WWE News: Former WWE Writer Kevin Eck reveals the stories that could have been

What’s the story?

Kevin Eck has had a long and varied career in the sports entertainment business. From a writer for the WWE creative team to a manager in Maryland Championship Wrestling and guest on the very last Piper’s Pit ever, Eck’s got pro wrestling running through his veins.

In his new blog with Pressbox, Eck discussed five storylines he pitched to Vince McMahon which, sadly, didn’t get picked up.

The background

Eck was a featured member of the WWE Creative Team from 2011-2014, with two of the highlights of his run being the A.J. Lee/Daniel Bryan wedding and the fake Mark Henry retirement.

He has also previously written about why he feels Smackdown is the better of the two main WWE shows, as well as his opinions on some of the superstars getting a push recently. But, it’s his latest post that has everyone talking...

The heart of the matter

In his newest entry, Eck describes five different stories that were rejected by the rest of WWE Creative. The whole piece is worth a read, but we’ll share a few with you here.

AJ Lee and Dean Ambrose: Love in an Asylum

During the original AJ/Bryan wedding angle, Bryan was going to attempt to have AJ committed. In Eck’s original pitch, this actually happened. Lee would eventually return shortly later with Ambrose in tow – her new boyfriend from the Asylum. McMahon instead decided to make Lee the new Raw GM.

Former Indie Stars Invade WWE

Eck was very determined to get Dean Ambrose on the main roster in 2012, and this pitch was just one of the ideas to do so. For this story, Eck wanted to give a new twist to The Nexus (a faction of developmental stars that would invade the main roster) – but this time, the faction would be made up of wrestlers who were big names on the independent scene.

The Romance of Cody Rhodes and Kaitlyn

If you remember Cody Rhodes pre-Stardust, you may remember the sporty moustache he was sporting while teaming with Damien Sandow. At the same time, a romance was teased between him and NXT Season 3 winner Kaitlyn. According to Eck, this was supposed to go further, but Vince McMahon wasn’t particularly interested in following up on it.

Stardust and Eden Stiles become the new Goldust and Marlena

Speaking of Rhodes, his transformation into Stardust could have gone in a different direction. The originally pitched idea was to have Cody jealous of Goldust’s popularity – a jealously planted by Rhodes’s real-life wife, Stiles, and have him turn into Stardust – while Stiles would take on the mannerisms of Goldust’s former manager, Marlena.

Big Show attacks Alberto Del Rio’s dad

In 2013, Alberto Del Rio was in the midst of his babyface World Heavyweight Championship run. Eck had the idea of having Big Show, Del Rio’s rival at the time, attack Del Rio’s father – his father being legendary Mexican luchador, Dos Caras. Among the many reasons McMahon nixed the idea was that he thought the image of an ageing luchador in street clothes and a mask was ridiculous.

What’s next?

Eck doesn’t seem to be in any hurry to get back into the wrestling business full-time and seems to really enjoy writing about his time in WWE and the wrestling world in general.

Author’s Take

“What if?” is always an enjoyable game to play when thinking about pro wrestling history. It’s still fun to think about where WWE would be right now if even one of these ideas had been implemented at the time.