WWE bosses have been known to give certain Superstars so-called creative control over the years, with creative input a more common perk of the gig. With immense chatter on WWE and Netflix making the rounds this week, sources are clarifying a locker-room rumor that has made its way onto the internet, and clearing up some creative speculation.
Netflix lit the Internet Wrestling Community on fire this week with the release of the new WWE Unreal series. The behind-the-scenes show has surprised many fans and industry insiders, with criticism aimed at WWE for allowing such an exposé. The Rock went viral for one his curious claims, while Triple H is also the subject of many Unreal-related debates.
WWE’s Chief Content Officer was involved in one controversial moment with Tiffany Stratton and Charlotte Flair. The two went viral for their off-the-rails SmackDown promo on April 4, just a few weeks before the newcomer retained the WWE Women’s Championship over the veteran at WrestleMania 41.
The Queen earned her title shot on The Grandest Stage of Them All by winning the Royal Rumble, which marked a comeback from injuries. In a scene for Unreal that was heavily influenced, members of the women’s locker-room were asked to empty out and cheer Flair’s victory. Fightful Select adds that talents were not told this was specifically for a Netflix series, and while they were asked to participate, no one was forced to.
Flair knew about the scripted moment beforehand, according to sources. There were some women’s division talents that believed the infamous Flair-Stratton exchange on SmackDown was “manufactured” for the Netflix series. However, Fightful stressed that these were only theories, and no source involved with the segment has ever made such a claim.
WWE Still Heavily Scripting Its Promos
WWE sources are adamant that the infamous promo between Charlotte Flair and Tiffany Stratton was not created for Netflix. Fightful Select noted how talents are still “completely scripted verbatim” on the average WWE show these days. This goes for top Superstars as well.
Paul Heyman and CM Punk are among the most-trusted creative talents in the industry. However, even their promos from this past week were fully-scripted, and included on internal scripts.
In regards to speculation on Unreal scripting, sources disclosed how some talents were not aware they were being filmed in certain Unreal segments, adding that WWE cameras are always around, and often you don’t know exactly why. Talents have also said they were free to talk about anything they wanted, and that they never received any banned words for Unreal on Netflix. While there was some general adult language talents stayed away from, one wrestler joked that Unreal made them realize just how often “fuck” is said backstage.