There is nothing that PISSED ME OFF MORE than people laughing at my business—the WRESTLING BUSINESS. People were ALWAYS looking down their noses at professional wrestling, even long before I became a part of it in November 1991. “It was silly, stupid, corny, campy, UNBELIEVABLE. That sh*t could only happen in WRESTLING.” That’s what I would always hear.
Honestly, it never bothered me when I was just a fan like everybody else, but when it became my profession . . . I started taking it personally. Unfortunately, at that time–NO DOUBT–the WWF was bringing it upon themselves. Come on, bro, Mantaur, Freddie Joe Floyd, the Goon, TL Hopper, and of course “WHO”!!! The show in the mid-nineties was a step below “Sesame Street.”
When I became the Head Writer of WWE RAW, sometime around late 96’, or early 97’, I vowed that I would NEVER allow the television viewer to laugh at or mock our product. So . . . Wrestling GREW UP. It became a show that INTELLIGENT PEOPLE could actually watch. Ed Ferrara and I called it a “thinking man’s show .” And it was. Compelling Characters, intriguing storylines, and cliffhangers; if you missed a week—you were going to miss “something,” hence the moniker “Must See TV .”
Man, we had such a great run during the “Attitude Era” what a great ride. And EVERYBODY INVOLVED played a significant role in its success—all those in front and behind the cameras. I make a point of saying that as for YEARS, my critics have claimed that “Russo loves to take all the credit .”What absolute BULL SHIT. Go read my first book, “Forgiven,” which I wrote 20 years ago, I give the proper credit to EVERYONE employed by WWF at the time.
From a writing and producing standpoint—we took everything we did very seriously. We wanted to assure that the audience actually and truly BELIEVED that what they were watching was “REAL .”Did we fail at times? Of course, we did—we were human, not flawless. But, nobody worked harder or committed more to the product than me and “Fast” Eddie Ferrara. Then something happened. The writers left. Unfortunately, at that point, the “Bubble” went back to what they knew, and that’s RASSLIN .”We were back to weak characters, elementary storylines, and wrestlers who talk like wrestlers.
From 2000 to 2023, the WWE has seen a decline in ratings EACH AND EVERY YEAR. Go look at the Charts yourself. I’m NOT a Dirt Sheet Writer. I don’t make shit up. The numbers, or facts, are there for everybody to digest. IT BEGINS AND ENDS WITH LOGIC.
All my years of writing, whenever I got “stuck,” I would stop what I was doing and say to myself, “Vince—go back to LOGIC. Start with LOGIC. If this shit what indeed REAL . . . what would happen? That was always my mindset. In today’s wrestling business, it would be easier to find Jimmy Hoffa’s body than LOGIC in a wrestling script. Once again . . . it’s become a joke. Once again . . . people are laughing at it.
Hey, did you hear the one about the three wrestlers and one guy who decided they were going to pull a hostile takeover? Yeah, the only problem was they had NO WEAPONS, and twenty-five guys in a locker room were waiting for them. Guess they didn’t plan it out. Or, how about a FULL ORCHESTRA OF INSTRUMENTS magically appearing so you can have a “Symphony Of Destruction” match? Does that work for you? Yeah, every major sports arena has pianos, drums, guitars, tambourines, cowbells, and KAZOOS laying around . . . somewhere.
What, I’m being picky? No, I’m a casual fan, an ordinary fan, a television viewer, because that is what they are ALL SAYING if they are even watching this abomination of a show . . . which they’re not. Bottom Line? Insult your audience, and they laugh at you. And, once they’re done laughing . . . they turn you off. Yeah, professional wrestling needs to grow up. But is that even possible when CHILDREN THEMSELVES are running it? That’s another column for another time.
- When “John Wick 4” Is More Believable Than Pro Westling - April 25, 2023
- Vince Russo Writes: “Fire Vince” - April 17, 2023
- I’ve Only Watched One Full WrestleMania In The Last 25 Years - April 2, 2023
