The True Story Of Vince Russo's Jump To WCW

Vince Russo goes down as one of the most polarizing figures in the history of professional wrestling. Russo's penchant for shocks was packed deeply into Attitude's soul. So much so that when Russo decided to jump ship to the WCW in 1999, it felt like one of those jarring plot twists that Russo fancied booking - except this was no angle...
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Cultaholic provides video coverage of professional wrestling - including WWE (including WWE Raw, WWE SmackDown, and NXT), AEW, TNA Wrestling (formerly IMPACT), NJPW, ROH, and more with daily news updates, reviews, lists, highlights, predictions, reactions, podcasts and much, much more.

[@PoeticProphetic]

Honestly Russo’s reasons for burnout and Vince’s cold response do justify Russo’s reason to leave

[@cenationmiles]

Exactly. We can say what we want about Russo’s creative decisions, but he was still human. Vinny Mac was insane back then and really didn’t believe in a physical or mental work/life balance at all

[@TheRealAhoy]

​@@cenationmilesIn fairness, Vinnie Mac did lead by example. It would be one thing if your boss was saying that to you while they sat back comfortably dictating orders to people, but he didn't sit back, he was more on his feet than anybody. Wwe just happened to be run by an athletic freak who had the mentality that everyone had to get up to his level. He had extremely high standards for his staff, if you can't handle the heat you're best leaving. Say what you want about vkm being a freak of nature but he didn't slack himself. He reminds me of Roy Keane as a manager, just completely closed off to the idea of his players being less talented or smaller mentality monsters than he was. He had something Roy Keane wasn't so good at though, the ability to get and keep people at that level.

[@johnharvelhines9803]

👏👏👏 Fantastic point! He had more backbone than the waiting room of a chiropractor’s office. Imagine saying no to Vince McMhaon and saying no to Tony Khan. Which would be infinitely easier to do? 😂

[@Siciliancivilian]

Exactly I mean imagine being told by a man who gets to travel daily with his wife and his daughter and his son that you need to accept his filthy money to hire a nanny. Like fuuuuuuuukk yoooouu.

[@jstappin]

I don’t think anyone disagrees with that with him. I tend to believe that most people agree with his reasons for leaving. The real issue is that he was not nearly the creative genius many thought he was at the time.

[@calumbeattie5337]

My favourite Russo story is when he asked Hardcore Holly about his finisher. Holly called it the Alabama Slam- Russo wanted to rename it The Holly-caust. Holly said "I'll think about it", he then went home for the weekend and spent most of the time at his local library researching the holocaust. When he next saw Russo, Holly simply said "no".

[@lastdayonearthmysteryman4849]

The one good thing, Bob Holly ever done in pro wrestling!

[@murkwell17]

​@lastdayonearthmysteryman4849 eh, go watch an old Hardcore Holly match. He's actually very underrated. He just wasn't great on the mic

[@lastdayonearthmysteryman4849]

@@murkwell17 I’m not talking about in the ring. I’m talking about him as a person. It’s one thing to joke and tease people. It is a whole different thing to be a bully. also, I’ve never been impressed by him.

[@Rschr101]

Never forget, the Hollycaust

[@HoV326]

Does that imply Holly didn't know that much about the Holocaust until that moment?

[@SeanzViewEnt]

BRO!

[@brandonperkins176]

YO, Sean!

[@ALDO_GOODENS]

Bro

[@SpacePotatoJTASP]

Bro chain

[@M._mkid]

Matt Riddle Vince Russo broooooo

[@RustyShackleford101]

Can you imagine Russo's letter to Linda? "Dear Linda-Bro, Youse gonna hire me for da magazine bro, I'm gonna go out dere bro, I sweah to Gawd bro, da ratings for da magazine are gonna go through da roof bro. Sincerely bro, Vince Russo Bro."

[@anthonymacgregor9790]

As much as that is a joke, it not be surprised if it was close to it.

[@WesleyWilkins-qf2ky]

Sounds bout right

[@josephnicolino8529]

You forgot. I'll never forget bro.

[@williamsmith666]

Needs more random capitalization, too many exclamation points and far more misspellings.

[@jasonjimerson7046]

It's Russo, alright!

[@giles852002]

Vince McMahon always said he would never make wrestlers do something he wouldn’t do. However Vince was a workaholic & never took time off, so he expected the wrestlers to do the same. He couldn’t understand wrestlers or Staffs need for time off as he hated the concept. That was Vince’s biggest failing & how he lost talents & alienated himself from others. They’d miss birthdays & Christmas & he wouldn’t give a s**t. Clearly nearing his 80s he’s still struggling with not working as rumours are he’s still trying to be in the Buisness but he needs to understand his wrestlers aren’t machines. Thankfully Triple H understands these needs & works with it.

[@rotherthies]

Well there was the line in Young Rock. Vince: "No one gives a fuck about my family!" In context he was talking about "no one cares about other peoples families." I thought of it as a throw away line until what I just read, you say. You are absolutely right!!

[@jamesaditya5254]

"Vince McMahon always said he would never make wrestlers do something he wouldn’t do" is accurate, he wouldn't take a time off

[@rotherthies]

@jamesaditya5254 for sure. But I meant more that he doesn't care about the family events you missed. But also his family travels with him and they just celebrate where ever they are. The talent doesn't really have that option. So he also has no frame of reference to understand it.

[@kennycai8695]

Sadly, him being a workaholic is part of Vince's coping mechanism, cause everyone who knew him would tell you he had a rough childhood. Although that certainly does not excuse his overmanaging tendencies, nor some of his more heinous actions in recent memory.

[@Venemofthe888]

I feel like the only way you got time off under vince was if you were injured

[@venomousnate7263]

Honestly I can’t imagine the burn out Russo was feeling for that period before leaving. And missing out on family, that’s also got to be rough.

[@johnharvelhines9803]

Yeah that’s why he said he decided to stop writing for WWF because you have to give 110% of yourself to the company. He talked about wanting to be with his wife and kids more while on the job, then McMahon said hire a nanny. Fortunately, his lighter schedule at WCW and TNA got him to spend time with his family much more often so that’s good

[@PrecursorOrb1]

Poor guys, they get peace from him and now he’s gonna work a lighter schedule

[@afd19850]

I think McMahon only sleeping like 3 hours a night he expected everyone to do it!

[@michaelreich4827]

I liked how Russo tried to give all the mid-carders in WCW something to do and get them on TV. You can't become a star if you don't get TV time.

[@AFMountaineer2000]

I've said the same thing and that the only real compliment I'll give to Russo

[@TheRealAhoy]

Thing is, he didn't know how to make stars. You don't just put people on tv, you promote them. Vince McMahon down the line ended up promoting the hell out of Roman Reigns and it took years but eventually it worked wonderfully. In the attitude era they promoted Rocky Maivia loads, and that didn't work, but when he morphed in to The Rock all that promotion paid off. When he started being The Rock, he already had lots of promotion put in to him. Didn't take off at all the first time, but it put in to people's minds "we think this guy is the future and will be at the top for years to come". Wcw never did that with anybody.

[@American-Zero]

And at the same time he tried to make himself a star at the expense of that same talent.

[@American-Zero]

@@TheRealAhoy He tried to make Billy Kidman a star...which is commendable, but he did it the wrong way by booking him against Hulk Hogan. At every turn Hogan beat him down like a dog..only for Kidman to win by cheating or outside help. How does that elevate him? Plus no one was gonna buy a David v.s Goliath type feud if Goliath was the good guy. Kidman also didn't have the charisma or personality to match with Hogan as he sounded so boring on the mic. After the feud ended he went crawling back to midcard.

[@TheRealAhoy]

@@American-Zero I liked Billy Kidman a lot, but as a mid carder. He was one of those "midcarder for life" types, stick around long enough and he might get himself the odd main event. To put him against Hogan was super weird, it made a very likeable workhorse type character in to a goof overnight. Him in his tank top and jeans was perfect for him, he was to wcw what X-Pac was to wwf, back when X-Pac was a Rey Mysterio-like underdog babyface and not the heat sucker he became as a heel. X-Pac was a beloved face, should have stayed that way, sure he had a ceiling but as a baby he had his fair share of main event involvement. Watch the pop in the main event of Fully Loaded 99 when he got involved. People were happy to have X-Pac be involved in such a prominent position. That's the way Kidman was going, but then they turned him in to a goof.

[@footballhipster]

"This ain't work, bro!" Vince Russo, probably

[@nicholasbozec2828]

Just picturing Cornette spitting in duck mans face is so enjoyable great job as always guys keep up these series please

[@Rschr101]

Cornette paid wrestlers to sleep with his own wife.

[@jayscriven2003]

I lobe this sort of videos you guys work so hard to do, thank you

[@deanjohnston1460]

whoever wrote this profile deserves a lot praise IMHO. Specifically how they captured the transition of the "Crash TV" style moving form WWE to WCW

[@InfectiousGroovePodcast]

Back in the Attitude Era, a bunch of us all got our news from a site called Rajah WWF (or something like that). When we all heard about Russo leaving, the general thought was "OH DAMN! The tide is about to turn. WCW now has the guy responsible for all of WWF's greatness!". Hindsight is 20/20, so now we all know we wasn't "the guy" but a small part of a much bigger machine. I remember thinking that first Nitro and PPV with Russo in WCW was going to change everything. Then.....well.....we all know how it went.

[@TheNextStep851]

A lot of this is WWE revisionist history though. Russo in his first 3 months got Nitro's ratings from 2.6 to 3.4. When he started writing for WWF in 1997 they were at 1.8. It wasn't until December of that year when they were doing north of 3.0. 3 months wasn't enough time in WCW.

[@boots8562]

IT'S JUST WREST-A-LING, BRO!

[@cyrus2546]

WHAT YA DON’T UNDA-STAND BRO IS THAT IT’S ALL ABOUT CHARACTERS!

[@evdomos]

It's so hard to believe all of it came from a magazine, and he barely had to try to be a part of it. Life was so much more interesting back then.

[@ginofrancejr555]

Excellent video Russo is the most complicated and polarizing figure in pro wrestling history. He did some good and bad in pro wrestling creative.

[@nu-punkrants1551]

He lost WCW 64 mil in 2000...he was more damage than not

[@BurgerQueenDoudrop]

@@nu-punkrants1551 Lmao, Bro, you're a clown if you actually believe one single person could cost a billion dollar corporation that kinda money.

[@BurgerQueenDoudrop]

Fair enough. I'm a Russo fan and it's nice to see someone actually give him some credit and not just blindly believe Cornette.

[@kevinlee9929]

@@ginofrancejr555 "He did some good and bad in pro wrestling creative" This simple

[@kevinlee9929]

@@nu-punkrants1551 Russo didn't hand out contracts so bad that Vince McMahon passed on picking up any of them.

[@ohmy4275]

Some people forget his work on that Raw magazine. Was it the Raw magazine or just WWF magazine. I remember his stuff. Pretty cool. Attitude has its roots in the new approach that magazine presented

[@BurgerQueenDoudrop]

Lmao, Nice try. The full story is he pitched an entire year of creative in his first meeting and they all knew if McMahon brought Russo back he would have no use for them so they all agreed to bury him to McMahon out of fear for their jobs.

[@BurgerQueenDoudrop]

The Attitude era was 100% Russo's vision.

[@james83481]

Jack and Cultaholic knocking another one out of the park. Brilliant video lads, lassies and everyone else!

[@fizzyfuzz5878]

One of his terminal WCW sins was further pushing aside established, fan favorite draws like Goldberg and Sting who were already being politically derailed before he came in. He played favorites and pushed those favorites at the expense of everything else. Even if who he pushed were getting next to no reaction, no positive enough effect on business and/or didn't have the it factor required to become enough of a moneymaker.

[@TheRealAhoy]

@@fizzyfuzz5878 It was uninspired thinking that the iwc which mocks him for his attempts would make even him blush. The idea was "make new stars, stop relying on the old ones". The iwc, ironically, talks about that as if that's always the solution. Iwc fantasy bookers are Russo clones but they will never see it because they act like they're so above it. You can't just make new stars by giving them a push, you have to give a push to people who have it in them to become new stars. If you don't have anyone on board that is capable of being coming stars, then the solution is to get as much as you can out of the current guys who already are stars, even if their best days are behind them. The iwc famously cries about Cena and Roman winning instead of "guys who could have used it." Vkm wisely decided to invest further in established main eventers instead of people he didn't think had what it took, and people have been burying him for it for years. They hate that Vince McMahon didn't book like Vince Russo, funnily enough lol. McMahon was very smart about not pushing new guys for the sake of it. That's Russo booking, "push young person + ? = Profit" A push isn't enough. The talent has to grab a hold of the camera and dominate it. That's why Cesaro never got a lengthy push. Because he does the bare minimum with an opportunity to interact with the camera, he just does the minimum. He seems pretty embarrassed about the non wrestling stuff, like it's nonsense, so that's why he was pushed so little. People around the world look at TV shows because of engaging characters, they don't tune in to tv shows to see someone who's a good worker.

[@daviddalrymple2284]

Yeah. And although WCW's best young talent (Chris Jericho) had already left by October 1999, Vince still had some great young upper-midcarders to work with: Chris Benoit, Eddie Guerrero, etc.

[@danmount9462]

Let's also remember JR did a great job getting Russo's stuff over on commentary.

[@BurgerQueenDoudrop]

You live in your parent's basement, don't you ?

[@jedidethfreak]

Not just that. Yes, Russo was integral to the turnaround. However, his ideas had to be filtered by Vince and the booking committee, had to be put over by the greatest announce team of all time in JR and The King, and required what is arguably the greatest collection of talent in wrestling history. That's why he couldn't replicate it in WCW or TNA - he had carte blanche in both, but had no filter, no announce team, and no embarrassment of riches for talent.

[@BurgerQueenDoudrop]

@@jedidethfreak Ahh yes, the old Vince McMahon was Russo's filter argument. Well if McMahon had this great filter for bad ideas how do you explain 20 years of crap after Russo left ? Where was this great McMahon filter for Katie Vick ? How about Bobby Lashley's sisters ? Or Reigns getting covered in dog food ?

[@jedidethfreak]

@@BurgerQueenDoudrop what are you talking about, '20 years of crap?' The Attitude Era continued without Russo, and transitioned to Ruthless Aggression, which was still amazing. The product didn't really take a hit quality-wise until people got sick of SuperCena around 2008. And it wasn't BAD until, like, 2011ish. And where was Russo? First, making a bunch of shit in WCW, then more shit in TNA.

[@BurgerQueenDoudrop]

@@jedidethfreak Still didn't answer my question about all the crap ideas that managed to slip through this great McMahon filter you speak of.

[@Drollpanther]

Russo gave everyone on tv a story. And no Vince Mcmahon wasnt a filter. Have you seen his ideas?

[@TheNextStep851]

Exactly. Naked Mideon, Katie Vick, Mae Young and the hand, Spirit Squad, Trump vs Rosey, Little People's Court, Sufferin' Succotash, JR surgery skit, the guest host era. The list is endless.

[@BurgerQueenDoudrop]

Bro, exactly. That"s what I'm always saying, out of all the anti Russo crap these virgins are always spewing out the old "Vince McMahon was Russo's filter" argument completely asinine. Just look at all the crap after Russo left. These people only believe what they want to believe. I'm happy that Russo is now making a good living out of making fun of nerdy wrestling fans.

[@cliffbot638]

As he should've. He understood that on a weekly television show everyone needs something to do

[@jameshorne88]

Still waiting on Summer slam WTF

[@TheBlackTarot95]

20 years later his character was so believable people still believe his bash at the Beach promo was a shoot. He played a better heel character compared to the whole roster of wcw

[@ionian525]

Fun Fact, Vince Russo is still an active Wrestling Booker. I believe he is currently working for two promotions, Rocky Mountain Pro Wrestling and Ohio Valley Wrestling. And you can feel the Vince Russo writing, RMPWs Women's Champion is a haunted marionette who has kidnapped (and maybe killed) David Drake, the current men's champion. Vince took over as head writer just a few months ago and the "weird" factor he brings to the show is immediately noticeable.

[@ionian525]

Also, Rocky Mountain Pro Wrestling has a weekly show that they upload to their KZbin channel every Tuesday, so you can very easily check out modern day Vince Russo booking for free any time.

[@BurgerQueenDoudrop]

It's probably alot better than the tripe Triple H craps out every Monday.

[@theoneandjabroni3002]

​@@BurgerQueenDoudropyeah thats why its the new hot promotion on everyones lips, and WWE went under. Wait a minute

[@oddishhonor]

@@BurgerQueenDoudropwhat a dumb comment to make

[@Steven-cf1ty]

​@@BurgerQueenDoudropHHH drags his feet to get anywhere but atleast he actually knows anything about wrestling

[@MINI_JasperJunior]

Fun fact: Ed Ferrara wrote an episode of AoStH 🦔 The mystery of the missing hi-tops, if you care. 👀

[@irfanahmed4523]

Nice documentary. Finally I understood why Russo jumped ship.

[@rage9715]

Now we can watch this all play out on RTW

[@Hollows1997]

Well Done Jack and Cultaholic. This is probably the most nuanced and non biased take on Russo I’ve yet heard, it’s actually changed my opinion on him. Was he solely behind the rise of the attitude era? No. Was he solely responsible for the death of WCW? Also No.

[@johnharvelhines9803]

The Attitude Era was a gigantic team effort and was pretty much a perfect storm. Russo was a great person helping lead that direction, and his style of running the show’s on television was phenomenal and very innovative for the years that followed after he left

[@joshkennedy2868]

​@@johnharvelhines9803 he didn't lead anything. He was the last guy giving Vince Ideas.

[@BurgerQueenDoudrop]

@@joshkennedy2868 The last guy giving Vince ideas ? Bro, he wrote every episode of Raw. I swear you Russo detractors are all sharing a pea sized brain.

[@jakeisking4307]

Hi jack

[@alexcompton314]

Vince definitely said that

[@mjdf122]

WrestleMania XLI Jim Cornette vs Vince Russo Book it Triple H

[@flockawaka1017]

it has to be a Dairy Queen on a Pole match

[@mjdf122]

@@flockawaka1017Harley on a pole match

[@BurgerQueenDoudrop]

I would love to see Russo woop that Jabroni Cornette.

[@BurgerQueenDoudrop]

Would love to see Russo shut that Jabroni up.

[@BurgerQueenDoudrop]

Russo would destroy Tubby in 4 seconds.

[@WaterborneCamper]

I don't care what anyone says, I found a lot of the early half of Russo's creative output entertaining. No, not all of it obviously. But his stuff in WWF and the first few months of his WCW run weren't all bad. Not like people make it seem, now. Sure the later WCW stuff and pretty much everything that ever followed that really was garbage. But for a while, while working with the right people, he could create some fun TV.

[@leegray6657]

Up jack. Love these videos. Too sweet.

[@TheLandofObscusion]

"However, THIS was no angle"... Well, depends on who you ask, because some will still say that Russo jumping to WCW had to have been a plot orchestrated by him & Vince McMahon. Yeah, it's usually stated now as a joke, but at the same time it's Vince Russo... so it's not TOTALLY outside the realm of possibility.

[@johnharvelhines9803]

It’s an interesting theory, but if Russo’s and McMahon’s plan was to kill WCW, getting their ratings up while Russo wrote for them might not have been the smartest play

[@TheRealAhoy]

Wwe didn't need to do anything to kill wcw at that time though, they were quite comfortable, wcw jumped the shark already and WWF were in a groove with their own thing without even thinking of the competition.

[@nu-punkrants1551]

I totally believe that. It would make sense if you look at his run

[@ec3076]

In a way, I admire Russos ambition.

[@jamalrashard9091]

Russo Rules Wrestling. Thanks for the character's, unpredictable storylines, and short matches.

[@etherealfoxproductions]

Vince Russo’s “creative” was highly derivative. I don’t consider using elements from the Jerry Springer show to be “creative” but it did work for the Attitude era. If anything, Vince Russo was given an opportunity and he capitalized on it. If it weren’t for the McMahon family, no one would even know the name “Vince Russo.”

[@kieransp2010]

Great video, cheers lads!

[@KenRising1996]

(Angry Jim Cornette noises)

[@jerranspearman3369]

good video

[@rckslts]

Great job like always guys

[@Beavis-ry6tj]

People also forget that Russo went back to the WWE in 2002 as a creative consultant, and lasted just two weeks. His ideas were rejected by the writing staff, and his big idea was apparently to restart the WCW Invasion with the big stars they didn't have the first time around.

[@BurgerQueenDoudrop]

Lmao, nice try. The full story is he pitched an entire year of creative in his first meeting and they all knew if McMahon brought Russo back he would have no use for the rest of them, they feared for their jobs so they all buried him. Also he had a phone call with Stephanie where she was talking down to him like he was a first day rookie and that got him hot.

[@theoneandjabroni3002]

​@@BurgerQueenDoudrop* according to russo that is. Could be bollocks. Or maybe not brother

[@ShredderLivesOn]

@@theoneandjabroni3002 If Russo has claimed it, the odds are that it IS bollocks. We're talking about the same guy who lied to the guy he hired to build his Pyro and Ballyhoo website and got locked out of it when he failed to pay him, the guy who tried to take credit for pitching the finish of the Montreal Screwjob despite the fact he never knew what a double-cross was, and who downplays his involvement in booking Owen Hart to come down on a zipline, and said he truly believes that it was "Owen's destiny" to fall from that ceiling.

[@kevinlee9929]

@@ShredderLivesOn A number of people brought up Vince just ringing the bell on Bret. Even multiple wrestlers had warned Bret about that happening. So it's not hard to believe that Russo told Vince to do it too. It also makes no sense to blame a writer for a stunt team failing to do their jobs.

[@ShredderLivesOn]

​@@kevinlee9929I tend to believe more that it was Jim Cornette who pitched the finish. As he had historical knowledge of the first Montreal Screwjob, and he made sure to get out of the building as soon as the bell rang because he didn't want to stick around for what might happen.

[@BigMike_HD]

God damn it, had zero clue Russo was from Long Island. I am now ashamed to be from here

[@mattm3729]

Where’d you think the accent was from bro, Kansas? 😂

[@BigMike_HD]

@@mattm3729 idk. Thought he was from upstate ny somewhere

[@markfinch6794]

Russo had a moment and it burnt out , I do agree with him if you gave Vince a piece of paper he could not write a show . He would have his suggestions but no , for guys like Flair in interviews to say it was all Vince M, Russo had a moment and it worked, some of the best 13-16 year old memories I have

[@TheNextStep851]

Russo was also showing how talented of a tv writer he was as early as 1995 when he was directing everything Goldust was doing, word-for-word. Some of that dialogue Goldust was spitting was excellent.

[@MatthewKonvict]

That ferura guy putting the clause means he knew how truly bad Russo was without McMahon and Cornette keeping him leveled an in his place.

[@Rschr101]

Whatever helps you sleep better😂

[@brandonperkins176]

Vince Russo=Wrestling Resident Evil

[@DJReyzor357]

Vince Russo is about to start a podcast rant against Cultaholic.... And 5, 4,3, 2. 1.... 💣 💥 😅

[@BurgerQueenDoudrop]

Can't wait to hear it! :)

[@1_Fish.2_Fish.Red_Fish.]

Owner of the company I work for fired a couple integral people, I knew how to their jobs already as they weren’t doing much anyways. Had to walk in his office n flex on him. All the sudden I got paid way more with better perks. I’m burnt out now.

[@rotherthies]

Wasn't an angle!? Vince M: Hey Vince!? Vince R: ahh yeah BRO!? Vince M: I want you to go down south and just ruin the promotion!.. Vince R: Ah-ight BRO!! I guarantee thats exactly how the conversation went.

[@lilpoetat]

Thanks 🎉

[@lastdayonearthmysteryman4849]

7:20 So Jerry Springer is the one made WWE better!

[@wickideazy]

The greatest Russo moment is, was, and always will be, "What's with this train gimmick, bro?"

[@Famous_Athlete_Hashimoto]

This guy tried to push an incest angle between Ken Shamrock and his kayfabe sister. Needless to say, Shamrock refused

[@thomaswilson1016]

I have mixed feelings about the man. On one hand he revolutionized kayfabe and wrestling by creating compelling storylines with characters that blurred the line between good and evil and Vince McMahon having to mold his crazy ideas into a narrative structure to make booking sense. Then, without that valve, Vince Russo was like a mad dog - destroying whatever credibility, respect, and prestiged WCW had with disenfranchising a lot of the wrestlers and employees. He was not the only contributing factor to WCW's demise, but one of the major ones. Being held as a visionary in one company and a pariah in the other was probably not easy for him. Just like everyone in life, he was just trying to survive in a cutthroat and unpredictable business. I have nothing but respect for the man coming from where he was and making it the only way he could with his brain and his balls. Cheer, Bros'

[@dualshock3462]

The biggest reason why Russo is so hated and called “The man who killed WCW” is because Ted Turner lost control. If Turner still had control we would have WCW in 2002, 2012 and maybe even today and Russo would just be known as someone who shortly worked there and couldn’t help make WCW #1 again with storylines that didn’t work out.

[@Turk_2023]

WCW did not have a tv spot anymore.... The Time Warner merger was brutal.

[@stylex927]

@THEVincerusso we need a thursday trashing on this...thank you, Bro

[@cyrus2546]

Russo wearing a Mets and Yankees shirt in the same video. Bro.

[@Shaunography]

I'm a Russo guy

[@jessebunnell6442]

Vince Russo in WWE = Amazing Vince Russo in WCW = Dogs**t

[@BurgerQueenDoudrop]

A huge misconception people have about Russo is he hates wrestling matches and just wanted entertaining segments. Wrong. He just wanted to focus on entertainment and story building on TV as a buildup to the matches on PPV and have less wrestling on free TV to lower the risk of injury and prolong wrestler's careers. Big E never would have taken that career ending suplex on a random episode of SD on a Russo written show.

[@attiepollard7847]

Bs. I'm sorry but wrestlers know the risk when it comes to performing in that ring and if they can't handle it then they should not be there. We don't mind the entertainment but the entertainment supposed to be at least less than 25% of part of a product.

[@BurgerQueenDoudrop]

@@attiepollard7847 Less than 25% ? You're completely clueless, bro.

[@attiepollard7847]

@@BurgerQueenDoudrop yes it's less than 25% we want good matches good wrestling matches.

[@BurgerQueenDoudrop]

@@attiepollard7847 Not wasting anymore of my time on you. You clearly don't understand how business works.

[@attiepollard7847]

@@BurgerQueenDoudrop I think we all know how the business work yes it is sports entertainment and I still cherish those words even though they tried to change them. Put wrestling must be the main focus all sports entertainment despite the storyline that we like.

[@dannytoeman]

No Ben miller interview mention?

[@bb-gc2tx]

story has been told a million times

[@dj-hyrul3654]

>Is working Russo into the ground, to the point he's missing important times with his family >Russo reasonably asks to just make more money since he can't work less days "You make enough money, just hire a nanny" That is fucking ICE cold dude. I've been critical of Russo before, but thats a royally fucked up notion to throw out when you're depriving a father time with his family. All together with feeling y'all: *Fuck Vince McMahon*

[@dr.snakes]

The Billionaire Bubble. Vince McMahon will never know or understand what life is like for regular people.

[@markula_4040]

My opinion is Russo may have had some good ideas while under the WWF umbrella but some people are only creative enough to write 1 good book and some are to write 50. Russo is clearly the former which isn't a knock but his issue is he thinks he is capable of 50 and that CLEARLY is not the case. Him not knowing his limits to this day is a major reason he is so polarizing.

[@oddishhonor]

Very well put.

[@TheNextStep851]

He was writing for TNA from 2006 until late-2011 and their viewership was growing each year. They peaked under his writing in 2011 then went into massive decline when he left in early-2012.

[@darrenhogg5366]

Does anyone at all remember when he returned to WWE in July 2002 (roughly) for literally just 2 weeks before being let go again?! Just asking purely out of curiosity as no one ever seems to 😂

[@kingstonkullman5012]

Bro, bro, bro bro broooo, bro bro bro, bro bro, bro

[@Yesuah_1]

im early , yo yo new Account but a fan since the 1st ever videos when yall were start-up but LOOK AT AT YALL NOWW

[@TheSubZero187]

Sometimes I feel like they drop these videos because they’re following Wrestling Bios

[@_.El._]

And no complaints from me I love Bios and love these videos from Cultaholic as well

[@oddishhonor]

12:47 LOL! “Wanted to work two more years, and then get out of the business.” He worked til 2014 in some capacity and has been complaining about the industry that doesn’t miss him ever since. He needs wrestling more than wrestling needs him. And that’s why I don’t like him, because his pompous attitude towards the industry that has fed him for decades. If he still had that magic he had for two years, people would be lining up jobs for him. But that’s not the reality, and he’s bitter about it.

[@lastdayonearthmysteryman4849]

Who better Vince Russo or Tony Khan?

[@attiepollard7847]

I may not like Tony Khan but I'm taking Tony over Vince Russo

[@Arsenal4life239]

Tony Khan is worse, at least Russo was responsible for some good things.

[@lastdayonearthmysteryman4849]

@@Arsenal4life239 Because of Vince McMahon fixing it to work!

[@lastdayonearthmysteryman4849]

@@attiepollard7847 At Vince Russo worked with grown men!

[@attiepollard7847]

@@lastdayonearthmysteryman4849 yes in WWF but he was a petulant child in WCW.

[@marcusorlandi8054]

Vince Russbro

[@jasoncerda8048]

the story of smackdown!

[@AllanAdamson]

the vince & vince era wasn't bad tbh

[@GregOGrady84]

Russo gave wwe and tna their highest ever ratings wen he was head writer but ya he was clueless he hadnt a clue 🙄🙄

[@Dave-mu3xv]

😂 Honestly always been a big fan of Russo. Loved his stuff. He, himself is an entertaining guy too. BRO 👊

[@HyperActive7]

So he gives up 350k a year to go send a company into the toilet.. BRO..

[@blinkdr1v3r]

what the fuck is shaq doing at 6:50

[@lastdayonearthmysteryman4849]

Who Knows!

[@lastdayonearthmysteryman4849]

Basically, this is the same problem AEW have! Their have no storylines only wrestling! Vince Russo had very little wrestling or none and too many stupid story lines.

[@attiepollard7847]

Isn't that the reason why aew was made because they don't want to be like WWE? A lot of these people still hold grudges against WWE for not putting over their favorite indie star. They are the big Fu to The Establishment and that's the way they like it

[@DoYouKnoTheTimes]

Russo isn't polarizing. He's despised by an overwhelming majoriry of wrestling fans.

[@attiepollard7847]

Wrestling fans are not depressed. They just don't like their intelligence insulted

[@ChaoticMeatballTV]

As a 2000 kid, I wish I got the appeal of the Attitude Era. Short matches with lots of interference and crash TV just doesn't sound appealing. Variety is the spice of life and you need different styles and match lengths along with sensible stories to keep people invested. Not to mention it feels for too edgy for it's own good. I'm glad Vince Russo helped to start the last truly huge wrestling boom, but I'd hate to see the business regress to this style again, no matter how much people pine for it. Elements are good, but as an overall package in hindsight, I'm just not a fan (and that includes all of Russo's work in WCW, TNA, and other, it's ROUGH).

[@TheRealAhoy]

The appeal was like a sports team that had seen its best days long gone suddenly coming back in to life and not only doing as good as they used to, but doing even better

[@Turk_2023]

There were still a ton of great matches

[@Rschr101]

Not reading all that😂

[@tjjordan4207]

Russo's time in WCW is proof that he needed to be kept in check, which is more than likely what happened during his time in the WWF. It's like how Zack Snyder needs to be kept in check when it comes to his movies. When it's 300 or Watchmen, he has people backing him up to turn out a good product. But when he's fully in charge like BvS, Army of the Dead, or Rebel Moon, you can see that he doesn't think things through.

[@DiversityJackson]

Everyone needs to be kept in check in any business. That isn't exclusive to russo. Russo failed in wcw because he was measured by an unrealistic standard. People thought wcw would draw a 5.0 overnight just based off a writer change, that's silly and foolish. The rock returning didn't boost wwe ratings to some astronomical number.

[@muhammadwahyuhidayat21498]

Cultaholic,Make 10 Horrifying Maulers WWE Moments in history. Thanks and greetings from Indonesia.

[@mringram]

Yep

[@jrbaxterstockman548]

Do you want Jim Cornette react to your contents? Because that's how you get Jim Cornette reacting to your content

[@stingrey1571]

Sorry, there is a glaring problem with this video. NO BROs MENTIONED!!!!

[@Unitenotfight]

Yes, by my calculations, and confirming with a Steiner, a 15:43 length video should have at least 162 bros

[@NaffyNJD]

Ok comment section, what TV show would you chose for Russo to use as inspiration? My choice is UK Robot Wars 😁

[@johnharvelhines9803]

Easily the most overhated figure in wrestling history. Possibly the most successful writer there’s ever been in wrestling that got more eyes on WWF, WCW, and TNA when he was there. Man created the Attitude Era for goodness sake! He deserves his flowers

[@nhd6128]

People who shoot themselves in the foot rarely get the credit they deserve.. he ruined what he had at WWF & imploded WCW 😂

[@ananyaraizada7657]

​@@nhd6128 let's be honest wcw was already ruined before Russo's arrival. Finger poke of doom was the final nail in the coffin according to me. Hogan turning back to red and yellow merely delayed the inevitable.

[@johnharvelhines9803]

99.9% of people that say that did not watch WWF or WCW live back then and just say that because hating on Russo is the popular thing and seems like the general consensus. He got the ratings up for Nitro when they were head to head with Raw when it was white hot. Saying he killed WCW is just eye roll worthy at this point. And how’d he ruin what he had in WWF?

[@TheRealAhoy]

He didn't kill wcw, general malaise did. Ted Turner changed the wcw mindset in 95 with one objective, to put WWF and Vince out of business. With that not only not happening but actually acting as a catalyst for WWF to get it's finger out and become more successful than it ever had been, they had no other objective. Ted Turners entire philosophy was throw money around demanding results, there was never any other kind of leadership. Russo was just the latest in a long line of examples of that. There was no heart in the company.

[@PrecursorOrb1]

Ask Bart Gunn, ask Owen Hart, ask Roddy Piper, ask Cornette if Russo isn’t hated enough

[@Venemofthe888]

I actually dont blame Russo for leaving after being burnt out and frustrated. He missed his family, was writing for 2 tv shows without a break or payrise and his boss thought hiring a nanny would help? I think Russo did the right thing for him in the situation and if anyone was in the same situation i think most of us would have done the same

[@kingoneil4644]

What if Tyson doesn't appear on wwf

[@WesleyWilkins-qf2ky]

That means he wouldn’t haven’t bit Holyfield’s ear because that’s why he was free to appear because of the suspension

[@attiepollard7847]

​@@WesleyWilkins-qf2kyI think we would have found someone else who was the more controversial in life and send them to WrestleMania

[@WesleyWilkins-qf2ky]

@attiepollard7847 OJ?? Lol

[@jerryjanik480]

My big wrestling conspiracy theory is Vince Russo and Jim cornette are the same person

[@BigDic-qz8su]

Vince god gave me my talent jim why would he do that dies he hate us

[@someguy510bayarea]

Let’s not forget, Russo would blow off his kids baseball games to pitch ideas to McMahon, even staying outside of his office until 9-10PM and he played to the internet marks for their approval, at the time. McMahon took the one of out 99 other horrible ideas and polished it. Russo didn’t want to learn about the business, even he admitted he based crash TV off of the Jerry Springer show. Also, if you ever want to see Vince Russo’s other ideas, b*tch Slap, which was a play off of Glow. Jesus Christ! His idea for a wrestler was homeless Heather. No, I’m not joking. Along with Britney Shears. Again, I’m not joking. He claimed he based this “off of his teenage love for Glow.” Russo was 25 in 1986 and Glow premiered in 1986.

[@kevinlee9929]

@@someguy510bayarea "McMahon took the one of our 99 other horrible ideas and polished it" This is BS and the narrative that needs to stop

[@Caseycarlo]

When is the next weirdest episode?

[@dcabral00]

A pinch of salt in your meal may bring out the flavors, but a ton of salt will ruin the meal.

[@Swerveshow]

REAL STORY: He quit WWF, WCW gave him 1 million to comeback. -The End

[@CantRead1]

Russo was Gen Z before Gen Z. Always saying "Bro"

[@badonkeykong7506]

Polarizing implies that people both love and hate him, does anyone like Russo?

[@chrismcclure4264]

Where is the weirdest episode series?

[@FludeVsLife]

Bro.

[@PlatinumRoseLady]

So Vince lost Russo because Vince was cheap. And Vince lost Bret Hart because.. he was cheap. ... Does anybody else see a pattern here. When it comes to Russo himself, I'd call him an immature, petty, mean-spirited, backbiting snake.... But I like snakes.

[@lastdayonearthmysteryman4849]

Maybe Tony Khan will hired Vince Russo so AEW will die!

[@attiepollard7847]

We all know Tony Khan is stupid but he's not super stupid to hire Vince Russo

[@lastdayonearthmysteryman4849]

@@attiepollard7847 Are we sure about that he hired the young bucks?