10 Banned Segments WWE Had To Censor
5. Ric Flair Kissing Becky Lynch
A certain 'Plane Ride From Hell' edition of VICE's 'Dark Side Of The Ring' lifted the lid on some of Ric Flair's behaviour. For decades, Flair exposing himself or getting carried away was explained as 'just Ric being Ric'. Listen to any number of podcasts starring legendary names in the biz - that's what most of them say.
By 2016, the 'Nature Boy' was in his daughter's corner and exclusively there to add credibility for Charlotte. Come the Royal Rumble show, he was going to get heavily involved in her match vs. Becky Lynch, but nobody could've guessed quite how Flair would make his mark.
He grabbed Becky at ringside and planted a big ol' kiss on her lips. Furious but staying in character, Lynch pulled back and slapped the veteran grappler as hard as she could, which gave Charlotte a quick distraction for the heat section. It wasn't long before WWE realised they needed to act and try to move on.
Higher-ups edited the kiss out of WWE Network’s on demand version following online criticism raining down on Twitter. In edits, you'll see Ric doing his trademark "Woo" in Becky's face before various crowd shots cover for the smooch.
We were mere months away from dispensing with the whole Divas Title tag in favour of a "women's revolution" and more focus on female characters as equals rather than eye candy. Flair's kiss felt out of place even in January 2016 before that shift really took place.
No wonder WWE elected to get rid of it ASAP.