If WWE Was Being Honest About The Creative Writing Process

168 hours of such pointless sh*t, pal.

Mandy Rose Sonya Deville
WWE

The WWE creative writing process is peak satire in an age in which satire cannot exist. That is the extent of what it accomplishes.

It is a totally ironic pursuit of perfection. To flesh that point out, consider the disastrous backstage segment from last week’s SmackDown, in which Mandy Rose and Sonya Deville naturally struggled to grasp the meaning of a word, opportunity, that has been stripped of it.

“Guess who?” Mandy said, covering Sonya’s eyes.

“I obviously know your voice, Mandy. Where have you been all day, huh?”

“Don’t worry, Sonya, I’ve been taking care of business. I talked to Shane.”

For about nine hours, presumably. The writing is so involuntarily, thoughtlessly fake. This conversation couldn’t have lasted longer than a minute or so, but without thinking, it accounted for Mandy’s entire day. Even an incidental, throwaway line makes no sense. These are professional writers imported from TV, although it’s not as if they’re hiring Mark Frost or David Chase. That is abundantly clear. And when the hell did an episode of SmackDown ever end with a Kayla Braxton backstage promo, like this week’s episode? Everything is so brutally contrived.

Anyway.

“And?” Sonya asked.

“OK. Remember the time we overheard the IIconics [long, awkward pause] making fun of what Kevin Owens did to him? I might have told him. No, it’s good! Because we’re getting a match next week.”

“Wait,” Deville said. “Are you saying next week we have a Women’s Tag Team Title match?”

“Yep,” Mandy confirmed. And if we win, we deserve a Tag Team Title match.”

CONT'D...(1 of 5)

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Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!