Bleacher Report catches you up on the latest news from the WWE Universe.

New Report Sheds Light on McMahon-Led Backstage Culture

Wrestling fans have for years heard direct insight or casual references to what it was like to work on the WWE creative team under Vince McMahon. Krystie Lee Yandoli of Rolling Stone published a new report on what writers experienced behind the scenes when McMahon was with the company.

The report reinforced the longstanding narrative that what was presented on screen was almost entirely down to whatever McMahon felt right before showtime.

"The former writers describe a process that was hardly collaborative: Writers would pitch story ideas to lower-level supervisors and head writers, and, on days McMahon was in the room, directly to him," Yandoli wrote. "They would sometimes produce multiple versions of scripts. But ultimately, they say, McMahon changed storylines—even ones he'd previously approved—and entire scripts on the day of the taping. He 'destroyed everything by the time we got to air' seemingly just to exert his dominance, one former writer says."

One writer told Yandoli that it felt at times as though the writers "were just there to satisfy Vince's whims" and "were all Vince McMahon transcribers."

McMahon also instituted a more formal dress code than you'd typically see for a writers room. Men had to wear suits and women were limited to skirts, dresses or pantsuits. Everybody had to have their shoes shined as well, per Yandoli.

Yandoli reported the writers were told by managers not to sneeze in McMahon's presence "because he saw it as a sign of weakness." In addition, they said they had to stand whenever he entered a room and couldn't sit down until he had been seated.

Yandoli cited a spokesperson for McMahon who said, "Many of the anonymous writers' claims bear no resemblance to the reality of the writers room."

WWE, Netflix Still Finalizing Raw Run Time

WWE extended Raw to a third hour in 2012 and it has remained there on a full-time basis ever since. With the show eventually headed for Netflix, wrestling fans were left curious when WWE and USA Network scaled it back to two hours effective on Oct. 7.

The subject remains under discussion between the two parties, according to Sports Business Journal, so the move doesn't yet foreshadow any bigger plans.

Pivoting Raw to a streaming service reportedly doesn't mean it will be commercial-free. One obvious conclusion to draw from that is that WWE's flagship program will return to the three-hour format since that guarantees more ad inventory to sell.

Since this is such a sizable jump into live television programming for Netflix, it could decide to go smaller from the outset and grow if a two-hour Raw isn't maximizing its revenue opportunities.

Cole Confirms 'Long-Term Deal' with WWE

Speaking of Raw on Netflix, longtime play-by-play commentator Michael Cole told WFAN's Sal Licata (via Fightful's Jeremy Lambert) he "just signed a long-term deal with the company." The 55-year-old added he'll be on the Raw broadcast team in January when the show debuts on Netflix.

The Ringer's Bryan Curtis reported in an August profile of Cole that he had penned a new contract in the spring.

Joe Tessitore's arrival likely led a lot of fans to wonder about Cole's role moving forward. The veteran sports broadcaster debuted on Raw in September as its lead announcer, with Cole shifting back to SmackDown.

Moving Cole and Tessitore around so soon would be a little surprising but could signal how WWE wants to position Raw and SmackDown, much like how Cole's return to the blue brand coincided with its TV deal with Fox.

WWE officials may also prefer to have a more tenured voice to help navigate the transition away from linear television with Raw on Netflix.

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