NBCUniversal is methodically deleting anything it deems “racist” or “risqué” from past WWE wrestling matches for its new Peacock streaming service.
One particular match that the NBC streaming service deleted is from the 1990s WrestleMania VI in which Rowdy Roddy Piper painted half his face black as he faced black wrestler Bad News Brown, according to wrestling site PWInsider.
A portion of Piper’s comments in a prefight interview was also excised. Piper said, “I hear Bad News Brown, how he’s talking about Harlem, and how he’s proud to be from Harlem. Now I can stand here, and I can be black! I can be white! Don’t make no difference to me. … It’s what’s inside.”
Another scene reportedly deleted is from a 2005 Survivor Series 19 match where WWE CEO Vince McMahon (in character as a corporate villain) says the n-word on stage. McMahon then walks Booker T, a black wrestler, who says: “Tell me you didn’t just say that?”
According to the New York Post, Peacock is reviewing all 17,000 hours of its WWE catalog to look for “racist” content to delete.
The streamer recently won its bid to stream all of the WWE’s programming which will become available this month.
“NBCUniversal has a long-standing relationship with WWE that began nearly 30 years ago with Monday Night Raw on USA. WWE has always tapped into the cultural zeitgeist with spectacular live events and larger-than-life characters, and we are thrilled to be the exclusive home for WWE Network and its millions of fans across the country,” said Rick Cordella, executive vice president and chief revenue officer for Peacock.
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