10 Wrestlers Who Destroyed Their Careers On Live TV

7. Vince Russo - WCW Nitro/Thunder, Weekly, 2000

Ken Kennedy Vince McMahon
WWE Network

Vince Russo was more than entitled to believe his own (pyro and...)ballyhoo in 1999 when WCW reversed the Ted Turner money truck against his house and kept unloading until he agreed to move to Atlanta.

Credited with something of a magic touch after WWE's aggressive upturn in fortunes during the Attitude Era, Russo was brought to WCW without the creative parentage of Vince McMahon. Brave of the company to take a chance, brave of the man to bet on himself. Both brave, both fatally flawed.

Russo damaged his legacy with his writing, but tarnished everything else the second he decided to be an on-screen character as well. As a heel authority figure he exhausted a trope that barely felt tired on the other channel, undermining numerous wrestlers he (seemingly, earnestly) actually wanted to push.

Narrowed down to one moment, Russo's anus horribilis in 2000 peaked with a burial of Hulk Hogan that landed himself and others in legal hot water, but to even do that - but his was a death by 67,000,000 dolla...cuts.

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Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation over 7 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back almost 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 60,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett