Meet NXT's new head writer - Joe Belcastro

Earlier this year, word went around that Ryan Ward - who won broad acclaim for his work as head writer of NXT - was now working on Raw and SmackDown. At that time, there was no mention of who took over at the Performance Center.

The latest Wrestling Observer (subscription required but recommended) has an answer. Triple H's right-hand man for the weekly hour-long WWE Network show is Joe Belcastro, a former movie critic and features writer for the Tampa Tribune.

Belcastro has been with WWE since 2013. A lifelong pro graps fan, he interviewed with the company right out of college, but wasn't hired. Then, five years later, a friend with connections at Stamford got him another interview and he came onboard.

His place on staff is seen as an example that WWE Creative isn't all "soap opera writers". He told his old newspaper before a panel appearance at a film festival in 2014 the team consists of people from a range of backgrounds, including wrestlers, actors, TV writers and journalists.

In addition to the head writing gig on NXT, Belcastro worked on the "WWE Kids" pilot and will be working with Trips on the Cruiserweight Classic.

It's tempting to point a finger at the new guy for NXT not being as good as it was at its peak in late 2014 though mid 2015, but there's a lot of factors involved. Among them, as Belcastro told the Tribune in that interview from a couple years back, "There is no off-season. It takes a team of creative people to make this work."

But, we're the internet, so we're gonna judge... how do you think he's doing so far?