News broke on Friday that WWE had let Tom Casiello, the Managing Lead Writer who oversaw the Raw and SmackDown writing teams, go.
As my colleague Keith Harris wrote about yesterday, this was seen by many observers of the company of another example of Vince McMahon’s management style, of the CEO souring on an outside hire (Casiello has a resume full of other television work prior to coming into WWE). There were also some online who speculated the move might have been related to Casiello’s not being a supporter of President-elect Donald Trump, or even his sexual orientation. Then there were fears the company’s recent support of women’s wrestling would diminish or disappear with Casiello to champion it.
None of these things are true, according to the man himself.
In responding to a Tweet from a wrestling site claiming his departure was “MAJOR NEWS” and promising “more to come” on the story, Casiello sent the following series of messages:
What "more" on the story,or me,is there? They eliminated my position. I said,"ok". They save money & I move on to next thing. NEWSWORTHY. https://t.co/d5sJxW1Zh9
— Tom Casiello (@tommiecas) December 10, 2016
...not entertaining this anymore. I think the McMahons, despite all their eccentricities and quirks, are AWESOME. I loved working with them.
— Tom Casiello (@tommiecas) December 10, 2016
The elimination of my position had NOTHING to do with my stand on the election, my sexual orientation, or anything else invented by websites
— Tom Casiello (@tommiecas) December 10, 2016
I have been open and honest from day one about who I am and what I believe in. And Vince was respectful of that.
— Tom Casiello (@tommiecas) December 10, 2016
We ultimately got to a place where we could rib each other on our differences. It was kinda cool. So AGAIN, LET'S SHUT THAT SHIT DOWN.
— Tom Casiello (@tommiecas) December 10, 2016
HAH! There is something else I want to say. (See? Y'all got me cutting promos now!) But to say that I, and I alone, am single-handedly..
— Tom Casiello (@tommiecas) December 11, 2016
...responsible for the Women's Revolution is preposterous & an insult to the dedication and hard work those amazing women have accomplished.
— Tom Casiello (@tommiecas) December 11, 2016
Newsflash: if Vince doesn't want to do something, he doesn't do it. If he wants to,he does it. Did I work closely with the Women's Division?
— Tom Casiello (@tommiecas) December 11, 2016
Yes. I did. From Day one. And I always fought to get them more time and better stories, etc. But believe me when I say it takes an ARMY of
— Tom Casiello (@tommiecas) December 11, 2016
people to make Raw and SDL happen. And EVERYONE is behind what's been happening with the Division. And EVERYONE works together to
— Tom Casiello (@tommiecas) December 11, 2016
see it through. So for everyone posting and speculating and wondering if this means the Women's Division is suddenly going to go back to
— Tom Casiello (@tommiecas) December 11, 2016
bra and panties matches that are 3 minutes long... stop. These women are unstoppable. They're here to stay, no matter who's writing the show
— Tom Casiello (@tommiecas) December 11, 2016
End of story? It seems to be for Casiello. And while it does raise questions (that the recent Vice Sports story re-raised, but have long been there) about how WWE is run, it should address speculation he was somehow discriminated against.
But, with wrestling and the internet, I kind of doubt this goes away... until the next “MAJOR NEWS” which gets us worked up.