Netflix was behind the heavy censorship during the August 31 episode of WWE RAW. The streaming platform made the call because the show airs in several countries with restrictions on graphic content.
A source indicated to False Finish that WWE’s taped episode had to be altered to comply with those international broadcasting restrictions. That led to blood being covered with large pixelated blocks during multiple backstage attacks.
WWE also censored Jacob Fatu’s F-bomb during the opening segment. Fatu screamed “Motherf*cker!” after his microphone had already been cut at the taping, while the televised version shortened the moment and bleeped the profanity.
The blood censorship became impossible to miss during the parking lot ambush involving Royce Keys, OTM and The Usos. Ringside News obtained unedited footage from the taping, but the blood visible inside the building was pixelated when the attack aired on Netflix.
WWE also pixelated blood when Solo Sikoa was attacked backstage later in the episode. The repeated censorship made it clear that the decision was not limited to one isolated shot.
Paul “Triple H” Levesque responded to Netflix’s decision by posting the uncensored version of the footage on social media. That allowed viewers to see the blood and violence that had been covered during the international broadcast.
The censored version of RAW was noticeably cleaner than what people witnessed at the taping. Between the blurred blood, shortened segment and bleeped profanity, Netflix’s international restrictions stripped much of the edge from the show.
Do you think Netflix was right to censor RAW for international markets, or should WWE programming air uncensored everywhere? Let us know what you think in the comments.
