WWE has been using writers for almost two decades now when it comes to putting the shows together. The writers with backgrounds in other forms of television writing join the company to write scripts and pitch storylines. It has been considered a controversial decision from day one till today regarding the aspect of someone with no wrestling experience coming into the business to tell wrestlers how to do their job. The old school approach would have bookers and people in the wrestling bubble work together to book the show. Ring of Honor and Impact Wrestling currently use that form as opposed to WWE’s way of getting writers from other fields.

Stephanie McMahon is reportedly the biggest supporter of this and convinced Vince McMahon to commit to it in the long run. Writers are considered to have the most thankless jobs in WWE. They will get the blame if things go wrong and no credit when things work out well. Many wrestlers of both the past and present have spoken out in recent years regarding writers in WWE. These wrestling performers had negative words for the ideology of television writers telling them what to do. We'll look at some of them with fifteen wrestlers that hate WWE writers.

16 16. Triple H

We start the article off with one of the more bizarre entries given his status with the company but yes, Triple H has a pretty brutal past when it comes to writing material being given to him. Hunter was very protective of his character and if that wasn't a match in the script given to him, he'd make it be known to the writers.

Former WWE writer Brian Gewirtz confirmed the allegations to be true claiming Triple H was the most intimating to work with it and often times, The Game came up with own material due to frustrations of working with other writers. Some other allegations claim Hunter would even rip up scripts in front of the writers if it didn't meet his standards. Given the way he goes about NXT creatively and how different it is to the WWE product, you can obviously see his different mindset.

15 15. Batista

The career of Batista has taken a tremendous turn in recent years as a successful actor. Batista achieved a great deal of success in WWE in a short time period. Both the WWE Championship and World Championship were held by Batista at different time periods in the 2000s. However, Batista has gone on the record about disliking the rise of writers having more and more input over the years.

The return of Batista in 2014 saw a horrible run as a face. WWE had him win the Royal Rumble in his first match back and was forced to turn him heel quickly as fans turned on him. Fans had no interest in anything Batista did, and his run was a disaster. Batista put part of the blame on the writers for writing his character horribly leading to the fans turning. He's also been quite harsh when assessing the current PG product.

14 14. Cody Rhodes

The success of Cody Rhodes in Ring of Honor and New Japan proves that he made the right decision when asking for his release from WWE. Rhodes grew frustrated with his role in WWE as Stardust. The desire to become a bigger singles star has seen thrive as one of the top members of the Bullet Club in 2017. Cody even won the ROH Championship to cement his status holding a world title.

Rhodes has discussed his departure from WWE many times since leaving in the middle of 2016. A couple of writers were targeted by Cody as people that didn’t have any business putting together shows. Cody claims they didn’t show him any respect or give him a chance when he came to them with ideas. One allegation saw Rhodes state that a writer would spend more time flirting with the women’s wrestlers than writing the shows.

13 13. Steve Austin

Steve Austin isn’t as hostile as some of the other wrestlers on this list, but he strongly feels writers have become too important in the world of WWE. The fact that wrestlers have their entire promos scripted by writers has changed the landscape of how characters get over. Austin is someone that always cut promos using his own words and creativity with minimal input from others aside from getting the direction of where to go with it.

Funny enough, Austin is a good friend of former WWE writer Court Bauer and the two do a podcast together. One writer friend isn’t enough for him to be convinced that writers are needed in WWE. Austin has joined in agreement with wrestlers he interviewed on his podcast regarding the writers playing a negative role in wrestling today. Writers would likely have a tough time telling him what to do.

12 12. Lance Storm

Lance Storm does not throw mud at others, but he has made his opinion known on the writers in WWE. The wrestling mind of Storm is considered to be a genius as he has helped teach many successful wrestlers and hosts a podcast giving his insight on the business with his friend Don “Cyrus” Callis. Storm and Cyrus frequently rip writers for over scripting most promos, storylines and character development.

The viewpoint of Storm is the most popular way of thinking among wrestlers. He believes the writers should just give bullet points and pitches. Storm also thinks ex-wrestlers joining the writing staff is the best way to perfectly write an effective television show. Many fans and wrestlers would likely be more excited about WWE’s product if Storm joined the writing staff.

11 11. Randy Orton

The reputation of Randy Orton has always seen him as one of the most difficult wrestlers to deal with backstage. Management couldn’t control him, and wrestlers often hated having to try to work with him on nights when he was in a bad mood. Writers clearly had a tough time having to tell him what to do. Orton has stated negative opinions about writers in various interviews throughout his career.

The fact that Orton is a third-generation wrestler likely adds another depth to this specific topic of wrestling. Randy’s father and grandfather never had sitcom writers telling them what to say or how to say it. It factored in Orton being against the writers having so much control. We don’t know if Orton has mellowed in his older age, but it’s hard to imagine the writers not still being petrified about him.

10 10. Ric Flair

Ric Flair is clearly a legend that has never needed writers to give him material. Some of the greatest promos and one liners in wrestling history featured Flair using his own creativity and talking on his own. Flair made an iconic career without anyone scripting him. However, that changed during the final few years of his WWE career and his returns that still happen to this very day.

Flair reportedly made life difficult for the writers by going off script. The legend is bulletproof when it comes to his standing in WWE, so he often stopped listening to the writers and said what he wanted to. A few writers reportedly were punished for Flair going over his time on the microphone even though they had no idea he was going to do it. Flair is not adhering to what writers say at this stage in his life.

9 9. Jim Cornette

Wrestling personality and legendary manager Jim Cornette has consistently been one of the biggest critics of writers in the wrestling industry. Cornete’s personal war with Vince Russo started when he tried to talk Vince McMahon out of allowing Russo to write shows. The two clashed as Cornette held no respect for Russo’s lack of experience in the wrestling business.

Cornette has remained insistent that writers have no place in wrestling. The belief of Cornette is that WWE should have a wrestling mind book the promotion with the wrestlers having more creative freedom. A lot of people believe the writers are held back from becoming true stars due to the writers’ role in getting them across. Cornette strongly agrees with this line of thinking and has zero respect for any writer that never worked in wrestling before the gig.

8 8. Bret Hart

The short run of Bret Hart’s podcast in 2015 and 2016 saw him give some of his personal opinions of the world of wrestling today. Hart came up in the old school way working for his dad Stu Hart’s Stampede Wrestling promotion. The hard work landed him a spot in WWE where he would have a legendary run in the era before writers joined the company to script the shows.

Bret revealed on his old podcast that writers are a major negative on the business. According to Hart, multiple current wrestlers told him that their ideas and input are restricted. The writers often script the WWE shows like soap operas and sitcoms. Bret’s style being more in-ring based and about standard storytelling creates a clash where he doesn’t enjoy the current style of presentation in WWE.

7 7. JBL

JBL has always been considered one of the worst wrestlers to deal with backstage during his wrestling career. The bullying demeanor of Bradshaw saw him target anyone he felt was weak from new wrestlers to broadcasters to referees through the years. It is no surprise that writers were among the people that JBL harassed backstage.

JBL represented the wrestlers that hated the writers joining the company and taking over the booking roles. The hate started from Vince Russo all the way to the time around 2003 when a full writing staff was created. Multiple former writers have revealed in interviews and on podcasts that JBL essentially bullied them too unless he formed a personal relationship. Considering his career peaked when more writers were on board, you’d assume he’d have been more welcoming.

6 6. Brock Lesnar

No one can tell what Brock Lesnar what to aside from Vince McMahon. The role of Lesnar in WWE has him working as the highest paid star and arguably the biggest star as the Universal Champion. It is obvious that Brock doesn’t bode well in an environment where he must follow orders. This is the reason he has a limited schedule and refuses to work more shows for extra money.

Lesnar reportedly only answers to McMahon and doesn’t even speak to any of the writers. Other wrestlers working with him will get input from the writers for promos, but Brock only works with Paul Heyman and Vince. If the writers must get anything to Lesnar, they go through Heyman. Brock has zero respect for the writers, especially if they are trying to tell him what to do.

5 5. CM Punk

CM Punk was viewed as one of the least pleasant wrestlers to work with for the WWE writers. Punk wasn’t afraid to tell Vince McMahon or Triple H that their ideas sucked, so he clearly had no filter when it came to the writers. The fact that Punk worked to relevant success on the independent circuit to land the WWE deal as a self-made star also played a factor in him not respecting writers.

Punk ended up dealing with Vince more than most wrestlers due to the writers being able to convince him to follow certain orders he didn’t agree with. It all ended with him leaving the company due to the environment making him miserable. Punk will likely never return to WWE and the writers are the happiest people regarding never having to work with him again.

4 4. Scott Steiner

Another wrestler with a reputation for being difficult to work with is Scott Steiner. The legendary WCW star joined WWE in 2002 for a singles run in hopes of becoming a major singles face. Steiner instead failed miserably and left the company within a few years achieving absolutely nothing of note. The only entertaining thing to come from his run has been comments trashing those that he felt wronged him.

Triple H, Stephanie McMahon, Shawn Michaels and Ric Flair were the main targets, but the writers weren’t excused. Steiner stated WWE turned the process into a cookie cutter mindset where the writers ruin the chances of wrestlers standing out on their own. Brian Gewirtz was personally insulted by Steiner. A few expletives were used with Steiner’s main point being that he was offended at Gewirtz telling him how to be cool.

3 3. Hardcore Holly

One of the most outspoken minds backstage at WWE when writers entered the company was Hardcore Holly. The attitude of Holly saw him hold nothing back to anyone as he developed the reputation of being a backstage bully. Holly especially hated the writers joining the company in the late 90s and early 2000s. Brian Gewirtz was the main target of his hatred.

A legendary backstage story saw him catching Edge and Christian giving a Flash action figure to Gewirtz as they formed a friendship. All three were sent to Wrestlers Court with the accusation being that they were receiving favoritism for giving gifts to writers. Gewirtz was trashed by various wrestlers as everyone mocked him. The end of Wrestlers Court saw Gewirtz ask if they were cool now, to which Holly replied, “Hell no!”

Like JBL, he would even try to bully his way into main event matches as Brian also discussed Holly's frustrations in not being booked as an upper-card act.

2 2. Big Show

The legendary Big Show is at the end of his career with WWE and has no reason to hold anything back. Big Show recently trashed the writers in an interview discussing how he feels about the current product. The part-time schedule in 2017 saw Big Show work a few months this year with a handful of relevant matches on WWE television.

Big Show described the Raw dates as being torture for him. WWE has him show up to the venue many hours before the show and he must wait all day for the writers to give him a script with an angle he absolutely hates. Big Show said he has way more fun at the live events working with the wrestlers and agents. The fact that no writers are around makes him a happier wrestler.

1 1. Chris Jericho

Chris Jericho’s Talk is Jericho podcast has seen him become the most vocal Superstar against WWE writers. The only two writers Jericho has stated he has respect for are Brian Gerwitz and former wrestler/writer Jimmy Jacobs. Otherwise, Jericho absolutely hates the process of having to deal with writers for every segment that airs on WWE television.

The comments of Jericho have seen him reveal he has ripped up scripts from writers giving him ideas he hated. Jericho demanded Jacobs become his full-time writer during his most recent WWE run due to not wanting to work with the others he views as incompetent. One thing he is enjoying about his New Japan angle with Kenny Omega is he gets to do it all on his own with Omega. A return to WWE would likely upset him as Jacobs is no longer there and he’d have to work with a new writer that he hates.