Vince Russo delved into his booking philosophy and his time with WCW. One particular topic that came up was his controversial decision to book himself as the WCW World Champion.
In an episode of Truth With Consequences, Vince Russo explained that this decision was not made lightly, but rather as a strategy to attract a wider audience. According to Russo, the decision was reached during a creative meeting just days before the show.
He revealed that everyone in the booking meeting shared the same belief that generating maximum viewership was the primary goal. Rather than approaching it as a traditional wrestling show, they looked at it as a TV show, aiming to captivate not just the hardcore wrestling fans, but also the casual viewers.
Russo cited previous instances where he had employed similar tactics, such as putting the WWE title on Vince McMahon, the WCW title on David Arquette, and another WCW title on Eric Bischoff. These decisions were driven by the desire to create compelling storylines that would resonate with a broader audience.
The week of the show in the creative meeting the decision was made. The people in the booking meeting all thought the same. The goal was to get as many eyeballs as possible on the show. Everybody on the creative side was looking at it as a TV show rather than a wrestling show. I put the WWE title on [Vince] McMahon, the WCW title on [David] Arquette, and another WCW title on [Eric] Bischoff. Why? We are looking to create stories not for the wrestling fan but for the casual wrestling fan.
What Booking Decision Does Vince Russo Regret The Most?
Vince Russo spoke about the Kennel from Hell Match in 1999 as being his worst booking decision. The match featured Al Snow and The Big Boss Man inside two cages with what were supposed to be fierce police dogs on the outside of the second cage. However, the dogs that turned up for the show were very placid and were not what Russo expected.
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