Russo opens today’s show by speaking about a recent radio interview he did where he discussed the deteriorating state of today’s current wrestling product. The interviewer decided to play devil’s advocate, asking Russo about the success of The Young Bucks and whether that success derives solely from their in-ring work.
Russo said that if the interviewer couldn’t tell him what The Young Bucks’ character is supposed to be, then they’re only over to the marks because of their in-ring work. Sure enough, the interviewer had a hard time identifying what their character is. Russo says it’s fine that those guys are only over to the marks because they are still entertaining those people and making a good living doing it, but people shouldn’t kid themselves by thinking that the Bucks can appeal to mainstream audiences.
He points out that WWE is averaging around 2.5 Million viewers now for RAW or Smackdown, and that’s their base viewership which is made up entirely of marks. He adds that those 2.5 million are going to watch regardless so WWE should stop pandering to them. They need to start appealing to mainstream audiences again if they ever plan on brining their viewership numbers back up.
Russo informs that his son has been hired as a Producer at DDP Yoga Headquarters in Atlanta. He says that DDP is a great guy and he’s very thankful that DDP has given his son a chance. He warned his son before he started to work for DDP that he’s going to have to work hard because DDP is a workaholic who won’t accept laziness.
Russo says that he has a major issue with how the news channels present their information these days. Just this past week Fox News referred to Jesse Ventura as a washed up wrestler and failed Governor. Russo would have preferred if they referred to Ventura as a retired wrestler and former Governor, instead of disrespecting him in the manner they did. He adds that Ventura hasn’t wrestled in decades, so referring to him as a ‘washed up wrestler’ doesn’t make any sense.
Russo believes that we’re going to see a bubble burst in the coming weeks, with people who have worked in the wrestling business coming forward with their stories of sexual assault. He mentions that Christine Johnson dealt with a lot of inappropriate things while she was working as a Producer in WCW and has carried that baggage for years. He assumes that she, and many other women like her are simply waiting for the right time to tell their stories.
He informs that one of his female friends actually lost out on a job at WWE because she wouldn’t succumb to the sexual advances of a man in upper management. Russo also admits that while he was working in WWE, a female talent approached him and told him that she was raped by a male talent.
Russo says he knows that there’s a writer backstage in WWE right now that follows Alexa Bliss around “with his head up her ass”. He knows the flood gates are going to open at some point soon, and the wrestling business is going to be shook to its core.
On the other hand, Russo points out that reverse sexism exists in the wrestling business and in other high profile professions as well. During his time in TNA a male wrestler came up to him and told him that Dixie Carter tried to kiss him. He points out that society hasn’t really adjusted to this type of thing yet, but he knows that’s eventually going to happen as well.
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!
