10 Times Wrestling Recklessly Abused Kayfabe On-Air
3. Beach Balls-up
Probably the most infamous Vince Russo moment from his incident-filled time in WCW occurred at July 2000's Bash at the Beach pay-per-view.
Four years earlier, the company transformed the entire industry within the very same building as Hulk Hogan turned heel, forming the New World Order alongside Kevin Nash and Scott Hall to run roughshod on the WCW roster in a long-running angle that would briefly propel the Atlanta outfit above Vince McMahon's monolithic WWE.
Russo's mere presence represented the desperation of the company by the time the show rolled around in 2000, having been poached from McMahon in an effort to revive the promotion after it began it's terminal collapse in 1999.
Hogan was again at the centre of controversy, but the twist ending this time took a very real, and expensive turn.
A planned WCW Title contest between 'Hollywood' and Jeff Jarrett failed to materialise, as 'Double J' hit the ring and lay down flat at the behest of authority figure Russo, allowing Hulk to cover him with one foot and win the Championship. Hogan snarled at Russo and cut a scathing promo, before leaving for the night with the belt.
Later on in the broadcast, Russo the character returned to explain his actions, but the work became a shoot as he spat bile at 'The Hulkster' for his 'bullsh*t politics' and pledged that fans would never see that 'big bald son of a b*tch' again. It proved true. Incensed and planning legal action as a result, Hogan and WCW severed ties completely, rendering the whole mess costly as well as inherently stupid.