Vince Russo in a popemobile. David Arquette, WCW champion. Hell, Vince Russo, WCW champion. Mike Awesome tossing Kanyon off the side of the "Triple Decker Cage" that was made famous in the WCW film Ready to Rumble. No, none of these moves really showcase just how shockingly BAD Vince Russo was as a booker in WCW. In fact, it's in damaging one of WCW's most groundbreaking relationships where Russo actually takes the cake for shock and awe. http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xyflq_jushin-liger-vs-juventud-guerrera_sport WCW's relationship with New Japan Pro Wrestling brought us the WCW/New Japan supershows, Kensuke Sasaki and Masa Chono (and more) on American television, and (most importantly) the New World Order. However, by 1999, WCW's relationship with New Japan Pro Wrestling allowed Juventud "The Juice" Guerrera to defeat Jushin "Thunder" Liger for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship via a bottle of tequila being broken over Liger's head. New Japan didn't honor the finish in the title's lineage, the match severely damaging WCW's relationship with New Japan. There's those who believe that Vince Russo was sent as an emissary by Vince McMahon to bury WCW forever. If that were true, it would likely be much less shocking than any great number of his shockingly terrible booking decisions while in WCW.
Besides having been an independent professional wrestling manager for a decade, Marcus Dowling is a Washington, DC-based writer who has contributed to a plethora of online and print magazines and newspapers writing about music and popular culture over the past 15 years.
