2. Vince Russo
There has never been a single non-wrestler in the wrestling industry more polarizing, and at times more despised than Vince Russo. Russo began working for the WWF in a creative capacity in 1996, when they were losing badly to WCW in the ratings. With a considerable degree of creative independence, Russo created the foundation of what became known as the Atittude Era. Some of the feuds he created include the Austin vs. McMahon feud, Undertaker vs. Kane, D-Generation X, and the respective rises of the Rock and Mick Foley to the top of the company. His style of wrestling show was centered on more unexpected swerves and turns, increased profanity and edgier storylines, which became to be known as Crash TV. Essentially, all of these new directions meant the end of more traditional wrestling that had been known in the WWF beforehand. After leaving WWF for WCW due to what he suggested was stress over having to write for two shows (RAW
and SmackDown), Russo began using the same strategy that he used in WWF for WCW, only even more of it. However, unlike in WWF, where Vince McMahon shot down some of his lesser ideas, he had fewer hurdles to push his ideas onto WCW TV. As a result, WCW Nitro, which once featured some of the best wrestling on TV, became something different entirely. Non-wrestling segments were longer than the actual wrestling matches. Heel/face turns and title changes were occurring at a very rate of frequency. There were more worked shoot segments, based on the false belief that everyone read wrestling dirt sheets on a daily basis and that everyone knew about insider wrestling terms. Fake retirement angles completely devalued the point of having such a stipulation, considering it used to have such a significant meaning. Moreover, traditional wrestling fans, who believed in things such as the value of championships and wrestling moves, felt like they were watching a different show. Both David Arquette and Russo himself won the WCW Championship (believed to once be the most prestigious wrestling belt in the world, having a direct lineage to the original Big Gold Belt), and Russo lasted in Ric Flairs Figure-4 Leg Lock longer than anyone, devaluing it as a move. In TNA, things were also questionable at best under his tenure. It was alleged that he was the one responsible for the electrified Steel Cage Match at Lockdown 2007. During this match, Brother Devon donned some rubber gloves to protect himself from being electrocuted (behold TNA: The RPG). Also during this match, the fans could be heard chanting Fire Russo. That speaks volumes to that creative decision, though it is possible that he was not the one who came up with it, yet took the fall for it. However, these allegations against Russo are only one side of the story. To understand Russos position, it is best to read his articles; he is a contributor to WhatCultures WWE section, and frequently writes about his experiences as a creative writer for both WWF and WCW.