WWE Rumors: ‘SmackDown’ Superstar’s Line About Cancer Was Accidentally Included In Recent Promo, Report Claims
According to a new report, Friday Night SmackDown superstar Shinsuke Nakamura uttered a line that was not supposed to be included in his and Cesaro’s pre-taped promo on last week’s episode of Monday Night Raw.
As reported by WrestlingNews.co, the apparent gaffe took place during an inset video that aired as Nakamura and Cesaro were entering the ring ahead of their match against Raw Tag Team Champions, The Street Profits. The clip, which was recorded several hours in advance of last week’s Raw, ended with Nakamura delivering the words “if they want smoke, they will get cancer” — a reference to their opponents’ catchphrase.
As further noted, WWE then cut to the start of the match as announcer Michael Cole repeated Nakamura’s remarks, with a slight edit toward the end that removed the reference to the deadly illness.
“Cesaro and Shin saying if they want smoke, they’re gonna get some here tonight.”
Citing sources familiar with the situation, WrestlingNews.co wrote that the line about cancer was not supposed to be included in the final promo. However, due to the hectic environment behind the scenes, someone backstage “simply forgot to use a different version” of the inset clip.
“This is not a huge deal but it just shows how chaotic things can get backstage when so many changes are made to the script,” the publication explained. “Oftentimes, something that is written in the afternoon gets changed when the show is about to go on the air and this time a line that was not meant to air did not pass the usual filters.”
With Cesaro and Nakamura’s brief champion vs. champion feud against The Street Profits apparently over following last week’s contest, the reigning SmackDown Tag Team champs are presently preparing for their title defense against Lucha House Party at the Clash of Champions pay-per-view on September 30, per Ringside News.
This isn’t the first time in recent WWE history that there has been some controversy regarding a superstar’s reference to cancer in an on-air promo. As reported by The Inquisitr in May 2019, current AEW World Champion Jon Moxley alleged on Talk Is Jericho that during his final days in WWE as Dean Ambrose, he was told to make a tasteless comment about his real-life friend and former Shield stablemate Roman Reigns, who had then recently announced that he was battling leukemia. Moxley claimed that he regretted making those remarks, even if they were merely part of an on-air storyline.
