, WWE said in their memo that they aren’t allowed to show screenshots of digital Triple H “in a defenseless or vulnerable position.” WWE was said to be furious that the memo was published. Additionally, Fighting Spirit defied order by posting a screenshot of Kane hovering over a vulnerable Triple H.

The full article printed in Fighting Spirit is as follows:

We all know how Triple H loves squashing five guys on RAW or killing Kenny Dykstra for no good reason on SmackDown. The extent to which he is protected and booked to be indestructable on WWE television is an old and very sad story. So maybe it was inevitable that the same mentality would spill over into WWE’s videogames too.

With SmackDown! vs RAW 2009 out in November, early game code has been sent out to the videogames press. And one of our button-bashing buddies got in touch to inform us of some new directives the games journalists must abide by with this years version of the game:

“Got WWE preview code yesterday, and as always, screenshots have to be approved if we decide to take our own. So far, so usual. But here’s the interesting part: there are further stipulations that highlight which screenshots will immediately be given the thumbs down.

These include screenshots of ’superstars’ (not allowed to refer to them as wrestlers) bleeding, weapons being used… and we’re not allowed to take ANY screenshots of Triple H losing or ANY screenshots of Triple H in a ‘defenceless or vunerable position’. Oh, and the game still sucks”

Thats right, Hunter is so paranoid about protecting his spot that he’s holding people down in videogames! What a dork. Fortunately, his very own theme song tells us that, “It’s all about the game, and how you play it / It’s all about control and if you can take it.” Well, we have taken control and we’ve made sure that Triple H is both defenceless and vunerable in the screenshot to the left. Sorry Paul!