Is Vince Russo really that bad???

[Rome]

It's not Russo, folks. It's Jarrett.

 

[Y 2 Jake]

So what is Russo's role in the company then? Is he some sort of creative advisor? If he is then he's still doing a shit job.

I don't give a shit if TNA is gaining viewers whilst WWE is losing them. iMPACT is on a Thursday night, who does anything on a Thursday night? The answer would be very few people.

TNA can't outdraw ECW, as show where the main face is a former TNA mid carder, and the main heel is a nobody in the whole of WWE. So Russo, Jarrett, whoever, they're still doing a piss poor job.

 

[Scott Free]

Vince Russo to me is a no talent hack who achieved fame by ripping off ECW and turning it into a watered down version of what that was. He calls himself a "writer" yet I haven't heard of anything he's even written except for his autobiography. Is he that bad ? I think he's beyond bad, see, bad would be a step up. He's talentless and that about covers it.I have no idea why TNA still employs him.

 

[Final Verdict]

I'm sorry Russo's booking and logic was just a cancer to wrestling.

21 World title changes in a 12 month span. He put the world title on a scrawny actor, on himself. The title hopping around like a pinata, and people just handing the title to another person? (Nash just giving Flair the belt, who does that?)

Literally destroying the legacy and credibility of the cruiserweight title by making Madusa, and Oklahoma cruiserweight champs making the title an instant joke.

Disrespecting guys like Hogan and Flair who made this business what it is.

Having Booker T win the title and the next night come out and cut a promo like a second rate imatation of a star from the other company. Remember "The Book" , talking in third person and trying to be the Rock. Nothing says your number two when you literally copy the other company.

Saturn with Moppy?

Chavo Guerrero and his horse head on a stick called Peppi?

Bagwell refusing to sell in a match and refusing to lose as a story line?

Viagra on a poll match? seriously, why would this match take place in the first place?

People giving credit to Russo for The Rock, ah no. Pat Patterson worked on the Rock with his promo's. Pat Patterson helped the Rock.

Don't give the guy credit for what stars Austin and The Rock where with or without him their.

Hacksaw as a janitor and finding a title belt in the trash?

I'll have more genious booking idea's by Russo in a little bit.

 

[Rome]

Because Russo see's titles as props, not as a valuable trophy any more. No wrestling company with a televized product see's titles as all that valuable any more.

WWE has how many titles now? Can you even tell me who owns half of them?

 

[Smark Henry]

Because Russo see's titles as props, not as a valuable trophy any more. No wrestling company with a televized product see's titles as all that valuable any more.

WWE has how many titles now? Can you even tell me who owns half of them?

WWE Champion-Triple H
World Champion- Edge
ECW Champion- Jack Swagger
IC Champion- JBL
US Champion- Shelton Benjamin
World Tag Champs- Miz & Morrison
WWE Tag Champs- Colons
Womens Champ- Melina
Divas Champ- Maryse

See I actually named more than half I named them all. But I get what you are saying its not just Russo noone cares about the championships anymore.I'd love to see the prestigeof championships get raised back up soon but I'm not sure if and when it will happen.

 

[Rome]

I couldn't tell you who the World Tag Champs, Women's champ, Diva's champ, or US Champion were.

Either way, the point I was trying to illustrate was that titles are no longer valuable. The more titles exist, the less value each owns individually.

The IC title is almost worthless these days – does no one remember the epic battles between guys like Hart, Hennig, Hall, and Michaels for that thing? The IC belt used to be an incredible feat to achieve.

 

[Y 2 Jake]

If Russo doesn't book TNA, then why is his opinions on the titles so important?

Either way, TNA has four titles. So that doesn't explain the other half of the company without them. Why is that half shit as well?

 

[Rome]

Russo books, but he isn't the be-all-end-all. Jarrett is. Jarrett is the stubborn hillbilly who's so set in his ways he's feuding with many top performers in the company who want to push the envelope. He'd rather continue booking 1989 NWA style matches with "Beer on a Pole" gimmicks.

 

[Slyfox696]

I'm sorry Russo's booking and logic was just a cancer to wrestling.

21 World title changes in a 12 month span. He put the world title on a scrawny actor, on himself. The title hopping around like a pinata, and people just handing the title to another person? (Nash just giving Flair the belt, who does that?)

Literally destroying the legacy and credibility of the cruiserweight title by making Madusa, and Oklahoma cruiserweight champs making the title an instant joke.

Disrespecting guys like Hogan and Flair who made this business what it is.

Having Booker T win the title and the next night come out and cut a promo like a second rate imatation of a star from the other company. Remember "The Book" , talking in third person and trying to be the Rock. Nothing says your number two when you literally copy the other company.

Saturn with Moppy?

Chavo Guerrero and his horse head on a stick called Peppi?

Bagwell refusing to sell in a match and refusing to lose as a story line?

Viagra on a poll match? seriously, why would this match take place in the first place?

People giving credit to Russo for The Rock, ah no. Pat Patterson worked on the Rock with his promo's. Pat Patterson helped the Rock.

Don't give the guy credit for what stars Austin and The Rock where with or without him their.

Hacksaw as a janitor and finding a title belt in the trash?

I'll have more genious booking idea's by Russo in a little bit.

No one will dispute that those ideas weren't worth a darn. But, at the same time, you have to remember the situation he was put in, even if it was partly through his own fault.

When he came to WCW, WCW was already in the coffin. Turner was forced out, AOL Time Warner wanted to shut WCW down, WCW couldn't promote anything of a "risky" nature, they were bleeding money, they were losing all their young talent and all the old talent was too old, and the money they did make was being siphoned off to support other ventures of Time Warner. The situation that Russo stepped in to was terrible.

His job was simple. He was to revive a dead patient using only a heating pad and a couple of Advil. The heating pad represents the extent to which he could book, and the Advil was his talent roster...it could help for the short term, but had no benefit in the long term. Facing those circumstances, Russo tied EVERYTHING he could to recapture the magic of the Attitude Era, as it was his best shot to revive WCW.

Again, no one argues that he did a good job, but considering he was asked to do a miracle revival in a short amount of time with a limited roster, he really didn't have many options.

 

[Final Verdict]

No one will dispute that those ideas weren't worth a darn. But, at the same time, you have to remember the situation he was put in, even if it was partly through his own fault.

When he came to WCW, WCW was already in the coffin. Turner was forced out, AOL Time Warner wanted to shut WCW down, WCW couldn't promote anything of a "risky" nature, they were bleeding money, they were losing all their young talent and all the old talent was too old, and the money they did make was being siphoned off to support other ventures of Time Warner. The situation that Russo stepped in to was terrible.

His job was simple. He was to revive a dead patient using only a heating pad and a couple of Advil. The heating pad represents the extent to which he could book, and the Advil was his talent roster...it could help for the short term, but had no benefit in the long term. Facing those circumstances, Russo tied EVERYTHING he could to recapture the magic of the Attitude Era, as it was his best shot to revive WCW.

Again, no one argues that he did a good job, but considering he was asked to do a miracle revival in a short amount of time with a limited roster, he really didn't have many options.

he had more than advil and heating pad, save the crappy analogies. I gave you facts of pis poor booking decisions.

He never did a great job, if you feel that way you've let his mediocrity and time devalue your expectations.

You can not give honest justifiable reasons why he put the cruiserweight title on a WOMAN or even put it on a fellow announcer that got no reaction out of the crowd.

I would love to hear reasons justifying having wrestlers no sell in a match and refusing to lose totally breaking kayfabe and the whole point of everything else they are trying to sell on the exact show.

These awful decisions, people making excuses that needed a filter or he was an idea guy are nothing but excuses, to down play the piss poor booking and product displayed.

 

[mrarmageddon]

Why do people continue with this rubbish about him killing WCW, he joined them in the Autumn of 1999. Compare the ratings for Raw and Nitro from the 6 months before he joined and tell me WCW weren't already dead. WCW had been dieing slowly for well over a year, ever since as they panicked and put Hogan v Goldberg (which would've made millions on PPV) for the title on Nitro for free in mid-1998 just so they'd win a ratings war again.

Bischoff killed WCW not Russo.

 

[Slyfox696]

he had more than advil and heating pad, save the crappy analogies. I gave you facts of pis poor booking decisions.

He never did a great job, if you feel that way you've let his mediocrity and time devalue your expectations.

You can not give honest justifiable reasons why he put the cruiserweight title on a WOMAN or even put it on a fellow announcer that got no reaction out of the crowd.

I would love to hear reasons justifying having wrestlers no sell in a match and refusing to lose totally breaking kayfabe and the whole point of everything else they are trying to sell on the exact show.

These awful decisions, people making excuses that needed a filter or he was an idea guy are nothing but excuses, to down play the piss poor booking and product displayed.

FV, go back and actually read my posts. I NEVER said he did a good job, what I said is that he had very little to work with, and was expected to work miracles with it. Eric Bischoff has gone into great detail about the handicaps of running WCW, whether it be shooting down risky nature of content, or the siphoning of profits to boost other shows, or whatever it was. Russo came in to a terrible situation, and was asked to IMMEDIATELY make it a great situation.

No one said he did a good job. What I'm saying is that he was EXPECTED to come up with some of those outlandish things, and for him to keep his job, he HAD to hope that they worked. Because booking a slow product wasn't going to work for him or WCW.

 

[Final Verdict]

Sorry Sly misinterpreted the part were you said "no one argues that he did a good job".

I do get your point that WCW was on life line, but I do think turning it around was irrelevant at that point as AOL would of still cut unprofitable area's of the company.