Netflix apparently thought Paige went a little too far with Nikki Bella. Fans who attended the SmackDown taping heard her full insult, but one particularly nasty line was missing when the segment actually hit Netflix.
The September 4 episode of SmackDown was taped in advance, which gave fans a chance to hear the original version of Paige and Nikki’s extremely personal backstage argument. Paige brought John Cena into things by borrowing the motto he carried throughout his WWE career.
“Nikki, you haven’t liked me since day one. You know why? Because I built my career on hustle, loyalty and respect.”
At the taping, Paige followed that up with the real punchline: “You just slept with it.” Netflix viewers who saw the show never heard that part. The broadcast kept Paige’s “Hustle, Loyalty and Respect” setup before suddenly cutting to a crowd reaction. By the time it returned to the segment, the “slept with it” line was gone.
It’s not hard to figure out who Paige was talking about. Nikki dated Cena for years, and the two were one of WWE’s most public couples before ending their engagement in 2018. The funny part is that plenty of other personal material survived the edit. Nikki called Paige a “degraded skank” and claimed she had more passion “behind closed doors.” Paige later went after Nikki’s divorce as well.
“I’m gonna end your career quicker than your last relationship.”
Apparently those could stay. “You just slept with it” couldn’t. This also isn’t the first time Netflix has chopped a particularly personal line out of a WWE promo. Becky Lynch previously had a Dominik Mysterio-related insult removed from a broadcast.
“You’re not even the greatest women’s champion to sleep with Dominik Mysterio.”
Now Paige can add herself to that list. Anyone at the SmackDown taping got to hear exactly what Paige thought about Nikki’s connection to “Hustle, Loyalty and Respect.” Netflix viewers got a crowd reaction instead.
Do you think Netflix should have left Paige’s John Cena shot in the show, or did that one cross the line? Let us know in the comments.
