No Sid, Paige Shouldn’t Be Fired For Leaked Sex Tape

This was going to be an entry in ‘Tiff’s Tantrums’ for this week’s ‘Week in Review’, but it made me so angry the more I thought about it that I’m going to do a separate piece. Former WWE and WCW champion, Sid Vicious was being interviewed by Hannibal TV when the subject of Paige as SmackDown General Manager came up and Vicious was asked for his opinion of her getting the job despite all the controversy in the past and Sid replied that he thought it was stupid and that he would’ve fired Paige for the leak of the video showing her, Xavier Woods and Brad Maddox having a threesome that also involved the NXT Women’s Championship belt.

Vicious said that it was stupid that WWE didn’t fire Paige for the video and that keeping proved that the business was in trouble.

Oh, where do I start with this one?

First of all, the video was a private one made about three consenting adults having sex and it was leaked years later without the consent of any of the people involved. Secondly, Paige and Maddox are probably not the first people in the history of wrestling to get sex juice on a championship belt. Thirdly, why should Paige be singled out for punishment and not Xavier Woods who was also involved in that video?

Now, I don’t doubt that Triple H wasn’t happy about the video when he found out, but there are several reasons why he probably didn’t fire her:

1. Triple H lives in the modern world and recognized that punishing a woman for being in a video of her having consensual sex with two other consenting adults is not something that would fly in 2017 (when this video came out).
2. The video was three years old at the time of its release and plans were already underway for a new belt to be made.
3. Paige, Woods, and Maddox are probably not the first people to ever have sex on a championship belt, as I’ve stated above.
4. Shawn Michaels posed for Playgirl wearing only the WWE Championship and a smirk.
5. Paige was out with an injury which usually protects a performer from being let go.

Another reason Triple H might’ve given Paige a break is because of what was going on in Paige’s life at the time. If you’ll recall, Paige was not only dealing with recovering from the neck injury that would ultimately end her career, but she was also in a very public, very toxic, relationship with Alberto Del Rio. It’s possible that Triple H had the good sense to realize that what Paige needed was sympathy and help, not censure.

Was what Paige, Woods, and Maddox did stupid? Yes. Does Paige deserve to be the only one punished for what happened? No. WWE is no stranger to having talented but troubled superstars on its roster, nor is it a stranger to giving those superstars second or third chances.

Shawn Michaels, Scott Hall, Sean Waltman, Kurt Angle, and Eddie Guerrero are just a few examples of WWE Superstars that had substance and/or attitude issues that were given multiple chances with the company. Kurt Angle, who is still the kayfabe General Manager of RAW left the company rather than seek treatment for a substance abuse problem and, after being gone for a decade, he was welcomed back with open arms, there’s no reason Paige shouldn’t be given the same treatment.

If she should be fired for the tape, so should Xavier Woods since he was also on that tape. Let’s stop putting all the blame on the woman and letting the men slide.