Stephanie McMahon threw a fit about WWE storylines being leaked, particularly the return of Chris Jericho. She had thorough company cell phone, computer and e-mail checks run on all the members of the writing team but didn’t find any guilty parties. They did find a number of the writers making personal calls on their company cells though and they were punished for it. Stephanie also wants the writers’ contracts to be revised so they specifically state that none of them can claim ownership of any ideas they come up with for WWE, will not be allowed to publicly discuss their time with WWE after they leave, and would even contain a one-year non-compete clause. The latter wouldn’t affect most of the newer writers who work mainly in TV or film but it could hurt the likes of Dusty Rhodes or Michael Hayes, since places like TNA would be their only alternative. The likes of Rhodes and Hayes also get a percentage of the profits if any of their concepts take off, which the other writers don’t get, and that clause might be removed as well.
Roddy Piper is in the WWE bad books once again. Vince McMahon was mad at him for leaking his involvement as one of the potential referees, alongside Steve Austin and Mick Foley, for the Cyber Sunday match between Batista and Khali while he was at the G.I. Joe Convention. He was then quickly replaced with JBL. Of course, the match is now between Batista and the Undertaker anyway, while WWE’s early advertising revealed the originally planned four-way between Batista, Khali, Undertaker and Mark Henry, so what Piper did that was quite so bad is a bit of a mystery. Early advertising has already leaked the planned Survivor Series main event, while cable ads are still promoting a Hell in the Cell for Cyber Sunday that is no longer an option.
Credit: Wrestling Observer Newsletter, 23 October 2007 (subscribe here)
