6:54 PM EST

Dr. Ranjan Chhibber, a lifelong fan hired to the writing team in 2004 on the basis of his award-winning academic career, risked being tarnished with both stigmas. The mere mention of his PhD immediately troubled intellectually-inferior workers, while his unmistakable passion for the business elicited the contempt of jaded veterans.

Dr. Chhibber remembers Pat Patterson, the former wrestler and booker and long-time match lay-out ace, cutting off his introduction with a scowling, "You ain't one of those Hollywood guys (who want to ruin wrestling)?" When Dr. Chhibber took a different tack and tried to offset his outside status by informing flattered Senior Vice President of Talent Relations John Laurinaitis that he was a fan of all his All Japan matches, Stephanie reprimanded Chhibber for "acting like a mark."

"Stephanie told me that a WWE writer didn't need to know about other types of wrestling to be successful," said Dr. Chhibber. She said if I let wrestlers know I had that sort of knowledge, I would across as some type of 'super-mark' and never be able to earn their respect. I felt like it was impossible to be respected: they hated you if you didn't know wrestling, and they looked down on you if you were a fan."

"Like Groucho Marx in reverse," theorized one ex-writer, "wrestlers feel like anyone who wishes to belong to their club is automatically too lame to be accepted."

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