8 months ago
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IMG Credit: WWEHe was the boss. There are all kinds of stories about Vince McMahon and in recent months, most of them have been negative. McMahon was notorious for being overly obsessive with controlling aspects of WWE programming, even down to specific words that were said. Now we are hearing stories from a former WWE writer on why McMahon fired him over making a change.
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Former WWE writer Michael Leonard shared a pair of videos on his LinkedIn page by way of Wrestlingnews.co, talking about his two departures from WWE. Leonard worked for WWE twice, first from 2001-2005 as part of the on-air promotions department and again from April 2015-January 2016 as a creative writer.
2005 Departure
Leonard says that he was tasked with making a video on the Muhammad Hassan vs. Undertaker feud in 2005. However, he asked to be assigned to something else due to the London bombings in July 2005. He was demoted as a result of the request before having his responsibilities restored later that year, only to leave WWE shortly thereafter.
2016 Departure
Leonard says he was assigned to work on a Monday Night Raw segment on Martin Luther King Jr. Day in 2016. The segment would see Neville (later known as Pac) speak about having a dream to win the Royal Rumble, with Mark Henry, R-Truth and Titus O’Neil in the room. Neville said that he couldn’t say that and Henry, R-Truth and O’Neil were uncomfortable with the situation.
The script was changed to having R-Truth say the line in a way described as “light and fun”. Upon hearing about the changes, Leonard said McMahon “chewed me the f*** out.” The following day, Leonard was tasked with filming a segment with O’Neil. Leonard, O’Neil and his unnamed boss in the segment made some changes and McMahon fired him as a result.
There is a lot here. Check out some of the wrestlers involved:
