The Steel Cage

How exactly does/did the creative process work? How far in advance were storylines scripted, and did you usually have a build to a particular moment or match? How far in advance was Wrestlemania's Main Event and marquee matches pencilled in?

I ask this because week to week WWE programming right now REALLY feels week to week. Vince v Flair was given away as a nothing match (and boy did it live up to THOSE expectations) this past week on Raw, and I honestly believe that they didn't even know the prior week that they would be doing that match.

Things may have changed since your time with the company, but just how did the planning work?

Love the blog.

i was wondering who you guys thought got the shaft as far as being pushed or even just getting the chance to shine, and what do you think of the new talent also as much as everybody is talking about tna but it seems to me that they are following the same formula as wcw older wwe talent comming in and taking the top spots while none of the younger talent is filling those main event spots. the blog is awesome thanks from a long time wrestling fan

Why was Sean O'Haire given a great lead in in 2003 but never did anything of note aftrer he debuted? He had a great look, catchphrase, and was a good worker. I liked him in WCW and when WWE started running vignettes of him in late 2002 - early 2003 i was pretty excited, the nothing came of it.

Any idea what he is doing these days?

What was it like when Brock was coming up? Was the creative team as behind him as Vince seemed to be? How was RVD perceived? Was there ever a thought that he could carry the company in any meaningful way?

great blog!
i always wanted to know why raven was booked so poorly in his 2001-2003 run. he had everything you need in this business (good mike and in-ring skills) and a very creative mind on top of that.he managed to revive the hardcore division and had some of the best hardcore matches wwe ever had. so i it's not like he didn't deliver, at least imo.
if you don't have any fact i'd also appreciate just your opinion bc maybe i'm just wrong ;)
thankx!

Hey, I've enjoyed reading the blog so far and I look forward to it developing and growing in the future. I was wondering if you could comment on how often internet reports of backstage wrestling news are accurate. I tend to read the rumor mills fairly regularly and I take everything with such a big grain of salt that I don't believe most of it, which is why I'm always surprised when I hear something that is written on one of those sites is true, or near the truth. Do the 'news' stories that are written tend to be exaggerated versions of real events, complete bullshit, or somewhere inbetween?

Keep writing and I'll keep reading, thanks a lot.

what was stephanie mcmahon like to deal with ? and what was some of her best ideas and worst ideas? thanks in advance love the blog btw

How was your interaction with Vince? Was he intimidating? Was he open to any ideas creative pitched? Also Did you get any sense as to why he has a beef with Randy Savage

Hi Seth, awesoeme blog.

As a writer for WWF, when pitching ideas/matches - ideas how you got to the final blow off - what was your understanding of how talented a wrestler was? What I mean is, was it a case of seeing wrestlers as characters on a TV show and your job was to write a storyline or was your understanding of wrestling more in-depth, in terms of understanding who was a good worker who wasn't, I mean that from a workers point of view, not a marks view of who is made to look good on TV but their actual skill as a performing pro wrestler?

One more question - what was the reasoning for doing the racism angle leading up to the HHH/Booker match if Booker was just going to lose? That was such a deflating finish and seemed to kill Booker till he got rejuvenated with the King Booker gimmick.

why have they not put the title on hbk since the three week nostalgia trip in 02?? He's proved he's the best ever, far greater overall than HHH could dream of being...

What's your montreal story?

How true is it that the job of a writing team member is nearly 24/7?

I'm not sure of the time line but what are your thoughts on Paul Heyman as a creative guy? Were you witness to any blowups between Heyman and any of the McMahons?

Were there any guys you personally thought had the skills to move up the card but for reasons beyond his control didn't?

In recent months, there has been stories that the current creative team is under lock and key as far as leaks go (ie. monitoring calls, e-mails, etc.). Did you experience anything like that?

Did you ever talk about talent outside WWE (indy guys, foreign guys, etc.), such as trying to push for someone to be brought in for a tryout or hired?

Why was Tajiri never given a big push? Or Hurricane, for that matter. They both came across on TV as very popular, and they they just seemed to disappear from TV.

Who thought the Goldberg/Goldust thing was a good idea?

Why did Vince hire the nWo to "kill his creation" and then never be seen on screen with them?

And who thought up the Kane/Lita thing? That was awful at the beginning, then got awesome when Trish threw the bridal shower and the subsequent wedding.

Why does the WWE insist on using established tag teams (many times, former champions as well) to put over stars in handicap matches? To go a step further, what is their obsession with handicap matches over the past few years? One guy should never be able to beat two guys who are on the main roster. That's what local jobbers are for, isn't it?

Very entertaining blog! IN all honesty, Katie Vick and Billy and Chuck's wedding are some of my favorite angles from the 2000's, and its nice to hear from someone who had a hand in them.

Im sure you, personally had nothing at all to do with this, but was the undertakers wrestlemania streak planed from the beginning, or did they just always happened to book him to win early on and kept it going once they noticed?

Seth, first time visiting the blog. Really like what I have read so far.

As far as my question:

We have not really seen the appearance of a dominant/semi-dominant stable in the WWE in quite some time. I remember the days with NOD, DX, The Ministry of Darkness, The Corporation...The Corporate Ministry, etc.

Do you think that stables of 4-5+ wrestlers with one or two managers will start to come back to the WWE in a marquee role? Also, if you could, please discuss your experiences with using stables in storylines and how it is determined what wrestlers might join them.

Thanks for your time!

Kurt Angle, crazy yet? Or was he still kind of sane while you were there? Why the glass ceiling for Christian? Who thought that Lance Storm thing was a good idea? Any stories about Scott Steiner's insanity would also be appreciated.

were there any plans for Triple H and Chris benoit before they got injured in 2001 to affect the WCW/ECW invasion. Would Triple H have sided with Stephanie McMahon on the alliance or stayed with the WWF. Or would have benoit have also sided with the alliance.

Hey, thanks for this site. It's some fascinating reading to be sure. You had mentioned a few posts back about working mainly with Paul Heyman and Dave Lagana on Smackdown and I figured any Heyman stories,thoughts,etc.you have would make for some great reading. Thanks again and be well.

My questions are these...

1. Why when creative couldn't figure out what to do with someone, the wrestler got fired? Numerous talented wrestlers were completed wasted in this fashion.

2. Why was the cruiserweight division so poorly run and buried when the better matches usually came from the smaller men?

3. Why were untrained models (more like backyarders) hired to be wrestlers through that diva competition when there were plenty of cute women on the indy circuit that KNEW how to wrestle but never got an interview?

As you can see, there are a lot of questions regarding dropped angles. Could you tell us any stories about angles that were purposely dropped, (as opposed to "lost in the shuffle".) and what the rationale was?

I *love* the backstage stories of booking logic!!

To Colin: Evolution definitely falls underneath the dominant stable banner. But even still, that was 3 or 4 years ago.

My question is: What's the most ridiculous idea sprung from the writers that never came to fruition?

To Colin: Evolution definitely falls underneath the dominant stable banner. But even still, that was 3 or 4 years ago.

My question is: What's the most ridiculous idea sprung from the writers that never came to fruition?

One of the things I've always enjoyed about Heyman's ECW, was that it appeared to be an environment where creativity and the belief in improving the product was the first priority.

From an outsider's point of view, WWE, since the end of the Monday Night Wars, seems to be more about personal politics first and improving the product only when that vision aligns.

Did you have a similar experience?

Hi, Blog is very entertaining. I was curious about Stephanie Mcmahons' involvement and what you and others thought of her.

Awesome blog!
i wanted to know what would have been HHH's role during the Invasion Angle if he didnt't get injured during that time? I've read he was supposed to take Angle's role.
How would you manage the new ECW?
What do you expect from the draft lottery that is expected to happen one month from now.
Do you think that Kurt Angle could make his return to WWE?
Have we seen the end of DX or will we keep seeing DX reunions every couple of months?
What was it like working with The Rock? U liked the way he left the business or would you have booked him for a final farewell match?
Who do you think is the future main-eventer in the company once the old guys like UT, HHH, HBK, BIG SHOW, JBL, BATISTA (he's already 40 something) start to leave for good?
Should Paul Heyman be rehired by WWE?
thanks a lot, love ur blog.

This is a very awesome blog. Here are my questions:

1. Were there writers specifically assigned to the B-Shows Heat and Velocity? Its a shame that only one brand has a B-show nowadays (Heat), which while there has been little to no angle advancement, actually has lots of decent wrestling. A shame that Velocity is no longer on the air. They really messed things up by doing the Ill-concieved talent exchange between ECW and Smackdown, causing wrestlers to switch between shows, rather than having two separate B-Shows for Smackdown and ECW.

2. Was there someone in charge of continuity when you were around WWE? I remember reading about someone who was in charge of remembering past feuds, only for that person to leave very shortly after.

Hi there!
My question is about current WWE Champion, Randy Orton. I'm a big fan of the man and find it baffling that he is labelled as 'boring' by some people. Personally, I love his wrestling style and I think his promos are okay.
Anyway, how do you feel his reign as Champion has been handled from a booking standpoint and do you feel that he has had a successful title run?
Thank you and all the best!

HI,

i ve always wanted to know why christian (captain charisma) was neevr given that big push or the fued with john cena was neevr resolved. he was one of the most popular wrestlers in WWE yet they did nothing with him. my question is WHY??

Hey Seth!

My question for you is...

What is your opinion of Brian Gewirtz? What is he like to work with? Is he worthy of being the head writer of Raw? What are your experiences of working with him?

Thank you very much,

The Future Booker

Hey Seth, great blogs...I just like to know what are your thoughts on VINCE RUSSO. Does he deserve the writing credits for the ATITIUDE era? Also, what are some of the other writers you worked with and maybe the McMahons opinion of him...Thanks

Hey Seth, great blogs...I just like to know what are your thoughts on VINCE RUSSO. Does he deserve the writing credits for the ATITIUDE era? Also, what are some of the other writers you worked with and maybe the McMahons opinion of him...Thanks

What was the typical week like for a WWE creative writer? Your typical work-week schedule, including travel, meetings, etc.

I know this isn't the greatest thing to post about on a newspaper's site, so how do I put this as delicately as possible...

What was the belief about using Randy Savage at the time you were there? I have heard from within the company that the writing staff was the origin of the Stephanie McMahon rumor (and believes it wholeheartedly for some reason), which came out online after you left.

On a lighter note...

Was there anyone on the writing team when you were that had worked under Chris Kreski and/or Vince Russo? If so, how were they spoken of and/or compared to Stephanie McMahon?

Was the Al Wilson/Dawn Marie storyline really liked un-ironically by Stephanie McMahon even though much of it (the commentary, especially) was written as satire burying the whole thing?

Why did Brian Kendrick/Spanky get a pretty big push at first, feuding with John Cena, only to get shoved down into generic cruiserweight hell?

Was the Raw (now SD) big gold belt world heavyweight title supposed to be the same title as the WCW title since it had the same name for the last month of its existence? There have been endless geeky arguments about this online for the last 5+ years?

I think I asked this before, but if I didn't, what words/phrases were banned from TV, and what were their allowable replacements?

Thanks!

Any idea why Vince McMahon HATES Randy Savage and has blackballed him? After seeing the WWE work again with Bret, Hogan, Piper, Bischoff & countless others that at 1 time or another, Vince would not have spit on had they been on fire, I wonder why saying the name Randy Savage to Vince is reported as blasphemy? What the hell did he do? It's just a shame because when you think WWE in the 80's (the product I grew up on) you think Hogan, Warrior, and Savage.

Any idea why Vince McMahon HATES Randy Savage and has blackballed him? After seeing the WWE work again with Bret, Hogan, Piper, Bischoff & countless others that at 1 time or another, Vince would not have spit on had they been on fire, I wonder why saying the name Randy Savage to Vince is reported as blasphemy? What the hell did he do? It's just a shame because when you think WWE in the 80's (the product I grew up on) you think Hogan, Warrior, and Savage.

Any idea why Vince McMahon HATES Randy Savage and has blackballed him? After seeing the WWE work again with Bret, Hogan, Piper, Bischoff & countless others that at 1 time or another, Vince would not have spit on had they been on fire, I wonder why saying the name Randy Savage to Vince is reported as blasphemy? What the hell did he do? It's just a shame because when you think WWE in the 80's (the product I grew up on) you think Hogan, Warrior, and Savage.

So what is offical stance on the World Heavyweight Championship being linked to the WCW title? Is it a continuation or is it all together a new World title? Is it suppose to be a "loose" connection so WWE can claim that it was once the NWA title?

I went to Conn. for an interview to be part of the Creative Team. I would love one day to work for the WWE. But is the job stable? It it enjoyable? What is your interaction with the wrestlers? how much input do they have? how much input does HHH have?

Pops for the grat blog.
My question is what plans had the WWF with the nWo in 2002? And if is true that Austin would joined the nWo in 2002? Sorry for my bad english, cause i'm Chilean.
Thanks for the info, and Chao.

Awesome Blog! I hope you keep this going for a long time.
Do you feel Jeff Hardy is perhaps the most over wrestler in the last five years to not hold the WWE title?What do you see in the future for Jeff?

Thanks

my question, is how would one go about getting a job on the WWE's creative team?

I have been a wrestling fan or more so WWF/WWE fan since i was 3 which was 1991. I have always enjoyed the gimmick superstars of the past and the very few in WWE today, like The Undertaker. Most of the superstars today act as if they are Good Guys or bad guys, but no characters like early 90s. My question is...what do you think benefit the superstars, do you think if they were more character, whether than normal people it would make people remember them and like watching them. Also do you think it was better for the promotion to have characters, or more realistic based?.

It is supposedly a well known fact that y2j and hhh don't get along well. did you ever see any blowups between them backstage?

Seth is it true that hulk hogan was very two faced to alot of the guys backstage, and didn't wan't to put people over unless it benefited him?

seth is it true that hulk hogan was two faced to a lot of wrestlers backstage and didn't wan't t o put anybody over unless it benefited himself?