If WWE Was Being Honest About The Creative Writing Process
As told by former Creative Writer Jimmy Jacobs to Bryan Alvarez, the team is comprised of “about 25 people”, though recent reports indicate that this number has since ballooned. The team is split between “road” and “home” contingents. The home team provides the broad, narrative framework; the road team delves deep into the guts—the bowels—of the script itself.
For RAW specifically, the home team typically has an idea of the complexion of the show by Wednesday, ready for Vince’s approval, some 120 hours before the show.
“Then on Thursday,” Jacobs continued, the lead writers are putting together the pieces of what RAW is going to look at. Then Friday to Saturday we are putting pen to paper, and writing the promos.”
“Then, on Monday afternoon, a demented old man sh*ts all over the final script before rewriting it entirely,” Jacobs didn’t add, but he might as well have, because this is what happens most weeks.
The script is drafted, re-drafted, refined, and ripped up. These poor pricks are rolling a rock comprised of hard, caked sh*t up a mountain every day of their lives.
Jon Moxley disclosed more details behind the process on his legendary Talk Is Jericho appearance. The writers collaborate with the talent. “Collaborate”, here, refers to the process in which the writers text the talent with their promo for the upcoming show, the talent expresses that they “f*cking hate it,” and the writer responds “I know”.
Much like virtually every worker in every industry, the writers perform their role in accordance with what they believe the boss wants. And the boss wants such good sh*t. The boss wants childish jokes, he wants his heels to say one thing when—sike!—they mean something else.
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