12 Misconceptions About WCW You Probably Believe
3. Vince Russo Booked Everything Bad
The ever-outspoken Vince Russo can simultaneously claim responsibility for some of the best WWE television ever and some of the worst over on WCW's end. His first few months with the company from October 1999 onwards were so stunningly rotten that bosses rejected the crash TV style he favoured and decided they'd rather Russo was part of a booking committee rather than sole head writer. He said no, and went to sit at home.
A punishing poverty of rubbish angles, matches that ranged between comically bad to fun watches (there was still talent on the books), and rampant disorganisation sustained with Vinnie Ru on the bench. That isn't on him. WCW was a complete catastrophe of colliding ideas, decision-making by folks who didn't like making decisions (always going to end well!), and a roster bloated by guaranteed contracts who had been mentally checking out for ages before he even leapt over from the WWF.
Also, there's this bizarre sense amongst some that Russo was solely culpable for WCW's worst. Erm...had those fans forgotten the Dungeon Of Doom from the mid-1990s? Complete with Yeti and shockingly poor acting/promos/matches, the DOD was more like 'DUD'. Plus, those cheesier than cheese mini-movies WCW had been producing to hype pay-per-views stretched back to the start of the decade.
Russo was going through creative burnout when he joined WCW. Add to that how chaotic the promotion was anyway and it was a recipe for disaster. Did he come up with countless clangers? Sure, and he'd do so again after returning to the helm post-gardening leave, but Vince isn't guilty for absolutely everything bad in Atlanta.
He was busy reinvigorating the WWF product whilst Hogan warred with the Dungeon Of Doom goof troop.