Vince Russo heavily criticizes The Rock’s recent promo
Vince Russo heavily criticized The Rock’s recent promo directed at Cody Rhodes, stating that it made absolutely no sense. He expressed frustration with the writing of WWE’s current shows, particularly taking aim at Triple H and Road Dogg, both of whom he worked with in the past. Russo admitted, “Sometimes I feel a little bad because I’m constantly piling on Triple H and now I’m gonna be piling on Road Dogg because the writing of these shows suck… and these guys were friends at the time.” However, he justified his critique by comparing it to how they would judge his wrestling if he were in the ring every week, saying, “Me being a full-time wrestler on the roster is the equivalent of you guys being full-time writers… I can imagine what you guys would be saying about me if I was going out there every week trying to be a wrestler like you’re trying to be television writers.”
Russo then specifically targeted The Rock’s promo, calling it a complete mess. He explained, “If this isn’t the biggest cluster I’ve ever seen in my life where nobody knows how to write anything that makes any sense…” He pointed out that WWE appears to be repeating the classic corporate champion storyline, where the question becomes who will turn heel and align with management. Russo broke it down: “That’s the story they’re trying to tell… Who’s gonna turn heel and be the corporate champion? Is it going to be Cody? Is it going to be Punk? Is it going to be Seth Rollins? Who’s it going to be?”
However, Russo argued that the original corporate champion angle with Vince McMahon and Stone Cold Steve Austin had a clear and logical motivation behind it. He reminded everyone, “The reason Vince McMahon wanted to oust Stone Cold Steve Austin was because Vince felt that Austin was an embarrassment to him and the company… Vince did not want Austin representing his company with the flipping the birds, the cursing, the beer drinking.”
In contrast, Russo pointed out the contradictions in The Rock’s promo on SmackDown. First, he found it odd that The Rock, who is supposed to be a heel, was talking about his Disney movie, asking, “So you’re a heel, and you’re Vince McMahon, and you’re making Disney movies?” He then highlighted how The Rock praised Cody Rhodes and acknowledged how beloved he is, stating, “Listen to the people, they love you.” Russo even admitted, “Even I have said it, and I am not a fan of Cody Rhodes… He is the perfect person to lead that company. This is a guy that dresses like a star, signs every autograph, does Make-A-Wish… this is the kind of guy you want representing your company.”
With all that in mind, Russo couldn’t comprehend why The Rock, as a supposed villain, would want to turn Cody Rhodes into an evil emperor. Frustrated, he exclaimed, “Ben, you’ve got to explain that a little bit more to me because that makes absolutely zero sense.”
Source: Vince Russo’s The Brand
