Vince Russo

Vince Russo (born January 24, 1961) is an American writer, known for working for American professional wrestling companies, most notably the World Wrestling Federation and World Championship Wrestling.^[1] He is currently working as a head writer for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling.

Life Before Wrestling

Russo graduated from the University of Southern Indiana (then known as Indiana State University Evansville) in 1987 with a degree in journalism. He worked for the school newspaper, The Shield, as an assistant sports editor and later as editor-in-chief.^[2]

Russo owned two video stores in Brooklyn, New York^[3] , but would soon go out of business once Blockbuster started to gain popularity.

In the early 90's, Vince Russo hosted a 2-hour FM Radio Program called Vicious Vincent's World of Wrestling every weekend. Russo self-financed the program, and his Co-host was known as the Mat Rat, who spoke in a meek gravely voice to fit the character he portrayed (resulting in the two poking fun at each other during the show). The program accepted phone calls from listeners to chat or answer questions; If Vince didn't like the question or comment, the caller would be "flushed" with a sound clip of a toilet flushing. During the first few months of the program there were no problems, but the shows ultimate failure was due to its own audience; prank callers would call the show on a basis of about 1-2 calls per show and they were usually harmless and quickly forgotten. As the months progressed the pranks had accumulated to almost 90% of the shows phone calls, and it would get to a point where Vicious Vincent would tell the callers to hang up their phone since he would no longer answer calls for the rest of the show. Russo would became extremely agitated at these calls each week and would rant, scream, and sometimes just sigh in frustration. At one point he claimed to have phone tracing equipment and would track down "Yoshi" but the calls still came. Yoshi was a young man who called every week, impersonating the character from the Super Mario world game for Nintendo. Eventually, other pranksters caught on and the show was flooded with pranks. The station had no delay so some cursing and vulgar comments made it to air. On the one year anniversary show, an impostor Heavy-T called in and had the hosts convinced it was the original until he rapped "Every week you listen, it's almost perpetual. Yo Vince, are you and Skull really homosexual?" This incident led to the show being cancelled, after only one year.

World Wrestling Federation/Entertainment

Russo was hired as a freelance writing for WWF Magazine following a letter that he had written to Linda McMahon, and would later become an editor^[3] under the pseudonym of Vic Venom. Bill Watts invited him to booking meetings and they would exchange ideas. He was eventually prompted to the WWF Creative Team in 1996.^[1][2] In that same year, Monday Night RAW hit an all-time ratings low of 1.8, as WCW Monday Nitro (RAW's chief competition), was in the midst of an 84-week winnings-streak against Raw head-to-head (see Monday Night Wars). With WCW eclipsing the WWF, McMahon called upon Russo to make changes to the televised product. Russo would contribute edgy, controversial storylines involving sexual content, on-camera profanity, swerves or unexpected heel turns, frequent face and heel turns, false finishes and worked shoots in matches; soon, this style of booking became known as "Crash TV."

Russo would eventually become head writer for the WWF^[1] along with his friend, Ed Ferrara. With the storylines that Ferrara and Russo created (along with Vince McMahon there to accept and decline ideas), many outsiders felt that Russo was instrumental in putting WWF ahead of World Championship Wrestling in the Monday night ratings during the Attitude era. Notable storylines and characters during Russo's run as head writer include the Stone Cold Steve Austin vs. Mr. McMahon feud, The Undertaker vs. Kane feud, D-Generation X, the rise of The Rock, and the Mick Foley saga. Some of the more notorious storylines during this time, often cited by critics of Russo, include Beaver Cleavage and Mark Henry involved with a transvestite. Russo was able to increase ratings enormously on Raw, bringing the rating from a 1.9 to a 8.1

On October 5, 1999, Russo and Ferrera signed with WCW;^[1] Russo contends that his reason for leaving the WWF was as a result of a dispute with Vince McMahon over the increased workload that he (as well as Ferrara) were facing, with the introduction of the new SmackDown! broadcast.

2002 Return

Russo later returned to WWE, but quickly left after noting that "things weren't the same." It has been speculated that his return (along with his unceremonious demise) in WWE was a "ruse", intentionally conceived from the outset by Russo who simply wanted out of his Turner contract to be able to work with rival organization Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA). Rumor has it that once signed by McMahon (and hence free from his Time Warner contract), the idea he put forward to deliberately outrage McMahon was an entire re-start of the WCW invasion, featuring previously un-signed talent such as Bill Goldberg, Scott Steiner and Bret Hart^[4]; some found this ironic, ae Goldberg and Steiner both went on to sign with WWE in the coming months.

Russo obtained his buyout from his Time Warner contract after his return to WWE. Months later, he was going to work with the upstart World Wrestling All-Stars Promotion as head booker, but ultimately backed out of the role; the first WWA PPV was apparently booked with his ideas prior to his decision to back out.

World Championship Wrestling

Russo and Ferrara attempted to make WCW Monday Nitro similar to RAW, with edgier storylines, more lengthy non-wrestling segments, an increased amount of sexuality on the show, more backstage vignettes, expanded storyline depth, and the utilization of midcard talent in a more effective manner. One of the most notable storylines included the "The Powers That Be" angle, which implied a mysterious, unseen and secret power source whom everyone in WCW were obliged to obey.

They also introduced several WWF-style storylines in WCW, notably holding a tournament for the WCW World Heavyweight title where Bret Hart (after having been underused in WCW for two years) won his first-ever WCW World title.

Problems with Russo's writing

Russo attempted to use the same Crash TV style in WCW that had made him successful in the WWF at an accelerated pace, including constant heel/face turns, retirements, and title changes. Russo and Ferrera often focused on poking fun at the WWF as well.

Russo's writing style created a large turnover in title changes (the WCW World Title changed hands every 0.4 weeks on average under him). Swerves and everything being a "shoot" were heavily emphasized, as wrestlers did supposedly unscripted interviews using "insider" terms that were only recognized by the Internet fanbase and the wrestling community itself and chaotic broadcasts became the norm.

Russo booked actor David Arquette to win the WCW World Title, and at one point toward the end of his WCW stay even booked himself to be champion. Russo justifies Arquette winning the title with the fact that Arquette did not pin a wrestler (he pinned Eric Bischoff), and that it was a realistic event with the intent to gain (albeit failed) publicity. Moreover, Russo claims that his own title win was as a result of a fluke (Goldberg speared him through the cage during a cage match against Booker T, resulting in Russo unintentionally winning the match), and willingly forfeiting the title on the the next WCW Monday Nitro; in an outlandish turn of events, he would broadcast a brain operation he had due to a concussion he sustained in the cage match.^[5]

Russo de-emphasizes the cruiserweight division

Russo began to de-emphasize the cruiserweight division, as well as the luchadors and foreign talent. In the case of the luchadors and foreign talent, he argued that it would be difficult, if not impossible, to get them over with the fans if they could not speak enough English to do a promo. In the cases of some wrestlers, such as Kaz Hayashi and La Parka, Russo would have them do promos in their native language and then use comical subtitles which had nothing to do with what they were actually saying. This was done for comic relief, as the wrestlers would either be squashed or have their match interrupted by an established star. The WCW Cruiserweight Championship itself was devalued as non-wrestlers such as fellow writer Ed Ferrera (as the controversial "Oklahoma"; a parody of commentator Jim Ross) and Daffney were booked into title reigns under Russo's watch.

Firing and Re-Hiring

Days before the live pay-per-view event WCW Souled Out 2000, Russo received two phone calls, one from Bret Hart (then WCW champion) and another from Jeff Jarrett, both saying that they were injured. This required Russo to alter the plans he had in mind for Bret Hart and the then new nWo. Russo and his booking committee sat down to determine what would now happen at Souled Out. One of the ideas included the idea of putting the now vacated WCW Title on the shoot fighter Tank Abbott, a former UFC fighter with little wrestling ability. In an attempt to do something believable, the idea was originally to have a "rumble match" in which Sid Vicious would be an early entrant in the match and would last all the way to the end when Tank Abbott would come into the match and eliminate him with one punch. Russo claims that Abbott may not have held the belt for more than 24 hours if this title change had actually occurred. However, the day after he and his committee came up with the idea, he was removed from the position of head writer and told to start working with something else. Russo declined the offer and left the company, with his immediate replacement being Kevin Sullivan. During this period Russo managed to take the rating from a 2.9 and bring it up to a 3.4. As soon as Russo left the rating went back down to a 2.4 and he stated that he wasn't able to bring those fans back because they kept changing the channel so many times. Three months later, Sullivan was ultimately relieved of his duties and Russo was reinstated as booker, after a three month absence, alongside Eric Bischoff, who had just returned to WCW as well (as a creative director). The idea was that Russo and Bischoff would reboot WCW into a more modern, streamlined company that would reward the younger talent instead of holding them down. Their strategy soon imploded, as Bischoff and Russo frequently locked horns.

Bash at the Beach 2000

Russo was 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, but Hogan refused to lose the match (invoking his contract's "creative control" clause to override Russo), due to Russo's apparent lack of direction for Hogan's character following the planned loss. In the end, Jarrett "laid down" for Hogan, which resulted in Hogan doing a shoot on Russo and scoring the pinfall victory by placing his foot on Jarrett's chest. Russo would come out later in the broadcast and nullify the result of the match, as he publicly fired Hogan and restored the title to Jarrett, which set up a new title match between Jarrett and Booker T.

Whether or not the whole incident was a shoot or a "work" is still a hot debate. As Russo promised, Hogan never resurfaced in WCW and even filed a lawsuit against WCW (which was dismissed in 2002). Russo claims the whole thing was a work (with both Hogan and Bischoff in on the deal), but Hogan was double-crossed by Turner executive Brad Siegel, who didn't want to use Hogan any more due to how expensive Hogan cost per appearance. Hogan claims (in his autobiography, "Hulkamania") that Russo made it a shoot, and Bischoff (in his autobiography, "Controversy Creates Cash") contends that Hogan winning and leaving with the title was a work, but that Russo coming out to fire Hogan was a shoot which led to the law suit filed by Hogan. Bischoff claims that he and Hogan celebrated after the event over the success of the angle, but were distraught to get a phone call saying that Russo interfered unplanned after Hogan left the arena.

The plan was to crown a new champion at Halloween Havoc, only for Hogan to come out afterwards and ultimately win a champion versus champion match. However, after Bischoff and Hogan left the building fifteen minutes after the incident, Russo came out and fired Hogan in a shoot before making a World Title match that night, thus nullifying the plan.

Total Nonstop Action Wrestling

Russo joined Jeff and Jerry Jarrett's TNA promotion as a head booker, but he didn't get to write any of the shows. Russo debuted as the masked wrestler "Mr. Wrestling III". With this gimmick, he helped Jarrett win the NWA World Heavyweight Championship.^[1] Jarrett did not want his help in the storyline and the two became involved in a feud. Russo created his own faction of wrestlers he dubbed Sports Entertainment Xtreme (S.E.X),^[1] recruiting the likes of Glenn Gilberti, Sonny Siaki, B. G. James, Raven, Trinity, and others. S.E.X faced the more traditional TNA wrestlers led by Jeff Jarrett. Eventually Russo would leave his on-screen role and Glenn Gilberti would become the de-facto leader of S.E.X.

2003-2004

Russo returned to TNA yet again and created a new faction of wrestlers led by NWA Champion A. J. Styles. Russo called for S.E.X's disbandment and commanded his new faction for a time. Eventually he was once again written out of storylines after being defeated by Jeff Jarrett during a TNA PPV. In reality, Russo fell out of favor as head booker and never again had any real behind the scenes power. Some time later, Russo would again return to TNA Wrestling strictly as an on-air character, becoming the Director of Authority in the storylines. This time, he was a face, claiming to have changed his ways (which was likely inspired by Russo's real-life conversion to Christianity). Russo would eventually leave this role as well.^[1]

2006-2007

On September 21, 2006, it was announced that TNA President Dixie Carter has hired Russo to be a part of the new TNA Creative Team, replacing Mike Tenay and Scott D'Amore; he would have the duty of booking alongside Jeff Jarrett and Dutch Mantell. Russo is currently the lead creative member, and will ultimately make the decisions regarding TNA bookings. Recently there has been a lot of unhappiness in the TNA locker room at the current direction of iMPACT under the booking of Russo, Jarrett and Mantell. Criticism has also come from such respected figures as former OVW booker Jim Cornette. Since Russo's introduction, fans have seen a heavy emphasis on gimmick matches, numerous face and heel turns, backstage skits and a reduction in matches each week on iMPACT.

Born-Again Christian

After leaving TNA in 2003, Russo became a Born Again Christian^[1] and formed an online Christian ministry, which quickly folded. He immediately returned to wrestling, forming the Ring Of Glory independent promotion, which immediately folded after only one show. He also wrote one book, Forgiven: One Man's Journey from Self-Glorification to Sanctification (ISBN 978-1550227048), and has expressed intentions on writing another book.

In January 2006, Vince appeared on Trinity Broadcasting Network's (TBN) flagship program Praise The Lord hosted by Steve "Sting" Borden and featuring fellow guest Shawn Michaels. During the appearance he denounced things he's booked in the past. Russo returned to TBN on April 26, 2006, to share his testimony with inmates of the Louisiana State Penitentiary in Angola, Louisiana. For this he was joined by Kenneth Copeland, former NFL tight end, now minister Mike Barber, and actor/wrestler/producer Tom "Tiny" Lister.

Trivia

• Russo is featured on the cover of The Death of WCW along with Kevin Nash, Scott Hall, Eric Bischoff and Hulk Hogan, and although the book portrays him in a negative light, he's been known to autograph copies if approached.

• His booking of Jushin Liger losing and regaining the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship on WCW Monday Nitro is not recognized by New Japan Pro Wrestling in the title lineage.^[6]

• Used an instrumental version of Black Sabbath's "Iron Man" as entrance music in WCW.

• He is an avid fan of the San Francisco Giants and would occasionally wear a Giants jersey on WCW TV.

• Briefly operated the CD Warehouse store in Marietta, GA during his first stint with TNA.

• Russo and Ferrara were both interviewed in volumes 1-3 of the DVD interview series, Pro Wrestling's Ultimate Insiders.

References & Sources

1. ^ ^{a b c d e f g h} Eric Cohen. Vince Russo - Biograhy of Vince Russo the Former Head Writer of WWF Monday Night Raw & WCW Nitro. About.com. Retrieved on 2007-03-27.
2. ^ ^{a b} Anthony Pate. Alum trades S.E.X. for Glory. The Shield. Retrieved on 2007-03-28.
3. ^ ^{a b} Ryan Nation. Review: Russo asks to be Forgiven. SLAM! Wrestling. Retrieved on 2007-03-27.
4. ^ Scott Keith (2004). Wrestling's One Ring Circus: The Death of the World Wrestling Federation. Citadel Press. ISBN 0-8065-2619-X. 
5. ^ Russo's comments sourced from the February 17, and February 24, 2006 editions of Wrestlecrap radio, http://wrestlecrap.com/wrestlecrapradio.html, downloaded January 5th, 2007.
6. ^ http://www.njpw.co.jp/prof/liger.html

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