10 WWE Stars You Never Knew Were Announcers

5. Vince Russo On WWF New York

Yes, he did appear on TV regularly in the WWF. When the WWF decided to start running a new original weekly syndicated show in January 1997, they started by launching Shotgun Saturday Night as a live (or almost live in some markets) late night show from night clubs with "edgy" content. That fizzled within weeks, and it just became a regular B-show taped before Raw.

Still, the name and format depended on the time slot, the market, and the preferences of the local TV station: Shotgun Saturday Night aired in the aforementioned late night slot, Shotgun and Shotgun Challenge were more family friendly shows that could be aired in any slot, and in international markets, including Canada, it was called Superstars.

In late 1997, one more version was added: WWF New York, which featured commentary customized for the New York market. Initially, they wanted Paul Heyman, but he wouldn't do it. After going on for a while without any real New York flavor on commentary, Vince Russo got the nod, teaming with Jim Cornette.

Really. Honestly, he wasn't that bad. He was no great shakes, but he was fine for the role he was playing. There's probably a good reason he didn't do any other shows, though.

Contributor
Contributor

Formerly the site manager of Cageside Seats and the WWE Team Leader at Bleacher Report, David Bixenspan has been writing professionally about WWE, UFC, and other pop culture since 2009. He's currently WhatCulture's U.S. Editor and also serves as the lead writer of Figure Four Weekly and a monthly contributor to Fighting Spirit Magazine.