Eric Bischoff believes the recent edits made to WWE’s Netflix replays are most likely the result of business considerations surrounding international markets rather than a creative decision.
The subject came up on the latest episode of 83 Weeks following several noticeable differences between WWE’s live broadcasts and the versions subsequently available for replay on Netflix.
During the September 14 episode of Raw from Mexico City, fans could be seen making obscene hand gestures toward Roman Reigns during his entrance for the main event against Penta.
Those gestures appeared during the live broadcast. However, as first noted by Fightful, the Netflix replay switched to a high overhead camera angle shortly before the fans came into view and remained on that shot for more than 30 seconds.
Other changes have also been noticed in recent WWE replays, including alterations to crowd audio involving Liv Morgan and Dominik Mysterio. Blood from an attack on The Usos was also removed from the August 31 replay, with Paul “Triple H” Levesque subsequently posting the unedited footage on social media.
Bischoff stressed that he has no inside information regarding who is responsible for the changes, but suggested that differing regulations across WWE’s international markets could provide an explanation. “I’m on the outside looking in, just like everybody else,” Bischoff said. “There are difficulties with local regulations and restrictions regarding television in various markets, and it’s all over the map.”
Bischoff noted that standards surrounding violence, nudity and other content can vary significantly between countries. “One place you can get away with just about anything on TV, and another place you’ve got to be careful. Maybe it’s a regulatory issue, and they’re having to censor to a certain degree in order to maintain regulatory standards.”
He used his experience as a high school exchange student in Germany to illustrate how cultural standards can differ, recalling seeing full nudity in a prime-time commercial. “For the Germans, full frontal nudity is fine in prime time. You see it all the time. It’s no big deal,” Bischoff said. “But anything that’s violent or represents violence, we treat porn the way they treat violence, and vice versa.”
Bischoff questioned whether advertiser concerns would explain the changes given Netflix’s subscription-based model. When Conrad Thompson suggested WWE could instead be tailoring its content for international markets, Bischoff agreed that a strategic business decision made the most sense to him. “I think it is strategic, because nothing else makes sense,” Bischoff said. “It’s not a creative decision. It’s not a moral decision. It’s a business decision.”
It remains unclear exactly who is responsible for the individual replay edits, with coverage variously attributing changes to WWE and Netflix. Bischoff’s explanation was his own theory rather than information he had received from either company.
The conversation later turned to WWE’s increasingly international premium live event schedule.
Bischoff argued that WWE should continue taking major events overseas when demand and crowd reactions justify doing so. “You go where the demand is, and if the crowds are hotter, they’re bigger, they sell out faster, you focus on that market,” Bischoff said. “If you’re comparing international events to domestic events, you go where the business goes.”
He was also dismissive of some of the online criticism WWE has received for moving major events outside the United States. “They’re always going to find something to bitch and whine about,” Bischoff said.
Bischoff acknowledged that some fans who would otherwise attend those events have legitimate reasons to be disappointed, but questioned whether that frustration would translate into fewer viewers. “Are there some people that would have liked to go, that had the money to go and actually would have gone, that are disappointed? Sure. But are they going to not watch? No.”
The 2026 Royal Rumble became the first edition of the event held outside North America when it took place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on January 31. The 2027 Royal Rumble has since been announced for State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, while WrestleMania 43 is scheduled for Riyadh and will become the first WrestleMania held outside North America.
Bischoff ultimately argued that international crowds can contribute to a stronger television product because WWE appearances remain comparatively rare in many of those markets. “You don’t have to work quite as hard to get a great response,” Bischoff said. “So I think go where the audience is. Go where you get the best show. That would be my approach.”
