Many figures split the wrestling community. Vince McMahon is admired for bringing professional wrestling to the mainstream, but fans and wrestlers blame McMahon for killing the territories. Another person that draws a lot of ire in the wrestling community is Vince Russo.
Russo worked for WWE during the Attitude Era before moving to WCW in 1999. Russo would briefly return to WWE in 2002 before working for TNA. Russo broke into the wrestling business as a writer who originally worked for WWE as a contributor for the WWE Magazine.
9 Hate - Rick Steiner
Rick Steiner is half of the Steiner Brothers tag team alongside his real brother Scott Steiner. The two won tag team titles in WCW and WWE over the course of their career after both were celebrated collegiate wrestlers. In 2021, Rick's son Bronson was signed to WWE on a developmental contract.
During a shoot interview, Rick Steiner criticized Russo's booking during the latter's time in WCW. According to Steiner, Russo didn't contribute anything positive to the promotion during his time there. Rick also stated that he believed that Russo was cancer, and a part of him believed that Russo was sent by Vince McMahon to destroy WWE.
8 Love - New Jack
New Jack is a former ECW and hardcore wrestling icon who is best known for his run in ECW which included the Mass Transit incident. New Jack has been involved in a fair share of controversial moments. Jack also tasered a fellow wrestler called Grimes and gotten into a shoot fight with a wrestler called Gypsy Joe.
New Jack, who worked with Russo in TNA from 2002 to 2004, has stated that unlike others he has no issue with Russo. While many have criticized Russo with graphic booking, the style is exactly the type that New Jack has always played towards. Vince Russo also based a lot of his Attitude Era WWE work off the things that New Jack and others were doing in ECW at the time.
7 Hate - Eric Bischoff
Eric Bischoff is the former Executive Producer of WCW and ran the brand alongside Vince Russo towards the end of the promotion's history. Bischoff and Russo have an incredibly fraught and complicated history that stems from the time that the two worked together in WCW.
The two would also work together in TNA, but both departed the promotion in 2014 after separate issues with the promotion. Bischoff called out Russo after the former WWE, WCW, and TNA head writer criticized Drew McIntyre. Bischoff stated that he believes that Russo has no idea what he is talking about.
6 Love - Kurt Angle
The former Olympic Gold Medalist and four-time WWE Champion, Kurt Angle, was a main eventer in both WWE and TNA over the course of his in-ring career. Angle and Russo briefly overlapped in WWE before Russo left the promotion to work for WCW.
However, Angle and Russo would work together in TNA after Angle wrestled for the promotion from 2006 to 2016. In an interview with Chris Van Vliet, Angle spoke about how much he enjoyed working with Russo in the promotion.
5 Hate - Jay Lethal
Jay Lethal is one of the nicest people in professional wrestling. Best known for his Black Machismo gimmick, Lethal has wrestled for promotions like Ring of Honor and TNA for the majority of his career. While wrestling in TNA, Lethal would become a six-time X Division Champion and wrestled against the likes of Ric Flair.
Lethal's dislike for Russo stems from the fact that he believes Russo was behind his departure from TNA. Lethal also criticized a backstage segment that Russo was behind involving Sonjay Dutt's feet being massaged by children.
4 Love - Booker T
Booker T is a five-time WCW World Heavyweight Champion and a multi-time WCW Tag Team Champion for the promotion as a part of Harlem Heat. Despite being booked as a tag team wrestler for the majority of his career, it was under Vince Russo that Booker T became a main event wrestler for the company.
Booker T has gone on record to acknowledge that Russo was responsible for his World Championship runs. Russo responded to the comments by saying that Booker T's championship victory remains one of his proudest career moments.
3 Hate - Jim Cornette
Speaking of someone who is no stranger to controversy, but also has a long-standing hatred for Vince Russo, is the former manager and creative mind Jim Cornette. Cornette and Russo first worked together as creative advisors to Vince McMahon in WWE.
Cornette has criticized Russo and his booking over the years, stating that the two never worked well together regardless of which promotion they were in. In 2017, Russo requested a restraining order against Cornette, claiming that Cornette has threatened him several times over the years.
2 Love - Jeff Jarrett
Jeff Jarrett and Vince Russo have been friends dating back to their time together in WWE. Jarrett returned to WCW a mere two weeks after Vince Russo had been hired as the promotion's head writer. Russo would go on to make Jarrett a world champion in the promotion and the company's biggest heal.
Jarrett returned the favor when he and his father ran TNA. Against his father's wishes, Jeff hired Russo as a head writer for the promotion.
1 Hate - Hulk Hogan
Hogan and Russo worked together in WCW, and Russo was the reason Hogan left the promotion after the Bash at the Beach 2000 controversy. The event saw Russo criticize the aging champion for refusing to drop the title to Jarrett and instead told Jarrett to lie for the pin.
Up until this point, the storyline was reportedly agreed on. After Hogan left, Russo cut a scathing promo on Hogan which resulted in Hogan filing a lawsuit against WCW for breach of contract. The lawsuit resulted in Hogan sitting out the remainder of his contract as WCW was eventually sold to WWE.
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