According to Dave Meltzer on Wrestling Observer Radio, NXT head writer Ryan Ward is moving to the Smackdown! brand, where he will take on lead creative duties. Working with Paul "Triple H" Levesque, Ward has made NXT's weekly TV show one of the most critically acclaimed in all of wrestling. The one-hour broadcast is frequent cited as logical, easy-to-follow, and entertaining, in stark contrast with WWE's main roster programming. Ward and Levesque were recognized for their work in the 2015 Wrestling Observer Newsletter Awards, where the pair won in the "Best Booker" category. Ward joined WWE in 2009, having never worked in the wrestling industry before but having followed it for years as a huge fan. His creative talent helped him rise to the position of Smackdown! head writer, and in September 2014, he moved to a position helping run the rapidly-growing NXT brand. Since then, classic feuds like Sami Zayn versus Kevin Owens, Bayley versus Sasha Banks, and Finn Balor versus Samoa Joe have made NXT a touring phenomenon that has sold out arenas all across the U.S. and in the U.K.
Scott Fried is a Slammy Award-winning* writer living and working in New York City. He has been following/writing about professional wrestling for many years and is a graduate of Lance Storm's Storm Wrestling Academy. Follow him on Twitter at https://twitter.com/scottfried.
*Best Crowd of the Year, 2013
