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Vince Russo

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Vince Russo
Born (1961-01-24) January 24, 1961 (age 63)
New York, New York
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s)Vicious Vincent
Vic Venom
Vince Russo
Mr. Wrestling III
The Powers That Be
Billed height6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Billed weight190 lb (86 kg; 14 st)
Debut1996

Vincent James "Vince" Russo (born January 24, 1961) is an American writer, primarily known for working for professional wrestling companies, most notably the World Wrestling Federation, World Championship Wrestling and Total Nonstop Action Wrestling.[1] He is also a one time World Champion having held the WCW Championship once.

Early life

Russo grew up in Farmingville, New York and graduated from the University of Southern Indiana (then known as Indiana State University Evansville) in 1983 with a degree in journalism. He worked for the school newspaper The Shield as an assistant sports editor and later as editor-in-chief.[2]

Russo owned two video stores in Long Island, New York,.[3] Russo also hosted his own local radio show from 1992 to 1993 called Vicious Vincent's World of Wrestling which aired on Sunday nights. Broadcast from AM 1240 WGBB in Freeport NY, the program ran for exactly one year, the final show being the one year anniversary.

Professional wrestling writer

World Wrestling Federation (1992-1999)

In 1992, Russo was hired as a freelance writer for WWF Magazine following a letter that he had written to Linda McMahon, and would later become an editor[3] in 1994 under the pseudonym of Vic Venom. He was eventually promoted to the WWF Creative Team in 1996.[1][2] In that same year, Monday Night Raw hit an all-time ratings low of 1.8, as WCW Monday Nitro (Raw's chief competition), was in the midst of an 84-week winning-streak against Raw head-to-head (see Monday Night Wars). With WCW eclipsing the WWF, McMahon called upon Russo to make changes to the televised product. Russo would contribute edgy, controversial storylines involving sexual content, on-camera profanity, swerves or unexpected heel turns, and worked shoots in the storylines.

In early 1997, Russo would eventually become head writer for the WWF[1] and would write their flagship show Raw Is War as well as their monthly pay-per-views. With the angles that Russo created (along with Vince McMahon present to accept and decline ideas), many felt that Russo was instrumental in putting WWF ahead of World Championship Wrestling in the Monday night ratings during the Attitude Era. Notable storylines and characters during Russo's run as head writer include the Steve Austin vs. Mr. McMahon feud, The Undertaker vs. Kane feud, D-Generation X, the rise of The Rock, and the Mick Foley saga. Some of the more controversial characters during this time, often cited by critics of Russo, include Sable, Val Venis and The Godfather.

Vince Russo played a large role in turning the WWF's product around in the late 1990s. Within a year of Russo being the head writer of the WWF, they turned the ratings and business around and overcame Nitro as the biggest wrestling show on cable.

On October 5, 1999, Russo and Ed Ferrara signed with WCW;[1] Russo contends that his reason for leaving the WWF was the result of a dispute with Vince McMahon over the increased workload that he (as well as Ferrara) was facing, with the introduction of the new SmackDown! broadcast.

World Championship Wrestling (1999-2000)

Russo and Ferrara attempted to make WCW Monday Nitro similar to Raw, with edgier storylines, more lengthy non-wrestling segments, an increased amount of sexuality on the show, more backstage vignettes, expanded storyline depth, and the utilization of midcard talent in a more effective manner. One of the most notable storylines included the "Powers That Be" angle, which implied a mysterious, unseen, and secret power source whom everyone in WCW were obliged to obey. Russo and Ferrara's tenure in WCW resulted in a ratings change almost immediately. The head-to-head ratings between Nitro and Raw changed an average of 0.5 in WCW's favor within the first three months. Nitro's rating had increased 0.6 on average during the two hours that both programs were airing simultaneously, while Raw's rating during the same period decreased 0.5. However, live attendance and pay-per-view buy rates increased for WWF while they decreased for WCW.

Criticisms

Russo attempted to use the same style in WCW that had made him successful in the WWF at an accelerated pace, including constant heel/face turns, fake retirements, and title changes. Russo and Ferrera often focused on poking fun at the WWF as well. Jim Cornette has in the past expressed a strong dislike towards Russo, partly due to Russo's style of booking, and partly due to his decision to create Oklahoma, a character that parodied WWF play-by-play announcer Jim Ross and his Bell's palsy.

Russo's writing style created a large turnover in title changes. His booking of Jushin "Thunder" Liger losing and regaining the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship on Nitro is not recognized by New Japan Pro Wrestling in the title lineage.[4] (Liger lost the title to Juventud Guerrera, a luchador, after being hit over the head with a tequila bottle.) Swerves and scenarios treated as "shoots" were heavily emphasized, as wrestlers supposedly gave unscripted interviews using "insider" terms that were only recognized by the Internet smarks; chaotic broadcasts became the norm. Russo booked actor David Arquette to win the WCW World Title and at one point toward the end of his WCW stay even booked himself to be champion. Russo justifies Arquette winning the title with the fact that Arquette didn't pin a wrestler (he pinned Eric Bischoff) and that it was a realistic event with the intent to gain publicity. Moreover, Russo claims that his own title win was a result of a fluke (Goldberg speared him through the cage during a cage match against Booker T, resulting in Russo unintentionally winning the match) and that he willingly forfeited the title on the next WCW Monday Nitro.

Critics often credit Russo for contributing to the demise of WCW as he was not able to duplicate the success that he had in the WWF.[5][6] Russo's characters and storylines during this era are often heavily criticized.[7] Some signatures styles of his writing that are often brought up include: object on a pole matches, fun with acronyms, gimmick matches, swerves, and worked shoots.[7]

An entire chapter was devoted to Russo in the WrestleCrap: The Very Worst of Pro Wrestling book;[5] the title of the chapter was Vince Russo Presents: How to Lose $60 Million in just 12 months!.[5][6] From one of the same authors, Russo was also prominently featured on the cover of The Death of WCW,[8][9] a book that notes Russo's contributions to what is believed to have ended WCW.

Firing and rehiring

Days before the live pay-per-view event WCW Souled Out in 2000, Russo received two phone calls, one from Bret Hart (then WCW World Heavyweight Champion) and another from Jeff Jarrett (then WCW United States champion), both saying that they were injured, thus couldn't wrestle and forced to vacate their respective championships. This required Russo to alter the plans he had in mind for Bret Hart and the New World Order. Russo and his booking committee sat down to determine what would now happen at Souled Out. One of the ideas included the idea of putting the now vacated WCW Title on the shoot fighter Tank Abbott, a former UFC fighter but an erstwhile talentless wrestler. In an attempt to do something believable, the idea was originally to have a "rumble match" in which Sid Vicious would be an early entrant in the match and would last all the way to the end when Abbott would come into the match and eliminate him with one punch. Russo claims that Abbott may not have held the belt for more than 24 hours if this title change had actually occurred. However, the day after he and his committee came up with the idea, he was removed from the position of head writer and told to start working with something else. Russo declined the offer and left the company, with his immediate replacement being Kevin Sullivan.

During this period Russo managed to take the rating from a 2.9 and bring it up to a 3.5, although during his tenure, Nitro was reduced from three hours to two hours. As soon as he left, the ratings went back down to a 2.4 and he stated that he was not able to bring those fans back due to the constant creative changes. Three months later, Sullivan was ultimately relieved of his duties and Russo was reinstated as booker, after a three month absence, alongside Eric Bischoff, who had just returned to WCW as well (as a creative director). The idea was that Russo and Bischoff would reboot WCW into a more modern, streamlined company that would reward the younger talent instead of holding them down. Their strategy soon imploded, as Bischoff and Russo frequently locked horns.

On the April 10, 2000 Nitro, Vince Russo was introduced as an on-screen antagonist authority figure.[10] Notable storyline points his character was involved with include "The New Blood vs Millionaire's Club"; his feud with Ric Flair where he and David Flair were involved with shaving Ric Flair's hair as well as Reid Flair's hair; his feud with Goldberg; and his short reign as world champion.

Bash at the Beach 2000

Russo was involved in an incident with Hulk Hogan; Hogan was booked to lose a match against reigning world champion Jeff Jarrett at Bash at the Beach in 2000, but Hogan refused to lose the match (invoking his contract's "creative control" clause to override Russo), due to Russo's apparent lack of direction for Hogan's character following the planned loss. In the end, Jarrett literally "laid down" for Hogan, which resulted in Hogan doing a shoot on Russo and scoring the pinfall victory by placing his foot on Jarrett's chest. Russo would come out later in the broadcast to nullify the result of the match, as he publicly fired Hogan. This action restored the title to Jarrett, which set up a new title match between Jarrett and Booker T.

As Russo promised, Hogan never resurfaced in WCW and even filed a lawsuit against Russo for defamation of character (which was dismissed in 2003 stating that the charges filed against Russo were "groundless" and "were just part of a wrestling storyline"[11]). That would also be Eric Bischoff's last on-screen appearance with WCW. Hogan claims (in his autobiography, Hollywood Hulk Hogan) that Russo made it a shoot, and Hogan was double-crossed by Turner executive Brad Siegel, who did not want to use Hogan any more due to how expensive Hogan cost per appearance; and Bischoff, in his autobiography, Controversy Creates Ca$h, contends that Hogan winning and leaving with the title was a work which would result in his return several months later - the plan was to crown a new champion at Halloween Havoc, only for Hogan to come out afterwards and ultimately win a champion vs. champion match - but that Russo's coming out to fire him was a shoot which led to the lawsuit filed by Hogan. Bischoff claims that he and Hogan celebrated after the event over the success of the angle, but were distraught to get a phone call saying that Russo interfered unplanned after Hogan left the arena.

Russo's perspective

In 2005, Russo was finally able to give his side of the incident on his Ring of Glory website.[12] From his perspective, Russo revised the script numerous times with the original script having Booker T being the champion. According to Russo, Hulk Hogan was not completely pleased with the finish. Prior to the pay-per-view, Bischoff, Hogan and Russo discussed how the ending should play out and decided to make their situation as real as possible. The pitch which they all agreed to was to have Jarrett lay down and have Hogan pin Jarrett. To make the situation look as real as possible, Jarrett would not be notified that this was planned and would be under the impression that him lying down would catch Hogan off guard. Once this occurred, Hogan and Bischoff would have to leave the building and then Russo would then cut a "scathing" promo explaining that Hogan's belt meant nothing and that the real championship belt would be defended later in the night by two deserving competitors: Booker T and Jeff Jarrett. According to Russo, Bischoff "liked" it and all agreed that this would be how the story played out. The idea was to work the fans and the roster.[12]

Russo says he regrets not calling Hulk Hogan the next day.[12] Russo claims that he was told by network executive Brad Siegel that the company could not afford to use Hogan so it would be best to continue writing the show without him. Russo then writes that a defamation of character lawsuit was then filed by Hulk Hogan with him claiming that he knew nothing about the promo that Russo did at the pay-per-view beforehand.

Russo closed the article by saying he grew up being a huge fan of Hogan, that the business would never have reached the heights without him, that Hogan paved the way for his writing career, and that he would "work with Hulk Hogan again in a heartbeat".[12] He said that one day he would like to thank Hogan for giving him the opportunity to have his career and that he would like to put this behind them.[12]

Concussion

In October 2000, Russo's run as head writer came to a halt after a string of injuries primarily resulting from a match he was in with Goldberg where he was speared through a cage and where his head landed on the ringside barrier.[13] As a result, he had to sit home with post-concussion syndrome for the last 6 months that WCW was in business.[13] WCW was eventually sold to the WWF in March 2001.

World Wrestling Entertainment (2002)

Russo later returned to WWE in mid 2002 but quickly left after saying that there was "no way in the world that this thing would work out...I felt there were layers upon layers of people to go through to get my ideas accepted."[13]

In Russo's book Rope Opera, Russo said he called Vince McMahon when the WWE's Raw rating went below a 4.0.[14] After meeting McMahon at his house, Russo proposed his main story of having McMahon hiring Eric Bischoff to be the General Manager of the company. McMahon would then torture Bischoff due to their previous history; Bischoff would then use his past relationships with previous WCW talent and get to McMahon's son Shane which would eventually lead to Vince McMahon losing power.[14]

Vince McMahon eventually introduced Russo to the creative team, which consisted of Michael Hayes, Paul Heyman and in Russo's words, "children, all bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, while looking scared to death at the same time."[14] Russo then spent three hours laying out one year of storylines and characters to the team to which nobody on the team said anything to.[14]

Rumor has it that the idea he put forward was an entire restart of the WCW Invasion, featuring previously unsigned talent such as Bill Goldberg, Scott Steiner, Eric Bischoff and Bret Hart.[15][16] The reports imply that his idea was so poorly received that Russo was immediately demoted from the position of 'Head Creative Director' to that of a "consultant". Russo states in an interview that after a meeting with the WWE creative team, he got a call from McMahon who said that Russo should be a "consultant" instead.[13] He was then sent a contract to sign but prior to signing, Russo wanted to explore other options and have more of a "hands-on" influence on the creative product.[13]

As a result, Russo then left of his own accord (turning down a $125,000 per year stay-at-home ‘advisory’ role with WWE in favour of a $100,000 per year full-time position with TNA).[17]

In late 2005, a 3-disc DVD boxset was released entitled Pro Wrestling's Ultimate Insiders which consists of interviews with him along with co-writer Ed Ferrara about their time in the World Wrestling Federation and World Championship Wrestling.

Total Nonstop Action Wrestling

Russo at a TNA event.

Writing and power struggle (2002-2004)

In July 2002, Russo joined Jeff and Jerry Jarrett's NWA-TNA promotion as a creative writer and would assist in the writing and production of the shows. Russo claims that the name TNA came from him and that the original concept was to be the adult-oriented wrestling company as they were exclusive to pay per view.[18] Throughout the first few years, there were numerous reports of creative power struggle over the direction of the programming.[19] Russo left the company after the TNA Victory Road '04 pay-per-view. On a November 2005 interview, Russo states that he never wrote a single show on his own during this period at TNA and described his time there as a "total nightmare."[20]

On-screen character (2002-2004)

During the time when these rumors circulated, Russo eventually debuted as an on-screen character when the mysterious masked wrestler "Mr. Wrestling III" helped Jeff Jarrett win the NWA World Heavyweight Championship and eventually unveiled as him.[1] In the on-screen story, Jarrett did not want Russo's help which led to the two becoming involved in a feud. Russo created his own faction of wrestlers he dubbed Sports Entertainment Xtreme (S.E.X.),[1] recruiting the likes of Glenn Gilbertti, Sonny Siaki, B.G. James, Raven, Trinity, and others. S.E.X. faced the more traditional TNA wrestlers led by Jeff Jarrett. Eventually, Russo would leave his on-screen role and Gilbertti would become the leader of S.E.X.

After leaving for a brief period, Russo returned as an on-screen character on the May 28, 2003 pay-per-view where he would hit Raven with a baseball bat helping Gilbertti become the number one contender for the world championship.[21] The next week (June 4, 2003), when Gilbertti fought Jarrett for the world championship, Russo would hit Gilbertti with a baseball bat which in turn helped Jarrett retain his belt.[22] On the following week's pay-per-view (June 11, 2003), when AJ Styles and Raven fought Jarrett for the world title in a triple threat match, Russo teased hitting Styles with Jarrett's trademark guitar, but eventually hit Jarrett leading A.J. Styles to win the world championship belt.[23]

Russo would then manage NWA Champion A.J. Styles for the remainder of his 2003 run and S.E.X. were quietly written out of the storylines. On the October 15, 2003 pay-per-view, Russo made his final appearance of that year in a street-fight with Jarrett.[24] It was reported that Russo was written out of the company as a result of Hulk Hogan's signing and because Hogan reportedly said that he would not work for TNA as long as Russo was involved with the company.[25] In February 2004 shortly after Hogan was not able to commit with TNA, Russo would eventually return but strictly as an on-air character, becoming the "Director of Authority" in the storylines. This time, he was a face, claiming to have changed his ways (which was likely inspired by Russo's real-life conversion to Christianity). However, he would leave again in late 2004 when Dusty Rhodes was "voted" the new D.O.A. over himself at the three hour November 2004 pay-per-view Victory Road in an interactive "election" on TNA's website.[1]

Rehired as creative writer (2006-present)

On September 21, 2006 TNA president Dixie Carter re-signed Russo as a writer on the TNA creative team.[26]

During the March 2007 TNA pay-per-view Destination X on the "Last Rites" match with Abyss and Sting, "Fire Russo!" chants erupted from the crowd in the arena at Orlando indicating the fans' frustration with the incidents that occurred during the match.[27]

TNA's electrified steel cage match, as seen at Lockdown 2007

Another time the "Fire Russo!" chants were heard was at the following month's pay-per-view TNA Lockdown that was held in St. Louis on April 15, 2007.[28] The chants were heard during the electrified steel cage match with Team 3D and The LAX where the lights would flicker on-and-off whenever a wrestler touched the cage giving the impression of electrocution.[28]

On two February 2010 interviews, Russo said he became head of creative for TNA some time during July 2009.[29][30] On addressing the "Fire Russo!" chants, Russo said he was not head of creative during that time and when the idea of the electrified steel cage was presented to him, he said that there was no way that the concept could have been done in a believable manner and that he was often blamed for ideas that he never even came up with.[30] The back cover of Russo's 2010 book Rope Opera: How WCW Killed Vince Russo notes fans chanting "Fire Russo!" across television tapings throughout North America.[31]

At the September 2009 TNA No Surrender pay-per-view, Ed Ferrara joined TNA and began working on the creative team with Vince Russo and junior contributor Matt Conway.[32]

On October 27, 2009, it was announced that Hulk Hogan signed with Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, a company that Russo was the head writer for. On a February 2010 interview, Russo stated that after meeting with Hogan and Bischoff to discuss the Bash At The Beach incident, he found out that the entire ordeal was all about a misunderstanding and that in terms of working together after the incident, things have been great. Although it's been noted that Russo is an idiot who cannot write a good kayfabe,he killed WCW but yet the idiots at LoLTNA hired him.[30] In 2010, when asked about his relationship with Russo at TNA, Hogan said he came to TNA in peace, that the writing staff of Russo, Ed Ferrara, Matt Conway ,and Jeremy Borash have really "stepped it up", and that Hogan loved Russo "from a distance".[33] While working with Russo, Bischoff stated in a February 2010 interview that it is a "very positive experience", that their collaborations are productive and said, "If I see red and [Russo] sees green, we've been able to come as close as possible to resolving it every time."[34]

Legacy

Vince Russo is one of the most controversial figures in Professional Wrestling history. Russo is often opinionated about his stance that the story, reality, and characters of the show are what draws the viewers.[13] He is also outspoken about his belief about emphasizing entertainment over the in-ring aspect of professional wrestling.[13] On the back cover of his book Forgiven, the summary notes that when asked about Vince Russo, wrestling fans' opinions often vary, but are always passionate: "the guy's a genius; or he single-handedly ruined the sport".[35] On the back cover of his book Rope Opera, it notes that Russo has "been known as both the savior of Vince McMahon's WWF and the man who destroyed WCW."[36]

Author

Russo is also an author. He has written Forgiven: One Man's Journey from Self-Glorification to Sanctification,[37] a 2005 autobiography documenting his early life, his WWF run, as well as his Christian faith. Highlights of the book include his involvement with the infamous Montreal Screwjob and the accidental tragic death of Owen Hart.[35] The book was written in 2000, originally titled Welcome To Bizarroland[7] and was a book that negatively portrayed people in the wrestling business.[7] After being a born again Christian, the title and content of the book was revised to correspond with his newly found faith.[7]

Russo's second book Rope Opera: How WCW Killed Vince Russo[36] was released in early 2010 and chronicles his tenure with WCW and TNA. The title Rope Opera stems from the title of a television series idea that he pitched to networks at the time of his WWF tenure.[37][38]

Personal life

Vince Russo is an American of Italian origin. In October 2003, during the period when he left TNA, Russo became a Born Again Christian.[1] In 2004, he formed a short-lived online Christian ministry entitled Forgiven. As a born again Christian, Russo expressed a lot of regret for many of his storylines and angles that he created while in the WWF during The Attitude Era. In late 2005, he produced two shows for his evangelical Ring of Glory independent promotion.[39]

Russo lives in Broomfield, Colorado.[40] He and his wife Amy have three children: William, Vincent (V.J.) and Annie.

Championships and accomplishments

Notes

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h Eric Cohen. "Vince Russo - Biography of Vince Russo the Former Head Writer of WWF Monday Night Raw & WCW Nitro". About.com. Retrieved 2007-03-27.
  2. ^ a b Anthony Pate. "Alum trades S.E.X. for Glory". The Shield. Retrieved 2007-03-28.
  3. ^ a b Ryan Nation. "Review: Russo asks to be Forgiven". SLAM! Wrestling. Retrieved 2007-03-27.
  4. ^ "Jushia Thuander Liger 新日本プロレスオフィシャルWEBサイト -選手名鑑[[Category:Articles containing Japanese-language text]]" (in Japanese). New Japn Pro-Wrestling. Retrieved 2008-11-23. {{cite web}}: URL–wikilink conflict (help)
  5. ^ a b c WrestleCrap The Very Worst of Pro Wrestling - By R. D. Reynolds, Randy Baer. ECW Press. Retrieved 2010-01-05.
  6. ^ a b Reynolds, R.D. (2003). WrestleCrap - The Very Worst in Professional Wrestling. ECW Press. ISBN 1550225847. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help); Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  7. ^ a b c d e "TV Tropes - Vince Russo Biography". TV Tropes. Retrieved 2010-01-06. {{cite web}}: External link in |publisher= (help) Cite error: The named reference "slam1" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  8. ^ WrestleCrap and Figure Four Weekly present - The Death of WCW. ECW Press. Retrieved 2010-01-06.
  9. ^ Reynolds, R.D. (2004). The Death of WCW. ECW Press. ISBN 1550226614. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help); Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  10. ^ ["http://www.search.com/reference/List_of_WCW_World_Heavyweight_Champions "List of WCW World Heavyweight Champions"]. Search.com. 2010-01-06. Retrieved 2010-01-05. {{cite web}}: Check |url= value (help)
  11. ^ ["http://74.125.155.132/search?q=cache:ghs2l_Htey8J:www.411mania.com/music/hall_of_fame/20299/Hulk-Hogan-Loses-2000-Defamation-Suit-Against-Russo.htm+%22Hulk+Hogan+Loses+2000+Defamation+Suit+Against+Russo%22&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=ca "Hulk Hogan Loses 2000 Defamation Suit Against Russo"]. 411Wrestling.com. 2003-08-11. Retrieved 2010-01-18. {{cite web}}: Check |url= value (help)
  12. ^ a b c d e ["http://web.archive.org/web/20050802235909/http://www.ringofglory.com/bash.htm">ringofglory.com archives "Bash At The Beach - At Last My Side - by Vince Russo"]. Ring of Glory. 2005-08-01. Retrieved 2010-01-05. {{cite web}}: Check |url= value (help)
  13. ^ a b c d e f g "Vince Russo Speaks On WWE, McMahon, NWA TNA, More - Get In The Ring Interview". 411Wrestling.com. Retrieved 2010-01-05. {{cite web}}: External link in |publisher= (help)
  14. ^ a b c d "38: There Ain't No Going Home". Rope Opera: How WCW Killed Vince Russo. ECW Press. 2010. pp. 183–198. ISBN 1-55022-868-4. {{cite book}}: |first= missing |last= (help); Unknown parameter |late= ignored (help); Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  15. ^ Scott Keith (2004). Wrestling's One Ring Circus: The Death of the World Wrestling Federation. Citadel Press. ISBN 0-8065-2619-X.
  16. ^ "Russo brought back to WWE, role undefined". Pro Wrestling Torch. 2002-06-29. Retrieved 2007-06-06.
  17. ^ Jerry W. Jarrett (June 2004). The Story of the Development of NWATNA: A New Concept in Pay-Per-View Programming. Trafford Publishing. p. 57. ISBN 141202878-7.
  18. ^ "Vince Russo on The Interactive Interview - November 2005". Wrestling Epicentre. 2005-12-05. Retrieved 2010-01-06.
  19. ^ "Latest On Backstage Power Struggle Between Vince Russo And Jerry Jarrett". Pro Wrestling Torch. 2002-10-31. Retrieved 2010-01-05.
  20. ^ "Jimmy Van interviews Vince Russo Part 3 of 3 - November 2005". 1Wrestling.com. 2005-04-12. Retrieved 2010-01-22. [dead link]
  21. ^ "NWA Total Nonstop Action PPV May 28, 2003 - Nashville, Tennessee - Aired Live". Obsessed With Wrestling. Retrieved 2010-01-05. {{cite web}}: External link in |publisher= (help)
  22. ^ "NWA Total Nonstop Action PPV June 4, 2003 - Nashville, Tennessee - Aired Live". Obsessed With Wrestling. Retrieved 2010-01-05. {{cite web}}: External link in |publisher= (help)
  23. ^ "NWA Total Nonstop Action PPV June 11, 2003 - Nashville, Tennessee - Aired Live". Obsessed With Wrestling. Retrieved 2010-01-05. {{cite web}}: External link in |publisher= (help)
  24. ^ "NWA Total Nonstop Action PPV October 15, 2003 - Nashville, Tennessee - Aired Live". Obsessed With Wrestling. Retrieved 2010-01-05. {{cite web}}: External link in |publisher= (help)
  25. ^ "A look at Hogan's signing with TNA from the Nov 3 2009 - Figure Four Weekly". Wrestling Observer and Figure Four Weekly Online. Retrieved 2010-01-05. {{cite web}}: External link in |publisher= (help)
  26. ^ "The Entire Story On Vince Russo Signing TNA Deal - by Ryan Clark (September 21, 2006)". Wrestling Inc. Retrieved 2010-01-05. {{cite web}}: External link in |publisher= (help)
  27. ^ "TNA's Reaction To 'Fire Russo' Chants (May 28, 2007)". WrestleZone. Retrieved 2010-02-20. {{cite web}}: External link in |publisher= (help)
  28. ^ a b "Lockdown PPV Results - 4/15/07 St. Louis, Missouri (Lethal Lockdown)". WrestleView. Retrieved 2010-02-20. {{cite web}}: External link in |publisher= (help)
  29. ^ "VINCE RUSSO DISCUSSES CRITICISM OF TNA'S GIMMICK MATCHES, WHEN HE TOOK OVER TNA CREATIVE, HIS NEW BOOK, TNA VS. WWE AND MORE (February 19, 2010)". PWInsider. Retrieved 2010-02-19. {{cite web}}: External link in |publisher= (help)
  30. ^ a b c "Full Recap: New Vince Russo Interview on "The Pain Clinic" (February 20, 2010)". WrestleZone. Retrieved 2010-02-20. {{cite web}}: External link in |publisher= (help)
  31. ^ "Amazon.com - Vince Russo - "Rope Opera: How WCW Killed Vince Russo" (Look Inside!)". Amazon. Retrieved 2010-02-20. {{cite web}}: External link in |publisher= (help)
  32. ^ "Backstage No Surrender News: Big Creative Changes". WrestlingInc. Retrieved 2010-02-20. {{cite web}}: External link in |publisher= (help)
  33. ^ "Full Hulk Hogan 'Plugged In' With New Role at TNA Wrestling (February 17, 2010)". Fanhouse. Retrieved 2010-02-20. {{cite web}}: External link in |publisher= (help)
  34. ^ "Eric Bischoff talks first six weeks in TNA, making one new star every month (February 18, 2010)". PWTorch. Retrieved 2010-02-22. {{cite web}}: External link in |publisher= (help)
  35. ^ a b Russo, Vince (2005). Forgiven: One Man's Journey from Self-Glorification to Sanctification. ECW Press. ISBN 1550227041. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  36. ^ a b "Rope Opera: How WCW Killed Vince Russo (Paperback) - by Vince Russo". Amazon. Retrieved 2010-01-05. {{cite web}}: External link in |publisher= (help)
  37. ^ a b "Forgiven: One Man's Journey from Self-Glorification to Sanctification (Hardcover) - by Vince Russo". Amazon. Retrieved 2010-01-05. {{cite web}}: External link in |publisher= (help)
  38. ^ Forgiven by Vince Russo - Chapter 48 - Riddle Me This - Page 324. ECW Press. Retrieved 2010-01-06.
  39. ^ "Ring of Glory Wrestling: The Great Commission (2006)". Amazon. Retrieved 2010-01-05. {{cite web}}: External link in |publisher= (help)
  40. ^ "Rope Opera - How WCW Killed Vince Russo". Barnes and Noble. Retrieved 2010-01-01. {{cite web}}: External link in |publisher= (help)

External links

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