Often bashed, yet rarely commended, Vince Russo is one of the most talked about names to ever grace the pro wrestling industry, and he wasn't even a wrestler. A key part of the way in which the then-WWF managed to turn their own ship around, crashing the WCW ocean liner out of the way and ruling the wrestling seas once again in 1998, Russo's 'car crash' style of television was exactly what was needed at the time. Upset over the addition of Smackdown to his workload (for no extra pay), Russo approached Vince McMahon and asked for some more time off to spend with his family. Advising that the writer hire a nanny to raise his kids, McMahon turned down the request, something which didn't sit at all well with Russo. Leaving the WWF, the writer joined WCW, determined to turn that particular company - which was nose diving badly - around. As history would dictate, Russo's time in WCW was horrendous - alienating the core fan base, the man wrote some of the worst shows WCW had ever produced. A later short spell back with WWE in 2002 proved that the company had been better off without Vince Russo, because whilst he did have good ideas during his time there, his writing inadvertently destroyed what was left of WCW, allowing McMahon to gobble up the scraps of his competition.
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.
