3) Backstage News On WWE’s Script Writing Process
A new report from Ringside News shines some light on how WWE writes their scripts for weekly episodes of RAW and Smackdown.
Here is what the site wrote about WWE’s creative process:
We have been told by a current member of the writing team that scripts for Raw are written mostly by Ryan Ward and Jon Baeckstrom. Ed Koskey has been getting more involved in the booking of Raw as of late, but that could be because Vince McMahon can decide to talk about Raw with Koskey if he chooses.
Once the script is completed the assignments are sent out to writers via a business communication platform they use called Slack. It’s essentially a professional chat room and messaging service. The writing staff will then contribute ideas and write promos.
We were told that Koskey has a more “interactive method” with the SmackDown team. One source in the company said Koskey works differently with his team because “Koskey knows how to work with people more than Ward or Backstrom.”
My Take:
- I don’t know anything about Baeckstrom but Ryan Ward and Ed Koskey are two names that are pretty well-known in terms of backstage WWE employees.
2) More On Bruce Prichard’s Role Backstage
Ringside News also provided an update on what Bruce Prichard’s role is backstage.
Here is what the site wrote:
It should be noted that Bruce Prichard doesn’t write the scripts. It was specifically told to us that “he’s not relied on for creative.” Prichard’s job is to make sure that the writing team communicates with other departments. Bruce Prichard is the boss of the writing team, but he’s not a writer.
Prichard does more overall booking direction, and “sometimes gets into the nitty gritty.” More often than not, it’s Koskey on SmackDown, Ward and Baeckstrom on Raw who are leading the pitch of the individual segments.
In the end, everything still needs to be approved by Vince McMahon before making it on television. We have heard plenty of stories about McMahon ripping up scripts on the day of a show. Now you know what kind of effort it takes to come up with that content.
My Take:
- I can’t even imagine working all day on something and Vince McMahon ripping it up and telling you to start fresh before the show starts in a few hours. There is no denying that it is a stressful job.
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