I am not a pessimist. I don't always complain about the wrestling product. I have been a fan of the WWF/WWE for over twenty years now and for the most part, have enjoyed the product for most of that time. I've never truly been turned off enough to leave the product and I doubt I ever will. I don't think anybody disagrees that the wrestling product is in a slump right now and has been in one for quite some time now. That doesn't mean that it's never good. There have been plenty of mark out moments filled into the product throughout most of the year. Yet, things are still bad. Why is that" Well, we could blame the internet for ruining the element of surprise. We could blame it on the fact that there hasn't been a breakout star to catch the public's interest quite like Stone Cold Steve Austin ever since he made his mark in the WWE. We could blame it on a number of things. But I feel the blame lies on one individual. That one individual is Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley. She is in fact the head writer of the company. And ever since she took over, the company has been on a downward spiral that occasionally has its high points but none long enough to start any kind of momentum. Sure, Vince McMahon has full control and should be the logical person to blame but when critiquing the job of his only daughter, what father wouldn't see anything but a job well done"

To give Stephanie one break, there is no doubt that having no competition to compete with is the main source of the problem. But I think other writers could still pull off a great show even with those limitations. To me, Stephanie McMahon has two really big flaws in her creative environment. For one, she seems to like writing on the fly. That should be rule number one in the handbook of how to write a professional wrestling show. Any feeble minded person would understand that you have to have a master plan. The WWE has always functioned on a long-term writing schedule. They have also always been pretty successful. Why Vince would allow his daughter to change that successful formula with an unproven formula of writing as you go along is beyond me.

Second of all, Stephanie McMahon has filled her writing staff with nothing but "yes men." We all saw what happened to Paul Heyman. In my opinion, he was the most valuable person on that writing team. However, because he came along with something called creativity, Stephanie McMahon didn't seem to like his presence. She wanted somebody to agree to her ideas, not to come up with ideas of their own. She has filled her team with Hollywood script writers who don't seem to know the first thing about professional wrestling. Occasionally they score, like with the dialogue we saw between The Rock and The Hurricane a few years back. But most of the time, they fail.

Since Stephanie took over as the head writer, we've heard the constant excuse of "the writers couldn't come up with any ideas for him" when a talented wrestler is released by the company. Excuse me, but isn't that what these guys are getting paid for" If you can't come up with a decent storyline for Chris Kanyon, D Lo Brown, Lance Storm, and Rhyno then you guys have no business being writers. I'm not saying that any of these guys are ever going to be the next Mick Foley. However, there is no reason why they should not have been given the same chance that Randy Orton was given. They are all just as talented, if not more talented than he is. I have nothing against Orton either, but he's the perfect example of how with the right writing any talented wrestler can at least be a successful mid-carder or tag team wrestler.

Vince Russo proved he wasn't a genius when he took over WCW's book. However, with the right filter (i.e. Vince McMahon), he produced some of the most entertaining stories I've seen in professional wrestling in my 20 plus year as a fan. To me, the year between WrestleMania 14 and WrestleMania 15 was pure gold! Russo took a nobody like Bob Holly and actually made me care about him for a year or so when he became Hardcore Holly. He's back to being the pits for me now though! That's because there isn't a talented writer coming up with storylines for him. Russo made every wrestler on the roster have a purpose. He made every segment of the show seem like a can't-miss part of the show. With Stephanie's crew, I'm lucky if I mark out once during the entire episode of RAW.

I am not saying that Vince Russo is the answer. Shoot, anybody could be the answer. All it takes is somebody with creativity and the willingness to listen to criticism. These are two things that seem to be missing from Stephanie McMahon's mentality.

Let's look at just a few of the mistakes she and her team have made over the past few years. The titles have become meaningless, 75% of the roster is directionless, storylines are left unfinished, stories are predictable and sometimes even downright upsetting (i.e. Katie Vick), and fewer stars are being made for the future. I mentioned Randy Orton earlier. Am I wrong in thinking that the only reason any attention was paid to his storylines is because he happened to be affiliated with Triple H for two years"

I used to think that Triple H was entirely what was wrong with professional wrestling. I was wrong. It's the person wearing his wedding ring. She is after, in essence, the person in charge of the entire product. I think the sooner that Stephanie McMahon is removed from the writing team and starts controlling some other aspect of the company, the better. She has had control of the writing team for a good amount of time and she has been proven to be a failure. Any other employee with that kind of a record would have been told that "the writers couldn't come up with anything for you" and would've been let go by the company a long time ago. Why is Stephanie McMahon different" There are plenty of areas in the company where I'm sure she would be brilliant. However, creative control just doesn't seem to be one of them.

Vince McMahon seems to fear telling his daughter that she isn't doing a good job. I fear having to watch the company I once obsessed about day and night continue to become a program barely more important to me as reruns of The Simpsons, Seinfeld, and CSI. I'm sure the wrestlers fear reading the next script when they show up for work on Mondays and Tuesdays. The whole company must fear waiting for the Nielsen's results. But none of this would be necessary. The show could once again be something to obsess over if somebody would take over the books with a sense of what's needed, with a sense of longevity, and with a sense of creativity. Why is that person not Stephanie McMahon" That's quite simple. Stephanie fears creativity!

by John Marc Cuellar ..