Russo is joined on today’s show by his co-host, Jeff Lane.
Russo opens today’s show by giving a big round of applause to Lita, who spoke out on her podcast about WWE’s decision to not have women work at the Greatest Royal Rumble. She said that she understands that WWE is a business that’s looking to expand globally, but this was a conflict of interest in her mind. WWE is a business and they wanted the money which is okay, but they shouldn’t try to cover it up by saying they want to try to progress the culture forward over there.
Russo says this is exactly what he’s been saying all along, and he’s very glad Lita said this. He’s surprised that Lita said this since she’s still employed by WWE, and he wouldn’t be surprised if this impacts Lita’s role in the company moving forward. He’s sure she knew that before she said these things, but she obviously felt very passionate about this topic and wanted to share her opinion.
Russo says he’s sick of people defending WWE’s programming by pointing out that WWE’s stock price and revenue continues to rise. He doesn’t think there’s any correlation between the lousy television show and the stock price. He adds that if they’ve lost 1 million viewers since WrestleMania, something is seriously wrong.
Lane points out that Pro Wrestling Sheet’s Ryan Satin tweeted out this week that Corey Graves is unquestionably the best commentator in WWE. Russo thinks Satin should change “WWE” to “USA Network”, because Mauro Ranallo is a much better commentator than Graves. On the USA Network Graves only has to compete with Michael Cole and Byron Saxton, which is no big deal at all.
Russo adds that everyone is replaceable in WWE, especially a lowly announcer. Nobody is bigger than WWE, and if Graves wasn’t on the show next week, WWE wouldn’t even miss a beat. He says that you’d have to be out of your mind if you think Graves is a better commentator than Mauro Ranallo, noting that Graves is a hack compared to Ranallo.
He thinks the only reason Ranallo’s on NXT and not the main roster shows is because he struggles with depression, and he definitely doesn’t want to deal with the backstage politics and the throat cutting that comes with a career in WWE.
At another point last week Satin tweeted out, admitting that people in the wrestling business lie to him all the time. Russo says that people like to Satin because he’s a scumbag, it’s that simple. He adds that Satin is a very unlikeable guy, and he hopes that one day Satin can look at himself in the mirror, see the dirtbag that he is, and make a change.
Lane points out that Wrestling Observer’s Dave Meltzer and Bryan Alvarez are going to be doing live shows soon, and tickets for VIP meet and greets are $70 bucks. He adds that the cheapest tickets are $50 bucks. Russo can’t people are going to pay prices like that to hear those two guys talk. He points out that he can easily see a great band he loves for $30, but Meltzer demands $70.
At another point last week somebody tweeted Dave Meltzer asking him what WWE was trying to accomplish with their recent Backlash PPV. Meltzer tweeted back, “It was an experiment”. Russo has no idea what Meltzer is talking about here, but points out that Meltzer is so good at this. He never explains anything he says.
PWTorch’s Wade Keller spoke this past week about Seth Rollins. He loves Rollins, noting that if Reigns had a third of the swagger on the mic that Rollins had he’d be a shoe-in for top guy on the roster. Russo says that Keller, along with all the other dirt sheet writers, has an agenda. Russo adds that this is why Keller has never been part of the business, because Rollins’ promos just consist of putting the fans over every night.
He points out that this type of babyface promo is the same thing as heels getting cheap heat by making fun of the fans. He adds that this is not a knock on Rollins; it’s more of a knock on the creative team who writes the promos.
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!
