Jimmy Jacobs Details How Vince McMahon Micromanaged WWE

Jimmy Jacobs served on WWE’s creative team from 2015-17 after a lengthy career on the independent circuit. He recently appeared on Bobbo’s World Interviews and had some things to say about his time with WWE. You can check out some highlights here (via Fightful)

On his time with WWE: “I learned so much there. I’m so better off. I’m nothing of appreciative of my time in WWE. My firing was me. I was the problem. No one else was the problem. It’s like going into someone else’s house and demanding they run their house a certain way. You can’t do it. I learned so much there. The writers are all brilliant. WWE is this massive production and seeing how all the wheels turn to make this machine was amazing.”

On Vince McMahon’s control over WWE at the time: “In WWE, whatever your idea, if it’s good, it can be as big and wild as you want. [In Impact], we have to make it work with what we have. I loved not being micromanaged. In WWE, Vince read every single word that was in the script. He wanted every word written down that the performer was going to say. There are reasons for that. I’m not faulting him for that. Part of the trouble at WWE is, if you wanted something changed, it was a difficult process because Vince has to approve it. Vince is a busy guy. If Vince has already approved a promo and I’m talking with the talent and the talent wants to change something, it’s difficult to get to Vince to get him to allow that change to happen. In Impact, if I wanted to try something, I did it. If Scott (D’Amore) didn’t like something, he’d go, ‘Why did you do that?’ ‘I thought this and this.’ ‘I don’t think that.’ ‘Okay.’”

“At WWE, so many people were playing to not lose because Vince was pretty volatile and you’re always one weird interaction with Vince away from being in the dog house. You’re walking on eggshells. People aren’t trying to do what’s best; they’re trying to do what won’t get them called to Gorilla by Vince going, ‘Why the hell did this happen? If I say the sky is green, the sky is green, damnit.’ That’s a Vince quote. Try working for that. ‘If I say the sky is green, the sky is green,’ I have to deny reality.”