Hogan, Bischoff & Jarrett Frustrated with Russo

[It's Damn Real!]

http://allwrestling.com/Content.aspx?ID=37621

Right now there are a lot of creative issues within TNA. The Hulk Hogan & Eric Bischoff contingent is openly complaining about the writing of Vince Russo. It's said that Jeff Jarrett is also frustrated with Russo, after years of defending his work. The feeling is that Russo is pretty much locked in place because Dixie Carter feels a loyalty to him.

Now granted, this is a dirt sheet report, but there's something to be said of that last sentence that's a little scary when you consider the power and knowledge of the names doubting the man.

I know the oft-maligned Russo is no hero to anyone here or many other places for that matter, but is the frustration actually warranted? Why or why not?


Secondly, presuming Russo does lose his job at some point in the near future, what kind of replacement options do you think TNA has within their reach for a full-time writer?

 

[tgrfan]

like ive said before..many blame eric and hogan for the crap tna is putting out latley..but its really russo he is the head writer all hogan and eric do is put in input

 

[AntiChristDeicide]

Well if true, Russo might be in trouble because if i had to choose between him and Hogan/Bischoff i will chose them over him. Has Russo done a good job? Maybe in the past, but now if he is starting to slip it might be time for him to go.

_____________________________
"Survey says, One more for the good guys!!!" -Scott Hall

 

[closet_fan]

Where would this loyalty from Carter come from? It's not like he came in and "saved" the company from utter failure.

 

[MrHashasheen]

@Tgrfan:
Booker - Hulk Hogan
TV Producer - Eric Bischoff
Head Writer - Vince Russo

That's how I understand the process is in TNA, and anyone can feel free to correct me my understanding.

Now as to your questions, IDR:

I know the oft-maligned Russo is no hero to anyone here or many other places for that matter, but is the frustration actually warranted? Why or why not?

I'd say it is warranted. Russo is always a controvertible topic, but you can't deny that the man comes off as abrasive and opinionated in his own interviews and accounts from other wrestlers and people in the industry. Combine that with Hogan's inflated head and need to be the top guy and Bischoff's own attitudes, there's bound to be a class of views and frustrations.

Secondly, presuming Russo does lose his job at some point in the near future, what kind of replacement options do you think TNA has within their reach for a full-time writer?

No clue. Realistically speaking, anyone can come in and be the writer. One person I'd suggest would be Dusty Rhodes. As I recall, he was the writer for a year or so in 2005, and while he's had a tendency to self-promote in that position in his younger years, I do think he'd be a good replacement.

 

[FitFinlay4Life]

I can't help but feel the timing of this report is somewhat ironic, coming on Bischoff's defending of the product at the expense of Smarks (in particular the IWC variety). Not so long ago Russo made an almost identical statement.

Having said that, creative is the most maligned part of the IMPACT product and, as head writer, the buck does stop with V-Ru. Given that they have a number of different spokes to their wheel; World Title, TV Belt, XDivision, KOs, Tag Belts, Xplosion and (at the moment) overall control of IMPACT - I have always felt that a team of writers, with each head taking a lead over a particular spoke and then the team lead by a Bischoff / Russo / other ensuring continuity, was the way to go. For example, Scott D'Amore did a sterling job in the early days of the Knock Outs and the criticism that it has received in recent years noticeably happened when he was removed and the division fell into Russo's remit.

I think V-Ru can be a talented writer but he needs to be controlled, as he was during his WWF Attitude tenure by Vince McMahon.

 

[TheBWO]

It's a shame that Foley is gone---as much as I like his books, and I don't think he has ever tried his hand at scripting a TV show, --lord, he's done standup so....I don't think this would be out of the realm. I think who MIGHT be a good to above average replacement would be Tommy Dreamer. He's another one who gets the business, and while his in ring promos and ability lack, I think he would bring a better edge to the show--if "wrestling matters" like they keep emphasizing. He could possibly revitalize the X division for one, and the wrestlers have a good amount of respect for him. I don't know what kind of rapport he has in the land of Dixie, or with Jarret, but you would think they at least would have to respect him in some form or fashion. Take all that experience that Heyman taught him, and really....the whole coming down the aisle and sitting the stands for several weeks had me intrigued to say the least during that angle. Grant it, that's just one angle, but I think he has a really good mind for what works and what doesn't....and quite honestly...if word gets out that he's booking and writing the show...it might increase for a bit just based on curiosity so....it certainly couldn't hurt. He would have to really shine though in those first few weeks.

 

[Iversen]

@Tgrfan:
Booker - Hulk Hogan
TV Producer - Eric Bischoff
Head Writer - Vince Russo

That's how I understand the process is in TNA, and anyone can feel free to correct me my understanding.

Now as to your questions, IDR:

I'd say it is warranted. Russo is always a controvertible topic, but you can't deny that the man comes off as abrasive and opinionated in his own interviews and accounts from other wrestlers and people in the industry. Combine that with Hogan's inflated head and need to be the top guy and Bischoff's own attitudes, there's bound to be a class of views and frustrations.

No clue. Realistically speaking, anyone can come in and be the writer. One person I'd suggest would be Dusty Rhodes. As I recall, he was the writer for a year or so in 2005, and while he's had a tendency to self-promote in that position in his younger years, I do think he'd be a good replacement.

I think you've got it to a tee, three people with huge egos working together in close proximity having to share some of the power, honestly I'm amazed it lasted this long. I think the major problem here is if Dixie really is unwilling to sack Russo because of some idea of loyalty. Dixie needs to realise that it doesn't matter if their friends but the buisness should come first as I'm sure anyone in buisness would tell you.

 

[H33LTurn]

You cant blame one man for the demise of a company, as easy as it may sound. Looking back at Russo's career, its easy to pinpoint him as TNA's weakspot, but the truth is TNA was a hundred times better off without Hogan and Bischoff. Whatever input these two are making isnt measuring up to the status the company was in a couple of years ago. Russo, Hogan, and Bischoff are killing TNA as a unit and if this story is true Jarrett and Dixie might want to take a risk and act on their feelings. Theres enough talent and experience in that company to keep the writng going without having to go out and find another writer.

 

[Rayne]

We once again play the "if this is true" game.

It's Lord of the Flies up in this bitch! TNA/IW is not performing up to expectations, and while I'm sure there are people that would love to interrupt me and tell me how TNA/IW is the greatest thing since the multiple orgasm, I'm quite sure that the company wasn't overhauled and Eric/Hogan brought in to bump ratings by 0.1. What's a classic method of deflecting blame to keep your job? Blame the politically weakest guy who can have responsibility assigned to him. Vince Russo, that's you.

I'm not jumping on the "Fire Russo!" train. I don't think anyone there is doing that swell of a job now, and I'm not familiar enough with TNA/IW's murky power structure to know who's responsible for what. I do know that in an era in which TNA/IW is defining themselves through change, Vince Russo's been the guy who's been there for the longest, not counting Jarrett, whose position within the company (both political and executive) pretty much precludes him from taking the fall.

His best booking days are behind him, anyhow; I don't see what Russo's bringing to the table that a room full of college dropouts couldn't do, and he hasn't been doing a good job of promoting himself either, which is vital in professional wrestling. He's the most expendable player; he'll be the first against the wall.

 

[ramblinroy682]

I think if I were in charge...and clearly I'm not...I would overhaul the whole team.

I think Hogan can be used as an on air talent, but should not be in charge of booking who goes over or not.

I would find someone who is new to TNA and can bring a fresh set of eyes to truly evaluate the talent. This should be hours reviewing tapes. Watching interviews, promos, matches, etc. Possible ideas: Kevin Sullivan (very successful in WCW), Lance Storm, Dean Malenko.

Eric Bischoff as a producer is okay. I don't really have a problem with the way the show is produced. I think EZE has improved this aspect. I like the new Impact Set, the backstage reality-esque camera (could do without the constant hand zooms), and the shoot feel of the backstage area. He did oversee one of the biggest and brightest areas of wrestling history, he can't be a complete idiot.

Russo needs to be gone. I would hire a head writer and a few underlings for help. My pick for head writer would be Kevin Eck. He was briefly hired in WCW. He wrote for WCW magazine. He currently covers sports and wrestling for the Baltimore Sun. I think he has the talent to make the show work. For my team, I would look around the country at some of the independent shows. See if any of these guys are producing quality shows with minor league talent. There are still a few syndicated shows out there and the might just be a diamond in the rough. I would also look to some guys who have written action movies or tv shows to help with the character development.

With anything, hearing the same voice over and over gets boring. Just like in school, when the teacher talks for an hour, you tune out. Russo has been writing now for 15 years, people tune out. Plus, he's probably fallen into a pattern and just can't get out.

 

[Rampage Bentley]

I think Hogan, Bischoff, and Jarrett complaining about Vince Russo is the equivelant to Hitler, Stalin, and Ghengis Khan complaining about Charles Manson.

Russo sucks, absolutely no one is arguing that, but there have been moments in his run with TNA where it wasn't that bad. It honestly, imo, didn't get bad until Hogan and Bischoff got into the company. I completely agree with the people who say all of them should be overhauled. I like Mark Madden's idea of TNA offering complete power to Jim Ross and see if he'd take on that sinking ship.

 

[Dizzy]

I'm not so sure what is there to be frustrated about. Obviously, we don't know any details but what's shaping up seems to be perfectly good.

X-Division revival: Brian Kendick & The X-Division vs Bischoff's quest to dismantle the X-Division.

Xplosion: Desmond Wolfe as the GM, creating a tournament for undercard wrestlers.

Crimson/Joe feud has been booked and written perfectly. The Youtube brawl of them going at it yesterday was great and came off real.

Mickie vs Love is solid.

Storm and Shelly aka. Gun Money is creative.

Jarret/Angle are ending their feud. I don't think a medal should be the centerpiece of the match however.

The only current weak storylines are Velvet vs ODB and EY vs Gunner.

 

[blkshp]

Honestly this thread brings up an interesting point: who's really in charge of TNA/IW? By that I mean who calls the shots on who gets pushed, who gets title shots, etc. Is it really Dixie? I mean logically it should be, but other then signing talent, how much input does she actually put into the final product? We now know for a fact the Bischoff is the producer, but does he have any real say on the shows actual in ring content? Early on in his tenure he sounded like he was saying he was almost more of a consultant, now it sounds like he's the head honcho when I comes down to the entire TV product (anything outside of ring work and story) but I'm not sure. Hogan seems to be the lead booker now I guess. But this whole situation brings up a point my great grandmother used to say: "To many cooks spoil the pot". TNA/IW literally needs a Vince McMahon. Yes I said it, I know he's enemy # 1 for many wrestling fans, but just think about it. Nothing has ever gotten in front of the audience in the WWF/WWE without being cleared by Vince. That means there's one clear direction for the company. And when Vince hands that power to Stephanie and/or Triple H, they will have the knowledge of how he ran his company to work off of. That's what TNA/IW is still looking for IMO. Russo is just a cog in a machine that's still trying to figure itself out.

 

[rondiesel2005]

all of the sudden they are frustrated with the same person who gave WCW bullshit storylines and now all of the sudden they are not happy with him. Wasn't it last year that Bischoff said to be happy with the work Russo done and now this. This goes back to what Jim Cornette was talking about. He wouldn't be 100% behind Russo creative because the guy can not write a simple storyline for the fans to follow.

Here is what I think. As soon as Hogan and Bischoff arrive to the company, they pretty much agree everything to what Russo is doing. They probably saw that the ratings haven't increase and try to put the blame on somebody like Russo. Just like the fans here said, TNA was better off before Hogan and Bischoff showed up to TNA. Look at what they did. They arrive at the company change up a little bit stuff, change the 4 sided ring, now we get " Wrestling Matters", waste money on billboards and now we come to this. Jarrett always defend the guy and release this guy can't write a decend story for the company. They waited this long to realize that there is something wrong and now they put the blame on Russo, they need some of the blame themselves.

 

[mlp420]

I really don't understand why people are saying that TNA was better off before Hogan and Bischoff got there. TNA wasn't growing much before they came, and they haven't grown much since. It was a gamble they took that hasn't worked (at least so far). I know some people swear up and down that TNA was rising like a meteor from 05-07 (simply because they prefer that product) but the numbers don't lie.


Maybe it's just me. I know that if I'm unhappy with where I am, and there's little sign of the situation improving, I'm going to take a risk to try and improve my situation. If it doesn't work, it certainly was worth the risk. I don't know anything about Dixie Carter, but based on all the moves that have been made, I'm pretty sure when she convinced her family to purchase TNA she didn't do it to make TNA a niche promotion that appealed to a VERY SMALL group of anti WWE wrestling fans.

If that's what TNA wanted, heck they accomplished that years ago. They would have just kept soaking up all the internet love and been happy with doing 1.0s every week.

 

[Daniel]

I'll just take this as a slow news day dirtsheet report. I've also read recently that Hogan, Bischoff and Jarrett are on the same page as Russo, while Tommy Dreamer wasn't (there's a great story about booking the Hernandez/Morgan Victory Road match which I really hope is true). As Tommy Dreamer has left (for whatever reason, we don't know), I'm more inclined to believe the original report that I read.

If Hogan, Bischoff and Jarrett are complaining about Russo's work, then great. It's about time they came to their senses. I've never rated Russo's writing and the car-crash TV that it produces. And like I've said many times, TNA's current product is awful. I wish it wasn't, but it is. And a lot of that is on Russo.

 

[LegendK1ller]

Honestly, I have no idea why Russo was even brought into TNA. Take a look at WCW and how well he did there. I hope someway they force him out of TNA or Impact Wrestling, whatever the fuck it is called.

Russo claimed to be the one that made Stone Cold Steve Austin, yeah...I'm sure. This guy is a fucking nut job.

 

[Poop Master Flex]

First off its a question of the accuracy of the article especially since the quality in writing quality hasn't really moved for the last year (quality wise its still roughly the same) so it seems weird they are all critical of Russo when just 6 months ago all 3 were often praising his work (I've heard all 3 praise Russo in the "dirt sheets" over the last while).

If its true then Russo is just the scapegoat for Bischoff, Hogan and Jarrett trying to make excuses why the product isn't "up to par" in their eyes.

If Bischoff and Hogan care so much I would assume that they have some control in the TNA programming (at least on the creative side) or else they wouldn't care because they are getting paid. My guess is (assuming its true) since there has been word that Spike is getting "less happy" with TNA programming they are hammering Jarrett, Hogan and Bischoff which in turn is hammering Russo, its called the chain of screaming, higher up yells at the person right below them who yells at the person below them and so on and so forth.

I don't care for Russo's booking but to be fair he has been booking for a LONG time and the writing took a big hit coincidentally when Hogan and Bischoff showed up, NOT when Russo came in. If there is any merit to Hogan, Bischoff and Jarrett being upset with Russo its because they are passing the buck by getting yelled at by Spike executives so like any other higher ups would they blame the people below them.

All in all even though Russo is a crap booker and writer IMO its totally unwarranted. Blaming Russo for TNA's problems is like blaming the cellist on the Titanic for the ship sinking. If anyone should get yelled at its Dixie and Jeff and maybe Hogan and Bischoff, they are the ones messing up.

To answer who the replacement should be I would go with Scott D'Amore. He may not have had a huge storyline and booking stint to his name but he know how to handle TNA's talent pool and in all honestly TNA was at its best quality wise when he was booking the product. Of course there is Heyman and Ross but if we are going to be realistic go with D'Amore, he does good work.

 

[Bigrog25]

Everybody saying IW didn't get shitty til Hogan/Bischoff got there, Newsflash: they get the same numbers they did b4, Fact is most people have never cared for IW except for their diehards, why you ask? Possibly because the same moron has been writing their show this whole time? Put your personal opinions of Hogan/Bischoff tothe side, look at the big pic, it's time 4 Russo to go!

 

[Big Nick Dudley]

I take and respond to each Dirt Sheet report as if it were the truth. Not saying any of them are true, but for the sake of discussion, I assume they're accurate.

Is the frustration actually warranted? Why or why not?

Sure it is. Hogan and Bischoff sure as shit do not want any of the blame, so why not throw it all on Russo? After watching programming written by Russo for a couple of decades now, I understand what's his, and what isn't.

The undisciplined, crazy storylines and dialogue are all Russo. You can tell where the filter should be, but isn't. The "worked shoot" promo segments -- all Vince Russo. The "power grab" scenarios and huge heel stables are all Bischoff. Trust me, I know these things

But, yeah, definitely reason to be dissatisfied with Vince Russo, and I would probably would have canned him a long time ago. Is the the only guy to blame? No, but he's probably the easiest to get rid of.

What kind of replacement options do you think TNA has within their reach for a full-time writer?

Someone with fresh ideas. Everything is recycled, but stories need new elements, no matter how many time the basic premise has been used. Finding talented writers doesn't necessarily mean looking from within, or grabbing someone WWE canned. Try some people out, give some chances. What's the worst that can happen? In my opinion, it's about as bad as it can get right now, so what's the difference?

 

[Whatsinaname696]

you CAN blame one man for it, and that man IS Russo, not saying Hogan or Eric could save the company but Vince is Def hurting it, they have a wealth of talent, MUCH more then the WWE and the WWE is still putting on better shows? (granted thas not saying much about WWE) There is just NO excuse, and it stops on the writers desk in this case because the storylines, all 50 million of them at once... come from Russo, replace him, then if it still gets worse or stays the same (which I doubt) ... then we can talk about getting rid of Eric/Hulk. It wouldn't surprise me if they did have a problem... It wouldn't be anything new but a diff company.

 

[Hawk]

I think all three of them ultimately need to go.

Russo has failed to prove that he can book anything compelling or exciting, long-term, since leaving WWE. At least while he was there, he has the McMahon filter to weed out the bad or silly ideas. It was the perfect formula.

Hogan and Bischoff seem to be part of the problem because they are said to be near or at the top of the company in terms of power, yet TNA hardly seems to be their main focus. Bischoff is busy with his other film/TV projects while also working on a new line of beer. That's good for him but with how bad TNA is at the moment, I do think there should be a sense of priority coming from him. As for Hogan, he does a number of appearances and is busy with plenty of non TNA stuff (i.e. his official tour). Does he ever go out of his way to mention TNA or endorse the product when not in front of a TNA camera. Hardly.

While Hogan was recovering from his back ailments, he was unable to work at TNA for over 3 months. He was unable to drive an hour or two from his home and make it to Orlando. Yet, he had no problem during that time flying to Canada for some silly Hogan & Friends convention.

The three of them combined are a problem. Dixie Carter is a problem because she apparently doesn't reign any of them in. You have wrestlers on Twitter and in videos mocking the company and acting silly, and no one there is no one there able to put a stop to the nonsense?

TNA right now reminds me a lot of WCW in those final months. It's eerily similar. I don't wish this on TNA. I would like them to succeed and contribute positively to the business - more so than they presently are. There is so much potential there and they are just blowing opportunity after opportunity.

 

[UnBEARaBULLfan]

Before HH/EB ever came to TNA people were complaining about the head of TNAs creative department(VR), since HH/EB's arrival People are still complaining about the head of creative, it is way past time that they get rid of Russo. He doesn't have what it takes to help make TNA the best it can be. TNA needs to go out and find someone new with a creative mind for the buisness, but I personaly cant think of anyone out there.

 

[Hawk]

Before HH/EB ever came to TNA people were complaining about the head of TNAs creative department(VR), since HH/EB's arrival People are still complaining about the head of creative, it is way past time that they get rid of Russo. He doesn't have what it takes to help make TNA the best it can be. TNA needs to go out and find someone new with a creative mind for the buisness, but I personaly cant think of anyone out there.

THIS.