Russo is joined on today’s show by his co-host Jeff Lane.
Lane mentions that Wrestling Observer’s Dave Meltzer spoke about WWE’s Universal Title picture this past week, saying WWE would be stupid to put the Title on Kane, even though that wouldn’t affect revenue. Russo says he disagrees completely, pointing out that the television product absolutely does affect revenue in regards to merchandise sales and live event ticket sales.
Meltzer was also critical of WWE’s usage of Paul Heyman recently, saying WWE should use Heyman for more than just an introduction when he’s live at RAW because he’s one of the best promo guys in the business. Russo says he can’t remember the last time Heyman cut a good promo, pointing out that Heyman says the exact same thing week after week.
Meltzer and his co-host Bryan Alvarez went on to speak about John Cena’s match with Elias from this week’s RAW. They both agreed that for all the people who praise Cena’s wrestling ability, he didn’t look good at all during this week’s match. Russo can’t believe the nerve of Meltzer and Alvarez who criticized Cena for his work in this match when in reality, Cena was simply doing WWE a favour by appearing live on Christmas Day when he should have been home with his family.
Russo adds that Okada, Kenny Omega and all the other guys who Meltzer loves won’t even make it to their 40s in this business, yet John Cena continues to be one of the biggest names in the wrestling world. Cena will be making money in 60s in Russo’s opinion because he’s a professional right across board.
Meltzer and Alvarez also criticized Elias’ performance in that match, saying he’s not ready for 16-minute matches. Russo thinks that’s rediculous as well, pointing out that Elias had a great match with Reigns a few weeks ago and ever since then WWE has completely dropped the ball with him creatively.
Russo welcomes a fan to the show, who also subscribes to Wade Keller’s Pro Wrestling Torch. Russo is very interested in knowing why this person subscribes to Keller’s product, because he can’t see any value in anything Keller says. The fan admits that he signed up for the Torch when Keller offered a special $1/month rate, and he forgot to cancel his subscription after the fact.
This fan has recently canceled his subscription because after listening to some attitude era content that he was interested in, he quickly realized that $10/month to listen to Keller and his friends talk about wrestling simply isn’t worth it.
Speaking again about Meltzer and Alvarez’s comments from this past week, Russo informs that they both wanted Finn Balor inserted into the Universal Title Triple Threat match instead of Kane. Russo can’t comprehend the visual of seeing Balor stand up against Brock Lesnar and Braun Strowman, and he thinks it’d be an absolute joke if WWE did that. Russo adds that Balor’s barely over with the ‘marks’ at this point and he’s definitely not over with the mainstream audience.
At one point this past week a fan tweeted Meltzer, asking him about his credentials in the business. Meltzer replied by saying that he’s been in the business for 3 decades. Russo says that Meltzer has spent 30 years reading his Japanese wrestling magazines and that’s about it. He adds that you’re not in the wrestling business simply because you watch wrestling on television.
After criticizing Elias at one point last week, Meltzer offered a different take later saying that Elias has good poise in the ring because he doesn’t panic and he appears to always be in control. However, Meltzer added that Elias simply isn’t very good. Russo doesn’t understand how Meltzer can make those comments, since he’s never worked a match in his life. Elias acts and looks like a star, and Meltzer and Alvarez obviously don’t like stars according to Russo.
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!
