10 Wrestlers Who Are The Worst In The World At Exactly ONE Thing

3. Vince Russo: Booking

Shane McMahon Punches Thumb
WWE Network

Vince Russo "got it" for a while.

With Steve Austin at the centre of his fictional universe, his crazed, stunt-heavy approach worked. And then it didn't.

The WWF of 1999 was lame goth-haunted swerve-oriented nonsense, and with no Vince McMahon in place to rein him in, he was significantly worse in WCW. His meta philosophy alienated wrestling fans, and he is oblivious to this day, with searing hypocrisy, about how the "smart mawks" have "ruined" "the biz" by creating an echo chamber. He booked specifically for them, creating a niche product that differs only to how wrestling functions now in that there's an enthused audience these days. It's smaller, but he is primarily responsible for it shrinking.

He put an entire mainstream operation on a f*cking pole, and funnily enough, it couldn't bear the weight of his inscrutable bullsh*t.

He essentially booked every programme like a shocked kick-out face had NXT Black and Gold continued until 2034: just relentlessly predictable unpredictability on top of asinine gimmick matches in a landscape in which everything - the integrity of characters, the prestige of championships, storyline continuity - meant less than nothing.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!