While the entire world right now appears to be obsessed with the Netflix British Royal
Family drama series The Crown, there’s a far more interesting, significantly more dysfunctional
group of people running the biggest professional wrestling company in the world.
And according to a new report from PWInsider, the balance of power, once destined to be
passed from Vince to Shane, and then Vince to Stephanie, and then Vince to Stephanie
or Triple H, has now gone to someone who isn’t even related to the McMahons: Bruce Prichard.
Prichard was Vince’s right hand man for almost two decades, first joining WWE in 1987.
He was released in 2008, but, eight years later, unexpectedly found himself as the co-host
of one of the most downloaded wrestling podcasts on the Interwebs: Something to Wrestle.
With his name back in the news, and still towing the company line on his shows, he was
brought back to WWE’s creative team in February last year.
Just over a year later, outlasting both Eric Bischoff and Paul Heyman in their respective
Executive Director roles, he was put in charge of both the Raw and SmackDown writing teams.
Prichard was either a booking genius, or someone who knew how to work within McMahon’s very
unique ways.
PWInsider says WWE’s overall current creative right now “falls directly in the hands of
Vince McMahon and Bruce Prichard,” with some describing Bruce as “the most powerful
person in WWE right now other than a McMahon family member.”
“Creatively, everything flows through Prichard at the moment and his word has been described
as "very much the Gospel" for Vince McMahon.”
The report adds that this has started to cause “a lot of frustration and heat towards Prichard
among talents privately.”
One of these McMahon/Prichard creative plans is Drew McIntyre’s latest entrance.
Which you could’ve guessed, as it started off as a really cool special pay-per-view
level spot, and is now being run into the ground every week on TV.
McMahon is described as being “completely on-hands with recently,” spending “a lot
of time blocking out exactly how he wanted McIntyre to handle the sword and use it to
set up his pyro.”
Maybe it’s just because the sword actually belongs to Vince and he just wants to play
with it, as it was a gift from Stephanie and Triple H. Slow cookers.
Acceptable gifts to family members are slow cookers.
I bought so god damn many in the Black Friday sales…
Interestingly, another piece of creative that met more resistance is the opening segment
on this week’s Raw.
It saw Randy Orton figure out Alexa Bliss was The Fiend’s weakness, which PWInsider
claim was “100% Vince McMahon’s vision.”
Wrestling Observer Radio has reiterated that WWE see The Fiend and Bliss as babyfaces in
this feud, and using Orton as “the master heel” will help turn them both babyface
over the next few weeks, ahead of their planned match at TLC.
But PWInsider has reported “several argued against the segment, feeling it was a weak
opening segment and needed to overhauled, but you can't overrule City Hall.”
Save us Triple H, your our only hope.
Enter the self-styles saviour of WWE, NXT Daddy Triple H - who, if you’re in any doubt
about his ambitions, literally calls his pay-per-views TakeOvers.
It might be more subtle to call them, ‘The Old Man Can’t Last Much Longer.’
While Prichard has been in control of both main roster brands since Paul Heyman’s removal
as Raw Executive Director, Triple H has stepped in to help produce shows over the last two
months.
His influence has already reported been felt on SmackDown’s top Sasha Banks and Bayley,
and the Roman Reigns Family storylines, and PWInsider is reporting he also took over on
this week’s Raw while Prichard was away - which was described by several WWE sources
as a “breath of fresh air.”
WrestlingNews.co added that Triple H has been at a few SmackDown shows in recent weeks too,
where he’s been praised for easing the tense atmosphere apparently created by McMahon and
Prichard, writing: “Hunter takes time to talk to everyone and calm people down because
there is so much paranoia backstage.
It’s not the same feeling with Bruce.”
This paranoia is apparently because many on the WWE roster are becoming “frustrated”
with their lack of TV time, which, in turn, makes them worried they could be next on “the
chopping block if WWE decides to release more people.”
While there are no reported plans for any further firings, the lack of touring live
events has meant a lot of wrestlers are surplus to requirements.
It hasn’t helped that WWE are more strictly enforcing one of the most important parts
of live TV production: time cues.
PWInsider adds that “a number of talents [went] over time in recent weeks at the Survivor
Series PPV and subsequent TV shows” - which has brought heat from management not just
on the wrestlers, but the producers in charge of those segments.
This might not be connected, but in that same PWInsider report, they noted Sonjay Dutt has
now been moved from the main roster to work full-time on NXT as a producer.
While the furloughed producer Shane Helms made his backstage return at this week’s
Raw.
Two wrestlers have also been kicked off the main roster.
Which means it’s time to start our brand new feature…
Yes, This Actually Happened In 2020.
Raw Underground.
Remember that?
It had strippers.
And it was s***.
While Raw Underground’s Dabba-Kato and Arturo Ruas have been backstage on Monday nights
in recent weeks, PWInsider writes WWE officials think “they still need additional seasoning
before they are introduced as full-fledged Raw performers.”
But with all that backstage tension, it’s important to note that WWE can be a great
place to work too.
WWE recently released their Vice President of TV Technology Kevin Quinn, who has taken
part in a fascinating Ask Me Anything session on Reddit, providing a rare glimpse into the
production side of the company.
He said “Stephanie was a dream to work with,” and, while last minute changes were - in all
caps - “VERY COMMON”, Vince is “very personable behind the scenes.
But business is business,” and he fully accepts the company’s decision to release
him because of pandemic-related reasons.
On the mysterious head of Production, Kevin Dunn, Quinn said “if you can figure him
out, you can work well with him and he appreciates you.”
The position itself was “very well paid” and had “tremendous benefits.”
But what was the most difficult experience in his 30 year plus tenure in the company?
Quinn revealed the craziest thing he had to edit out was removing Jerry Lawler from every
shot of a pre-recorded 3 hour programme after he was accused of statutory rape.
And editing the episode following Chris Benoit’s double murder suicide was unsurprisingly “difficult”.
But, fascinatingly, for all you nerds out there, not me, Quinn said the biggest technical
challenge wasn’t the transition from standard definition to HD, which many in the industry
feared would expose people not actually taking some of those moves - you’re exposing the
business, technological advances - but the switch from mono audio to stereo.
I thought that was really interesting.
WWE is looking to the past for their next innovation though.
Actually having human beings live in attendance.
The very reliable WrestleVotes has tweeted: “Internally, WWE is said to want a decision
on whether fans are permitted for the Royal Rumble by January 7th w/ a possible announcement
of sorts coming that weekend.
Source states odds are 50/50 right now.
Important month ahead.”
Adding January 31st is the currently scheduled in date.
The venue will presumably be the ThunderDome’s new location of Tropicana Field, which WWE
will start broadcasting from with next Friday’s SmackDown.
But before then we’ve got a far bigger WWE return…
The Slammys.
In a tweet promoting the WWE Network schedule for December, the 2020 Slammy Awards is listed,
making its return for the first time in 5 years.
Presumably this will be a separate show to Raw or SmackDown, where the winners have been
announced in the past.
WWE aren’t the only wrestling promotion making plans for next year, though, as his
a stats man, Tony Khaaaaaan has teased some All Elite Wrestling developments for 2021.
First up is the long teased Trios Championships, which Kenny Omega prematurely announced on
the Jericho cruise back in January.
Khan confirmed “Yes there is talk, but it won't be in 2020.
If it happens, it will most likely be in 2021.
I've been seriously thinking about it.
I think there's a lot of momentum for it, we have a lot of great trios teams.”
Tony went onto say the period between January’s Beach Break and February Revolution pay-per-view
is when he’s currently looking at debuting the belts.
Who do you think should be the inaugural champions?
Tell me why it involves John Silver in the comments down below, because I’ll be replying
to people FROM OUTTA NOWHERE.
Khan also added that the weekly YouTube show AEW Dark is also in line for some “major
changes” - with him seriously considering splitting it into different shows, one which
would function as a developmental programme for new, younger signees.
And another which would focus on the more established talent that don’t get used on
Dynamite.
Tonight will see AEW’s huge Winter Is Coming special, arguably the biggest episode in the
promotion’s history, which will be main evented by Kenny Omega vs Jon Moxley for the
AEW Championship - where Khan has said TNT is willing to let Dynamite overrun past 10pm
if it’s still going on.
Charlotte Flair has buried a WWE star.
Click the video on the right to find out who.
And how would Adam Blampied book the SmackDown hacker?
Click the video below that to watch it now!
And make WrestleTalk.com your homepage for all the latest, breaking wrestling news.
I’ve been Mr Davis, Jam that Jam.