Kemo
04-28-2023, 08:54 PM
More concerning details have come to light regarding the creative ideas highlighted in Britney Abrahams' lawsuit against WWE.
This week, it was reported that Abrahams has filed a suit, claiming discrimination and wrongful termination by the company. In the suit, Abrahams referenced several controversial storyline ideas thrown around the writer's room during her tenure with the company.
Abrahams was fired from WWE after taking a WrestleMania-branded chair after the Showcase of the Immortals ended. In the suit, Abrahams states that she was told that she was allowed to take a chair, and white, male colleagues were seen taking chairs without being punished. Abrahams claims that WWE had always intended on firing her after she spoke up against the controversial, often racist, storyline ideas.
In an update, Fightful Select reports that talent were "shocked and baffled" that WWE lead writer Ryan Callahan suggested a storyline in which Mansoor would be responsible for 9/11. Mansoor and Callahan are said to have had a good relationship in the past, which made the suggestion all the more surprising.
It is believed that the idea did not make its way back to Mansoor at the time. Callahan had been released from WWE in 2019 over a disagreement with Dave Kapoor/Ranjin Singh. Fightful reports that Callahan "ground his way" to the top of SmackDown's creative team upon his return.
It is noted that in late 2021, Vince McMahon made a pitch to Mustafa Ali that he "never would have done" and that was "just as bad" as the Mansoor-9/11 angle. Details of that pitch remain unclear, and Ali has spoken multiple times about being a positive representation of Islam in the media.
Another pitched idea (that made it to TV) was for Apollo Crews to exaggerate his Nigerian heritage. Crews put on a strong Nigerian accent and was often seen with armed guards during his 2021 run as a heel on SmackDown.
Callahan also pitched the idea for Shane Haste (formerly Shane Thorne) to portray a 'hunter' and repeatedly attempt to capture Reggie/Scrypts.
Fightful Select's update reveals that Reggie would be "captive in cages" and Callahan's reasoning was "since Shane is Australian, we should make him a crocodile hunter, and instead of crocodiles, he hunts people." The plan would have also seen Haste try and "capture Reggie and constantly beat him up, but Reggie would always escape after being captured."
When Abrahams raised objections to the concept of a white man hunting a black man for sport and trapping him in a cage, Callahan "laughed and sarcastically responded, 'Oh, what? Is that a bad thing?'"
Haste has said that while he didn't speak to Vince McMahon regarding the pitch, the version he heard was not about race. Instead, the angle would have focused on Reggie's impressive acrobatics and being able to evade being 'caught' by Haste.
This week, it was reported that Abrahams has filed a suit, claiming discrimination and wrongful termination by the company. In the suit, Abrahams referenced several controversial storyline ideas thrown around the writer's room during her tenure with the company.
Abrahams was fired from WWE after taking a WrestleMania-branded chair after the Showcase of the Immortals ended. In the suit, Abrahams states that she was told that she was allowed to take a chair, and white, male colleagues were seen taking chairs without being punished. Abrahams claims that WWE had always intended on firing her after she spoke up against the controversial, often racist, storyline ideas.
In an update, Fightful Select reports that talent were "shocked and baffled" that WWE lead writer Ryan Callahan suggested a storyline in which Mansoor would be responsible for 9/11. Mansoor and Callahan are said to have had a good relationship in the past, which made the suggestion all the more surprising.
It is believed that the idea did not make its way back to Mansoor at the time. Callahan had been released from WWE in 2019 over a disagreement with Dave Kapoor/Ranjin Singh. Fightful reports that Callahan "ground his way" to the top of SmackDown's creative team upon his return.
It is noted that in late 2021, Vince McMahon made a pitch to Mustafa Ali that he "never would have done" and that was "just as bad" as the Mansoor-9/11 angle. Details of that pitch remain unclear, and Ali has spoken multiple times about being a positive representation of Islam in the media.
Another pitched idea (that made it to TV) was for Apollo Crews to exaggerate his Nigerian heritage. Crews put on a strong Nigerian accent and was often seen with armed guards during his 2021 run as a heel on SmackDown.
Callahan also pitched the idea for Shane Haste (formerly Shane Thorne) to portray a 'hunter' and repeatedly attempt to capture Reggie/Scrypts.
Fightful Select's update reveals that Reggie would be "captive in cages" and Callahan's reasoning was "since Shane is Australian, we should make him a crocodile hunter, and instead of crocodiles, he hunts people." The plan would have also seen Haste try and "capture Reggie and constantly beat him up, but Reggie would always escape after being captured."
When Abrahams raised objections to the concept of a white man hunting a black man for sport and trapping him in a cage, Callahan "laughed and sarcastically responded, 'Oh, what? Is that a bad thing?'"
Haste has said that while he didn't speak to Vince McMahon regarding the pitch, the version he heard was not about race. Instead, the angle would have focused on Reggie's impressive acrobatics and being able to evade being 'caught' by Haste.