News on pitches from the WWE lawsuit (Patreon)

The WWE lawsuit from former writer Britney Abrahams has opened up a lot of news on pitches

You can read all about the lawsuit there: https://www.fightful.com/wrestling/vince-mcmahon-and-wwe-sued-ex-writer-over-racial-discrimination-and-wrongful-termination

Fightful was able to learn more about some of the alleged pitches outlined in the lawsuit.

Ryan Callahan came under fire for a pitch that would have seen Mansoor revealed as “keeping a secret that he was behind 9/11.” We’re told that in the past, Mansoor and Callahan had maintained a good relationship, and talent were shocked, baffled, and discussed that this was even something said. Callahan had actually been let go by WWE in 2019 after a disagreement with Dave Kapoor. Upon his return he’d worked his way to the top of the Smackdown writing team. Based on what we’d heard, the 9/11 pitch hadn’t even made its way back to Mansoor before the news dropped. Those in the know said it was a joke in poor taste and not a serious pitch.

Apollo Crews’ Nigerian accent gimmick was also outlined in the lawsuit. However, Fightful has long been told that the accent was pitched by an active wrestler originally.

There was a pitch made by Vince McMahon directly to Mustafa Ali in late 2021 that Fightful Select had reported on and noted that it was “something that Mustafa Ali would have never done.” We still haven’t gained clarity on what that was, it was claimed to us that “it was just as bad as the Mansoor pitch.”

Fightful reached out to Shane Haste about the pitches made regarding his character and Reggie. He said he can't speak to how it was elevator pitched to Vince, but the version he heard didn't have anything to do with race, and instead would have been more about the entire 24/7 scene, with Reggie actually escaping most of the traps with acrobatics.

We’re told WWE doesn’t plan on commenting on this, or any legal matters moving forward.