Russo is joined on today’s show by his co-host Jeff Lane.
Russo opens today’s show by pointing out that all the dirt sheet writers were wrong in their prediction that Paige was going to return at Survivor Series as the 5th member of Team Smackdown Live. He says that none of those dirt sheets retracted their incorrect stories after the fact either, but Russo is determined to make people aware of the fact that these people are spreading lies on a weekly basis.
After James Ellsworth was released from WWE last week Ryan Satin of ProWrestlingSheet tweeted out, “Goodnight, Sweet Prince”. Russo says he wouldn’t say that about anyone under any circumstances and although he hates to see anyone lose their job, he’s sure Ellsworth is going to be fine. Russo says Ellsworth’s going to make money on the independent scene because he was on WWE television for long enough to garner some attention.
Russo wonders what’s so special about Asuka, and he questions what makes her any different than Bayley or Sasha Banks. Russo says Asuka can’t hold a candle to Charlotte, and Charlotte has had a much more difficult road to WWE given the fact that Ric Flair is her father, and that adds an insane amount of pressure.
Lane plays a clip of Wade Keller, who points out that Roman Reigns consistently over-utilizes drama during his matches, often ‘roaring’ or screaming instead of going for a pin. Russo says that this is fake fighting, and the point of it is to entertain the audience. Using over-exaggerated drama during matches has been happening forever, and Hogan made a fortune doing it.
On another one of Keller’s shows this week, his co-host said that he hopes WWE starts selling The Usos’ new jacket that they wore at Survivor Series. He said he’d easily pay $300 for that jacket. Russo says that this guy sounds like a 12-year old. WWE Shop is meant for children, who ask their parents for this stuff for Christmas.
Keller also said that Nakamura should have been the last Smackdown Live team member left at Survivor Series, facing an uphill battle against Samoa Joe, Finn Balor and Braun Strowman. Russo laughs hysterically and says that the only reason Bobby Roode and Nakamura were in this match was to get Powerslammed by Strowman.
In another clip, Keller was angry at the fact that John Cena took someone’s spot in the Survivor Series match, just to fill a spot and get eliminated fairly early. Russo says that Cena draws money, and he was brought in for this match because none of Keller’s favourites can draw money. He says that Cena doesn’t need WWE anymore and he clearly did this as a favour to Vince McMahon, because if he left WWE tomorrow, he’d eventually have the same profile in Hollywood that The Rock has.
Dave Meltzer tweeted out this week saying that Vince McMahon started reading the Wrestling Observer in 1982, and several WWE officials subscribe to the newsletter today. Russo says he has a hard time believing that McMahon writes Dave Meltzer a subscription cheque each year just to hear Meltzer’s uninformed opinions on his product.
In another clip from last week, Bryan Alvarez was very critical of The Miz, criticizing his promos, his matches and the fact that he hasn’t made the Intercontinental Title mean anything at all. Russo points out that Alvarez’s backyard wrestling career doesn’t qualify him to talk about a bonafide professional wrestler like this.
Speaking about working with Vince McMahon, Russo says he felt a presence when McMahon would walk into the room. He never felt that around anyone else in his entire life. He says that has nothing to do with money or fame, it’s just the way McMahon carries himself.
That sums up today’s episode of Vince Russo’s The Brand. You can listen to the show yourself anytime here, and I’ll catch ya tomorrow for another recap!
