WWE: Big Update on the Release of Brian Gerwitz, More on His Replacement

Since the shocking news of head writer Brian Gerwitz's release broke just prior to Monday's Raw, speculation has been running rampant about his future in WWE, as well as what we can expect from his replacement, Eric Pankowski, who is now leading the writing team. 

Under pressure due to plummeting ratings and an over-exposed lacklustre product, it seems Vince McMahon is now on a rampage and intent on turning things around, with the WWE owner reportedly telling nervous staff backstage at Raw he wanted either "results or resignations."

Oh, dear. Unsurprisingly, the writing team were the very first to bear the brunt of Vince's ire.

In this week's (subscribers-only) F4W Newsletter, Brian Alvarez gives some updates on the situation, noting that Gerwitz was, in fact, officially taken off the writing team on Friday.

Alvarez also notes that the once-highly influential Gerwitz had, in recent times, seen his duties slowly chipped away at anyway, meaning his release may just have been a matter of time.

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Gewirtz had actually been removed from the writing team on Friday, and in fact he'd been demoted some time back to the "home team," which is the term for the guys who stay in Stamford all week and don't travel on the road with the boys.

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He also gives an update on the writer's short-term future with the company:

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One source said he did not have an at-will contract, meaning he'll almost surely be classified now as a consultant and sit at home until his contract expires. This is essentially where people fall when they enter WWE purgatory.

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As noted in other reports, Gerwitz, who was with the company for 13 years, is being replaced by the relatively unknown Eric Pankowski (read his official bio on WWE's corporate site here). 

He is described by Alvarez as "a Hollywood type who was hired in February of this year and who has quickly become a favorite of Vince and Stephanie."