With the recent departure of Freddy Prinze Jr from the WWE creative staff (again), some interesting thoughts came to me about what the WWE creative process is really like. My hypothesis is that there is simply nothing creative about working as a WWE writer.
Many long-time wrestling fans and the IWC denounce WWEs use of veteran television writers in lieu of traditional bookers as in years past. I believe thats a rush to judgment; wouldnt the people who take these jobs at WWE be wrestling fans just like us? Wouldnt they be just as interested as we are in creating content that both hardcore & casual fans alike can enjoy?
Let me give you an example from my own experience.. In IT, if you work in operations, no matter how much technical knowledge you yourself might have, your job is simply to take orders and follow pre-baked procedures. Thinking out of the box is simply out of the question. I think of the WWE writers as more of a creative operations team. Their role is less about dreaming up compelling storylines and more about taking Vince & Stephanies ideas and putting them in a format that is compatible with a 2-hour television show. The tedious work of actually sitting down & writing a TV show script, adhering to industry standards is definitely not something that anyone with a pure pro wrestling background would be willing to do.
I wont even touch upon the fact that writing scripts for pro wrestlers is ridiculous since they are wrestlers and not actors, but thats been covered on this board more than enough.
Its very unfortunate. Vinces ideas have, at times, made for great TV and brought his company large fortunes, but especially for the past decade or so, most of his ideas offend or simply fall flat. Vinces role, at this stage in his career should be at the corporate strategic level. If he wants to be involved with the creative process at a strategy level, fine, but his input should boil down to very general directives which map back to WWEs strategic goals. The writers need to be trusted to come up with ideas which support his directives, but come from a source with a fresh outlook on the business.
Then again, what do any of us know? WWEs stock price isnt soaring, but it certainly isnt a penny stock. As much as I hate to admit it, Vince is still doing something right
Many long-time wrestling fans and the IWC denounce WWEs use of veteran television writers in lieu of traditional bookers as in years past. I believe thats a rush to judgment; wouldnt the people who take these jobs at WWE be wrestling fans just like us? Wouldnt they be just as interested as we are in creating content that both hardcore & casual fans alike can enjoy?
Let me give you an example from my own experience.. In IT, if you work in operations, no matter how much technical knowledge you yourself might have, your job is simply to take orders and follow pre-baked procedures. Thinking out of the box is simply out of the question. I think of the WWE writers as more of a creative operations team. Their role is less about dreaming up compelling storylines and more about taking Vince & Stephanies ideas and putting them in a format that is compatible with a 2-hour television show. The tedious work of actually sitting down & writing a TV show script, adhering to industry standards is definitely not something that anyone with a pure pro wrestling background would be willing to do.
I wont even touch upon the fact that writing scripts for pro wrestlers is ridiculous since they are wrestlers and not actors, but thats been covered on this board more than enough.
Its very unfortunate. Vinces ideas have, at times, made for great TV and brought his company large fortunes, but especially for the past decade or so, most of his ideas offend or simply fall flat. Vinces role, at this stage in his career should be at the corporate strategic level. If he wants to be involved with the creative process at a strategy level, fine, but his input should boil down to very general directives which map back to WWEs strategic goals. The writers need to be trusted to come up with ideas which support his directives, but come from a source with a fresh outlook on the business.
Then again, what do any of us know? WWEs stock price isnt soaring, but it certainly isnt a penny stock. As much as I hate to admit it, Vince is still doing something right