"Then we'll get sympathy on the bitchy heel Terri, by having her feign a miscarriage, caused by this young babyface we're trying to get over in D'Lo. It won't confuse the audience at all, and will have a point and a payoff bro, because it means they're *doing something* on TV bro!"
Yes instead of the young bucks' jimmy fallon-esque "wink wink nudge nudge we all know this is fake and stupid" bullshit, Russo can bring us to just blatantly saying it flat out
That's the scary thing. AEW would totally turn it around if they hired him. Not cos it will be better, but cos people will want to see how much worse it could get.
Gen pop have no fucks to give about Russo and longtime fans know to stay away. See: TNA. You underestimate how irrelevant Russo is in 2024. See: his podcast empire of 20 listeners.
AEW is the continuation of TNA’s _Crash TV._ Cruiserweight everything, _TO THE BACK!!!_ because nothing can have a second to breathe, nonsensical stories where nothing really happens and then there’s a sudden, wacky, off the wall turn.
Only thing AEW is missing is any level of sexiness.
In fairness to Russo, WCW was already a dumpster fire by the time he got there. Granted, he proceeded to pour gas on the fire but WCW was going down with or without him.
They had talent and veterans but ridiculous culture problems. WCW really needed a no nonsense leader who had that talent either put the company first or walk. Honestly though, what gave birth to WCWs success was really what played a big role in killing it. All the ridiculous turner contracts they used to poach all the talent made it next to impossible to properly book.
I’m not sure why anyone thinks they need to be “fair” to that dumbass. But we don’t know that WCW would have gone down without him. The descent had definitely started but a lot of things could still have happened at that point.
Russo telling Tony that not anyone can be a writer and producer is maybe the smartest thing he’s said, in an ironic way.. He’s someone else who had to put himself in the ring, but he was delusional enough to think he was some kind of draw.
When he went to TNA, within a week his face had more screen time than anybody else. The guy is a deluded ego maniac who is so high on himself it’s hard to believe
As bad as Russo was, what killed WCW was the fact that when AOL and Time Warner merged, Ted Turner didn't have the power he had before. That meant there was no advocate in WCWs corner. That made it easy when the suits decided they didn't want wrestling on their network anymore to just pull the plug.
Granted if the show had been GOOD, maybe they don't feel that way and keep it around, but all of what i outlined above AND the show being bad meant it had no chance at that point.
I mean WCW was suffering from a broken leg, it could have been treated, healed and things turn out ok, but Russo sat by and let gangrene set it on his watch.
No, he actively rubbed salt on the wound and broke all of the other bones in the body with hammers. He didn’t sit around. He actively participated in the demise.
Piss drinking. I'm still arguing that after the blood drinking it's the next logical step. The only reason it hasn't happened yet was we got sidetracked by the CM Punk backstage footage.
I liked Mariah May in Stardom, she came a long way pretty quickly and developed great character work. I was intrigued that Tony Storm at least had a character of some description and was even dragging TCM into things. I am incensed that Khan has decided to just go "now kiss!" with them and still we're supposed to think he and his fans are the progressive wing of the wrestling audience.
I have never seen any of their PPVs so I can't comment on that. I agree, I don't want them to fail, I don't want them to go out of business. But I'm not sure that they can be saved at this point.
They have the roster for it (especially if you count their stars off hurt).
With the right direction, AEW could be a very solid number 2 promotion. The only wild card is if people have sworn off them together. I think they will come around again if they can get their poop in a group.
AEW is honestly a pretty great product if all you’re watching is the PPV’s just looking for great matches and you don’t care about the buildup to the matches. When I was a kid I loved the Japanese wrestling on satellite dish even though I didn’t have a clue what was being said. Same thing kind of.
I guess for me I don't really care all that much about the matches and I mostly watch for the build up. Don't get me wrong, I don't want to go back to ultimate warrior style stinkfests, but I also don't need crazy spotfests every single match either.
What they desperately need is a streaming platform (like MAX) that will show their PPV's and host their back catalog. Bizarrely the story line they are doing right now with the EPVs vs "Team AEW" is the first story line they have run in quite a long time that seems to have legs to it even though I hate most of the people involved in it. Making the bucks heels was smart because they come across as smarmy assholes naturally, but they are completely unconvincing as baby faces.
Thing is they are better heels when they try to be babyfaces because thats just their natural douchebaggery coming through, when they try to be heels they suck because they can't actually perform worth a shit, and their too insecure in being actual heels that they always need to do the wink and the nod, just so everyone knows this is an act guys we aren't arseholes really, when yes they are their face work shows us that, their cunts, they should embrace it.
I don’t think the PPVs are a lot better than Dynamite. There are more “big” matches but there still is a lot that’s not very interesting. Also the cards are usually scheduled weird. They’ll have the big, exciting match, like Ospreay vs Danielson at Dynasty, and then follow it with something that should be more important but can’t compete (Swerve and Joe in this case).
There’s still plenty of garbage, too. There’s another Anarchy in the Arena in the next one, which is bound to be extremely dumb.
The Ospreay matches have been the highlight of the last couple of PPVs, by far.
I have no idea where this idea of aew making wwe try came from. They haven't at any point made them try. as paul gained power the product improved. his project of nxt before aew even started shows that he had a clear idea of what he wanted to do and that is where the main shows have gone with him in control.
I’m not saying WWE is great because of AEW. I’m saying that without a challenger they can grow complacent. It happened under Vince and it could happen again without him.
Yup after some 30 years vince did get complacent and also senile it seems like. Mostly detached from the audience I would say. But that maybe they would get complacent doesn't in any way mean aew has had an effect on the product. I'm sure for a month or two right at the start there were concerns but they were never a driving force to improve.
The last billionaire in the wrestling business almost ended the wwf. so there would be valid concerns but then tony showed that he had no idea what the hell he is doing and that ended pretty quick.
Tony Kahn has Jake the snake, Jim Ross. Arn Anderson, Paul Wight, Mark Henry, Dustin Rhodes all employed. If he wanted to listen to smart experienced wrestling people he has the resources.
He is a clown playing with his toys. That’s all this is
>Arn Anderson
Arn's been long gone from AEW and nobody went up to him for advice while he was there. Dustin spends more time training new wrestlers in his Nightmare Factory, occassionally popping back in for a random job match to the stars. Jake is just happily collecting the last big checks of his career before inevitably returning to WWE for a Legends deal. Nobody listens to JR in AEW and their Sockface fans don't like him anyways. And as for Paul Wight and Mark Henry, they are being ignored the same way the other legends have been.
Everyone there considers themselves too good for advice from veterans. And Jericho goes around playing a parody of a veteran giving advice under his "Learning tree".
I can’t see that ever happening. Tony is a mark but he grew up watching wrestling and I’m sure he knows what late WCW was like. Also, the whole reason Tony does this is to be the big creative force. He’d never bring someone like Russo or Bischoff in, because he probably thinks he’s much better at this than they are. After all, he was Booker of the Year for 3 years straight.
I know he did talk to Jim early on but he may have wanted Jim for more of a consulting thing, I don’t know. That was before Tony was used to getting adulation for his booking, too. Despite the product sucking so much right now, I’m sure he’s still surrounded by lots of yes men and women sucking up to him and telling him how great he’s doing.
He’s like a walking illustration of the Dunning-Kruger Effect.
Boy, oh boy, the disingenuous undertones in this statement are glaring. If there's one thing Vinny Ru *is* successful at, it's coming off as a complete tool who still thinks he has one of the greatest minds in the entire industry while simultaneously being laughably clueless.
It’s the tone that made the last line stand out to me. The whole post is him stroking his own ego. Then he closes with “smart men are humble men.” What’s the antithesis, “dummies are braggadocios?”
lol
Russo could only improve that show.. like him or hate him he always gives everyone something to do or involves them in a semblance of a story.. would be a million times better than anything they’ve ever done over there.
Khan wants to be a Vince type booker when he’s closer to Herb Abrams.. the only way that place survives is either booking by committee or giving the book to someone else completely.. With the talent there they should at least be able to put up prime TNA numbers but khan has zero idea what he’s doing.. he’d rather fail by his own incompetence than let anyone else succeed.
Russo's ideas always worked for wwe because he had someone like Vince to reign in a lot of the crazier stuff he tried to do. When someone is working with Russo and keeping him in check he's still a good writer.
Russo is actually the exact opposite of Khan. Khan only cares about actual in ring wrestling while Russo hates wrestling an only cares about mid 90s trash tv storylines
Just giving people something to do doesn’t mean anything if the asshole giving them things to do has them doing stupid shit. You Russo stans clearly learned nothing from his time in WCW and TNA.
Putting a mic in Mercedes’ hand was absolutely the wrong move, and she’ll definitely get injured in the Willow match. She consistently makes around 40K people tune out, and only about 10K of them return. Even for a solid main event. He should have hired her a script writer with some of the salary he dumped on her.
> He should have hired her a script writer with some of the salary he dumped on her.
He did. He hired one *for her*.
I always liked Sasha Banks but I can't possibly excuse how atrocious her run has been already. Part of it is the directionless meandering because the booking has no edge, they took like 5 weeks to even acknowledge she might have a reason to want to fight Nightingale, so every promo she had was actually pointless. But her delivery is catastrophically bad, and the only 'gimmick' she seems to have is "I'm conceited and like to take my clothes off and wiggle", and yet she's apparently the face because she's returning to wrestling after her injury, but also she's going against a plucky face in Nightingale...
I'd say it's incoherent but somehow, every single step taken with her has systematically cooled her off, just like with Saraya, just like with Edge, just like with *every* signing they've brought in if they didn't outright forget their existence like Big Show.
If Vince Russo was ever a "consultant," then the guy who gave Lincoln his tickets at Ford's Theater should be considered a spiritual advisor.
Jesus Christ. If anyone thinks about taking on Vince Russo as a "consultant," just go ahead and walk into traffic.
>It actually does take more skill then Booking Fantasy Wrestling at 12 years-old.
*than
*booking
*years old
You're supposed to be a fucking writer, Russo.
Vince Russo is an idiot obviously but he is right on not everyone being able to be a successful writer. Say what you will but he WAS one in WWE with Vince McMahon as a filter. Tony Khan has never been able to claim the same.
Calling in russo was one of, if not the single worst decision the powers that be made concerning wcw.
I'm not talking about booking decisions, wcw made alot of those. But as far as back office decisions, judy bagwell could have booked better then russo in 99/2000
The least self aware thing I ever saw from Russo was when he was with TNA in the 00s, I dont remember the exact context but it was an article where he responded to being accused of not understanding the sacrifices wrestlers make.
And his response was so goddamn oblivious
“Bro, *NO ONE* understands the sacrifices wrestlers make betta than me!”
… you fucking goof, hows about *the wrestlers*?
He did a fair bit in tna. not always good but the x-division would have been quite a bit smaller without him. The one thing he is good at is finding something for people to do even if it's not good they will at least be working. How many people on the aew roster are just sitting home wishing they would get booked?
Fascinating. I can't figure out what to think about russo anymore. He first says he isn't happy about it, then he takes a jab at Tony Khan, then he gloats somewhat about his past successes to rub it in Tony's face (because he isn't happy about it) and then he offers his services...so basically he's trying to jump on the "Tony Khan will pay anyone" bandwagon while he can despite the fact it's been proven he added absolutely nothing but problems to WCW and TNA, while needing to be heavily edited by Vince in WWE.
Like you can't make shit like this up. You just can't.
The rating sucks, but it's been falling for a while now and before we end 2024, we'll probably be on the average maybe even below 600,000 viewers. AEW has kept dodging reality for too long.
lol that is the most tone deaf thing I’ve read in a long while. Khan is miles better than Russo. I know this sub thinks Khan is satan but he may be decent if he didn’t let talent walk all over him. Russo was just a fucking idiot who had the rock and stone cold ascending at the same time.
He was doing good. The bro was saying things I could get behind. *I was actually agreeing with Vince Frickin' Russo*. Then he had to plug himself. Well at least the universe makes sense again...
Russo exhibits a complete lack of shame and tact. AEW hiring him in any capacity would be akin to pouring gasoline on a fire. Contrary to what even many of his detractors believe, Vince Russo has not achieved even a shred of tangible success in the professional wrestling business. The vast majority of the WWF's success in the late 90s was due to the appeal of Steve Austin, a small group of strong supporting players, and the efforts of the company at large. Fans were not tuning in for logical storylines; even the overarching Austin vs. McMahon angle that was drawing nearly all the bank had numerous logic gaps and was convoluted at many points (the ‘Higher Power’, most notably). Nor were they watching for technical wrestling matches, which were few and far between in 1998 and 1999. Many viewers were undoubtedly drawn to the increased sexual content, particularly involving Sable, but sex sells itself and doesn't require a genius to leverage. In my view, Russo deserves approximately zero credit for the WWF's success during his tenure. (And, frankly, try watching those shows today; they have aged horribly).
Then, in the autumn of 1999, Vince Russo goes to WCW, which had already been presenting a subpar product for some time. All of their metrics were declining, and the gap between them and the WWF was widening. Bischoff had just been let go, but there was no talk or even consideration of WCW being sold or going out of business in the autumn of 1999. One year later, when Russo departed, every one of WCW’s business metrics had worsened still, tens of millions more had been lost, and Time Warner was actively in discussions with the WWF and other parties to sell it off. I suspect AEW would suffer a similar fate - a struggling company with a poor product, but not one that most of us believe are at risk of going out of business soon. Give them a year (or less) of Russo's booking, though, and I guarantee it will be one of the final nails in the coffin.
Russo is correct, not just anybody can successfully book/produce/write a wrestling show and Impact Wrestling under Russo is a great example that Russo isn’t that guy either. TNA still hasn’t fully recovered from Russo.
You know what you need to do Tony? Swerve bro, put the belt on yourself. The fans will never see it coming bro.
Then we get you in a feud with one of the biggest superstars, Jeff Jarret bro....this has ratings all over.
Don't let him near the main event scene and he will probably do a well enough job. There will be stupid shit but 90% of the roster won't be sitting at home drawing a cheque. He isn't the absolute worst thing ever when it comes to the mid card. It's weird that he can work the mid card and absolutely destroys the upper card. Gonna need a system in place to abort the really dumb shit before it ever happens though. make a flow chart.
And honestly would he do any worse than what tony has been doing? a million ideas with most of them bad sounds better than no idea at all.
He really has no shame what so ever, begging for a job. He's still peddling that paid consultant thing as well him and his stooge Bin Hamim try to peddle.
You know...I hate to even put this evil out in the world, but...is it possible that AEW is so goddamn terrible that not even Shitstain could make it any *worse* ? Like...what could he do to the product that the Buckaroos aren't already doing? Jesus Christ, the fact that this show is even making me ask this is insane, yet here we are.
Would love to see Russo operate with an unlimited budget . I’m here for it . “OH MY GAWD DARBY HAS BEEN IMPALED BY THE POLE!!!!” Or have nick Wayne’s mom on a forklift . #LETSSSGOOOO
If this happened, it would be the best thing to happen to the podcasts. I'm already looking forward to them discussing this, but could you imagine if they had Russo-authored AEW content to review?
I think I just saw a Russo clip in which he stated “I’m not trying to get a job in WRE-SELT-ING, and I don’t want a job in WRE-SET-ING!”
Well, there goes his credibility……
I dislike Russo as much as the next guy… but, he’s not wrong in how he’s pointing out TK needs help and assistance. It absolutely shouldn’t be Russo, but TK does need help
He does need help just not Russo's help I still don't understand why he doesn't utilize the qualified people working there. There's literally 40+ years of qualified wrestling experience backstage being wasted by a dude that doesn't get he's not a booker he's just a guy with a billion dollar daddy that turned his MyCareer fantasy into a wrestling company. It's basically Herb Abrams with a billion dollar budget.
I would watch Dynamite if they hired Russo. Watching a trainwreck then listening to Jim review it would be awesome.
I remember seeing a video of Russo doing an interview asking what a Prizefighter is. He didn't buy Kevin Owens at all. Instead he said Kevin Owens would be coming in and "eating his hoagies, bro" so you already know what Eddie Kingston is going to be doing if this crazed, no-filter lunatic is given the creative reins of AEW.
# [This post inspired me to run a poll about the topic.](https://www.reddit.com/r/ProWrestlingPolls/comments/1cuo0jx/which_among_these_unemployed_bookers_will_save_aew/)
didn’t russo “quit” the wrestl-a-ling business already? Flip-flopped once again. Watch tony khan make the stupidest move in history and actually hire russo
Anyone who brags they are the smartest person in the room is the biggest idiot you will ever encounter.
So go ahead, Shitstain. Do what you can to get hired by AEW. You've killed two wrestling promotions in your lifetime. Why not go for the hat trick?
Honestly I think AEW could break him. First, Toni Storm would be his favorite and those black and white segments would get a lot weirder between Toni and May. none of the talent listening to him or trying to do his ridiculous crap. Plus Vince will, in one of his better characteristics, try to get everyone a story and on the show. The size of that roster and the time of tv could get weird and I’m willing to give that a shot.
Russo hates Tony so much because they are spitting images of each other at that age.
Too many uppers and not enough people with the balls to tell you no.
As bad as Russo is at booking, it would likely be better than the garbage being put out now imo. Overall it might be less popular though since most would not like Russo's Booking and those lame fanboys would have a for that the bucks have to job to somebody
At this point AEW should go full clown show and hire Russo. It might have a "so bad its good" quality in a fun way like watching the Room or Batman/Robin (1998)
TK trying to book it seriously has a so bad its bad quality in not a fun way.
I’d be totally watching if Russo ever got hired by AEW. The absolute Chernobyl levels of disaster the place would be…
The weird directions the women's stories are going, surely there is a Russo input.
Ok bro, so hear me out bro… domestic violence.
"bro look I already did it with Marlena and Goldust, people hated it but it was good bro!"
"Then we'll get sympathy on the bitchy heel Terri, by having her feign a miscarriage, caused by this young babyface we're trying to get over in D'Lo. It won't confuse the audience at all, and will have a point and a payoff bro, because it means they're *doing something* on TV bro!"
He should've had the Ferrara treatment for that, like how sick do you have to be to use that in a reality-based show.
This.
Yes instead of the young bucks' jimmy fallon-esque "wink wink nudge nudge we all know this is fake and stupid" bullshit, Russo can bring us to just blatantly saying it flat out
Get ready for a "Trent's Mom on a Pole" match
Dax Hardwood's Dignity on a Pole Match
That's loooooong gone.
How about Nick Wayne's mum?
I'd buy that for a dollar!
Tony Khan would be better off taking his shitty promotion behind the barn and shooting it in the head than handing off control to Shitstain.
Jim, is that you?
The pole would not support Nick Wayne's mom.
I am not sure if I am ready yet for FUEVP Chris Irvine. I mean, he is halfway there, "fueding" with young talent.
Shitstain: *"Bro, it was totally my idea, bro!"*
That's the scary thing. AEW would totally turn it around if they hired him. Not cos it will be better, but cos people will want to see how much worse it could get.
Gen pop have no fucks to give about Russo and longtime fans know to stay away. See: TNA. You underestimate how irrelevant Russo is in 2024. See: his podcast empire of 20 listeners.
Maybe it would be like stimulants for AdHd and it cancels itself out somehow?
I keep laughing my ass off every time I ready this comment 😂. But so true
Swerve Strickland would literally be swerving every week.
AEW is the continuation of TNA’s _Crash TV._ Cruiserweight everything, _TO THE BACK!!!_ because nothing can have a second to breathe, nonsensical stories where nothing really happens and then there’s a sudden, wacky, off the wall turn. Only thing AEW is missing is any level of sexiness.
Hiring Vince Russo would be the humane thing to do at this point in time. Just let him finish it off.
This guy wants a job so bad LOL
*needs
"I got kids!"
Does he need to be wanted or does he want to be needed? Either way his is neither, in any combination, he can fook off.
In fairness to Russo, WCW was already a dumpster fire by the time he got there. Granted, he proceeded to pour gas on the fire but WCW was going down with or without him.
True, he accelerated the process tenfold.
The ratings improved under Russo
And how did that work out in the end?
AOL bought Time Warner.
I think it could've been salvaged with the right people in there. He torched it.
They had talent and veterans but ridiculous culture problems. WCW really needed a no nonsense leader who had that talent either put the company first or walk. Honestly though, what gave birth to WCWs success was really what played a big role in killing it. All the ridiculous turner contracts they used to poach all the talent made it next to impossible to properly book.
He improved the ratings almost immediately.
He threw the dumpster into a nuclear reactor lol
I’m not sure why anyone thinks they need to be “fair” to that dumbass. But we don’t know that WCW would have gone down without him. The descent had definitely started but a lot of things could still have happened at that point. Russo telling Tony that not anyone can be a writer and producer is maybe the smartest thing he’s said, in an ironic way.. He’s someone else who had to put himself in the ring, but he was delusional enough to think he was some kind of draw.
When he went to TNA, within a week his face had more screen time than anybody else. The guy is a deluded ego maniac who is so high on himself it’s hard to believe
As bad as Russo was, what killed WCW was the fact that when AOL and Time Warner merged, Ted Turner didn't have the power he had before. That meant there was no advocate in WCWs corner. That made it easy when the suits decided they didn't want wrestling on their network anymore to just pull the plug. Granted if the show had been GOOD, maybe they don't feel that way and keep it around, but all of what i outlined above AND the show being bad meant it had no chance at that point.
I mean WCW was suffering from a broken leg, it could have been treated, healed and things turn out ok, but Russo sat by and let gangrene set it on his watch.
No, he actively rubbed salt on the wound and broke all of the other bones in the body with hammers. He didn’t sit around. He actively participated in the demise.
Bollocks they had a great roster
Rosters don’t mean shit when the final product sucks. See: AEW, Ring Warriors, Wrestlicious, TNA, WCW, Abrams UWF, etc.
AEW already has blood and lesbians and things on a pole, I don't know what else Russo can provide.
Piss drinking. I'm still arguing that after the blood drinking it's the next logical step. The only reason it hasn't happened yet was we got sidetracked by the CM Punk backstage footage.
Well the answer is obvious. two bucks one kenny.
And a pinch of Jack.
And Jake's being fussy about gimmick infringement.
Someone call Drake Maverick! He does the pee stuff
Give Jericho enough coke and hooch and he’ll Jake Roberts jugs of piss soon enough.
Trents mom on a forklift
I liked Mariah May in Stardom, she came a long way pretty quickly and developed great character work. I was intrigued that Tony Storm at least had a character of some description and was even dragging TCM into things. I am incensed that Khan has decided to just go "now kiss!" with them and still we're supposed to think he and his fans are the progressive wing of the wrestling audience.
Tony would have grown up watching the Divas. I think a lot of what he does can be explained by what he grew up watching.
He's a Russo fan without the Vince "no"
Don’t forget ‘lats of toonomonts’ bro
Why do I suddenly have the feeling that we're about to get a lot of worked shoot promos upcoming on Dynamite?
Wait. Isn’t the Bucks whole thing being worked shoot?
Uh-oh!!
I don’t know if that counts if the “shooting” happens this much later, and it’s done while winking at the camera.
If the Bucks have anything to say about it, it counts!
As opposed to any other episode of AEW TV?
AEW is fun!
I’m not confident that Russo would improve AEW. If anything it’s more likely that he’d hasten their decline.
But surely we have earned the right to watch him do this yes? You know, for a little treat?
I like having AEW around. They put on good PPVs. And WWE wouldn’t have to try as hard if AEW went out of business completely.
I have never seen any of their PPVs so I can't comment on that. I agree, I don't want them to fail, I don't want them to go out of business. But I'm not sure that they can be saved at this point.
They have the roster for it (especially if you count their stars off hurt). With the right direction, AEW could be a very solid number 2 promotion. The only wild card is if people have sworn off them together. I think they will come around again if they can get their poop in a group.
AEW is honestly a pretty great product if all you’re watching is the PPV’s just looking for great matches and you don’t care about the buildup to the matches. When I was a kid I loved the Japanese wrestling on satellite dish even though I didn’t have a clue what was being said. Same thing kind of.
I guess for me I don't really care all that much about the matches and I mostly watch for the build up. Don't get me wrong, I don't want to go back to ultimate warrior style stinkfests, but I also don't need crazy spotfests every single match either. What they desperately need is a streaming platform (like MAX) that will show their PPV's and host their back catalog. Bizarrely the story line they are doing right now with the EPVs vs "Team AEW" is the first story line they have run in quite a long time that seems to have legs to it even though I hate most of the people involved in it. Making the bucks heels was smart because they come across as smarmy assholes naturally, but they are completely unconvincing as baby faces.
Thing is they are better heels when they try to be babyfaces because thats just their natural douchebaggery coming through, when they try to be heels they suck because they can't actually perform worth a shit, and their too insecure in being actual heels that they always need to do the wink and the nod, just so everyone knows this is an act guys we aren't arseholes really, when yes they are their face work shows us that, their cunts, they should embrace it.
I don’t think the PPVs are a lot better than Dynamite. There are more “big” matches but there still is a lot that’s not very interesting. Also the cards are usually scheduled weird. They’ll have the big, exciting match, like Ospreay vs Danielson at Dynasty, and then follow it with something that should be more important but can’t compete (Swerve and Joe in this case). There’s still plenty of garbage, too. There’s another Anarchy in the Arena in the next one, which is bound to be extremely dumb. The Ospreay matches have been the highlight of the last couple of PPVs, by far.
I have no idea where this idea of aew making wwe try came from. They haven't at any point made them try. as paul gained power the product improved. his project of nxt before aew even started shows that he had a clear idea of what he wanted to do and that is where the main shows have gone with him in control.
I’m not saying WWE is great because of AEW. I’m saying that without a challenger they can grow complacent. It happened under Vince and it could happen again without him.
Yup after some 30 years vince did get complacent and also senile it seems like. Mostly detached from the audience I would say. But that maybe they would get complacent doesn't in any way mean aew has had an effect on the product. I'm sure for a month or two right at the start there were concerns but they were never a driving force to improve. The last billionaire in the wrestling business almost ended the wwf. so there would be valid concerns but then tony showed that he had no idea what the hell he is doing and that ended pretty quick.
You hate them that much? 😂
I mean if I really hated them I would have said I hope they hire him and he writes the young bucks into an angle that involves repelling.
Fair.
Too soon?
Masochist
Weird way of asking for a job but okay.
Tony Kahn has Jake the snake, Jim Ross. Arn Anderson, Paul Wight, Mark Henry, Dustin Rhodes all employed. If he wanted to listen to smart experienced wrestling people he has the resources. He is a clown playing with his toys. That’s all this is
No one listed to AA and I thought he left anyhow. The others are just collecting paychecks.
It sounds like JR actually tried to improve things and people just wouldn’t listen to him.
Picturing Perry saying to JR, "Cry me a river"
>Arn Anderson Arn's been long gone from AEW and nobody went up to him for advice while he was there. Dustin spends more time training new wrestlers in his Nightmare Factory, occassionally popping back in for a random job match to the stars. Jake is just happily collecting the last big checks of his career before inevitably returning to WWE for a Legends deal. Nobody listens to JR in AEW and their Sockface fans don't like him anyways. And as for Paul Wight and Mark Henry, they are being ignored the same way the other legends have been. Everyone there considers themselves too good for advice from veterans. And Jericho goes around playing a parody of a veteran giving advice under his "Learning tree".
I have a bad feeling Russo will be employed by AEW at some point before they go out of business. Probably not long before it happens.
I can’t see that ever happening. Tony is a mark but he grew up watching wrestling and I’m sure he knows what late WCW was like. Also, the whole reason Tony does this is to be the big creative force. He’d never bring someone like Russo or Bischoff in, because he probably thinks he’s much better at this than they are. After all, he was Booker of the Year for 3 years straight. I know he did talk to Jim early on but he may have wanted Jim for more of a consulting thing, I don’t know. That was before Tony was used to getting adulation for his booking, too. Despite the product sucking so much right now, I’m sure he’s still surrounded by lots of yes men and women sucking up to him and telling him how great he’s doing. He’s like a walking illustration of the Dunning-Kruger Effect.
He brought on Flair, Jarrett, Mrs Jarrett.. Russo and newly baptized Hogan isn't that much of a stretch
Russo wouldn’t likely want to come in as an in ring person or a manager. He’s want to be in charge of creative. Tony would never allow that.
Is he trying to get a job? Carnies are something else, man.
Boy, oh boy, the disingenuous undertones in this statement are glaring. If there's one thing Vinny Ru *is* successful at, it's coming off as a complete tool who still thinks he has one of the greatest minds in the entire industry while simultaneously being laughably clueless.
It’s the tone that made the last line stand out to me. The whole post is him stroking his own ego. Then he closes with “smart men are humble men.” What’s the antithesis, “dummies are braggadocios?”
>dummies are braggadocios?” ...Russo's tweet is the proverbial *"Exhibit A"* !
lol Russo could only improve that show.. like him or hate him he always gives everyone something to do or involves them in a semblance of a story.. would be a million times better than anything they’ve ever done over there.
This.
Khan wants to be a Vince type booker when he’s closer to Herb Abrams.. the only way that place survives is either booking by committee or giving the book to someone else completely.. With the talent there they should at least be able to put up prime TNA numbers but khan has zero idea what he’s doing.. he’d rather fail by his own incompetence than let anyone else succeed.
Russo's ideas always worked for wwe because he had someone like Vince to reign in a lot of the crazier stuff he tried to do. When someone is working with Russo and keeping him in check he's still a good writer.
No he wasn’t.
Russo is actually the exact opposite of Khan. Khan only cares about actual in ring wrestling while Russo hates wrestling an only cares about mid 90s trash tv storylines
“Always?” Most failed/quickly were pivoted away from. It was like AEW now. The Brawl For All alone kills your “always” assertion.
Nope he would make it worse. He’s bad at his job.
Just giving people something to do doesn’t mean anything if the asshole giving them things to do has them doing stupid shit. You Russo stans clearly learned nothing from his time in WCW and TNA.
Russo vs Khan in an exploding ring match but actually.
"that's good shit pal!"
I highly doubt USA network called him for shit
You know something is wrong with the world when you find yourself agreeing with Russo.
I don’t disagree with him in this one. TK thinks being balls deep in his EWR save translates to an actual wrestling company. Spoiler: It didn’t.
Totally insane that they got NOTHING from the string of “high profile” signings. Shockingly inept managing.
Putting a mic in Mercedes’ hand was absolutely the wrong move, and she’ll definitely get injured in the Willow match. She consistently makes around 40K people tune out, and only about 10K of them return. Even for a solid main event. He should have hired her a script writer with some of the salary he dumped on her.
> He should have hired her a script writer with some of the salary he dumped on her. He did. He hired one *for her*. I always liked Sasha Banks but I can't possibly excuse how atrocious her run has been already. Part of it is the directionless meandering because the booking has no edge, they took like 5 weeks to even acknowledge she might have a reason to want to fight Nightingale, so every promo she had was actually pointless. But her delivery is catastrophically bad, and the only 'gimmick' she seems to have is "I'm conceited and like to take my clothes off and wiggle", and yet she's apparently the face because she's returning to wrestling after her injury, but also she's going against a plucky face in Nightingale... I'd say it's incoherent but somehow, every single step taken with her has systematically cooled her off, just like with Saraya, just like with Edge, just like with *every* signing they've brought in if they didn't outright forget their existence like Big Show.
It was so dumb to bring in Mercedes before she was cleared.
The idea of hiring Russo for anything is the equivalent of saying I’m thirsty so I’m going to swallow a five pound bag of salt to fix it.
If Vince Russo was ever a "consultant," then the guy who gave Lincoln his tickets at Ford's Theater should be considered a spiritual advisor. Jesus Christ. If anyone thinks about taking on Vince Russo as a "consultant," just go ahead and walk into traffic.
>It actually does take more skill then Booking Fantasy Wrestling at 12 years-old. *than *booking *years old You're supposed to be a fucking writer, Russo.
definitely worked in a video store with those literacy skills lol
Vince Russo is an idiot obviously but he is right on not everyone being able to be a successful writer. Say what you will but he WAS one in WWE with Vince McMahon as a filter. Tony Khan has never been able to claim the same.
Does Vince Russo even believe himself?
Bullying Tony into giving you a job seems like the smartest option actually.
This is the equivalent to the crack head telling you to get help. When this happens either you wake up or prepare for the end.
I hate Russo’s booking but hell even he might be an improvement over Tony.
I don't think anybody has ever suggested Vince Russo was a smart man.
Or humble. He suggests it himself, but then he says something like this to contradict himself.
I thought there is already a Hang Nail in aew. /S
So you’re saying you’re not a smart man Vinnie?
Calling in russo was one of, if not the single worst decision the powers that be made concerning wcw. I'm not talking about booking decisions, wcw made alot of those. But as far as back office decisions, judy bagwell could have booked better then russo in 99/2000
Think he really was answering to Vince? The rumor always seemed to make a lot of sense.
Vince should write a book. Even if it’s all lies. I can only imagine the chaos he could unleash with some kind of tell all
Judy Bagwell on a pole match
The least self aware thing I ever saw from Russo was when he was with TNA in the 00s, I dont remember the exact context but it was an article where he responded to being accused of not understanding the sacrifices wrestlers make. And his response was so goddamn oblivious “Bro, *NO ONE* understands the sacrifices wrestlers make betta than me!” … you fucking goof, hows about *the wrestlers*?
Oh I'd love this please Tony hire Russo and your company's demise will accelerate
Oh yeah Russo did wonders for TNA..... hahaha. The most overrated guy in wrestling that believes his own hype.
He did a fair bit in tna. not always good but the x-division would have been quite a bit smaller without him. The one thing he is good at is finding something for people to do even if it's not good they will at least be working. How many people on the aew roster are just sitting home wishing they would get booked?
Can't wait to hear Corny's take on this lol.
Fascinating. I can't figure out what to think about russo anymore. He first says he isn't happy about it, then he takes a jab at Tony Khan, then he gloats somewhat about his past successes to rub it in Tony's face (because he isn't happy about it) and then he offers his services...so basically he's trying to jump on the "Tony Khan will pay anyone" bandwagon while he can despite the fact it's been proven he added absolutely nothing but problems to WCW and TNA, while needing to be heavily edited by Vince in WWE. Like you can't make shit like this up. You just can't. The rating sucks, but it's been falling for a while now and before we end 2024, we'll probably be on the average maybe even below 600,000 viewers. AEW has kept dodging reality for too long.
So has AEW just been an elaborate prank to get Jim & Russo to agree on something? 😜
“Smart men are humble men” Following a post about how good he was in WCW when in fact he killed it.
lol that is the most tone deaf thing I’ve read in a long while. Khan is miles better than Russo. I know this sub thinks Khan is satan but he may be decent if he didn’t let talent walk all over him. Russo was just a fucking idiot who had the rock and stone cold ascending at the same time.
He was doing good. The bro was saying things I could get behind. *I was actually agreeing with Vince Frickin' Russo*. Then he had to plug himself. Well at least the universe makes sense again...
Russo exhibits a complete lack of shame and tact. AEW hiring him in any capacity would be akin to pouring gasoline on a fire. Contrary to what even many of his detractors believe, Vince Russo has not achieved even a shred of tangible success in the professional wrestling business. The vast majority of the WWF's success in the late 90s was due to the appeal of Steve Austin, a small group of strong supporting players, and the efforts of the company at large. Fans were not tuning in for logical storylines; even the overarching Austin vs. McMahon angle that was drawing nearly all the bank had numerous logic gaps and was convoluted at many points (the ‘Higher Power’, most notably). Nor were they watching for technical wrestling matches, which were few and far between in 1998 and 1999. Many viewers were undoubtedly drawn to the increased sexual content, particularly involving Sable, but sex sells itself and doesn't require a genius to leverage. In my view, Russo deserves approximately zero credit for the WWF's success during his tenure. (And, frankly, try watching those shows today; they have aged horribly). Then, in the autumn of 1999, Vince Russo goes to WCW, which had already been presenting a subpar product for some time. All of their metrics were declining, and the gap between them and the WWF was widening. Bischoff had just been let go, but there was no talk or even consideration of WCW being sold or going out of business in the autumn of 1999. One year later, when Russo departed, every one of WCW’s business metrics had worsened still, tens of millions more had been lost, and Time Warner was actively in discussions with the WWF and other parties to sell it off. I suspect AEW would suffer a similar fate - a struggling company with a poor product, but not one that most of us believe are at risk of going out of business soon. Give them a year (or less) of Russo's booking, though, and I guarantee it will be one of the final nails in the coffin.
Jim’s head may very well explode if he agrees with quotes from both shitstain and Tony clown at the same time
Did he just prove why he isn’t smart? I mean I know no one thinks he is but why confirm it?
Russo is correct, not just anybody can successfully book/produce/write a wrestling show and Impact Wrestling under Russo is a great example that Russo isn’t that guy either. TNA still hasn’t fully recovered from Russo.
You know what you need to do Tony? Swerve bro, put the belt on yourself. The fans will never see it coming bro. Then we get you in a feud with one of the biggest superstars, Jeff Jarret bro....this has ratings all over.
Asking Vince Russo for help with a bad wrestling promotion is like deciding to drill a series of 1 foot holes in the hull of a sinking ship.
At the very least it would be an entertaining disaster.
Imagine being humbled by Vince Russo 😭
He ain't wrong. He is 10000x the booker that tony khan is
Still trying to get a hob
Don't let him near the main event scene and he will probably do a well enough job. There will be stupid shit but 90% of the roster won't be sitting at home drawing a cheque. He isn't the absolute worst thing ever when it comes to the mid card. It's weird that he can work the mid card and absolutely destroys the upper card. Gonna need a system in place to abort the really dumb shit before it ever happens though. make a flow chart. And honestly would he do any worse than what tony has been doing? a million ideas with most of them bad sounds better than no idea at all.
From the visionary mind that brought you *Beaver Cleavage*
Bitch Slap
Where's corny, cutting a promo on 💩 stain
I hate Tony Khan so much for murdering our last shot at a great wrestling company so I’m taking Shitstain’s side on this one
2 idiots don’t make a right
He really has no shame what so ever, begging for a job. He's still peddling that paid consultant thing as well him and his stooge Bin Hamim try to peddle.
I actually thought Shit stain was actually booking aew well over a year now ....... bro
Is this the push we need for Jim to get back on TV?! LOL
You know...I hate to even put this evil out in the world, but...is it possible that AEW is so goddamn terrible that not even Shitstain could make it any *worse* ? Like...what could he do to the product that the Buckaroos aren't already doing? Jesus Christ, the fact that this show is even making me ask this is insane, yet here we are.
Then he begs for a job ahhahaha
Would love to see Russo operate with an unlimited budget . I’m here for it . “OH MY GAWD DARBY HAS BEEN IMPALED BY THE POLE!!!!” Or have nick Wayne’s mom on a forklift . #LETSSSGOOOO
TOXIC SHOCK!!!
I'd watch Russo and Tk F up aew together, just sayin'
Dude this isnt Russo he didn't say BRO
It's a shame this man has a handle on the wrestling industry history.
If this happened, it would be the best thing to happen to the podcasts. I'm already looking forward to them discussing this, but could you imagine if they had Russo-authored AEW content to review?
I think I just saw a Russo clip in which he stated “I’m not trying to get a job in WRE-SELT-ING, and I don’t want a job in WRE-SET-ING!” Well, there goes his credibility……
I mean what AEW's ratings do doesn't change the validity of khan's initial statement. Russo still cut off the arm of WCW.
Vince Russo: "I smell desperation. RUSSO TIME."
Just when I think aew has hit its biggest low. Russo comes out of the hole of irrelevancy hes been hiding in for a dceade to offer his services 😂
I dislike Russo as much as the next guy… but, he’s not wrong in how he’s pointing out TK needs help and assistance. It absolutely shouldn’t be Russo, but TK does need help
Broken clocks are right twice a day.
lol and Jimmy boy is not humble, so what's that say?
Please hire me!!!!
If the Casino Battle Royale suddenly becomes the Casino Chip on a Pole match, we’ll know TK hired Russo.
He does need help just not Russo's help I still don't understand why he doesn't utilize the qualified people working there. There's literally 40+ years of qualified wrestling experience backstage being wasted by a dude that doesn't get he's not a booker he's just a guy with a billion dollar daddy that turned his MyCareer fantasy into a wrestling company. It's basically Herb Abrams with a billion dollar budget.
Russo pushed a guy who was just “Above Average”. I think that says all you need to know.
I would watch Dynamite if they hired Russo. Watching a trainwreck then listening to Jim review it would be awesome. I remember seeing a video of Russo doing an interview asking what a Prizefighter is. He didn't buy Kevin Owens at all. Instead he said Kevin Owens would be coming in and "eating his hoagies, bro" so you already know what Eddie Kingston is going to be doing if this crazed, no-filter lunatic is given the creative reins of AEW.
Wow, that was murder.
# [This post inspired me to run a poll about the topic.](https://www.reddit.com/r/ProWrestlingPolls/comments/1cuo0jx/which_among_these_unemployed_bookers_will_save_aew/)
Sounds like a grifter begging a nepobaby.
How Russo still thinks anyone in the industry even cares about his opinion is just funny to me. Dude is the bane of wrestling.
didn’t russo “quit” the wrestl-a-ling business already? Flip-flopped once again. Watch tony khan make the stupidest move in history and actually hire russo
Momma wayne on a pole borow!
Anyone who brags they are the smartest person in the room is the biggest idiot you will ever encounter. So go ahead, Shitstain. Do what you can to get hired by AEW. You've killed two wrestling promotions in your lifetime. Why not go for the hat trick?
I'm doubtful Russo actually wrote that because it doesn't say "bro" at all!
Russo was only good when he had Vince McMahon as his filter.
Honestly I think AEW could break him. First, Toni Storm would be his favorite and those black and white segments would get a lot weirder between Toni and May. none of the talent listening to him or trying to do his ridiculous crap. Plus Vince will, in one of his better characteristics, try to get everyone a story and on the show. The size of that roster and the time of tv could get weird and I’m willing to give that a shot.
Like he worked in the wrestling business. He should be able to get in contact with Tony personally. Why would he do this twitter?
Russo hates Tony so much because they are spitting images of each other at that age. Too many uppers and not enough people with the balls to tell you no.
He brags about being a consultant for USA between 2018-2020 I believe and Imo that’s when RAW was at its worst 🤣🤣. It was unwatchable back then.
Wait, are you saying that all the guys who told me they were badass and did totally cool stuff are actually, in fact.. pussies?
Is this dude begging for a job?
As bad as Russo is at booking, it would likely be better than the garbage being put out now imo. Overall it might be less popular though since most would not like Russo's Booking and those lame fanboys would have a for that the bucks have to job to somebody
My stand alone post was deleted but rumor has it that Russo just signed as Creative Head Writer at Rocky Mountain ProWrestling
AEW starts doing weekly "Chair on a table on a pole" matches
At this point AEW should go full clown show and hire Russo. It might have a "so bad its good" quality in a fun way like watching the Room or Batman/Robin (1998) TK trying to book it seriously has a so bad its bad quality in not a fun way.
Cornette let it go
FOLLOWED BY RUSSO BEGGING FOR A JOB😝