WWE Chairman & CEO Vince McMahon is said to be a fan of the Otis character.
Former WWE creative writer Andrea Listenberger, who was released back on April 15 as a part of company-wide cuts brought on by COVID-19, was credited with the storyline. The Wrestling Observer Newsletter adds that a lot of the Otis material, perhaps most of it, is from Vince as he likes the character.
Some WWE sources report that Listenerger’s role was in writing the promos for Rose and Otis, but that she was not the driving force of the storyline, which also includes Dolph Ziggler and Sonya Deville. It was also said that she was a good writer. Regarding her release, it’s been said that there were people on the SmackDown creative team that could have gone to bat for her when the cuts were made.
Rose recently spoke with Sports Illustrated and said she was grateful for the chance to help write the last chapter of her story with partner Deville. She recalled pitching the idea to McMahon.
“It’s hard to get in Vince’s office, but I finally got in and I pitched this story,” Rose recalled. “He 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.”
Otis will compete in the Men’s Money In the Bank Ladder Match at Sunday’s WWE Money In the Bank pay-per-view. You can click here for news on who Otis plans to challenge if he wins the briefcase title shot.
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