This is more rumor than not at the moment, but it appears Fox was not happy with a segment on Smackdown last Friday (June 12). The scene in question was Jeff Hardy throwing his urine test in Sheamus’ face. While it was shown on the east coast, Fox apparently edited out the scene to broadcast on the west coast and plugged in a commercial instead.
https://twitter.com/davidbix/status/1271644416650985475
The story
According to Dave Meltzer:
“It aired on the east coast but not on the west coast. Fox decreed that it violated their standards and practices so they threw a commercial in so we didn’t get to see it on the west coast. That’s what that was all about.”
While there’s plenty of reason to question the source, it does make sense with the sloppy edit and commercial injected. This is an interesting point considering the WWE is in the first year of a five year deal with Fox and given how things have been rocky during and before the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s not a good thing to upset the network. Especially with AEW and others growing enough to carve a noticeable niche in the industry alongside the WWE juggernaut.
It follows the promotion receiving some backlash from Matt Hardy and his wife on social media for putting Jeff Hardy’s personal life on the screen as a storyline. It’s something the WW has done numerous times before, and not always to the raves they had hoped for. They followed a similar angle with Road Warrior Hawk and had Droz push him off the top of the titantron. It was panned by the wrestlers, including Animal, and fans alike.
The saving grace in this one is Sheamus is the suspect responsible for running Elias over while Jeff was in the bushes passed out.
It’s easy to see why Fox may have a problem with this, and when added to the face the WWE is promoting itself as PG while running an Attitude Era storyline could have executives wanting to know what’s going on.
It’s what the fans want
Still, despite the idea that it’s taking advantage of Jeff’s missteps in life, this is they type of storyline most fans wanted. Many have been calling for a return to the Attitude Era Jerry Springer type of storylines.
While these have been few and far between, there’s no denying seeing Jeff throw his “urine” in Sheamus’ face would’ve gotten an audience to their feet cheering Jeff and jeering Sheamus. It was the typical type of setup that was easy to see coming, but we still loved to see it.
The question is, will the WWE continue along these lines or will they tow the company line if Fox was indeed irritated by this scene?
It’s going to be interesting to see it going forward, especially in an age where the WWE can’t seem to do anything right. This could be a turning point for the promotion with Bruce Prichard now taking over creative control over Raw and Smackdown.
Should they continue with racy storylines like the Jeff Hardy and Sheamus segment, or keep it dialed back and try to find another way? Let us know in the comments.
SUBSCRIBE NOW: Get The Overtimer’s Hottest Stories, Breaking News and Special Features in your email, CLICK HERE!
