Several readers have sent word that WWE edited the Becky Lynch vs. Charlotte match on the WWE Network from the Royal Rumble. The segment that was removed was of Ric Flair planting a kiss on Becky Lynch at ringside towards the end of the match. This is apparently a reaction to the pressure from fans on social media and, perhaps, an article written by vocative.com on sexism in WWE. The video has also been removed from their YouTube account.
As a long-time fan, I can understand what Flair did because that was his schtick for many years in the NWA in the 80s and WWE/WCW in the 90s to get heat but times have changed and if WWE wants to keep their sponsors happy then they need to distance themselves from things like this. I don’t fall in line with some of the outrage online, though. If anything, the kiss took away from the match because it didn’t make sense.
Times have changed and the company is pushing the Divas Revolution so it would be smart if the company made a better effort to push the women as serious athletes (see: Bayley in NXT). “We’re changing the way people are going to look at wrestling, women’s wrestling, forever,” Lynch said last year in a WWE.com interview. “Forever. And we’re at the start of it? That’s unbelievable.”
The Rock/Lana segment from Raw that is getting heat with some fans is still up on WWE’s YouTube account:
