WWE is once again adopting the term “pro wrestling.”

• For years, WWE has billed itself as “sports entertainment” instead of pro wrestling.
• But at Wrestlemania 40 on Sunday night with John Cena and The Rock, the old line was uttered.
• A wrestling blog suggests WWE is retiring the term “sports entertainment.”

Sunday night's Wrestlemania 40 was full of surprises – most notably the shocking appearance of The Undertaker, who wordlessly gave The Rock a chokehold.

But to the ears of those who have followed the WWE business closely for years, there was a big surprise when announcer Michael Cole spoke: “Damn, I love pro wrestling!”

Since the early 2000s, when World Wrestling Entertainment was still called WWF, the company has been careful to label its scripted bouts as “sports entertainment” rather than “professional wrestling.” The use of the term was so prescribed that The Rock's autobiography, published in 2000, was named after the slogan he gave himself: “The Rock Says: The Most Electrifying Man in Sports Entertainment.”.”

The WWE is not alone here. Many companies use certain slang terms to refer to their products in ambiguous, sometimes legally mandated ways—think Velveta's “pasteurized recipe cheese product.”

Using the term “sports entertainment” avoids confusion about whether it is real sport or real competition – things that could be regulated based on things like steroids or fairness. It also signaled WWE's broader ambitions to move into reality television or the XFL.

WWE just signed a $5 billion deal with Netflix to bring its live show “Raw” to the streaming giant over 10 years. The company is facing significant internal changes: Vince McMahon is stepping down from the company he led for decades after serious allegations of sexual misconduct were made against him, which he denied.

Now it appears that the banned term “pro-wrestling” has returned as part of a series of changes made following McMahon's departure from the company. Wrestling blogs and podcasters who follow the broadcasts closely noticed the subtle shift in terminology.

A source familiar with WWE's internal policies told Business Insider that the use of the term “pro wrestling” was relaxed last year.

In perhaps a poetic move (the WWE isn't exactly known for its subtlety, so I feel justified in interpreting this as an overt metaphor), John Cena and The Rock came out during the big Wrestlemania 40 match and did a few moves on each other.

But after The Rock threw Cena out of the ring, the crowd's biggest cheer came at the ominous “DONG” that announced Undertaker's entrance music.

Cena and The Rock are WWE's biggest mainstream successes, bona fide Hollywood stars, but The Undertaker never had much of a career outside of wrestling. At the moment, pro wrestling has actually prevailed over sports entertainment.