Sgt. Slaughter Says CM Punk Is Responsible For WWE Scripting Everything – According to Sgt. Slaughter, an incident involving CM Punk, prompted Vince McMahon to overhaul the way he wrote WWE television.
Slaughter worked as a producer and occasional on-screen performer for many years after retiring full-time from the ring. He crossed paths with talents from different generations throughout his career, from Hulk Hogan and The Rock to CM Punk and John Cena.
In an interview with Sportskeeda, Slaughter recalled how McMahon once allegedly reacted furiously to Punk using profanity. Shortly thereafter, the WWE Executive Chairman started scripting promos word-for-word:
“I was told that CM Punk was using the F-bomb on live television, and Vince got a little upset about that, so he just said, ‘That’s it, no more ad-libbing. We’re gonna script everything so I know what people are saying. I’m gonna lose my sponsors and my TV shows if I don’t.’ So the business went a different direction,” Slaughter said. [1:24 – 1:46]
It is unclear which WWE moment apparently led Vince McMahon to write promos verbatim. However, Sgt. Slaughter could have been referring to a memorable incident involving a fan at ringside.
On August 19, 2013, CM Punk said a fan would be rendered “a toothless, crying heap of a man” if he booed his RAW promo again. The current AEW star was a babyface at the time, making the threat even more shocking.
As the unscripted moment went on, WWE did not allow the TV audience to hear Punk swearing while he continued berating the fan.
In 2012, The Best in the World also swore at Chris Jericho several times in the build-up to their WrestleMania 28 match. Unlike the 2013 incident, it is not known whether the moments with Jericho were scripted.
Sgt. Slaughter Says CM Punk Is Responsible For WWE Scripting Everything
