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MLW founder court Bauer was a guest on Chris Jericho's Talk is Jericho podcast, and the two veterans discussed the evolution of pro wrestling over the years. Chris Jericho brought up the topic of scripted promos and the introduction of writers in the WWE. The former WWE Superstar revealed that Vince McMahon's motto back in the day was to make SmackDown bigger than the famous sitcom Friends.
The WWE Boss' strategy to accomplish the goal was to get writers because the popular sitcom also had many writers.
Chris Jericho recalled that when he first arrived in the WWE, there were no writers or rehearsals. It all changed when Vince McMahon took a cue from Friends and got writers for its shows. Vince McMahon wanted SmackDown to beat Friends on Thursday nights.
Here's what Chris Jericho had to say about Vince McMahon's strategy to beat Friends:
"It's funny because when I got to WWE, my famous first promo with The Rock when I interrupted him, there were no writers at that point. That was late 1999, and no rehearsals either. Rock and I and Russo went over in the back, but there was no going through it.
"The reason why writers became a thing was when we started SmackDown, which was right after I got there, August '99; Vince made it his motto that SmackDown was going to be bigger than 'Friends.' 'We're going to beat 'Friends' on Thursday', and his reasoning and idea and strategy was well 'Friends' has writers. Then we need writers too." H/t SEScoops
WWE's scripted system
Friends is one of the most popular sitcoms of all time, and the fact that Vince McMahan had a plan to compete with and get more prominent than the iconic TV show says a lot about the WWE Head Honcho.
WWE has often been criticized for overly scripting its promos and angles as most Superstars end up sounding mechanical while delivering pre-written content. There are only a handful of WWE Superstars who have the sare allowed to cut unscripted promos.
WWE has followed the scripted approach for several years, and while there is leeway in certain situations, the old system isn't about to completely change anytime soon.
What are your thoughts on Vince McMahon's strategy to get bigger than Friends? Jolt them down in the comments section.
