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Jerry Root

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BLAH

THE MAT POTATO

So, Russo is gone, or at least that's what's being reported. So, are we being worked? Is this reality? What is reality in the world of professional wrestling any more? However, I'm going to buy into this at face value and assume that the story is true. Vince Russo is gone.

So?

The sun came up again today, went down tonight, and hopefully will come up again tomorrow. The world didn't end. And anybody who saw this coming is probably thinking the same thing as when Bischoff left.

What now? What direction is the WCW going to take?

I haven't a clue.

However, one thing I do know, regardless of what anybody else says, the only person responsible for Russo getting canned is ..... Vince Russo!

There, I've said it! I'm glad I said it, and deep in our hearts, we all know it's true.

I have seen so many writers saying that "hey, Russo got a free pass when he was with WWF, but once he went to WCW he was a pariah.". Well, I'll tell you right now, I was no Russo apologista. I didn't approve of the crap he put out at WWF, and my opinion didn't chance one iota when he went to WCW.

Perhaps I'm in the minority here. However, there may be a reason why the big shift of opinion. Russo tried to turn WCW into a mirror image of the WWF, and the fans of WCW who are used to one particular style of wrestling, just didn't want it! That's the reason why there's choice!

Also, Russo did absolutely nothing to attract viewers. Who wants to tune in to a show and see a bunch of in-jokes that, unless you're aware of the background, just aren't that entertaining? It reminds me of a Christmas party I went to where the entire thing was pretty much set up for the home office, all the "presents" were given out to members of the home office, and a lot of inside jokes were made. For the rest of us, we pretty much felt like outsiders who were being blatantly ignored.

How can you feel a part of something that you don't know enough about to really "get it". I watched a few moments of a show about wrestling. What little I saw of it included an interview with Vinny Mac and Skippy. Vinny Mac pretty much laid it out for all to see when he said that the WCW is involved in "wrassling, while we're involved in sports entertainment".

There's the rub. The WCW fan wants to see wrestling. At least, that's why I tune in to the shows, and if the WCW is the fed that is going to feed my need, then that's the one that I'll watch. If they're going to get back to actual wrestling, and leave behind the crap, or at least a majority of it, then I'll tune in. I'm sure there are others like me, and the ratings will eventually come up to reflect it.

So, here we are today. If it's true, then good-bye, Vince. I wish you well in your future endeavors. As I used to tell the people who worked for me when they did something that had unpleasant results "did you learn something from it?"

Jerry Root
[slash] wrestling

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