Bob Barker, Shaquille O'Neal, Ozzy Osbourne, Al Sharpton and Ben Roethlisberger aren't who you'd expect to see when turning on World Wrestling Entertainment programming.

All are featured guests this fall with the WWE as Vince McMahon's machine undergoes some image polishing and stresses a family friendly approach.

They've toned down the language, gotten rid of the fake blood. The lingerie matches are gone, with the Divas now wearing the type of workout clothes common at the gym. Characters who are popular with youngsters, such as John Cena and Rey Mysterio, get more screen time, and the WWE Kids magazine debuted last year.

The WWE has worked with networks that air their programming to change parental guidance ratings from TV-14 to PG.

"We just followed our audience and tried to listen to them," McMahon, WWE chairman, said. "It's a more sophisticated product. It's just the right move business-wise, but more specifically the right move in terms of reaching our audience."

The WWE's programming is spread across several networks: "Monday Night Raw" airs for two hours on USA; the SyFy network shows "Extreme Championship Wrestling" on Tuesdays; WGN America shows "WWE Superstars" on Thursdays; and "Friday Night Smackdown," which just celebrated its 10th anniversary, is on My Network TV.

During the peak of what the company refers to as its "attitude era" a decade ago, the WWE's audience was dominated by young men. While its popularity has waned, the fan base has simultaneously grown older and younger with new constituencies, according to audience research. A little more than a third of its audience is female.

Going PG has helped the company draw advertisers who might have looked away before. Pepsi, 7-Eleven stores, Mattel toys and the Army National Guard are among the sponsors that have signed up since the shift, the company said.

Jim Varsallone, who covers professional wrestling for the Miami Herald, said he can tell the difference in the programming.

The work courting kids has paid off, said Varsallone, who sees many more young faces at WWE shows. The promotion of Cena, who has a hip-hop attitude popular with young fans, and Mysterioso, who has lots of high-flying moves, has helped. They have an underdog mentality that many of their fans find very appealing.

The guest stars are a way to give the WWE more of a variety show atmosphere and some juice in a traditionally slow season, when football siphons off many of its fans. Steelers quarterback Roethlisberger was a recent guest. Shaq was particularly popular.

A live pay-per-view special, "WWE Bragging Rights," originates from Pittsburgh's Mellon Arena at 7:45 p.m. Sunday (tickets on sale at www.ticketmaster.com or by calling 1-800-745-3000). "Bragging Rights" will feature a 14-man tag-team match between Team Raw (led by Triple H) and Team SmackDown (led by Chris Jericho) "for the ultimate bragging rights in World Wrestling Entertainment."

"They want to attract as many people as they can," Varsallone said. "That's why they don't label themselves as wrestling anymore. They label themselves entertainment."

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