The name Vince Russo and articles about Vince Russo certainly might induce groans from a humongous section of the wrestling industry (and thoughts of murderous intent from at least one high-pitched, former tennis racket swinging Kentuckian). But he really is a fascinating figure in the industry.
He is on the surface level, just a man-child whose obsession with proactive-looking women and Jerry-Springer-style television helped WWE get back on their feet. Meanwhile, without the WWE roster and without McMahon playing touch-up for him, that same mentality contributed to the sinking of WCW. He remains seemingly blackballed from the majority of the industry, and in wrestling where you should never say never, suffice to say, no major promotion is risking their credibility on ever hiring Russo in 2021.
8 Real Heat With Piper
Back during the TNA Asylum days, Roddy Piper made an appearance and was far more cantankerous than usual. He even called Russo out for his part in killing his cousin Owen Hart and not taking the wrestling aspect of Sports Entertainment seriously. Whether or not this was a shoot or worked shoot is debatable. However, their beef extends long before this moment as well. Russo was the type of booker that referred to legends like Piper as dinosaurs. Piper also was hot at Russo for trying to help him fix the sinking WCW, but Russo merely dismissed Piper’s ideas.
7 Trained By Johnny Rodz
Growing up in New York, Russo was automatically a lifelong WWE fan. When he started his career, he actually had aspirations of becoming a superstar. He along with his friend Big Vito LoGrasso headed to the famed Gleason’s Gym in Brooklyn to work with WWE Hall Of Famer, Johnny Rodz.
In a tweet confirming this from 2018, Russo wrote that he had his head slammed into a guardrail, which ended his training.
6 Rope Opera
In at least one way, Vince Russo was several decades ahead of his time. During his tenure in WWE, he tried his hand at pitching a TV pilot, “Rope Opera.” The show was going to show the ins and outs of the professional wrestling business. It clearly didn’t get picked up, but it is interesting to note that for all the flack Russo gets, considering the success of shows like Young Rock and Heels, he was ahead of the curve in this endeavor.
5 Getting Hired By Linda
After the advent of Blockbuster Video crushed Russo’s video stores, he would start a radio show with fellow NY wrestling personality, John Arezzi. When that partnership faltered, Russo began his own show - Vicious Vincent’s World Of Wrestling. But running a self-promoted radio show in the early '90s costs money. As he was running out of it, Russo wrote a letter to Linda McMahon looking for an opportunity. Linda obliged and paired Russo up with the then-editor of the magazine.
4 Returned To The WWE
During the height of his career in WWE, Russo took his writing partner and absconded to WCW like thieves in the night, with barely a phone call to Vince McMahon. But despite that horrible way that Vince Russo did business, McMahon still was willing to invite him back into the fold.
In 2002, he came back for the proverbial cup of coffee, pitched a relaunch of the WCW Invasion now that they had the big guns. But he also felt disrespected by Stephanie McMahon and opted to go to TNA instead of taking more money to sit at home in a consulting position.
3 Wanted OJ Simpson At WrestleMania
It’s not a government secret that some of Vince Russo’s booking ideas were completely outlandish. But his ideas for WrestleMania 12 might be on top of the list. With the OJ Simpsons trial having captivated the country, Russo thought it would be a grand idea to not only bring Simpson onto the card but have him actually have a match with Fred Goldman! Goldman was the father of Ron Goldman who was murdered with Nicole Brown, and OJ was arrested and put on trial for the time. Russo added more fuel to the fire by not only pitching a match between the two but suggesting that Goldman be allowed a machete or even a grenade.
2 Created The Brawl For All
One of the biggest dark spots in WWE history is the tough man contest called The Brawl For All.
Not only did Vince Russo create the idea for the idiotic real shoot matches that wound up injuring Savio Vega and irrevocably damaging Dr. Death Steve Williams’ career and reputation, but he thought up the whole idea just to try and prove some point to Bradshaw and shut him up for thinking he was a tough guy. Despite actually training to be a pro, he still felt that wrestling was all a work. However, Russo did believe that the wrestlers would be able to handle real punches and takedowns.
1 Enraged New Japan
When you have a partnership with another promotion, you have to do your best to respect their superstars and titles. Vince Russo didn’t seem to respect the history of New Japan when he booked Juventud Guerrera to beat Jushin Thunder Liger for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Title. The New Japan bookers hadn’t been consulted or approved of the title switch and therefore it was not acknowledged by the company and the belt was switched back shortly after.