Russo is joined on today’s show by his co-host, Jeff Lane.
Lane opens today’s show by playing an audio clip of PWTorch’s Wade Keller. Keller talks about salivating over all the potential matchups for Daniel Bryan now that he’s been cleared to perform again, but he’s angry that WWE decided to book Bryan against Big Cass at Backlash. This is exactly what Russo has been preaching about for the last couple of years. Keller is a 45 year old man who’s salivating over fake fights. That’s quite concerning in Russo’ opinion.
Pro Wrestling Sheet’s Ryan Satin tweeted out this week that there are too many websites reporting false news that comes from only one source. He urges other dirt sheet writers to step up their work. Russo can’t believe Satin tweeted that out after he’s been wrong with reports multiple times. Lane points out that Satin is simply a hypocrite.
Lane plays another clip of Keller who’s talking about Roman Reigns this time. Keller says Reigns is boring and isn’t motivated to change it. He added that Reigns is more concerned with being home with his family than improving as a performer. Russo points out that Reigns is a student of the game who’s been raised in the business.
There’s nothing Reigns can do to change his character because he’s not booking the show, and he’s not going to go off script and be penalized for doing so. To imply that Reigns isn’t motivated is wrong in Russo’s opinion, adding that Reigns has never phoned it in during a match.
Wrestling Observer’s Dave Meltzer sent out a tweet a few months ago in which he claimed that Shawn Michaels wasn’t in the top 30 WWE Superstars of all time in terms of drawing power. Meltzer spoke about those claims again this week, adding that he considers Michaels to be amongst the greatest of all time in the ring, but not in terms of drawing money.
Lane points out that Meltzer considers Michaels and Bret Hart to lack drawing power because WCW was beating WWE during their Title reigns. Lane looks at it from the opposite side, noting that those guys kept WWE in business during those tough times.
PWInsider’s Mike Johnson spoke out on one of his audio shows this past week, saying that he thinks WWE’s current crop of stars might be good enough to carry the next generation forward. Russo isn’t so sure that’s the case, noting that Johnson failed to name any stars. Lane points out that Daniel Bryan might be one guy who can return in a prominent position at WrestleMania a decade from now, and Russo notes The Miz’s star power might allow him to be one of those guys as well. Other than that, it’s pretty slim pickings.
At another point this week Ryan Satin tweeted out that Becky Lynch & Asuka vs. IIconics felt like an NXT match on Smackdown Live, and he was a fan of that. Russo laughs and points out WWE isn’t even a month removed from WrestleMania and they’ve already seen their viewership dwindle. Lane adds that the return of Daniel Bryan hasn’t even been enough to sustain viewership.
Wade Keller also sent out a tweet this past week, saying that Hulk Hogan made up the entire story about not knowing the finish at WrestleMania 3 that aired on HBO’s Andre the Giant documentary. Russo thinks those are some pretty strong words with Keller calling Hogan a liar like that.
He notes that Keller certainly didn’t have a conversation with Andre or Vince McMahon at the time to discuss the finish, so he obviously got this news from a second hand source. Russo thinks it’s horrible to flat-out call Hogan a liar like this without definitive proof.
As Keller’s audio show continued on, he talked more about Reigns’ lack of motivation to improve. Lane plays the clip which highlights Keller saying that Reigns simply doesn’t appear to care about being a better performer because he has his money and his family.
Russo says that there’s nothing wrong with that because it’s his job, and supporting and spending time with your family should be the most important thing. If Reigns’ passion has been taken away, maybe it’s because his creative has been horrible and he’s sick of trying to fix it.
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!
