All the money that David Arquette made on that movie was donated to the families of recently deceased wrestlers, Owen being one of them. That usually doesn't get reported and I believe it's commendable.
@@absolutez3r019Cornette is a joyful, funny and entertaining guy who loves wrestling. Listen to one episode of his podcast, yes he rages over things he dislikes but he praises the good things, he reviews shows and talks about wrestling history. He has a mind for wrestling and whether you like it or not he knows more about it than you ever will.
No one hated David Arquette for becoming champion. They hated the angle, but not the man. veryone understood that Vince Russo was basically holding Arquette's movie hostage. It also helped that Arquette donated his WCW earnings to the families of Owen Hart, Brian Pillman, Bobby Duncum, Jr, and Darren Drozdov.
David Arquette clearly loves pro wrestling and kept wrestling in the indies after, really putting his body on the line. It’s not his fault they put the belt on him. He probably didn’t even want it because he knew it was awful.
I've never heard anyone say anything bad about David himself for this. They blame Russo. The angle itself was stupid, but at least people know who to blame.
What do you mean no one hated David Arquette for becoming champion…bruh speak for yourself…angle or not…david becoming a champion was a retarded decision
@@totenblume7517 Very true. The huge contracts Bishoff had handed out like candy were what sucked all the money out. Bischoff had the nWo angle, but nothing else to follow it. Goldberg was the last gasp and when he accidentally tore his arm on that car window, Bischoff had nothing left.
@@danmason6116 except their ratings were terrible before Russo got there, but saw an increase when he was there. But despite everything Russo did not kill wcw. Jamie Kellner did
I don't know about you guys, but when I go to the movies I love it when the performers have a brief aside to discuss their real world working relationship in the middle of a scene. It completely immerses me in the work and doesn't ruin the narrative *at all*.
Vince Russo purposely killed Owen hart that's why Jim Cornette hates him the way that he dose! Both of the Vince are responsible but it was Russo that put the plan together!!! #Facts
It's surprising that Russo couldn't just pretend that he didn't miss all of those important life events with his family, the way he pretended to be involved in every successful attitude era moment
The difference between Bischoff and Russo was that Bischoff actually loved wrestling. He made a lot of mistakes, but he was trained in AWA. Russo was never a wrestling guy. He was sports entertainment through and through. Granted, unlike Eric, he saw the benefit in a Bret Hart. Eric didn’t. Russo had seen Bret draw money and knew he could do it again.
@@christhornycroft3686 nope. I'm almost 40. Either way, it doesn't change the fact that pro-wrestling has been and always will be sports entertainment.
@@christhornycroft3686 if you’re not watching wrestling for the sports entertainment…you’re watching wrestling for the wrestling…which means you’re watching dudes fake fight for the hell of it😂
I remember the first time I saw Mike Awesome in ECW. He was incredible. They should have billed him as a monster who could take down Goldberg etc. So many things they could have done with him.
Yeah, you saw him in ECW with a bunch of nobodies. He looked like a giant. Then he gets to WCW and is an average sized guy there with no charisma or mic skills. You can't do the dumb indie stunts any longer, so they had to give him some kind of gimmick. It turned out that they didn't work for him, but without them he was a Jerry Flynn level guy.
Exactly. Couldn't help but notice he didn't say anything against the Canadian or European wrestlers. He was a Bret fan, wasn't he? I guess that kind of foreigner is acceptable.
@@LadyAstarionAncuninlmao xenophobia isn’t the same as racism, but go off. Also goofy to claim “he liked Bret” as if American wrestling & Canadian wrestling aren’t one and the same.
@@isitoveryet9525You might want to re-read that. Saying you want to see Americans, as if Mexicans aren’t, but whatever, but seemingly have no issue with the European wrestlers, who are White, or Canadians, who are also White, makes what he said to be more in context racist under the guise of xenophobia.
A lot of this I agree with but I think you're leaving out Bischoff's role and Nash and Hogan's role in killing WCW. WCW was on it's way down by the time Russo got in, Russo just put it out of it's misery lol. And I loved Ready to Rumble lol!
Thank you. I know I was watching and I'm amazed at how people blame the ONLY ex-WWF writer that McMahon put a hit piece out on. No other writer in WWE history has been shitbon as much as Russo. I didn't realize that til after the fact. He wasn't in WCW long. He was gone after his 1st 3 month and was brought back in later when their ratings had tanked from where he and Ferrara had put them. So much more to the story if anyone ever listened to Konnan, Shane Douglas, or Disco. Russo came in with half the roster already against him based on BS theyvwere told.
@@Adrian-X1 1) love the nickname, shout out to Highlander. 2) agreed, the narrative against Russo is very skewed. I'm not saying he doesn't deserve a lot of the backlash because he does, but people tend to forget all the other factors at play and discount that Russo actually had a couple of good ideas. A lot of that skew comes from Cornette, whom I and I think most fans love and respect, but it's only his side of the story and he has a massive bias. Trouble is, I think the fans parrot Cornette and not actually look at the entire situation imo.
Actually, none of them had anything to do with the final blow that killed WCW. The final blow came when the new execs (after the merger) wanted nothing to do with wrestling and cancelled WCW
I used to not be interested in wrestling. Then I found out the real battles happen behind the scenes and suddenly it’s like Game of Thrones but with huge, sweaty men.
So laughable! I'll do my 12yrs RAF service little boy whilst you sit in the bedroom at mummy and daddy's house playing WWE2K22....keep up the child emoji's and learn to spell, really lets you down kid! BYE!!
If nothing else, Vince "Bro" Russo has served as the butt of Jim Cornette's savage jokes for many years. I never cared for Bischoff, but he did try and do things right, mistakes or not. Russo didn't care about wrestling, only the paychecks, and he ruined many wrestlers and screwed with the story lines so badly, it's no wonder WCW went downhill. And NOTHING was ever his fault. He took zero responsibility. And while he can't be blamed for everything, he can be blamed for a lot, IMO.
I don't think Russo killed the WCW I think Hogan and his creative control and the oversaturation of NWO killed WCW that faction should have died with the red vs black storyline
I always feel that anyone who joined WCW on that time would forever remember as a villain or polarized figure. I bet even Jim Cornette would got hated by wrestling community if he joined WCW on that time too.
@@tootzy-the-roll i disagree. WWE ran smackdown and it was wildly successful as long as the writing held up. Problem with thunder was that they treated it like a B show. WCW had a million problems. Starting with guaranteed contracts, you can't get some guys to do simple things like job. Buff Bagwell is an example of a guy who doesn't put over anyone who isn't an established talent. Wcw also had a glass ceiling for many developing talent. Chris Jericho, Chris Benoit, Eddie Guerrero were never allowed to be legitimate top stars. Vince Russo never killed WCW, his writing never helped it. The new blood angle forced younger talents to be stars when they are not ready. Billy Kidman should never be working a program with Hogan, as their styles do not compliment each other. Stars have to get over naturally with the audience.
@@TheRobmaynez no. The new CEO saw how much money Turner was using to keep it going and decided to cut it loose. Wcw was a money pit with diminishing returns years before Russo
If it were true, then why didnt McMahon bring Russo back to WWE after he completed WCWs destruction? If they were that tight, why didnt WWE go near him ever again (besides those few days he returned in 03)?
Time Warner had more than anything to do with the downfall of Dubya C Dubya. After they ousted Ted Turner they shackled the writing staff of WCW and reigned in the adult themes. Doing this at a time when WWE was riding the attitude area sank the ship.
for what it's worth, I got my hands on a wrestlemania script through an older friend. wayyy back in the late 90's. watching her read it word for word, with what was being said on screen was wild at the time.
I do hate this narrative which Russo pushes about his reason for leaving WWF. He always says that he was already working like crazy when McMahon decided to launch Smackdown. So he left because it was too much work…erm WCW had Nitro and Thunder. “Oh I’m leaving somewhere because they want me to write two shows per week. Im going to go to work for this other company and write two shows per week”. No. The reason he left was because he’d have full creative control and he didn’t want to listen to Vince shit on 9 ideas and only accept 1. And in WCW, we got to see all 10 ideas and 9 of them were shit.
Exactly. It was about money, ego, and authority. And don't forget Russo got to become an onscreen character, something McMahon would've never allowed, besides the handful of times Vic Venom appeared on the Saturday morning shows. Russo wasn't ready for primetime. And his ideas were shit.
@@roccoz2231 he had some good ideas which is what we got to see on Raw in 97 and 98. Then on Nitro in 99 and 2000, we got to see the other ideas too… but I agree with you.
1 thing he was right about is the internet thing.. people laughed and shrugged it off then but it's not funny now.. it's frustrating how wrestling is easily spoiled these days.
@@vincesmith2499 Aren't most wrestling fans internet fans nowadays though? Feels like there's no such thing as a casual wrestling fan nowadays. I feel like the only people who watch today's crap are internet fans who are as just as obsessed with what's happening in the ring as they are with what's happening behind the scenes.
If you haven’t read “Nitro” by Guy Evans and you’re a fan of pro-wrestling, do yourself a favor and get it! Turner got Russo with blinders on…that guy may not have tanked WCW by himself, but he did significant damage to it.
"I'm going to tell you something right now that you will absolutely not agree with: but I've been a wrestling fan my whole life." You got that right. NO ONE agrees with that.
I will not deny Russo was a crucial force in propelling WWE into the Attitude Era, but while certainly not the primary suspect, Russo's actions were a part of why WCW went defunct. Honestly, when you look at Russo's time in WWE, there were already red flags that indicate Russo needs to be kept on a leash. The most infamous instance is the Brawl for All, which was pitched by Russo just to give JBL (then known as Bradshaw) the middle finger. Russo got what he wanted, but the aftermath of the whole thing was nuclear. Because it was billed as a shoot (meaning wrestlers were told to actually hurt each other), and cause most of the wrestlers who took part in the damn thing were not trained to actually fight, WWE's injury list began to pile up, not to mention drumming up hostility in the locker room, a definite no-no in a business where you need both participants to be in sync with each other. Dr Death Steve Williams (RIP) and Bart Gunn had their careers torpedoed, and the ratings barely registered a blip cause fans and viewers wanted to see WRESTLING in a WRESTLING SHOW! It's quite telling how much damage Russo caused just cause he wanted to bring Bradshaw down a peg, which he COULD have gotten by simply booking someone like Dan Severn, Dr Death, or Ken Shamrock to squash him. I think that really sums up the hate towards Russo. Even if your goals align, the insane amount of collateral damage this man will inevitably cause is enough to make you change your mind.
How did they get injured in the Brawl for all? You get way more injuries wrestling than you do punching each other, what injuries did they get? I'm curious?
@@johneastwood3039 Cause the Brawl for All was marketed as a fight, wrestlers competed in boxing gloves, meaning their hands were not free to properly lock up and grab their opponents, which is a basic in professional wrestling. All the clumsy and awkward movements from not being in a familiar environment is actually easier to get hurt compared to a wrestling match. Cause while wrestlers do throw around each other around a lot, bumping makes it safer for the wrestler taking the move (still painful, but the only way you get legit hurt from taking a bump is if you don't land properly, or if your opponent botched and dropped you wrongly).
@@johneastwood3039 Let's see now ... Road Warrior Hawk got hurt in his bout with Droz with an undisclosed injury. Droz didn't win, but cause Hawk couldn't compete any further, he advanced. Steve Blackman won against Marc Mero, but also pulled out with an undisclosed injury. Savio Vega aggravated an old arm injury, never wrestled for WWE again. The Godfather suffered an undisclosed injury. Brakkus got a bloodied nose cause he didn't know it was a shoot. Dr Death Steve Williams hurt his hamstring, and not only did it ruin his physical form, it also hurt his wrestling career and his relationship with JR (they did reconcile before Dr Death passed away, though).
When Russo first went to WCW, I kind of panicked as a fan. I thought "OMG, WWF lost their head writer!" but then things like Judy Bagwell On A Pole Match put my mind at ease.
@@martifrey3357 lol what? We absolutely knew that. There was a site called Rajah WWF that kept all of us in the know about all the inner workings of each company.
I will give him credit for the things he has done, however his bad decisions out weight his good ones. Plus he takes credit for others success. They always say there are three sides to a story, his version, the other persons version and the truth. I find it hard to believe he is a victim of people just going at him when most people thru out the professional wrestling world have had similar stories about him.
There are dozens of stars who are on great terms with Russo. He did more good for the business than anyone could ever realize. He helped get wrestling mainstream appeal and was the head writer of the most viewed and successful period of wrestling. McMahon hired him and wanted him back for a reason
Russo was also the one responsible for giving Booker T a push. He saw that WCW was full of a ton of older guys past their prime, and he said Booker was one of the best guys on the roster. Without Russo, Booker T would be a 0 time 0 time 0 time 0 time 0 time WCW champion
@@Troy2Slick If Vince McMahon is solely responsible for all the good things during the Attitude Era, then he is also solely responsible for all the bad too. Russo also told McMahon and Prichard to drop the Ringmaster and Mayvia gimmicks
Also apparently David arquette was under contract with the WCW as a promotional deal and was forced to wrestle for the championship and he didn't want to
For all the people bashing, David Arquette for showing up to, WCW......you are all then bashing, Owen Hart's wife and kids because he donated EVERY PENNY he was paid to, Owen's Harts wife and kids. Not a single one of you would have done that.
The biggest problem with Vince Russo (besides being arrogant, petty, and just a nasty piece of work altogether) wasn't just that he looked at titles as props, he also looked at the WRESTLERS as props.
Tell that to every single midcarder he gave a storyline to when half of modern creative in major promotions keeps telling them, "Sorry, we got nothing." Russo always made sure everyone had something to do, even if they didn't always appear. That's why he kept writing people into factions: easy way to ensure they were part of a story.
@@1krani that's fine and all, but wouldn't it have been better had he asked for help or at least realize that the ideas were terrible? Give them something to do sure but a "viagra on a poll" match? 😂😂😂 you can do nice things and still be trash at your job.
Vince loves to use ratings for storyline purposes and his on screen character loves to reference ratings and it never works because the fans don't care. Mixing real life feuds and issues can work in wrestling (example Roman Reigns cutting a promo about Lesnar not really being one of the boys/only showing up for certain big events) if fans give a crap about those things and it's not to out there but Russo would take it to far to say the least.
Sick of this narrative that Rusoo killed WCW. He barely had anything to do with it. Even Bitchoff admitted he knew WCW was in the shitter by the beginning of 1999.
Nobody killed WCW. The Time Warner merger did. Had that never happened I feel like WCW could’ve survived and possibly even have a resurgence by the mid 2000s.
I was somewhat of a WCW fanboy. Even when Raw began to beat Nitro, I mostly kept at it with Nitro. IMO, WCW had a full head of steam until they botched the Sting storyline, with the Sting vs Hogan Starcade match and stripping Sting of the title. Towards the end in late '98 and '99.... WCW was also changing the World title like a hot pair of underwear.... whereas the title made a good buildup piece for the Luger, Sting, and Goldberg angles. A Goldberg vs Hogan angle was also a missed opportunity for the WCW.... instead the WCW went with a quick match for Nitro ratings win. Unfortunately, I changed jobs back in mid 1999 and I had to miss the Monday night wrestling broadcasts From what I've seen in clips on UA-cam, Russo turned the WCW into an unwatchable trainwerck. The worst thing I've ever seen was the WCW reset, where all the titles were stripped on Monday Nitro. The whole 'Powers that Be' thing
I have to correct you he didn't get promoted to creative until 1997 after the February raw from Germany and Vince McMahon got mad at everybody in Creative about it because it was a terrible show Jim cornette talks about it on his podcast
I’m pretty sure Russo got promoted to writer for shows after McMahon caught wind of his work on the magazines and said that he needed the shows to be like that, then he became the head writer in December of that year
I 100% believe that Russo was sent into destroy WCW from within because there was a secret meeting nobody knows between who but they know it did involve the higher-ups after the Turner merger. Now it's no secret that those executives hated wrestling and wanted it gone
For all the people bashing, David Arquette for showing up to, WCW......you are all then bashing, Owen Hart's wife and kids because he donated EVERY PENNY he was paid to, Owen's Harts wife and kids. Not a single one of you would have done that.
Russo's main reason for leaving WWE he says is because they started smackdown but he went to WCW that had a 3-hour nitro compared to a 2-hour raw and they already had thunder so he went to WCW where he had more work to do right off the bat
One thing I’d heard was he had a problem with the fact, that he had a contract to write 1 show a week plus a ppv every month. When they introduced smack down. He didn’t receive a pay increase to match the work increase. Now I don’t like russo, but if that’s the case I agree with him. He was doing twice the work so twice the pay.
Scott Hall is one of the best wrestlers never to win a World Heavyweight Championship in either WWF/WWE or WCW and same goes for Roddy Piper but yet Vince Russo and David Arquette both have won the WCW title once. Says a lot
Scott hall's drug and alcohol problem was getting out of control in the late 90s . Too risky to put the title on him at that time. Either way he would have laid down for Hogan. Piper was barely wrestling. Arquette was a contract deal from the movie, not Russo's fault. At least Russo didn't win clean. He got knocked through the cage by Goldberg
No matter what you think of his work you've got to respect the fact that he put his family first. Dude walked away from a pretty big career so that he could continue making them a priority.
AEW does that and they don't draw jack beyond the indie marks. Wrestling is best when it's written like a good TV show. What passes for good wrestling now would not pass for good TV writing even back in the day. Russo and his partner Ferrara were some of the few people to recognize that, hence why they wrote such compelling television.
@@DaleEarnshark3 Numbers say you're wrong. Russo's writing increased the viewership each week on average to the point where it took 20 years for the brand to fall back to what it had been before he stepped in. People tuned in and they kept tuning in afterward. Everyone on the card had a storyline. Think what you want about the actual content, but as a megastar Russo helped elevate once said, "IT DOESN'T MATTER WHAT YOU THINK."
@@1krani First of all, when Russo stepped in in 1996, the ratings still sucked, they couldn't get above a 3 until August 18, 1997 and didn't beat Nitro until April 13, 1998 (which was when WCW's momentum was slowing down and WWF's just so happened to be picking up), and while yes, the ratings did bump a bit when Russo first joined WCW in 1999, that was out of curiosity after the WCW product had become stale. Almost immediately everyone noticed it was shot and the ratings started going down. In fact, the ratings went down after the WCW reboot, where all the titles were vacated for no reason other than shocking unpredictability bro, and under him the ratings floundered. So the numbers say you're wrong. By the way, The Rock's natural charisma, his catchphrases, Vince McMahon, JR and Lawler, and the Die Rocky Die chants is what made him a megastar.
@@DaleEarnshark3 1) WWF's ratings absent any competition is proof that no, wrestling fans will not watch whatever's on if it's not good. 2) Russo increased ratings overall when he was given the same amount of control in WCW as he was in WWF. He was given a comparable amount of control in TNA and TNA's ratings gradually increased right up until he left. 3) Modern WWE was proof that Vince McMahon was not the secret ingredient to making megastars, consistently good booking and writing was. 4) Modern WWE is also proof that no amount of natural charisma or catchphrases can elevate stars faster than bad booking/writing can drag them down.
"It's wrestling. It means nothing" - Vince Russo - Dark Side Side of the Ring (Season 2 Episode 4) Well, I guess you really can't expect someone who stole ideas from Jim Herd to have any respect for the business.
****** Real reason WCW died****** WCW ended because the network wanted the programme gone. The popularity and diverse demographic made it a double edge sword to investors. - Bigger audience - Prime time slot - Less target market A less popular show with a core demographic at a prime time slot was more attractive to investors. The network wanted the show gone but not to be competition with their other shows. So they only sold it to the WWF with the condition it doesn't run side by side that Vince McMahon wanted. Evidence: Guy Evans book "the incredible rise and fall of WCW"
@@nicholasokeefe3632 If we're throwing Bones Russo was an on-camera figure in a small capacity in WWF and even WCW before becoming a steady figure. But you can't really deny that when the NWO angle hit Bishoff wrote himself into the middle of the angle in a big way and milked it pretty hard, same with Vince becoming Mr. McMahon and Russo being the powers that be
I don't think a belt swapping hands devalues it, look at modern WWE. Their belts are getting debavalued because the same guy has held the belt for almost 3 years and all of his matches are a meme where wins through interference. Having one person hold the belt for too long also devalues it. But I don't think how many times the belt swaps hands is what devalues it, but HOW the belt is won. Finger poke of doom? yeah, Lesnar 10second win? yeah. But the attitude era is a prime example of how a belt swapping multiple hands can be very entertaining and not feel like it's been devalued.
While the hate for Russo is definitely well deserved the man brought a lot of things to wrestling that was just offensive and every kind of way he's also tried to take credit where it was unjust. But he also brought a lot to wrestling. But I think a guy like Scott Hall brought way more than Russo and I don't think Scott Hall gets the credit he deserved for help developing young stars and established Stars
Wcw under russo was so crazy. The wrestlers, while on TV, were saying everything was a work, but their next match would be a fight. That's how Russo wrote shit.
I loved what Russo did with WCW. Booker T's championship run was amazing, specially his epic match with Lance Storm, where Booker T, the American champion, held the one single belt that Storm, the evil Canadian heel, had not acquired. That was one of the greatest TV wrestling matches of all-time. And under Russo, Storm actually got a push on the level that he deserved, instead of being called boring as he was in WWF. That said, this video does detail a lot of stupid crap Russo said and did.
In 2011 WWE put on an absolute trash fire of a main-event match that, by all logic, should have been a singles match between Edge and Dolph Ziggler, but instead became a mixed tag-team match in which Edge and Ziggler were partnered with their two squeezes at the time: Kelly Kelly and Vickie Guerrero, respectively. Edge had recently been fired by Guerrero, and since Edge had been World Heavyweight Champion at the time, he was stripped of his title and it was awarded to Ziggler. Long story short, Kelly pinned Guerrero and Edge thus got his title back. It's bad enough that Kelly was a former bikini model who had undergone no wrestling training before she was hired by WWE, and that Guerrero had had no wrestling training AT ALL up to that point. What's really offensive is that, in story, Edge needed a girl to help him win back a title - no, not just help him, but outright get the title back for him with absolutely no effort on his part - that he never lost in the first place! (You'd think Edge would have taken this as an insult, but I've never heard him complain about it, so I guess he was cool with that angle.) But, as someone once pointed out to me, the situation could have been much worse. Namely, if Vince Russo had written that match - and that certainly would have been possible if WWE hadn't fired him nine years earlier - Kelly Kelly would technically have become World Heavyweight Champion, and in her house right now she would have a replica of the very same physical belt that Russo had awarded to both David Arquette and himself.
Lets face it, WCW got lucky with the NWO. Also, WCW, truly lacked any star power . Their over reliance on Hogan, Nash and Scott Hall, and the fact that Hogan at the time was probably in late 50s . They never had a real break out star, probably barring Goldberg. At the same time , during this period , WWE had Rock, Austin, Kane, etc. There were multiple story lines which were pretty damn good . WCW, couldnt handle the talent they got . Case in point, Bret Hart. Therr could have been real good matches , of Hart ve Sting or Hogan 🎉.
Thinking about that quote "japanese and mexican wrestlers won't get over" is kinda right the two biggest "Mexican" wrestlers are Rey and Eddie who are both Americans. So I guess he wasn't too far off. Ngl what I thought he ment was they have to speak english.
@@johnharvelhines9803 I don't dissagree but being able to cut promos is a big deal that amplifies the qualities you put forward. Tbh I struggle to think of non-english speaking wrestlers that are big stars here.
I agree with everything you say EXCEPT Ready to Rumble. I really enjoyed it as a kid, and I still do now. A 12-y.o me saw it as a cool action flick studded with WCW superstars, but now I'm mature enough to look past the tacky humor & dumb antics and see a man's beautiful journey to change for the better. Also, John Cena is in the movie. You can't see him, as per the norm, but he's there. I promise.
@@moseshanon7060 that Japanese and mexican wrestlers couldn't get over in mainstream wrestling in America i guess he never heard of Rey mysterio and Eddie guerrero both of whom got over in mainstream American wrestling and to a degree so did tajiri when he came over to the states (ecw and later wwe)
@@theghostshadow8855 Vince Russo would look even dumber to know that Shinsuke, Asuka are a couple examples of who gotten over in mainstream wrestling in america of the modern day.
Because Eddie, Tajiri, and Mysterio had character and personality. If a wrestler’s character is that they’ve wrestled all over the world, they aren’t gonna get over like that with fans that aren’t nerds
Vince may have been a rotten wrestling guy behind the scenes. But in the 90's was at a WWE PPV in west palm beach florida and ill never forget the solid he gave me. I ran up for a handicappedkid and got his autograph for the kid. And Vince was on his way out and he took time once i told him why. Hes Aces in my book and was a nice guy
He solidified the death of WCW, he made TNA (the only alternative to WWE in the 2000s and early 2010s) a complete shitshow to every week, and all while taking all the credit for solely creating the Attitude Era, which in reality was a big team effort of Vince McMahon, Jim Ross, Bruce Prichard and other staff members to create that era while many of Russo’s ideas were rejected by McMahon because he always had the final say in booking and storylines.
When I go back and watch the attitude era Russo's finger prints are all over the lower/mid card which is full of a ton of bad and the shows are saved by the upper card and the fact that one of the biggest baby face (Austin) in wrestling history had one of the hottest heels of all time (McMahon) to feud with.
Russo is said to have pushed hard for everyone who had a championship belt stripped away and start a tournament. The rumor is that every where he went that was his first suggestion on day one of his creative control jobs
McMahon, JR, and Prichard had the same rooster and weren't getting the rating s Russo got. Prichard also came up with the fake Diesel/ Razor gimmicks . Also Russo had very little to do with WCW being cancelled, that happened at much higher up the ladder
It might have felt hotter but the Attitude Era was in NO WAYY hotter than the Golden Era of hogan, Savage, Andre The Giant, and The Ultimate Warrior! Saturday's Night Main Event had 10 million people watching for some episodes, Monday Night Raw in the Attitude Era never even came close to those numbers.
Cable was in its infancy in the 80s and people only had like 10 TV channels. They had way more options in the late 90s/early 00s, but the Attitude Era probably is the last boom wrestling will enjoy. It's like boxing in Muhammed Ali's era (1960s) was hot, when people first got TVs, but they only had like 3 channels lol. My mother is a Boomer and remembers as a kid the family would watch Ali box on TV, but there wasn't much else to watch. She never followed boxing after that and has only vaguely heard of people like Mike Tyson and Tyson Fury. The internet has contributed further to the decline of pro-wrestling. Not only that but the decline of TV soap operas. I don't know anyone who watches them anymore. They always had horrible writing, but in the age of digital streaming, binge watching is a thing and TV production values have got way higher across the board.
Russo's main problem was having too many ideas. In WWE, this was curtailed, by placing the right people with him, they could keep him on a leash and temper his ideas with common sense. WCW let Russo do what he wanted, indulged his ego and narcissism, and did so for far too long. Never forget, Vince Russo thought he had created a great thing in WWE in the Brawl For All, even after seeing how many stars were injured by the tournament. He is one figure who thoroughly deserves the disdain and blacklisting he has received. Jim Cornette was right about him from the beginning!
While the Brawl4All was dumb, Vince McMahon liked it, or he never would have given it the ok. He also could've pulled the plug if he thought it was anymore dangerous to the wrestlers or if it was doing poorly. And while Russo had too many ideas ,he did increase TV viewers
@@absolutez3r019 In WWE, he worked, due to having more grounded minds around him to ensure believability, but letting him and Ed Ferrara have free reign in WCW was a recipe for disaster. He was a significant part of the perfect storm that destroyed that company!
@@alaistairhamilton8838 I'm not going to argue that the Attitude Era was a combined effort on everyones part. But,the year prior and after Russo had the same same roster, but WWF had some truly awful gimmicks and angles. Worse than anything Russo came up with . In WCW, the frivolous money wasting and terrible gimmicks were already happening by 1999. There was zero direction in angles and feuds and the NWO had long over stayed their welcome. But despite all that, the company merges and a new CEO, Jamie Kellner, was what got WCW taken off TV and had nothing to do with Russo
@@alaistairhamilton8838 That’s just not true. I was a WCW fan all through the 90’s and right up to the end. The problem that WCW had existed long before Russo got there: Outside of the NWO, they had nothing. Russo made an admirable attempt at creating new stars and putting the undercard guys in the main event picture, but with the top guys being who they were and the pull they had backstage, his hands were tied. William Shakespeare couldn’t have written his way out of the corporate and political mess that WCW was by 2000. Blaming Russo for this is just unfair.
What killed WCW was Bischoff, Russo, and Hogan. Period. No new ideas, every week was the same b.s. Hogan being champ, an nwo run in with every match. When you have a collection of top talent from around the world and from every organization like ecw,wwe and your home turf wcw and you still can't utilize the talent, then it's bad.
Why Vince had some success in WWF was credited to him being part of a team. Vince would have a wild idea, and it would be filtered and altered by the rest of creative.... WCW really did have the talent calling the shots, and politics reigned supreme.
I don’t know looked like Nash an the guys actually killed wcw a year before he got there too of 99 they start doing a lot of ish that made us as 10 years old kids turn the channel back to raw I mean the finger poke of doom then you squash goldberg dude was hotter than Austin an the rock at one point smh rip wcw I wish it was still around 👌
Theain issue with WCW was that Turner executives never wanted a wrestling organization. WCW was Ted Turner's baby. The rest of the network hated it. They were happy when it went under, and they actively contributed to it. When they gave power to Bischoff, then let Nash and other wrestlers book show, and then gave power to Russo, they did so not knowing any better. And honestly, I think Nash wasn't as responsible for that ship sinkiang, as people believe he was.
@@babayagaslobbedaknobba you nailed it, Turner execs didn't want wrasslin on their networks. Look at how pitiful the sets were at the end, not cuz Russo wanted it plain, they just weren't being funded properly anymore.
@@jbj7599, yeah, they even forced Biscoff to do that 2nd show, and then took all his funding away. They wanted it all gone. That's why they only took $4 million for everything, when the sold it to Vince.
Why do some people lionize Vince Russo so much? The simple answer is that he was the loudest voice in the room behind the scenes, for better or worse, and is somehow given credit for ideas that weren't really his. I wouldn't give him credit for being some maverick in orchestrating anything from WWF's rebirth in the Attitude Era to the Monday Night Wars. There were several people involved and it was really Vince's business savvy that saved the business. If there was anyone else who did more for the industry at that point, it was Eric Bischoff. Even if he went down with a failing ship in WCW. Also, all of the melodrama Russo cooked up for himself only put him in the crosshairs of every heavy hitter in the industry, not least of all Jim Cornette. He pissed that man off more than anyone, and his feud with him actually started fracturing interpersonal relations between talent and corporate across the board. Bad blood here and bad blood there. And Vince Russo's name was tossed around in a lot of those discussions. Lastly, all you have to hear is his BS idealism when it came to audience draw. He says nobody wanted to see Mexican or Japanese wrestlers in American wrestling. That aged as well as a bog body in a pressure cooker in the Mojave Desert. My God, what an idiot. So yeah, the hate against him for his work in the business is warranted. I can't speak on how the man is in his personal life or what he's done outside of wrestling, but in the industry, he sucks.
@@EwanCumia I just saw a Booker T interview on CVV channel, and he spoke highly of Russo as well. I heard Kevin Nash, Kurt Angle, Ken Shamrock, Steve Austin, Mick Foley, and dozen upon dozens of wrestler sing Russo's praises. In contrast, I've heard many people say that Jim is a bully, a racist, a super tough guy to work with, etc.
Ready To Rumble was hilarious, you're crazy!!!! I admit David Arquette winning the title was ridiculous and completely stupid, but the movie was funny.
Sorry but ready to rumble was awesome 👍😎 I'm the king and 'I'm gonna".................." what come on what" ......I'm gonna rrrrruuuuulllleeeeee you............ Lmao sorry but that was the shit lmao
Surprisingly, people like Dutch and JR aren't as hostile to Russo, and are a bit more positive towards him. Dutch even likes Russo's quote "The worst ideas are the ones not pitched".
@@absolutez3r019 Yeah. JR and Dutch have mentioned that Cornette does have anger problems. They like him, but admit that he can go overboard. There was a time when Dutch mentioned that he had to stop Cornette from beating a guy, for a mistake.
Bischoff deriding Russo for being “desperate to be on camera” is hilarious. This is the same man that joined a group that was anti-the-establishment - the establishment HE WAS THE HEAD OF. It’s like joining the group of people egging your house and going, “Yeah, screw those guys! We’re sure showing them!”
Russo is a jackass. I like talent, whether from the US, Canada, Mexico, or Japan. We wouldn't have Rey Mysterio and Eddie Guerrero. Japanese wrestlers wouldn't even have opportunities today if Russo had his way.
Weird Jim Cornette has only recently sunk his reputation over the years compared to his arch nemesis Vince, their alike in so many ways no wonder their obnoxious heads clashed Jims pretentiousness was just more bareable longer.
Vince Russo has given us twenty years of solid entertainment in the form of Jim Cornette’s rage.
Kind of like how bad movies give us entertainment when they get featured on MST3K or Rifftrax.
That's the most success that Cornette has ever had, too bad he's a failure at booking a wrestling show.
@@Noname15514 but that would go against the idea that Cornette is a genius when it comes to wrestling
@@Noname15514 Jim cornette had a successful federation. What are you talking about?
@@Noname15514 clearly a fan of shit stain I see
All the money that David Arquette made on that movie was donated to the families of recently deceased wrestlers, Owen being one of them. That usually doesn't get reported and I believe it's commendable.
Didn't hear that before. Thanks
You're quite right about all of that. David is quite the stand-up guy.
Great thing that man did. Possibly greater than anything I'll ever do. But still not worthy of a world title.
@@theboombody It was a WCW world title though so it's only worth as much as the metal used to make it.
@@TheRedKnaveLP What a shame.
Jim Cornette's hatred of Vince Russo is a documentary by itself.
I know, Russo criticism doesn't quite hit the same without Corny going off on him
@@beamerball666 Cornette is just a bitter angry old man clinging to something that happened almost 3 decades ago
@@absolutez3r019 is he? i still can't stand some of the c**ts i knew 30yrs ago? plus Cornette is king!
@@absolutez3r019Cornette is a joyful, funny and entertaining guy who loves wrestling.
Listen to one episode of his podcast, yes he rages over things he dislikes but he praises the good things, he reviews shows and talks about wrestling history.
He has a mind for wrestling and whether you like it or not he knows more about it than you ever will.
Cornette doesn't like anyone not even you lol
No one hates Vince Russo more than Jim Cornette.
Cornette kicks Russo’s ass!!!
@@JohnnyTong215 Cornette is a bitter old man who hates everyone who "exposes" the business and breaks kayfabe
Shit Stain fears Jim Cornette!!
Yeah he wants to kill him
@@danmason6116 of course he does!
No one hated David Arquette for becoming champion. They hated the angle, but not the man. veryone understood that Vince Russo was basically holding Arquette's movie hostage. It also helped that Arquette donated his WCW earnings to the families of Owen Hart, Brian Pillman, Bobby Duncum, Jr, and Darren Drozdov.
Vince Russo gave himself the world championship, he didn’t care about that title.
Vince Russo had nothing to do with the movie or Arquette winning the title
David Arquette clearly loves pro wrestling and kept wrestling in the indies after, really putting his body on the line.
It’s not his fault they put the belt on him. He probably didn’t even want it because he knew it was awful.
I've never heard anyone say anything bad about David himself for this. They blame Russo. The angle itself was stupid, but at least people know who to blame.
What do you mean no one hated David Arquette for becoming champion…bruh speak for yourself…angle or not…david becoming a champion was a retarded decision
I will go to my grave believing Vince Russo was sent by Vince McMahon to destroy WCW Under the table
same thing people say about Hogan and Nash. WCW was pretty much done for before Russo got there
@@totenblume7517
Very true. The huge contracts Bishoff had handed out like candy were what sucked all the money out. Bischoff had the nWo angle, but nothing else to follow it. Goldberg was the last gasp and when he accidentally tore his arm on that car window, Bischoff had nothing left.
He sure did a good job destroying it didn't he
@@danmason6116 except their ratings were terrible before Russo got there, but saw an increase when he was there. But despite everything Russo did not kill wcw. Jamie Kellner did
@@absolutez3r019 PPV buys HALVED under Russo.
I don't know about you guys, but when I go to the movies I love it when the performers have a brief aside to discuss their real world working relationship in the middle of a scene. It completely immerses me in the work and doesn't ruin the narrative *at all*.
When those things directly impact the plot of the film, they can be interesting. Remember the J.O.B. Squad?
It really was an entertaining movie. Jimmy King will rule you! Lol
Vince Russo purposely killed Owen hart that's why Jim Cornette hates him the way that he dose! Both of the Vince are responsible but it was Russo that put the plan together!!! #Facts
@@Coco-xw3wp
Yeah yeah, we've all heard Corny tell it. Can't even bring myself to chuckle at that yarn anymore.
@Iain Mackenzie: Right! It’s great when your suspension of disbelief gets ruined by fourth wall breaks. 😂😂😆😆
It's surprising that Russo couldn't just pretend that he didn't miss all of those important life events with his family, the way he pretended to be involved in every successful attitude era moment
The difference between Bischoff and Russo was that Bischoff actually loved wrestling. He made a lot of mistakes, but he was trained in AWA. Russo was never a wrestling guy. He was sports entertainment through and through. Granted, unlike Eric, he saw the benefit in a Bret Hart. Eric didn’t. Russo had seen Bret draw money and knew he could do it again.
Pro-wrestling is sports entertainment
@@absolutez3r019 Millennial, are we?
@@christhornycroft3686 nope. I'm almost 40. Either way, it doesn't change the fact that pro-wrestling has been and always will be sports entertainment.
@@christhornycroft3686 if you’re not watching wrestling for the sports entertainment…you’re watching wrestling for the wrestling…which means you’re watching dudes fake fight for the hell of it😂
@@DADON99 wait...WWE is fake?
I remember the first time I saw Mike Awesome in ECW. He was incredible. They should have billed him as a monster who could take down Goldberg etc. So many things they could have done with him.
Yeah, you saw him in ECW with a bunch of nobodies. He looked like a giant. Then he gets to WCW and is an average sized guy there with no charisma or mic skills. You can't do the dumb indie stunts any longer, so they had to give him some kind of gimmick. It turned out that they didn't work for him, but without them he was a Jerry Flynn level guy.
The fat chick thriller
"I don't want to sound like a biggot or a racist" does just that 😂
Vince is a dick and the why he buried the cruiser weights was so disgusting and disrespectful.
Since when is "American" a race? There are a lot of races in America
Exactly. Couldn't help but notice he didn't say anything against the Canadian or European wrestlers. He was a Bret fan, wasn't he? I guess that kind of foreigner is acceptable.
@@LadyAstarionAncuninlmao xenophobia isn’t the same as racism, but go off. Also goofy to claim “he liked Bret” as if American wrestling & Canadian wrestling aren’t one and the same.
@@isitoveryet9525You might want to re-read that. Saying you want to see Americans, as if Mexicans aren’t, but whatever, but seemingly have no issue with the European wrestlers, who are White, or Canadians, who are also White, makes what he said to be more in context racist under the guise of xenophobia.
A lot of this I agree with but I think you're leaving out Bischoff's role and Nash and Hogan's role in killing WCW. WCW was on it's way down by the time Russo got in, Russo just put it out of it's misery lol. And I loved Ready to Rumble lol!
I will rule you!!!
@@scorpiouswrex lmfao!!! Also, "I will bust you!"
Thank you. I know I was watching and I'm amazed at how people blame the ONLY ex-WWF writer that McMahon put a hit piece out on. No other writer in WWE history has been shitbon as much as Russo. I didn't realize that til after the fact. He wasn't in WCW long. He was gone after his 1st 3 month and was brought back in later when their ratings had tanked from where he and Ferrara had put them. So much more to the story if anyone ever listened to Konnan, Shane Douglas, or Disco. Russo came in with half the roster already against him based on BS theyvwere told.
@@Adrian-X1 1) love the nickname, shout out to Highlander. 2) agreed, the narrative against Russo is very skewed. I'm not saying he doesn't deserve a lot of the backlash because he does, but people tend to forget all the other factors at play and discount that Russo actually had a couple of good ideas. A lot of that skew comes from Cornette, whom I and I think most fans love and respect, but it's only his side of the story and he has a massive bias. Trouble is, I think the fans parrot Cornette and not actually look at the entire situation imo.
Actually, none of them had anything to do with the final blow that killed WCW. The final blow came when the new execs (after the merger) wanted nothing to do with wrestling and cancelled WCW
I used to not be interested in wrestling. Then I found out the real battles happen behind the scenes and suddenly it’s like Game of Thrones but with huge, sweaty men.
same actual wrestling has gotten boring for me but wrestling backstories is so interesting
When Vince Russo went to WCW the writing was already on the wall that its days were numbered. Like buying a 1st class ticket on the titanic
Absolutely criminal what Russo did to Mike Awesome..... a diamond in the rough that even Vince failed to see a wrestling megastar
The Rock a megastar in 95? Benoit have charisma?
Ohhh nooo 96-97 is such a huge gulf. Get a life mate!... bit sad typing Novel's on UA-cam
So laughable! I'll do my 12yrs RAF service little boy whilst you sit in the bedroom at mummy and daddy's house playing WWE2K22....keep up the child emoji's and learn to spell, really lets you down kid! BYE!!
A wrestling czar, bet you’ve never seen a women naked you virgin
You dropped something Mr Wa*k... bit late now the flies are on it!
If nothing else, Vince "Bro" Russo has served as the butt of Jim Cornette's savage jokes for many years. I never cared for Bischoff, but he did try and do things right, mistakes or not. Russo didn't care about wrestling, only the paychecks, and he ruined many wrestlers and screwed with the story lines so badly, it's no wonder WCW went downhill. And NOTHING was ever his fault. He took zero responsibility. And while he can't be blamed for everything, he can be blamed for a lot, IMO.
I don't think Russo killed the WCW I think Hogan and his creative control and the oversaturation of NWO killed WCW that faction should have died with the red vs black storyline
I always feel that anyone who joined WCW on that time would forever remember as a villain or polarized figure.
I bet even Jim Cornette would got hated by wrestling community if he joined WCW on that time too.
The death of WCW started with Thunder. From the point, it was a downward spiral.
Sting joining NWO was a bad decision as well
@@tootzy-the-roll i disagree. WWE ran smackdown and it was wildly successful as long as the writing held up. Problem with thunder was that they treated it like a B show.
WCW had a million problems. Starting with guaranteed contracts, you can't get some guys to do simple things like job. Buff Bagwell is an example of a guy who doesn't put over anyone who isn't an established talent. Wcw also had a glass ceiling for many developing talent. Chris Jericho, Chris Benoit, Eddie Guerrero were never allowed to be legitimate top stars.
Vince Russo never killed WCW, his writing never helped it. The new blood angle forced younger talents to be stars when they are not ready. Billy Kidman should never be working a program with Hogan, as their styles do not compliment each other. Stars have to get over naturally with the audience.
@@lk5388 It's not an opinion. It's a fact.
Vince Russo may not have solely killed WCW but he certainly was the catalyst in its demise.
He wasn't even that. The new ceo, Jamie Kellner, didn't want to on his station.
@@absolutez3r019 Good for Kellner, since WCW was an embarrassment at the time.
It was dead before he got there.
@@absolutez3r019 Yeah, because of Russo.
@@TheRobmaynez no. The new CEO saw how much money Turner was using to keep it going and decided to cut it loose. Wcw was a money pit with diminishing returns years before Russo
It’s funny he mentioned Russo being sent by Vince to destroy WCW because Rick Steiner said the same thing on an interview
It makes sense to me. Trojan horse theory.
It makes zero sense. Russo got the Nitro ratings up at least initially and Raw’s went down in same 3 month period.
If it were true, then why didnt McMahon bring Russo back to WWE after he completed WCWs destruction? If they were that tight, why didnt WWE go near him ever again (besides those few days he returned in 03)?
@@finsfan90 Because then people would know for sure.
@@MrRyanlennie2005 they didn’t go up
Time Warner had more than anything to do with the downfall of Dubya C Dubya. After they ousted Ted Turner they shackled the writing staff of WCW and reigned in the adult themes. Doing this at a time when WWE was riding the attitude area sank the ship.
for what it's worth, I got my hands on a wrestlemania script through an older friend. wayyy back in the late 90's. watching her read it word for word, with what was being said on screen was wild at the time.
I do hate this narrative which Russo pushes about his reason for leaving WWF. He always says that he was already working like crazy when McMahon decided to launch Smackdown. So he left because it was too much work…erm WCW had Nitro and Thunder. “Oh I’m leaving somewhere because they want me to write two shows per week. Im going to go to work for this other company and write two shows per week”. No. The reason he left was because he’d have full creative control and he didn’t want to listen to Vince shit on 9 ideas and only accept 1. And in WCW, we got to see all 10 ideas and 9 of them were shit.
Exactly. It was about money, ego, and authority. And don't forget Russo got to become an onscreen character, something McMahon would've never allowed, besides the handful of times Vic Venom appeared on the Saturday morning shows. Russo wasn't ready for primetime. And his ideas were shit.
@@roccoz2231 he had some good ideas which is what we got to see on Raw in 97 and 98. Then on Nitro in 99 and 2000, we got to see the other ideas too… but I agree with you.
1 thing he was right about is the internet thing.. people laughed and shrugged it off then but it's not funny now.. it's frustrating how wrestling is easily spoiled these days.
I just don't go on websites that talk about spoilers or ignore YT until I watch the show or shows.
Internet fans make up a tiny segment. Russo was dead wrong.
@@vincesmith2499 Aren't most wrestling fans internet fans nowadays though? Feels like there's no such thing as a casual wrestling fan nowadays. I feel like the only people who watch today's crap are internet fans who are as just as obsessed with what's happening in the ring as they are with what's happening behind the scenes.
If you haven’t read “Nitro” by Guy Evans and you’re a fan of pro-wrestling, do yourself a favor and get it! Turner got Russo with blinders on…that guy may not have tanked WCW by himself, but he did significant damage to it.
C'moooooon, I liked Ready to Rumble!!
I was 12 and this movie is the reason I watch Pro Wrestling today.
Yes. It's a underrated cult comedy. Oliver Platt is brilliant in it.
"I'm going to tell you something right now that you will absolutely not agree with: but I've been a wrestling fan my whole life."
You got that right. NO ONE agrees with that.
I will not deny Russo was a crucial force in propelling WWE into the Attitude Era, but while certainly not the primary suspect, Russo's actions were a part of why WCW went defunct.
Honestly, when you look at Russo's time in WWE, there were already red flags that indicate Russo needs to be kept on a leash.
The most infamous instance is the Brawl for All, which was pitched by Russo just to give JBL (then known as Bradshaw) the middle finger. Russo got what he wanted, but the aftermath of the whole thing was nuclear. Because it was billed as a shoot (meaning wrestlers were told to actually hurt each other), and cause most of the wrestlers who took part in the damn thing were not trained to actually fight, WWE's injury list began to pile up, not to mention drumming up hostility in the locker room, a definite no-no in a business where you need both participants to be in sync with each other. Dr Death Steve Williams (RIP) and Bart Gunn had their careers torpedoed, and the ratings barely registered a blip cause fans and viewers wanted to see WRESTLING in a WRESTLING SHOW! It's quite telling how much damage Russo caused just cause he wanted to bring Bradshaw down a peg, which he COULD have gotten by simply booking someone like Dan Severn, Dr Death, or Ken Shamrock to squash him.
I think that really sums up the hate towards Russo. Even if your goals align, the insane amount of collateral damage this man will inevitably cause is enough to make you change your mind.
How did they get injured in the Brawl for all? You get way more injuries wrestling than you do punching each other, what injuries did they get? I'm curious?
@@johneastwood3039 Cause the Brawl for All was marketed as a fight, wrestlers competed in boxing gloves, meaning their hands were not free to properly lock up and grab their opponents, which is a basic in professional wrestling. All the clumsy and awkward movements from not being in a familiar environment is actually easier to get hurt compared to a wrestling match. Cause while wrestlers do throw around each other around a lot, bumping makes it safer for the wrestler taking the move (still painful, but the only way you get legit hurt from taking a bump is if you don't land properly, or if your opponent botched and dropped you wrongly).
@@kennycai8695 But what injuries did people get? I smell bullshit.
@@johneastwood3039 Let's see now ...
Road Warrior Hawk got hurt in his bout with Droz with an undisclosed injury. Droz didn't win, but cause Hawk couldn't compete any further, he advanced.
Steve Blackman won against Marc Mero, but also pulled out with an undisclosed injury.
Savio Vega aggravated an old arm injury, never wrestled for WWE again.
The Godfather suffered an undisclosed injury.
Brakkus got a bloodied nose cause he didn't know it was a shoot.
Dr Death Steve Williams hurt his hamstring, and not only did it ruin his physical form, it also hurt his wrestling career and his relationship with JR (they did reconcile before Dr Death passed away, though).
It wasn’t WWE when Russo was there, it was WWF.
When Russo first went to WCW, I kind of panicked as a fan. I thought "OMG, WWF lost their head writer!" but then things like Judy Bagwell On A Pole Match put my mind at ease.
@@martifrey3357 lol what? We absolutely knew that. There was a site called Rajah WWF that kept all of us in the know about all the inner workings of each company.
I will give him credit for the things he has done, however his bad decisions out weight his good ones. Plus he takes credit for others success. They always say there are three sides to a story, his version, the other persons version and the truth. I find it hard to believe he is a victim of people just going at him when most people thru out the professional wrestling world have had similar stories about him.
There are dozens of stars who are on great terms with Russo. He did more good for the business than anyone could ever realize. He helped get wrestling mainstream appeal and was the head writer of the most viewed and successful period of wrestling. McMahon hired him and wanted him back for a reason
Vince McMahon is responsible, not him. Stone Cold Steve Austin got over by his own self, not Vince Russo.
Nobody in wrestling gets over by themselves. The storyline between Austin and McMahon, the best story in wrestling history, was written by Russo
Russo was also the one responsible for giving Booker T a push. He saw that WCW was full of a ton of older guys past their prime, and he said Booker was one of the best guys on the roster. Without Russo, Booker T would be a 0 time 0 time 0 time 0 time 0 time WCW champion
@@Troy2Slick If Vince McMahon is solely responsible for all the good things during the Attitude Era, then he is also solely responsible for all the bad too.
Russo also told McMahon and Prichard to drop the Ringmaster and Mayvia gimmicks
Also apparently David arquette was under contract with the WCW as a promotional deal and was forced to wrestle for the championship and he didn't want to
For all the people bashing, David Arquette for showing up to, WCW......you are all then bashing, Owen Hart's wife and kids because he donated EVERY PENNY he was paid to, Owen's Harts wife and kids. Not a single one of you would have done that.
The biggest problem with Vince Russo (besides being arrogant, petty, and just a nasty piece of work altogether) wasn't just that he looked at titles as props, he also looked at the WRESTLERS as props.
Tell that to every single midcarder he gave a storyline to when half of modern creative in major promotions keeps telling them, "Sorry, we got nothing."
Russo always made sure everyone had something to do, even if they didn't always appear. That's why he kept writing people into factions: easy way to ensure they were part of a story.
That and the fact that he has no talent when it comes to actually writing. He’s terrible at it.
@@Troy2Slick
I refer you to my previous comment.
@@Troy2Slick You are not the slightest bit wrong, my dude.
@@1krani that's fine and all, but wouldn't it have been better had he asked for help or at least realize that the ideas were terrible? Give them something to do sure but a "viagra on a poll" match? 😂😂😂 you can do nice things and still be trash at your job.
50 years from now another UA-cam (Or whatever platform) will gift us another "Vince Russo" video and we'll still be watching them.
Vince loves to use ratings for storyline purposes and his on screen character loves to reference ratings and it never works because the fans don't care. Mixing real life feuds and issues can work in wrestling (example Roman Reigns cutting a promo about Lesnar not really being one of the boys/only showing up for certain big events) if fans give a crap about those things and it's not to out there but Russo would take it to far to say the least.
Sick of this narrative that Rusoo killed WCW. He barely had anything to do with it. Even Bitchoff admitted he knew WCW was in the shitter by the beginning of 1999.
Nobody killed WCW. The Time Warner merger did. Had that never happened I feel like WCW could’ve survived and possibly even have a resurgence by the mid 2000s.
WCW was already having a lot of internal problems, but Russo's ideas amplified the problem instead of alleviating it.
I was somewhat of a WCW fanboy. Even when Raw began to beat Nitro, I mostly kept at it with Nitro. IMO, WCW had a full head of steam until they botched the Sting storyline, with the Sting vs Hogan Starcade match and stripping Sting of the title. Towards the end in late '98 and '99.... WCW was also changing the World title like a hot pair of underwear.... whereas the title made a good buildup piece for the Luger, Sting, and Goldberg angles. A Goldberg vs Hogan angle was also a missed opportunity for the WCW.... instead the WCW went with a quick match for Nitro ratings win.
Unfortunately, I changed jobs back in mid 1999 and I had to miss the Monday night wrestling broadcasts
From what I've seen in clips on UA-cam, Russo turned the WCW into an unwatchable trainwerck. The worst thing I've ever seen was the WCW reset, where all the titles were stripped on Monday Nitro. The whole 'Powers that Be' thing
Ready to Rumble was due to Bischoff. When Russo came in October of 99 he was missing half of the top guys as they were away filming the movie.
I have to correct you he didn't get promoted to creative until 1997 after the February raw from Germany and Vince McMahon got mad at everybody in Creative about it because it was a terrible show Jim cornette talks about it on his podcast
I’m pretty sure Russo got promoted to writer for shows after McMahon caught wind of his work on the magazines and said that he needed the shows to be like that, then he became the head writer in December of that year
Nope. Russo was a member of the creative team since 1996. He became head writer in Mar 1997 after the Germany show you mentioned.
I remember that episode, and it was awful.
I 100% believe that Russo was sent into destroy WCW from within because there was a secret meeting nobody knows between who but they know it did involve the higher-ups after the Turner merger.
Now it's no secret that those executives hated wrestling and wanted it gone
Vince Russo did not save the WWF what save the WWF was Stone Cold Steve Austin Vince McMahon The Rock Triple H DX
As much of a joke as the Arquette run was, David actually kept with it and still wrestles today and he's not bad
Ready to Rumble was a good movie. So many quotable moments in that film. One of Oliver Platts best performances. 👍👍
For all the people bashing, David Arquette for showing up to, WCW......you are all then bashing, Owen Hart's wife and kids because he donated EVERY PENNY he was paid to, Owen's Harts wife and kids. Not a single one of you would have done that.
Russo's main reason for leaving WWE he says is because they started smackdown but he went to WCW that had a 3-hour nitro compared to a 2-hour raw and they already had thunder so he went to WCW where he had more work to do right off the bat
One thing I’d heard was he had a problem with the fact, that he had a contract to write 1 show a week plus a ppv every month. When they introduced smack down. He didn’t receive a pay increase to match the work increase. Now I don’t like russo, but if that’s the case I agree with him. He was doing twice the work so twice the pay.
Scott Hall is one of the best wrestlers never to win a World Heavyweight Championship in either WWF/WWE or WCW and same goes for Roddy Piper but yet Vince Russo and David Arquette both have won the WCW title once. Says a lot
And Kofi Kingston
Scott hall's drug and alcohol problem was getting out of control in the late 90s . Too risky to put the title on him at that time. Either way he would have laid down for Hogan. Piper was barely wrestling. Arquette was a contract deal from the movie, not Russo's fault. At least Russo didn't win clean. He got knocked through the cage by Goldberg
They got over without it.
Both were also in the WWF and never won the WWF heavyweight title and yet Vince McMahon did. That says a lot too.
@@absolutez3r019 No excuse for not giving him a run with the WWF/WWE title though, he was very over in the WWF.
I agree with everything, except one thing: Ready to Rumble is a cinematic masterpiece.
No matter what you think of his work you've got to respect the fact that he put his family first. Dude walked away from a pretty big career so that he could continue making them a priority.
We're all thankful he walked away from wrestling..believe me.
They were probably the only ones who could stand him, that's why.
The problem with wrestling back then and now are stories. It’s not complicated. Have a few backstories, cut some promo’s, fight. That simple.
AEW does that and they don't draw jack beyond the indie marks.
Wrestling is best when it's written like a good TV show. What passes for good wrestling now would not pass for good TV writing even back in the day. Russo and his partner Ferrara were some of the few people to recognize that, hence why they wrote such compelling television.
@@1krani If by compelling you mean bad TV that made shit the The Room blush, then you're spot on about that Vince.
@@DaleEarnshark3
Numbers say you're wrong. Russo's writing increased the viewership each week on average to the point where it took 20 years for the brand to fall back to what it had been before he stepped in. People tuned in and they kept tuning in afterward. Everyone on the card had a storyline.
Think what you want about the actual content, but as a megastar Russo helped elevate once said, "IT DOESN'T MATTER WHAT YOU THINK."
@@1krani First of all, when Russo stepped in in 1996, the ratings still sucked, they couldn't get above a 3 until August 18, 1997 and didn't beat Nitro until April 13, 1998 (which was when WCW's momentum was slowing down and WWF's just so happened to be picking up), and while yes, the ratings did bump a bit when Russo first joined WCW in 1999, that was out of curiosity after the WCW product had become stale. Almost immediately everyone noticed it was shot and the ratings started going down. In fact, the ratings went down after the WCW reboot, where all the titles were vacated for no reason other than shocking unpredictability bro, and under him the ratings floundered. So the numbers say you're wrong.
By the way, The Rock's natural charisma, his catchphrases, Vince McMahon, JR and Lawler, and the Die Rocky Die chants is what made him a megastar.
@@DaleEarnshark3
1) WWF's ratings absent any competition is proof that no, wrestling fans will not watch whatever's on if it's not good.
2) Russo increased ratings overall when he was given the same amount of control in WCW as he was in WWF. He was given a comparable amount of control in TNA and TNA's ratings gradually increased right up until he left.
3) Modern WWE was proof that Vince McMahon was not the secret ingredient to making megastars, consistently good booking and writing was.
4) Modern WWE is also proof that no amount of natural charisma or catchphrases can elevate stars faster than bad booking/writing can drag them down.
"It's wrestling. It means nothing"
- Vince Russo -
Dark Side Side of the Ring (Season 2 Episode 4)
Well, I guess you really can't expect someone who stole ideas from Jim Herd to have any respect for the business.
****** Real reason WCW died******
WCW ended because the network wanted the programme gone. The popularity and diverse demographic made it a double edge sword to investors.
- Bigger audience
- Prime time slot
- Less target market
A less popular show with a core demographic at a prime time slot was more attractive to investors.
The network wanted the show gone but not to be competition with their other shows. So they only sold it to the WWF with the condition it doesn't run side by side that Vince McMahon wanted.
Evidence: Guy Evans book "the incredible rise and fall of WCW"
Ironic the minute you bring up the theory that Vince sent Russo to destroy WCW, it's the clip of him saying "I enjoy destroying lives" 😂
Russo head writer career:
WWF 97-99 - highest ever ratings
WCW 6mons - Ratings increased 50%
TNA- Golden era
Why is Vince Russo hated? Because Cornette said so.
NGL, Ready To Rumble was one of my favourite movies as a kid and is still a guilty pleasure to this day.
I think Russo was paid off by Vince to sabotage WCW.. that last year of WCW was straight GARBAGE 😭
I was always confused about who he was.
It took me this long to care to find out.
Good video, thanks!
15:00 Oh man that irony and hypocrisy coming from Bishoff is palpable
I don't see how? He was already known on camera as a commentator same as Vince McMahon, Russo was just a writer who interjected himself on camera.
@@nicholasokeefe3632 If we're throwing Bones Russo was an on-camera figure in a small capacity in WWF and even WCW before becoming a steady figure. But you can't really deny that when the NWO angle hit Bishoff wrote himself into the middle of the angle in a big way and milked it pretty hard, same with Vince becoming Mr. McMahon and Russo being the powers that be
I don't think a belt swapping hands devalues it, look at modern WWE. Their belts are getting debavalued because the same guy has held the belt for almost 3 years and all of his matches are a meme where wins through interference. Having one person hold the belt for too long also devalues it.
But I don't think how many times the belt swaps hands is what devalues it, but HOW the belt is won. Finger poke of doom? yeah, Lesnar 10second win? yeah. But the attitude era is a prime example of how a belt swapping multiple hands can be very entertaining and not feel like it's been devalued.
While the hate for Russo is definitely well deserved the man brought a lot of things to wrestling that was just offensive and every kind of way he's also tried to take credit where it was unjust.
But he also brought a lot to wrestling. But I think a guy like Scott Hall brought way more than Russo and I don't think Scott Hall gets the credit he deserved for help developing young stars and established Stars
Vince McMahon has the final say so and rewrote many of the things that he did. He gets way too much credit.
Vince was the final nail in the coffin for wcw
You can never go wrong with Canada's greatest athlete
Wcw under russo was so crazy.
The wrestlers, while on TV, were saying everything was a work, but their next match would be a fight.
That's how Russo wrote shit.
I loved what Russo did with WCW. Booker T's championship run was amazing, specially his epic match with Lance Storm, where Booker T, the American champion, held the one single belt that Storm, the evil Canadian heel, had not acquired. That was one of the greatest TV wrestling matches of all-time. And under Russo, Storm actually got a push on the level that he deserved, instead of being called boring as he was in WWF.
That said, this video does detail a lot of stupid crap Russo said and did.
Insane take.
I sorta liked Ready to Rumble. It's not The Wrestler or anything but fun in a stupid humor kinda way. That's just me though. Cool video you guys!
vince russo - a world champion that never lost the title, bro 😎
In 2011 WWE put on an absolute trash fire of a main-event match that, by all logic, should have been a singles match between Edge and Dolph Ziggler, but instead became a mixed tag-team match in which Edge and Ziggler were partnered with their two squeezes at the time: Kelly Kelly and Vickie Guerrero, respectively. Edge had recently been fired by Guerrero, and since Edge had been World Heavyweight Champion at the time, he was stripped of his title and it was awarded to Ziggler. Long story short, Kelly pinned Guerrero and Edge thus got his title back. It's bad enough that Kelly was a former bikini model who had undergone no wrestling training before she was hired by WWE, and that Guerrero had had no wrestling training AT ALL up to that point. What's really offensive is that, in story, Edge needed a girl to help him win back a title - no, not just help him, but outright get the title back for him with absolutely no effort on his part - that he never lost in the first place! (You'd think Edge would have taken this as an insult, but I've never heard him complain about it, so I guess he was cool with that angle.) But, as someone once pointed out to me, the situation could have been much worse. Namely, if Vince Russo had written that match - and that certainly would have been possible if WWE hadn't fired him nine years earlier - Kelly Kelly would technically have become World Heavyweight Champion, and in her house right now she would have a replica of the very same physical belt that Russo had awarded to both David Arquette and himself.
Everyone in the entire world could hate vince russo, all of that combined still doesn't compare to Jims hatred of him.
Lets face it, WCW got lucky with the NWO. Also, WCW, truly lacked any star power .
Their over reliance on Hogan, Nash and Scott Hall, and the fact that Hogan at the time was probably in late 50s .
They never had a real break out star, probably barring Goldberg.
At the same time , during this period , WWE had Rock, Austin, Kane, etc.
There were multiple story lines which were pretty damn good .
WCW, couldnt handle the talent they got .
Case in point, Bret Hart.
Therr could have been real good matches , of Hart ve Sting or Hogan 🎉.
Thinking about that quote "japanese and mexican wrestlers won't get over" is kinda right the two biggest "Mexican" wrestlers are Rey and Eddie who are both Americans. So I guess he wasn't too far off. Ngl what I thought he ment was they have to speak english.
Big reason they got over was because of their characters, marketability, and personalities
@@johnharvelhines9803 I see so nothing to do with being american or not
@@johnharvelhines9803 I don't dissagree but being able to cut promos is a big deal that amplifies the qualities you put forward.
Tbh I struggle to think of non-english speaking wrestlers that are big stars here.
@@tareklegrand7747 As I said I took it as being a fluent English speaker more so than an American. So no.
Bloody good videos and channel.
Thank you!
Jim Ross got Bell's palsy and his mother just passed away.
What kind of person makes fun of something like that...?
Disgusting...!🤢
WWF did when the made Eugene. But, if I remember, he was well liked even though it was a gimmick that made fun mentally handicapped
Especially to a guy like Jim. If there was ever a staunch man with class
Me
I agree with everything you say EXCEPT Ready to Rumble. I really enjoyed it as a kid, and I still do now. A 12-y.o me saw it as a cool action flick studded with WCW superstars, but now I'm mature enough to look past the tacky humor & dumb antics and see a man's beautiful journey to change for the better.
Also, John Cena is in the movie. You can't see him, as per the norm, but he's there. I promise.
Wcw always had international talent
They need a documentary/dark side of the ring episode just based on the saga of Russo Vs Cornette
If I ever needed more of a reason to hate Vince Russo, his comments on Japanese and Mexican wrestlers did it for me
What’d he say about ‘em?
@@moseshanon7060 that Japanese and mexican wrestlers couldn't get over in mainstream wrestling in America i guess he never heard of Rey mysterio and Eddie guerrero both of whom got over in mainstream American wrestling and to a degree so did tajiri when he came over to the states (ecw and later wwe)
@@theghostshadow8855
Vince Russo would look even dumber to know that Shinsuke, Asuka are a couple examples of who gotten over in mainstream wrestling in america of the modern day.
Because Eddie, Tajiri, and Mysterio had character and personality. If a wrestler’s character is that they’ve wrestled all over the world, they aren’t gonna get over like that with fans that aren’t nerds
@@johnharvelhines9803 that proves my point those three got over
Vince Russo WCW theme song was a classic epic
road warriors
Russo's ideas towards cruiserwieghts and international wrestlers is so closed minded. He's such a clown and always will be.
But the opposite(GIVING them world heavyweight titles because fans say so)was such a great idea, right?
@@Ticketman99 The only person Vince Russo gave a world title to was himself. The fuck are you talking about?
@@Troy2Slick then the very next Nitro, Booker T had the belt after Russo dropped it.
Vince may have been a rotten wrestling guy behind the scenes. But in the 90's was at a WWE PPV in west palm beach florida and ill never forget the solid he gave me. I ran up for a handicappedkid and got his autograph for the kid. And Vince was on his way out and he took time once i told him why. Hes Aces in my book and was a nice guy
He solidified the death of WCW, he made TNA (the only alternative to WWE in the 2000s and early 2010s) a complete shitshow to every week, and all while taking all the credit for solely creating the Attitude Era, which in reality was a big team effort of Vince McMahon, Jim Ross, Bruce Prichard and other staff members to create that era while many of Russo’s ideas were rejected by McMahon because he always had the final say in booking and storylines.
When I go back and watch the attitude era Russo's finger prints are all over the lower/mid card which is full of a ton of bad and the shows are saved by the upper card and the fact that one of the biggest baby face (Austin) in wrestling history had one of the hottest heels of all time (McMahon) to feud with.
Russo is said to have pushed hard for everyone who had a championship belt stripped away and start a tournament. The rumor is that every where he went that was his first suggestion on day one of his creative control jobs
McMahon, JR, and Prichard had the same rooster and weren't getting the rating s Russo got. Prichard also came up with the fake Diesel/ Razor gimmicks .
Also Russo had very little to do with WCW being cancelled, that happened at much higher up the ladder
@@absolutez3r019 it was probably the roosters fault
@@absolutez3r019 Russo didn't do anything he never understood wrestling nor did he care
It might have felt hotter but the Attitude Era was in NO WAYY hotter than the Golden Era of hogan, Savage, Andre The Giant, and The Ultimate Warrior! Saturday's Night Main Event had 10 million people watching for some episodes, Monday Night Raw in the Attitude Era never even came close to those numbers.
Cable was in its infancy in the 80s and people only had like 10 TV channels. They had way more options in the late 90s/early 00s, but the Attitude Era probably is the last boom wrestling will enjoy.
It's like boxing in Muhammed Ali's era (1960s) was hot, when people first got TVs, but they only had like 3 channels lol.
My mother is a Boomer and remembers as a kid the family would watch Ali box on TV, but there wasn't much else to watch. She never followed boxing after that and has only vaguely heard of people like Mike Tyson and Tyson Fury.
The internet has contributed further to the decline of pro-wrestling. Not only that but the decline of TV soap operas. I don't know anyone who watches them anymore. They always had horrible writing, but in the age of digital streaming, binge watching is a thing and TV production values have got way higher across the board.
Russo's main problem was having too many ideas. In WWE, this was curtailed, by placing the right people with him, they could keep him on a leash and temper his ideas with common sense. WCW let Russo do what he wanted, indulged his ego and narcissism, and did so for far too long.
Never forget, Vince Russo thought he had created a great thing in WWE in the Brawl For All, even after seeing how many stars were injured by the tournament. He is one figure who thoroughly deserves the disdain and blacklisting he has received. Jim Cornette was right about him from the beginning!
While the Brawl4All was dumb, Vince McMahon liked it, or he never would have given it the ok. He also could've pulled the plug if he thought it was anymore dangerous to the wrestlers or if it was doing poorly.
And while Russo had too many ideas ,he did increase TV viewers
@@absolutez3r019 In WWE, he worked, due to having more grounded minds around him to ensure believability, but letting him and Ed Ferrara have free reign in WCW was a recipe for disaster. He was a significant part of the perfect storm that destroyed that company!
@@alaistairhamilton8838 I'm not going to argue that the Attitude Era was a combined effort on everyones part. But,the year prior and after Russo had the same same roster, but WWF had some truly awful gimmicks and angles. Worse than anything Russo came up with .
In WCW, the frivolous money wasting and terrible gimmicks were already happening by 1999. There was zero direction in angles and feuds and the NWO had long over stayed their welcome. But despite all that, the company merges and a new CEO, Jamie Kellner, was what got WCW taken off TV and had nothing to do with Russo
@@alaistairhamilton8838 That’s just not true. I was a WCW fan all through the 90’s and right up to the end. The problem that WCW had existed long before Russo got there: Outside of the NWO, they had nothing.
Russo made an admirable attempt at creating new stars and putting the undercard guys in the main event picture, but with the top guys being who they were and the pull they had backstage, his hands were tied.
William Shakespeare couldn’t have written his way out of the corporate and political mess that WCW was by 2000.
Blaming Russo for this is just unfair.
What killed WCW was Bischoff, Russo, and Hogan. Period. No new ideas, every week was the same b.s. Hogan being champ, an nwo run in with every match. When you have a collection of top talent from around the world and from every organization like ecw,wwe and your home turf wcw and you still can't utilize the talent, then it's bad.
Dave Meltzer is this you?
Why Vince had some success in WWF was credited to him being part of a team. Vince would have a wild idea, and it would be filtered and altered by the rest of creative.... WCW really did have the talent calling the shots, and politics reigned supreme.
I don’t know looked like Nash an the guys actually killed wcw a year before he got there too of 99 they start doing a lot of ish that made us as 10 years old kids turn the channel back to raw I mean the finger poke of doom then you squash goldberg dude was hotter than Austin an the rock at one point smh rip wcw I wish it was still around 👌
WCW was beginning its death spiral before Russo got there, for sure. Russo just accelerated the process.
Theain issue with WCW was that Turner executives never wanted a wrestling organization. WCW was Ted Turner's baby. The rest of the network hated it. They were happy when it went under, and they actively contributed to it. When they gave power to Bischoff, then let Nash and other wrestlers book show, and then gave power to Russo, they did so not knowing any better. And honestly, I think Nash wasn't as responsible for that ship sinkiang, as people believe he was.
@@babayagaslobbedaknobba you nailed it, Turner execs didn't want wrasslin on their networks. Look at how pitiful the sets were at the end, not cuz Russo wanted it plain, they just weren't being funded properly anymore.
@@jbj7599, yeah, they even forced Biscoff to do that 2nd show, and then took all his funding away. They wanted it all gone. That's why they only took $4 million for everything, when the sold it to Vince.
Why do some people lionize Vince Russo so much? The simple answer is that he was the loudest voice in the room behind the scenes, for better or worse, and is somehow given credit for ideas that weren't really his. I wouldn't give him credit for being some maverick in orchestrating anything from WWF's rebirth in the Attitude Era to the Monday Night Wars. There were several people involved and it was really Vince's business savvy that saved the business. If there was anyone else who did more for the industry at that point, it was Eric Bischoff. Even if he went down with a failing ship in WCW.
Also, all of the melodrama Russo cooked up for himself only put him in the crosshairs of every heavy hitter in the industry, not least of all Jim Cornette. He pissed that man off more than anyone, and his feud with him actually started fracturing interpersonal relations between talent and corporate across the board. Bad blood here and bad blood there. And Vince Russo's name was tossed around in a lot of those discussions.
Lastly, all you have to hear is his BS idealism when it came to audience draw. He says nobody wanted to see Mexican or Japanese wrestlers in American wrestling. That aged as well as a bog body in a pressure cooker in the Mojave Desert. My God, what an idiot.
So yeah, the hate against him for his work in the business is warranted. I can't speak on how the man is in his personal life or what he's done outside of wrestling, but in the industry, he sucks.
i agree with the trojan horse theory
I loved Ready To Rumble, when I was a kid. Oliver Platt as Jimmy King made that movie.
I dunno how Russo is the most hated man in wrestling, every wrestler interview I see, people in the industry say that they loved working with him.
Cornette has a platform and a large following.
@@EwanCumia I just saw a Booker T interview on CVV channel, and he spoke highly of Russo as well. I heard Kevin Nash, Kurt Angle, Ken Shamrock, Steve Austin, Mick Foley, and dozen upon dozens of wrestler sing Russo's praises. In contrast, I've heard many people say that Jim is a bully, a racist, a super tough guy to work with, etc.
Eric Bischoff gets all the credit for WCW success, however Kevin Nash came up with great ideas for the team.
Can we please see Russo and cornette in the ring
I want a dream match of that, maybe a Brawl for All themed fight between Jim and Shit Stain. XD
Cornette would never agree to it. He runs from conflict, even when he's the instigator.
Russo would die. You know that right?
That is literally the only thing in Wrestling that would be worth seeing now.
@@absolutez3r019 Cornette did challenge him to a fight before but Russo ran away.
Great heel
Ready To Rumble was hilarious, you're crazy!!!! I admit David Arquette winning the title was ridiculous and completely stupid, but the movie was funny.
🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
Jimmy king is the best wrestler ! 😂😂 I will always love that movie
Its legit af. It's stupid and has no real substance but it's so good lol.
Your language and grammar is flawless. Great vocabulary and speaking skills altogether.
Sorry but ready to rumble was awesome 👍😎 I'm the king and 'I'm gonna".................." what come on what" ......I'm gonna rrrrruuuuulllleeeeee you............ Lmao sorry but that was the shit lmao
He is hated because he's a convenient scapegoat for many people in the business
Surprisingly, people like Dutch and JR aren't as hostile to Russo, and are a bit more positive towards him. Dutch even likes Russo's quote "The worst ideas are the ones not pitched".
Which says more about the people who don't like him.
@@absolutez3r019 Yeah. JR and Dutch have mentioned that Cornette does have anger problems. They like him, but admit that he can go overboard. There was a time when Dutch mentioned that he had to stop Cornette from beating a guy, for a mistake.
@@datemasamune2904 I've never understood Cornette. He was entertaining in the 90s, but now he's just a bitter old man angry at everyone
@@absolutez3r019 Because he’s extremely passionate about wrestling. He’s that old man who wishes for the good old days.
@@datemasamune2904 that's fine being passionate, but he clings so hard to the 80s that he can't accept that it has changed
Russo as a stand alone writer is a complete joke.
Russo as a onscreen character was entertaining
He came off as a poor man's Mr.McMahon
I found this joke quite entertaining as well
If you have two brain cells, maybe.
Bischoff deriding Russo for being “desperate to be on camera” is hilarious. This is the same man that joined a group that was anti-the-establishment - the establishment HE WAS THE HEAD OF. It’s like joining the group of people egging your house and going, “Yeah, screw those guys! We’re sure showing them!”
"I don't want to sound like a bigot or a racist, but here's some bigoted racist shit" - Vince Russo
Russo is a jackass. I like talent, whether from the US, Canada, Mexico, or Japan. We wouldn't have Rey Mysterio and Eddie Guerrero. Japanese wrestlers wouldn't even have opportunities today if Russo had his way.
Weird Jim Cornette has only recently sunk his reputation over the years compared to his arch nemesis Vince, their alike in so many ways no wonder their obnoxious heads clashed Jims pretentiousness was just more bareable longer.