WWE: 7 Innovations Vince Russo Did That Changed Wrestling

5. He Proved That Sex Does Sell

Russo has never been shy of utilizing women in ways that most bookers in wrestling might be afraid to do. Prior to his influence on the booking, we didn't see matches where women would strip down to bra and panties very often. When thinking about Sable, she was the right woman at the right time to become a huge star was Russo's star continued to rise. The first evening gown match that WWE ever had was Sable vs. Luna at Unforgiven 1998. Russo was likely the brains behind that one. Luna won thanks to some interference, yet after it was over Sable got her revenge. All most of us remember is the shot of Sable in her bra and panties showing a lot of skin when it was over. A few months after that, Sable was in the ring with only black handprints covering her breasts. Two years earlier, before Russo was booking, there was no way that would be on WWE TV. Compare Sable's initial run in WWE up until her 1999 departure to when she came back in 2003. She barely had an impact the second time around. We're not sure what Sable thinks of Russo, but she should be very grateful. There was Debra in 1999 too. She would jump on the apron and distract the opponents of Jeff Jarrett by unbuttoning her top so that she could show off her "puppies" in her bra. The "puppies" craze made her one of the most popular people on the roster. When analysts would look at quarter hour ratings numbers for Raw during the late 1990s, usually the numbers went up when Sable or Debra were out there. Russo's influence proved that sex sold.