10 former WWE writers you should know about

How did the star of She’s All That become a WWE writer?

When people refer to WWE - or any pro wrestling, for that matter - as “scripted” entertainment, they’re actually being more literal than they realise. We’re not talking about the matches themselves - not in this instance, anyway - but the actual entire presentation. It’s really no different than any other TV show. You have a production crew, a showrunner (in this case, Vince McMahon), producers and, yes, a writing staff.

Like any other TV show, everything in WWE starts with a creative team - aka “the writers”. While everything that eventually ends up on screen has to get that Vince McMahon seal of approval, the ideas begin with Creative. That team is made up creative types from all parts of the entertainment world. Some have been in the wrestling business from day one; a few are former Hollywood writers with a love for the wrestling business; others are… well, some have come out of left field.

We’ve compiled a list of 10 former writers in the wrestling business (9 WWE and one former WCW writer) that all have an interesting story or two behind their tenure. Some have made a lasting impact on the business, while others… haven’t, but they’re fun to read about, nonetheless. So, let’s get started with a writer that got started in the one business more rock and roll than pro wrestling… rock and roll.


#10 Bob Mould

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If you’re a fan of alternative rock from the 1980s, you’re probably familiar with the name Husker Du. This Minneapolis rock band has been hailed as an inspiration to bands such as Nirvana, The Pixies, and even Metallica.

Singer/songwriter Bob Mould also grew up a huge wrestling fan in his youth and in 1998-1999, during a hiatus in his music career, Mould was invited to be a part of the WCW writing team. It was a partnership that didn't last long, but it paved the way - for better or worse - for other non-wrestling personalities to get behind the scenes in the wrestling business.

Also read: 5 ridiculous gimmicks that you forgot these successful wrestlers had

#9 Freddie Prinze Jr.

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Freddie Prinze Jr.’s entertainment career was always fated to be an interesting one. His father, Freddie Prinze, was a legendary stand-up comedian and a TV star, appearing on the show Chico and The Man in the 1970s. Prinze entered the mainstream in movies like She’s All That and I Know What You Did Last Summer, before dropping off the radar. Before he found successful work in voice action (such as in the animated series Star Wars Rebels and Lt. Vega in the game Mass Effect 3), Prinze worked for WWE.

In this piece with GQ, Prinze details the two different occasions he worked as both a writer and producer for WWE. The original took place from 2007-2008, before leaving the company. He would then come back in 2009, not just as a producer and director but also appearing on screen - most notably as a doctor in a sketch with the man himself, Vince McMahon.

#8 Patrice O’Neal

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A legend among comedy fans and comedians themselves, Patrice O’Neal was actually on the verge of stardom when he passed away in 2011. He stole the show at the Comedy Central Roast of Charlie Sheen (so far the highest rated Comedy Central Roast ever) and was in talks for an animated TV series on the FX network. For a short while, though, the late comedian was a writer for WWE

About a decade earlier, O’Neal - through the encouragement of a friend- submitted a proposal for a storyline. The company liked it so much, they brought him in for an audition. O’Neal recounted travelling with the company, visiting Vince McMahon at his house, and working with the company in general. He called it a “dream job”, but decided against signing a contract with the company in order to “keep it a dream job.”

#7 Vince Russo

Vince Russo was an important figure in the Attitude Era

Now we’re getting to the names you were expecting. Like him or hate him, Vince Russo had a major impact on the current landscape of pro wrestling today. Starting out as a journalism student and video store owner, Russo worked his way from a writer on WWF Magazine to an editor to a writer for the WWF itself to… well... you know where it went from there.

After being one of the driving minds behind WWF’s Attitude Era, Russo left for WCW when the company offered him the chance to run the company his way - instead of through the filter of Vince McMahon.

These days, Russo runs his own podcast and website and comments on the wrestling business of today - although his main product seems to be yelling at Jim Cornette.

#6 Paul Heyman

Paul Heyman is unquestionably the greatest wrestling mind of all-time

These days, Paul Heyman seems to be reaping the rewards of the hard work of his past. He’s currently the “advocate” of the WWE Universal Champion Brock Lesnar, as well running the sports and entertainment website, Heyman Hustle. He’s also a family man and enjoying a life way less hectic than he was used to.

While he’s well-known for his time as Paul E. Dangerously in WCW and for running ECW in the 1990s, we want to look at his work in WWE creative.well known for his time as Paul E. Dangerously in WCW and for running ECW in the 1990s, we want to look at his work in WWE creative.

While his major roles in WWE began in 2001 as an announcer and part of the WCW/ECW Alliance”, in was between 2002 and 2006 that he made his biggest impacts on WWE creative. He was originally the head writer of Smackdown in 2002, before being put in charge of WWE developmental and then, finally, in charge of WWE’s revived ECW in 2005. Before he left the company, his was the voice that brought CM Punk to the main roster, and the company was never the same.

#5 Tom Casiello

Casiello (R) has a soap background

Pro wrestling has often been compared to a soap opera (just watch Netflix’s excellent new series “Glow - no, seriously, go watch it, it’s incredible - for example), so it makes sense that one of WWE’s most prolific writers got his start in the genre.

Casiello worked for WWE from 2011 to as recently as 2016, where he was lead writer for WWE’s creative team. Before that, Casiello was an associate head writer for Days of Our Lives as well as a script-writer for many of the top daytime dramas on television at the time. He was an influential writer on the NXT brand, helping mould it into the fan-favorite show it is today, before being brought up to run the main shows. However, it seems that he butted heads with Vince one too many times and was let go in 2016.

#4 Kevin Eck

Eck could have changed the landscape of WWE

Eck is a former WWE writer who has made a name for himself as such - but without trashing the company he used to work for. As both a manager and referee in the Maryland indies, Eck also continues to be involved in the wrestling business as a blogger for PressBoxOnline.com, where he comments about current pro wrestling programming.

This past may, he did a feature of five different pitches he submitted to Vince and the WWE creative team that, if they had been accepted, would have turned the landscape of Raw and Smackdown into very different places.

#3 Jim Cornette

Jim Cornette is a traditionalist

The loud suits. The tennis racket. The loud mouth. James E. Cornette is one the most influential non-wrestlers (though he has had his fair share of matches in the past - terrible matches, but matches) in history. Cornette began his WWF career in 1993, working with the company while still booking and promoting his own Smoky Mountain Wrestling. When that company folded, he started working for WWF full time - helping manage WWF champion Yokozuna was also working for WWE’s booking committee and talent scout department.

Cornette stayed with the company for years as the head of Ohio Valley Wrestling. It was a job he held until 2005 when he slapped Santino Marella. Of course, he was let go for other reasons, too, but... man.. you don’t slap Santino.

#2 Bruce Prichard

Prichard has been around the block

Much like Jim Cornette and Paul Heyman, Bruce Prichard got into the wrestling business at a young age, almost through sheer force of will. At 10 years old, Prichard began selling posters for events held in Houston, TX by promoter Paul Boesch. That would eventually lead to work as a ring announcer for Bill Watt’s Universal Wrestling Federation. Prichard found his greatest success as Brother Love - a red-faced, buffoon and a parody of popular TV televangelists in the 1980s.

Prichard remained with the company for years, at one point becoming Vince McMahon’s “right-hand man.” During the Owen Hart tribute episode of Raw following Hart’s death, Prichard was the only strictly-backstage employee to make a televised statement. However, in 2008, Prichard was released from the company after 22 years. He now works for Impact Wrestling as an on-air authority figure and backstage producer.

#1 Andrew Goldstein

Goldstein has a fascinating backstory

In May of 2016, Complex.com ran an article entitled “Wrestling With a Dream Job: How a Regular Guy Became a Writer for the WWE”. It was written by Andrew Goldstein.

Before 2006, Goldstein had worked as a production assistant for MTV. The year before, he has responded to a job posting from WWE on an entertainment jobs website, not expecting anything from it. Instead, he was called in for an interview and eventually - after failing the first interview - became part of WWE creative.

In his piece, he discussed working with the aforementioned Freddie Prinze, Jr. and Patrice O’Neal, as well as Bob Mould and future-owner of the National Wrestling Alliance, Billy Corgan from the Smashing Pumpkins. It’s a fascinating story and well worth reading.


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Meet the man who called CM Punk the softest man alive HERE