Reasoning Behind Kofi Kingston’s Gesture + Maria Kanellis In Hot Water?

-If you watched either RAW or SmackDown this week, you would have easily noticed a much more PG-13 flair to certain segments.

Corey Graves used profanity during the RAW segment that saw Braun Strowman and Bobby Lashley go through the set. Other times on RAW and SmackDown, we heard Superstars refer to one another as a female dog.

Most notably, perhaps, was on SmackDown last night.

WWE Champion Kofi Kingston flipped off Samoa Joe, right before taking Joe out with a Trouble in Paradise kick. Now, while it was clear what Kofi did, at times the camera angle was obscured, so we weren’t exposed to it for as long as WWE might have wanted.

Per several reports, including from the Wrestling Observer, this is something we can expect more of. Meltzer noted that one demographic WWE is trying hard to re-connect with is the teen market. It seems WWE thinks that making the language more edgy will help.

This is a fine line to walk, to be sure. On one hand, the Attitude Era was one of the hottest times for WWE, and the envelope was pushed a great deal. On the other hand, WWE is now a publicly traded company, so it will be very interesting to see how this change plays out. While it might appeal to one segment of the market, the new direction could also alienate others (meaning it might be a zero sum game).

-As we mentioned yesterday, when Maria Kanellis dropped the bomb that she was pregnant again, it was news to a lot of people-including WWE. While such news should be cause for celebration, it may have gotten her into some trouble with WWE.

WWE may be thinking that Maria knew she was pregnant when she and her husband signed their new deals a couple weeks ago. The timing is not great, that’s for sure. Per one source, based on what happened on RAW, don’t expect a push for the couple any time soon now-which is a big shot considering her husband seemed to be gaining traction in recent weeks.