Mythology: The Tragedy That Is Vince Russo

[LimeFlavored]

By DJ “Lime Flavored” Allen

VINCE RUSSO IS AN ASSHOLE

Writer’s Note: This was a column requested posted in the ideas forum. While the ideas and comments in this column are completely mine, I am writing this in direct response to the request, not just because I felt like ranting. Thank you.

“I’m sorry Mr. Bischoff, you’re fired.”

What in the blue hell was Ted Turner/Time Warner thinking? I’ll tell you the two things that led to this decision that Turner should be looking back on and thinking “damn I was a fucking moron”: WCW wasn’t #1 in the ratings anymore and a recently departed WWE employee was over padding his resume. The man in question: Vince Russo.

We all know that the creative team for WWE is vastly deeper than one man. It is common knowledge that Vince McMahon gives the go ahead on any angle that happens within in the ring. Sometimes the McMahons take a more active role in the building of angles than normal, which can often eclipse anything else the writers are working on. Very rarely is an idea given free reign within the confines of the WWE and though we cannot be sure, there are more than a few of us that believe that Vince almost never does this.

So, knowing all that, how does someone like Vince Russo take the credit for the Attitude Era to the point that they claim they were the one responsible for the whole thing? Vince Russo did just that when he came on WCW television and claimed to be the God among men in the wrestling industry. What was the result of this? Crash TV some called it, though the true meaning of that didn’t become clear until the moment we saw Shane McMahon in the WCW ring.

Now, I fully realize that the “attack Russo” request had more to do with his current run in TNA, but in order to understand just how monumentally Russo sucks, one must start back at the beginning. I present to you: the end of his WWE run.

Vince Russo and butt buddy Ed Ferrera (note how the butt buddy gets zero press for anything while Russo hogs all the credit) were supposedly instrumental in WWE retaking the ratings lead against WCW with angles including the Austin vs. McMahon battles and D-Generation X. Even though things were flying high for them, all of a sudden Vince signs a contract with WCW citing a heavier work load for himself and Ferrera in WWE. So, when the going gets tough, Vince Russo cuts and runs.

Debuting in WCW with Ferrera, Russo had a slight ratings bump up with WCW getting the more “edgy” style that WWE was using at the time, which Russo fully takes credit for. There are a plethora of other half assed, retarded, and asinine things that happened in WCW during the “Russo in charge” run that lent itself to the ratings fall that ended up killing WCW. Among those are the wielding of the WCW Heavyweight Championship by David Arquette and Vince Russo (devaluing that championship immeasurably), less wrestling and more backstage (which Vince Russo once stated that in the future, professional wrestling wouldn’t have any wrestling going on at all), and the lowest common denominator angle employing Oklahoma (a jab at Jim Ross’s persona and Bell’s Palsy). All of this led to a downfall in WCW ratings and his eventual release from WCW all together.

Bischoff and Russo were then teamed up to give the younger WCW talent a bigger stake in the company’s on screen occurrences by rebooting WCW into a more streamlined/modern look and feel. This ended up being a total waste of time because the ratings continued to fall and the young talent got it in their heads that the “pay your dues” portions of their careers didn’t need to happen. Russo was eventually let go after burying Hulk Hogan in WCW on screen (figuratively) and eventually he went back to WWE (at or around the WCW Invasion angle).

Vince Russo’s idea for the WCW portion of the Invasion was to have WCW restart with the bigger names that Vince was initially missing in the first one (which is why it failed so horribly). When Vince McMahon listened, all he heard was WWE getting put in the second seat and didn’t want to go back into the throng of the Attitude Era (partly because the company was doing better now out of that era). Vince Russo was let go and eventually found his way into TNA.

Here is where things really chafe my ass. Vince Russo came in to TNA and tried doing things the same damn way that he always had (during a time when TNA was surviving on weekly PPVs instead of free shows). He’s been on screen numerous times and has formed several factions in his time on screen, including a group tastelessly called SEX (Sports Entertainment Xtreme). Behind the scenes, Vince Russo has been one of the head writers (or THE head writer) since he’s been off the screen, which had led to TNA becoming what WCW was at the end of its run. This marked a really low point in TNA because WCW failed for a reason and the IWC (Internet Wrestling Community) started to really hammer TNA for going this direction.

Vince Russo is currently on the booking staff but is not in the driver’s seat as far as determining the company’s current direction. Thank your fictional supreme being for that one. He’s recently converted to Christianity (or reconverted, or rediscovered Jesus, or found Jesus in a Starbuck’s in Queens or something like that) so the “Crash TV” approach is something he doesn’t want to do anymore. With Hulk Hogan on board in TNA and the two of them not sitting on good terms from their last meeting, Russo might be finally clean enough to do some good rather than the same old crap he has been doing.

On a personal level, for me, Vince Russo is a disgusting human being. Any credit for what is currently happening in TNA can hardly go to Russo because he isn’t the man with the final call. Booking works in teams (this I know for a fact) and Russo is part of a larger group that has a bigger vision for TNA than simply putting out the same drivel as WWE. Russo has been reigned in and despite “Born Agains” constantly being forgiven for everything in their past, I won’t forgive Russo for destroying WCW or for the Attitude Era. If he wants credit, he gets it… credit is not the right word, though.

Anyone want to defend Russo? Until proven otherwise, whenever he isn’t in charge things go better for the company he is working with. The man wanted to get rid of the wrestling portion of professional wrestling (I am fairly certain that might still be a goal of his, too). I, for one, am hoping that Russo’s firing is part of Hogan’s new plan for TNA because the man is a cancer.

If you thought this could be worse than what I wrote, it could be. I toned it down significantly because a lot of my angst has to do with things that aren’t directly related to what I mentioned above. Instead of getting into the whole matter, I stuck to a defined line and walked it. Hopefully, you all get the meaning that Russo isn’t different, he’s just not in control anymore.

LESSONS FROM MYTHOLOGY

All your Spam belong to me.

Think on it.

Friend me on Facebook! Click here! It’s a new experience.

[Super Chrisss]

As a fan who does not know too much about WCW, this was quite interesting. I heard stories and read Wikipedia, but I never knew the guy was that dumb.

When I heard that Russo's job was on the line upon Hulk Hogan's arrival in TNA, I felt bad for the guy. Now, I hope he gets canned before he bankrupts a company that I am quite fond of.

Well done man.

[anonymous]

Please read here before reading this. This column was the original and you won't understand what I'm doing otherwise:


http://www.lopforums.com/showthread.php?t=4014

By Anne "Nony" Mouse

VINCE RUSSO IS A LOVELY CHAP


Writer’s Note: This was a column requested posted in the ideas forum. While the ideas and comments in this column are completely mine, I am writing this column just because I felt like ranting. Fuck you.

“I’m sorry Mr. Bischoff, you’re fired.”

I can see exactly what in the blue hell Ted Turner/Time Warner were thinking? I’ll tell you the two things that led to this decision that Turner should be looking back on and thinking “damn I was a fucking genius”: WCW wasn’t #1 in the ratings anymore and a recently departed WWE employee was giving a much more impressive resume. The man in question: Vince Russo.

We all know that the creative team for WWE isn't only one man. It is common knowledge that Vince McMahon doesn't give the go ahead on every angle that happens within in the ring. The McMahons don't take an all-consuming role in the building of every angle, which gives time for anything the writers are working on. Sometimes an idea given free reign within the confines of the WWE and though we cannot be sure, there are more than a few of us that believe that Vince always does this.

So, knowing all that, how does someone like LimeFlavoured not let Vince Russo take the credit for the Attitude Era to the point that they claim they were the one responsible for the whole thing? Vince Russo did just that when he came on WCW television and claimed to be the God among men in the wrestling industry. What was the result of this? EPIC TV we all called it, though the true meaning of that didn’t become clear until we all look back and think of the awesome memories.

Now, I fully realize that the “defend Russo” thought in my head was only because I'm drunk and bored, but in order to understand just how monumentally Russo rules all, one must start back at the beginning. I present to you: the end of his WWE run.

Vince Russo and butt buddy Ed Ferrera (note how the butt buddy lets Russo have the credit- clearly he knows that Russo was the brains of it all) were instrumental in WWE retaking the ratings lead against WCW with angles including the Austin vs. McMahon battles and D-Generation X. Even though things were flying high for them, all of a sudden Vince signs a contract with WCW citing a heavier work load for himself and Ferrera in WWE. So, when the going gets tough, Vince Russo showed his brains by carefully weighing up the options and making his decision.

Debuting in WCW with Ferrera, Russo had a slight ratings bump up with WCW getting the more “edgy” style that WWE was using at the time, which Russo fully takes credit for. There are a plethora of other brilliant, intelligent and spectacular things that happened in WCW during the “Russo in charge” run that nearly managed to stop the ratings fall that ended up killing WCW. Among those are the wielding of the WCW Heavyweight Championship by David Arquette and Vince Russo (Fuck, that title sucked), less wrestling (helping teach stars to promo and engaging them more) and more backstage (which Vince Russo once stated that in the future, professional wrestling wouldn’t have any wrestling going on at all (like that awesome South Park episode! Did you see it?! Wouldn't that be awesome irl?!!?! OMG!?!?!! I'd love that!!1!!), and the hilarious angle employing Oklahoma (a jab at Jim Ross’s fat, overrated ego). All of this failed to stop a downfall in WCW ratings and his unfair release from WCW all together.

Bischoff and Russo were then teamed up to give the younger WCW talent a bigger stake in the company’s on screen occurrences by rebooting WCW into a more streamlined/modern look and feel. This ended up being a great experiment because even though the ratings continued to fall, the young talent got it in their heads that the “pay your dues” portions of their careers didn’t need to happen and became stronger individuals who could fight for their spots. Russo was eventually let go after stopping Hulk Hogan hogging the limelight in WCW on screen (figuratively) and eventually he went back to WWE (at or around the WCW Invasion angle).

Vince Russo’s idea for the WCW portion of the Invasion was to have WCW restart with the bigger names that Vince was initially missing in the first one (I mean, that would've been fucking awesome) When Vince McMahon listened, all he heard was WWE getting put in the second seat and didn’t want his precious little ego hurt at the idea of the WWE failing (partly because the company was now the Vince McMahon show). Vince Russo was let go and eventually found his way into TNA.

Here is where things really arrouse my penis. Vince Russo came in to TNA and tried doing things the same damn way that he always had (during a time when TNA was still learning the ropes he was using a tried and tested method to help). He’s been on screen numerous times and has formed several factions in his time on screen, including a group amusingly called SEX (Sports Entertainment Xtreme). Behind the scenes, Vince Russo has been one of the head writers (or THE head writer) since he’s been off the screen, which had led to TNA becoming what WCW was at its best moments. This marked a really great point where I started watching TNA because i watched WCW for the same reason and the IWC (Internet Wrestling Community) all started to jump onto the anti-Russo bandwagon for no reason at all. (Seriously, why the fuck does everyone share the same view in the IWC?! You're all like fucking robots half the time).

Vince Russo is currently on the booking staff and he's in the driver’s seat as far as determining the company’s current direction. Worship your fictional supreme being for that one. He’s recently converted to Christianity (or reconverted, or rediscovered Jesus, or found Jesus in a Starbuck’s in Queens or something like that) so the “Crash TV” approach is something he doesn’t want to do anymore. This is fair enough and I respect Vince for changing. He's like the HBK of creativity. With Hulk Hogan on board in TNA and the two of them hopefully letting bygones be bygones, Russo might be finally clean enough to do some good in different ways to what he's done before.

On a personal level, for me, Vince Russo is a saintly human being. Any credit for what is currently happening in TNA can go straight to Russo because he isn’t the man with the final call but, he still has a HUGE say in it. Booking works in teams (like gang-rape only with more swearing) and Russo is one of the leaders of a larger group that has a bigger vision for TNA than simply putting out the same drivel as WWE. Russo has been reigned in recently and if TNA ever wants to be getting higher ratings, they need to sort that out. If he wants credit, he gets it. Simply by being awesome.

Anyone want to attack Russo? Until proven otherwise, whenever he isn’t in charge things get boring and stale for the company he was working with. The man wanted to get rid of the wrestling portion of professional wrestling (Just like it was in that IMMENSE episode of South Park). I, for one, am hoping that Russo’s hiring as "head writer" is part of Hogan’s new plan for TNA because the man is a genius.

If you thought this could be better than what I wrote, it could be. I pretty much copied Lime Flavoured column which is why I didn't number this piece. I just wanted to defend my man and instead of getting into the whole matter, I copied and pasted the piece and edited it. Hopefully, you all get the meaning that Russo is awesome and noone should claim otherwise.

LESSONS FROM MYTHOLOGY

Booker T and Mark Henry having gay sex.

Think on it.

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