Vince Russo is one of the most commonly derided names in all of pro wrestling. It seems a day can't go by without someone sparking up conversation with a friend, or even complete strangers on the internet, about how truly asinine Russo's ideas were when overseeing the creative division in WCW. In the words of the man himself, it's "become cool" to criticise him, similar to how it's become commonplace for music fans to laugh at the likes of Limp Bizkit, secretly jamming out to 'Break Stuff' in their room late at night. The butt of many jokes, Russo nonetheless has to stand up and accept some degree of blame for a lot of the truly horrendous television WCW wheeled out in the latter months of 1999. In the same breath however, wrestling fans should remember that this is the man who helped revolutionise the ailing World Wrestling Federation, writing a lot of TV that started to turn the screw for the company, making millions of dollars in the process. Whether people like him or not, Vince Russo deserves at least some praise for creating some of the most dynamic episodes of wrestling programming that people have ever watched. This article explores the good side of the Russo coin, showing appreciation for some of the genius which helped spark a ton of money coming into company coffers, or even kick started a career.
Lifelong wrestling, video game, music and sports obsessive who has been writing about his passions since childhood. Jamie started writing for WhatCulture in 2013, and has contributed thousands of articles and YouTube videos since then. He cut his teeth penning published pieces for top UK and European wrestling read Fighting Spirit Magazine (FSM), and also has extensive experience working within the wrestling biz as a manager and commentator for promotions like ICW on WWE Network and WCPW/Defiant since 2010. Further, Jamie also hosted the old Ministry Of Slam podcast, and has interviewed everyone from Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels to Bret Hart and Trish Stratus.
