Vince Russo Reveals Who He Believes Killed WCW

The demise of WCW is again a topic of conversation following the premiere of Vice’s “Who Killed WCW?” docuseries, with fans online debating who was responsible for the promotion going out of business. And now, during a recent podcast appearance , Vince Russo, a man that some have accused of killing the much-loved company with his booking, has revealed who he feels was really responsible. Placing the blame on Jamie Kellner, who was head of Turner Broadcasting System

“Bro, from what I understand, it was some dude by the name of Jamie Kellner. I think Jamie Kellner was an executive that he made the decision to pull the trigger …They didn’t wanna be in the wrestling business, bro. It’s that simple, especially when that merger was made with AOL, and a whole different set of people came in. Wrestling was an embarrassment to them. They looked down their nose at wrestling, bro. They didn’t wanna be in the wrestling business.” Vince Russo

Having made his name in WWE and been a notable part of introducing the Attitude Era, many believed WCW’s signing of Russo and colleague Ed Ferrara in 1999 was a major coup. However, his transition to WCW was far from smooth, with this Jerry Springer-inspired television product, which had been a hit in WWE, facing resistance from parent company Time Warner and had to be toned down.

Additionally, the outspoken New Yorker made some very questionable booking decisions, such as putting the WCW World Championship on actor David Arquette. Yet while some claim this was the beginning of the end for WCW, Russo has always defended the decision because WCW got some much-needed mainstream attention.