10 Things We Learned From WWE Untold: WCW's Big Bang

9. Vince Russo Gets Hit Hard

Booker T Vince Russo Cage
WWE.com

As usual, ol' Vinnie Russo takes it in the neck from all comers in a WWE-directed history piece. Were you expecting anything else? It's easy to look back on WCW's latter-day misfortunes and claim that Russo was a jumped-up shock TV moron who ran the company into the ground.

Except long time fans know that's not the full story despite his own failings.

This only makes it weirder when Booker T says shows dipped drastically after Russo took the helm. Hmm, not so fast. WCW's televised output had been shocking for a long time before Russo was poached from Stamford. That's why they wanted him in the first place. He was brought in to turn the ship around once an exhausted Bischoff was spent creatively.

Before Russo's (admittedly crap) product tanked things further, WCW was on the slide. 1999 was a ghastly year all round, and that was true before Russo joined the promotion in September.

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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.