By James Caldwell, Torch assistant editor

Former WWE writer/producer Bruce Pritchard discussed his WWE release last year after 22 years with the company and essentially "auditioned" for a creative job in TNA during an interview on the Monday Night Mayhem radio show earlier this week.

"I was fired: plain & simple. I was let go, and we had some differences and I was let go. That was it. We just had differences, and it was time to part ways, and after 22 years, you can't look back and listen to guys who are so bitter about their experiences after they're gone," Pritchard said. "To be bitter about something after doing it for so long, you gotta look at yourself in the mirror and say, 'Who's the dumbass?' I was there for 22 years, and I had a fabulous run, and I wouldn't trade it for the world. When it was time to part ways, it was time to part ways, and we did."

Pritchard talked about various creative headaches he experienced in WWE, with changes happening on the fly and ideas being scrapped. He transitioned into talking about talent being the key to executing the gameplan

"There were times when you just had to buckle up and go; there was always tension. Once it got past that initial creative discussions, then you had to go sell it to talent, and then you had to get talent to go out and deliver your vision," Pritchard said.

"I listen to guys all the time, and one of the things I always get amazed by is when different people and guys who have written or booked in this business take credit for something the talent does. ... After a while, Steve (Austin) gambled, and went out, and he did what he thought was right. He had an ear, and he knew what was working, and what they buying and weren't buying, and at the end of the day, it may not have been the ideal creative situation that was created, but Steve made it his own, and made it bigger than anything that's ever been done in the business. Without talent, you can have the greatest creative in the world...if they can't deliver, it doesn't matter."

The discussion set up Pritchard for his unspoken "audition" for a TNA creative job, citing TNA head writer Vince Russo as an example of a writer "taking credit for something the talent does" and criticizing the TNA product that he feels he could help address.

"They need a lot of help, they need to make some drastic changes. I don't know if they would be willing to make those changes or not, but if they were willing to make those changes, then it may be a good fit. It has to be a good fit for them and for me," he said. "To say I would/yes, I can't say that. To say I would say no, can't say that either. I would have to listen to what they had in mind and go from there.

"But at this point, I think the show's a mess, and I'm not saying anything here that I wouldn't say to them. You need help, you need some direction, some kind of stability, or some kind of direction to get the rutter in the water and moving forward. Right now, they are bailing; they are just trying to get water out of the boat."

Pritchard cited specific criticisms of the EV2.0 angle, saying watching Tommy Dreamer cry "makes me cry." He also called the ongoing Jeff Jarrett, Kevin Nash, Sting, and Hulk Hogan angle "too much mystery...too much gaga."

"I look at TNA, and I see what they're doing with the rehash of the ECW guys," he said. "And for TNA to take that and say 'Hey this is going to revive us.' ... I just think it's a very poor business choice on their part. You have Kevin Nash, Hulk Hogan, Jeff Jarrett, and Sting involved in something. ... You got Ric Flair with eight guys holding up four fingers, I don't get it. I really don't the TNA program at all. It's really hard to follow and makes you go 'huh?'"

Link: The entire interview can be downloaded from mondaynightmayhemarchives.com.

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