Former writer discusses transitioning from theater to WWE creative, more
Via Phil Johnson:
“My entire professional life prior to working at WWE was in theater, be it writing, producing, directing, or performing. So it prepared me well for working the live shows at WWE because those are functionally live theater shows that just happen to be filmed for TV. Pro wrestling is theater, even if the performers are trained wrestlers rather than trained actors, the mechanics of storytelling are the same.”
The idea to combine wrestling with a rock musical:
“The show’s lead producer Jeremiah James, who also conceived the project, is a lifelong, die-hard wrestling fan! He always dreamed about writing a wrestling rock show so he and his writing partner, Jason Huza, bounced around ideas. Then they met Sylvana Joyce and her husband Chris, who wrote the music and lyrics and that was it! All the pieces together. Some die-hard wrestling fans wanted to bring the world of pro-wrestling to a new audience in a genre and context where it totally works.”
The Last Match as a motion picture in the future?:
“Oh yeah, it would be an awesome motion picture. Since The Last Match was made by wrestling fans for wrestling fans, I think casting the lead role should reflect that. I’d want to cast a professional wrestler to play the part — think Chris Jericho, AJ Styles, Randy Orton, Edge, or a name as big as them — who could really sell that their last match is larger than life.”
Blechman also discussed if his previous experience helped or hindered his job as a WWE writer and more. You can check out the complete interview at this link.
