Vince Russo
|
|
Vince Russo is one of the most controversial figures in modern North American professional wrestling.
Profile
- Height: 6'2"
- Weight: 220 lbs.
- Birthday: January 24, 1961
- Hometown: New York City, New York
- Other Gimmicks: Vic Venom
Career
Russo came from humble beginnings in Brooklyn, New York, where he managed a video store before becoming involved in wrestling. He wrote to WWE Magazine and eventually from his contact with them became a writer for the World Wrestling Federation and their magazine editor, around 1995. He was known for edgy, controversial storylines involving sexual content, on-camera profanity, swerves or unexpected heel turns, false finishes and worked shoots in matches. This came to be known as "Crash TV."
Russo would come to be head writer for the WWF along with Ed Ferrera. His storylines were helpful in bringing WWF ahead of WCW in the Monday night ratings. However, on October 5, 1999, Russo and Ferrera left the WWF without notice and signed with WCW. Russo and Ferrera came to be known as "The Powers That Be" and instituted drastic changes in WCW programming, employing the same elements as in their WWF storylines. However, without Vince McMahon to oversee their work, their writing often became repetitive; this infuriated some fans.
Ultimately, after planning on booking Tank Abbott, a UFC fighter with little wrestling ability, to win the WCW Title vacated by Bret Hart due to injuries that in fact ended Hart's career, Russo was let go as writer and booker for WCW and replaced by Kevin Sullivan, a longtime wrestler who had retired. Sullivan was not popular with WCW talent and disputes between him and the wrestlers led to one of the largest mass exodus of WCW talent in the history of the company. Chris Benoit, Perry Saturn, Dean Malenko and Eddie Guerrero all left WCW for the WWF during this period, tired of being held down by the backstage politics of WCW. Benoit was even the WCW Champion when he left.
As a result Sullivan was ultimately relieved of his duties and Russo was reinstated as booker along with Eric Bischoff, who was reinstated as president of the company. The idea was that Russo and Bischoff would "remake" WCW into a more modern, streamlined company that would reward the younger talent instead of holding them down. Their strategy imploded, however, as Bischoff and Russo frequently locked horns. Russo was then involved in a very controversial incident with Hulk Hogan. Hogan was booked to lose a match against reigning world champion Jeff Jarrett at Bash at the Beach 2000, and Hogan refused to lose the match and invoked his "creative control" clause in his contract to override Russo. In the end, Jarrett "laid down" for Hogan and Hogan won the belt. Russo, though, would come out later in the broadcast and nullify the result of the match, publicly firing Hogan and restoring the title to Jarrett and setting up a new title match between Jarrett and Booker T. Whether or not the whole incident was a "shoot" (real) or a "work" (storyline) is still debated, but Hogan never resurfaced in WCW.
Russo seemed obsessed with title changes, swerves and everything being a "shoot" with wrestlers often doing unscripted (or supposedly unscripted) interviews and chaotic broadcasts being the norm. Russo even booked actor David Arquette to win the WCW Title and at one point toward the end of his WCW stay even booked himself to be champion. Fans tired of Russo's swerves and he was again relieved of duties in WCW, which soon folded anyway, to be bought up by the WWF. Russo has since briefly worked for WWF (WWE) but was again let go very quickly, and then went on to Total Nonstop Action (TNA), the promotion created by Jeff and Jerry Jarrett. He has since been in and out of that promotion and caused controversy there.
Russo has since become a Born-Again Christian and changed his ways. He has started up his own online Christian ministry called "Forgiven." He touts Forgiven as a practical ministry that simply reminds people of the sacrifice Jesus made.