WWE's Vince McMahon To Produce Wrestling Drama Pinned For NBCU

For fans of professional wrestling, the week surrounding Wrestlemania is the most wonderful time of the year. Touted as World Wrestling Entertainment's flagship event that is essentially the equivalent of the Academy Awards, the Super Bowl, or the World Series, fans and other wrestling promotions from around the country (and sometimes around the world) descend upon the host city for the event and just eat, sleep, and breathe wrestling for a few days. But to kick off the festivities this year, news got out that WWE CEO and Chairman Vince McMahon is preparing to present "sports entertainment" to the masses in a whole new way: a scripted drama.

Okay, I know what you're thinking. Yes, kayfabe is dead and we all know that pro wrestling is already a scripted drama. But McMahon is teaming up with "CSI: Vegas" and "MacGuyver" executive producer Craig O'Neil and Fox Sports reporter Tom Rinaldi to develop a traditional TV show set in the world of wrestling.

According to Deadline, the trio is developing a series called "Pinned" at NBCUniversal. Centered on a fictional wrestling promotion, this show is described as an "adrenalized" soap opera that pulls the curtain back on the world of professional wrestling and the larger than life characters that inhabit it. It also "offers a front-row seat into the eccentric wrestling culture and the mayhem that exists between the locker room and the boardroom."

Of course, this isn't the first show to tackle this subject matter. The Netflix show "GLOW" gained legions of fans before it was devastatingly canceled early on in the pandemic. STARZ also has "Heels" starring Alexander Ludwig of "Vikings" fame and former Green Arrow and proud wrestling fan Stephen Amell. And there's former WWE Champion Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson's biographical sitcom "Young Rock," which is already airing on NBC and features many of the legendary figures from McMahon's promotion like Andre the Giant, "Macho Man" Randy Savage, and the Iron Shiek. So when (or if) "Pinned" comes to fruition, it will be in good company when it comes to TV shows about wrestling meant for non-wrestling fans.

However, one concern about "Pinned" is whether or not McMahon's fictional wrestling promotion will be written better than his real one. Many fans have expressed their frustration with the declining quality of storytelling on WWE programming in recent years, particularly on the three-hour WWE Raw on the USA Network. Common critiques are that the shows are too repetitive and McMahon (who has final say on the creative direction of WWE) is out of touch with his audience. But presumably this new series will bring in actual TV writers and wrestling consultants rather than solely leaving the writing duties to McMahon and his creative team, so maybe it will be an improvement.

Since "Pinned" appears to be in the very early stages of development, time will tell if the project will move forward at NBCU. Until then, you can check out WWE programming on Peacock, including this year's stupendous two-night Wrestlemania featuring "Jackass Forever" star Johnny Knoxville taking on former Intercontinental Champion Sami Zayn, stars of the interactive Netflix film "Escape the Undertaker" Xavier Woods and Kofi Kingston facing off with the Celtic Warrior Sheamus and his hooligan friends, Ridge Holland and Pete Dunne (who unfortunately goes by the name Butch now), and a world championship unification match between Roman Reigns and Brock Lesnar.