10 Times KARMA WAS REAL In Wrestling
4. Vince Russo Eats Cherry Pie
Swerve!
It was actually humble pie, Vince Russo ate extra portions, and when he sh*t it out, he called it WCW Nitro.
Vince Russo departed the WWF for WCW in October 1999. Insane as this may read now, it was considered a coup at the time. Russo had redefined the episodic TV model to remarkable success. He knew his way around an angle, and he knew what teenage boys wanted: wild brawls, attitude, and big heaving tiddies.
That acts as a neat segue to Jim Ross, who, gauging his Twitter likes, is also a breast enthusiast. Look, Jim Ross makes it easy to take the piss out of him. He shouldn't be ogling women on commentary or referring to every heel female performer as a "Jezebel". He's prehistoric and his boredom at the AEW product too often removes the fans from it.
But, for f*ck's sake, the man has had a rough life. You can punch at up him, but you can also punch down, and Russo reached the gutter by mocking JR's affliction with Bells Palsy. His writing partner Ed Ferrara parodied Ross in WCW and pulled the worst, ugliest, mean-spirited facial expressions. It was unconscionable.
Thing is, stripped of actual stars, Vince Russo's product was an inscrutable meta shambles, and even the profoundly incompetent WCW was wise enough to grasp it. Relegated to a booking committee before Souled Out 2000, Russo believed he was above it, and walked.
Couldn't have happened to a nicer guy.