For those that don't remember Derrick Bateman, he was a NXT rookie back when the show was more reality competition than wrestling. He appeared on seasons four and five with his pro being Daniel Bryan.
He turned into the man now known as Ethan Carter III.
During season five of the show, Bateman became involved with season three competitor Maxine. The two were even engaged for just over a month on television.
Head writer of NXT at that time, Tom Casiello spoke to The Agenda Podcast about the on-screen relationship between Bateman and Maxine and how they had not "earned the right" to have their parents on television.
"I had brought in Bateman's mom and Maxine's mom during the wedding storyline," said Casiello. "I didn't realize that you had to be a top guy to have your parent on the show. That was not a rule that was given to me."
Casiello explained that the show was in Cleveland one week and Miami the next. It just so happened that Bateman's mom lived in Cleveland and Maxine's mom lived in Miami. They asked Casiello if their respective parents could appear on the show and he thought it was fine.
"I don't know any better. Eight months in (to working for WWE), this sounds like fun. I'll put them in one backstage, I'm not going to make them do anything in the ring. Are they not great actors? Sure, but whatever. It's fun and we're having a good time.
"I was called into an office and there was a lot of heat on me because I put someone's parents on the show. There was a statement made that they hadn't earned the right to have their parents on a show. I apologized. Nobody ever told me that rule."
Casiello took full responsibility for the incident and didn't want anyone too look down on Bateman or Maxine for his mistake.
Let go by WWE in December 2016, Casiello shared plenty of interesting stories from his nearly six year run as a WWE writer, including changing the AJ Lee-Daniel Bryan-CM Punk love triangle to avoid a reference to suicide.
