New rumors suggest that WWE chairman Vince McMahon sees good things in Friday Night SmackDown superstar Otis, reportedly going as far as to write many of the elements that go into his ongoing storyline with Mandy Rose.
In a report from Wrestling Inc . that cited the latest issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter , it was noted that former WWE writer Andrea Listenberger — who was one of several employees let go by the company on April 15 — was widely believed to be the person behind Otis and Rose’s on-screen relationship and the storyline that came with it. However, it appears that her role in creating the angle wasn’t as significant as once thought, as McMahon’s appreciation for Otis’ character drove him to write “a lot” — and perhaps most — of his material.
Regarding Listenberger’s actual contributions, the outlet added that she specifically wrote the promos for Rose and Otis, but was not the “driving force” behind the storyline.
As the aforementioned storyline also involves Rose’s former tag team partner, Sonya Deville, and Dolph Ziggler in villainous roles, Wrestling Inc . also cited Rose’s recent interview with Sports Illustrated , where she revealed that she pitched the storyline to McMahon and later, along with Deville, worked closely with the chairman in its development.
“[McMahon] loved it, he had some ideas, and then Sonya and I had a lot of say in the creative, which was really cool. We were able to write a lot of it. We all worked together, and that’s one of the reasons it’s worked so well. Everyone’s been really passionate about it.”
BEST. #WRESTLEMANIA MOMENT. EVER. ? @otiswwe @WWE_MandyRose pic.twitter.com/zqxQpwi22a
— WWE (@WWE) April 6, 2020
Currently, Otis is among the wrestlers scheduled to take part in the men’s ladder match at the Money in the Bank pay-per-view on Sunday, where he will be fighting for a chance to win a contract that he can cash in for a championship opportunity within the coming 12 months. It’s not clear, however, whether McMahon’s rumored support for Otis will lead to the Heavy Machinery member getting booked strongly in the upcoming match.
While Otis and Rose’s on-screen romance appears to be as big a hit with fans as it is with McMahon, the WWE boss seemingly got less than desirable results with another recent angle that was reportedly among his favorites. The “love triangle” storyline that mainly featured Rusev, Lana, and Bobby Lashley largely received negative feedback from audiences and was cut short with little fanfare earlier this year, around the same time that Rusev was allegedly embroiled in a contract dispute with WWE.