Veteran says Vince McMahon gave him "100 percent" creative freedom in WWE (Exclusive)

Vince McMahon was largely responsible for WWE's match outcomes and key storyline developments between 1982 and 2022. However, according to former WWE writer Vince Russo, his one-time boss did not have as much control as some fans think.

Russo was WWE's co-head writer alongside Ed Ferrara in the late 1990s. The two men worked together on weekly television scripts before reporting directly to McMahon with their ideas.

On Sportskeeda Wrestling's Writing With Russo, Russo told host Dr. Chris Featherstone that he and Ferrara had "100 percent" creative freedom:

"People, of course, are not gonna wanna believe this, but when I say he one hundred percent turned the reins over, he one hundred percent [did]. Now, if there was somebody [a wrestler] he really wanted to go with, he would tell us, and we'd say, 'Okay,' and we'd follow Vince's direction to really go with that person." [From 07:59 – 08:21]

Watch the video above to hear Russo explain why he created the Pretty Mean Sisters (PMS) faction in 1998.

Vince Russo downplays Vince McMahon's creative influence

In the same video, Vince Russo revealed that Vince McMahon hired Ed Ferrara as a writer because he no longer had time to create storylines.

Russo added that he and Ferrara were responsible for almost every creative aspect of WWE programming, including wrestlers' names and on-screen personas:

"But, I mean, as far as him [Vince McMahon] coming up with names and gimmicks and stuff like that, he kinda took himself out of that." [8:21 – 8:28]

Ferrara and Russo abruptly left WWE in October 1999 to join WCW as writers and television characters. Their exits came shortly after McMahon told Russo to hire a nanny to look after his children. The veteran writer took exception to his then-boss' advice and decided to leave.

Please credit Sportskeeda Wrestling's Writing With Russo and embed the video if you use quotes from this article.

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