A number of former WWE writers have revealed some of the more toxic parts of working for now-disgraced longtime company Chairman Vince McMahon. While many of the writers remained anonymous to avoid any unnecessary backlash from the wrestling industry, Michael Leonardi decided to go public with some of his experiences working for McMahon.
Advertisement
Leonardi recounted a number of issues to Rolling Stone, including an encounter with McMahon that was openly hostile. "He turned to me and he said, 'So you didn't give me what I wanted?'" Leonardi recalled."I said, 'I understand, I'm sorry. We all went over it and felt good about it, we just made the small tweak,' and then he started just yelling at me. It was such an intense moment. I walked out with my tail between my legs. There was a very heavy layer of fear and tension and that was directly from Vince, and that culture that he created obviously created a lot of problems."
Leonardi detailed one particular moment in 2016 on an episode of "WWE Raw" that aired on Martin Luther King Jr. Day involving Neville, now known as PAC in AEW. Neville, who is a white Englishman, was supposed to say something along the lines of "he had a dream and that dream was to win the Royal Rumble" in front of Mark Henry, R-Truth, and Titus O'Neil, three African-Americans. Neville was uncomfortable delivering the line, and Truth delivered it instead after Leonardi's boss at the time, Dave Kapoor (known to WWE fans as Ranjin Singh), gave the greenlight. However, this was allegedly the change that led to Leonardi being fired.
Advertisement
Adding to all the little "Vinceisms" that former employees have revealed after having worked for McMahon over the years, Leonardi added that he seemingly hated wrestlers going off-script in promos, or improvising in the spur of the moment. Leonardi explained that he had thought such ad-libbing was not a big deal, but says this specific instance made McMahon so angry that it led to the above confrontation and resulted in Leonardi's dismissal.
Advertisement
Since Leonardi's interview, a spokesperson for McMahon has outright denied what allegedly happened to the former writer. The spokesperson admitted to McMahon having what they called "an extremely hands-on approach" when it comes to WWE's scripts, but asserted that this particular conversation regarding the Neville segment with Leonardi never occurred. "That's why the idea of him suggesting or approving the use of a famous Martin Luther King, Jr. quote for a punchline to be used by a white British character is so ridiculous. It simply didn't happen."
