Wrestling veteran Vince Russo recently shared his thoughts on WWE’s creative control. Speaking on his “The Brand” podcast, Russo discussed Mark Shapiro’s claim that TKO has 100% control over creative. This made Russo think that TKO could be protecting Paul Levesque. The previous WWE author said,
“But it surely’s really weird because recently Mark Shapiro said that TKO is 100% answerable for creative. Is that the sensation you get whenever you watched Unreal? If you watch Unreal and also you watch that boardroom and also you watch that creative meeting, Triple H is little doubt the guy in charge. They’re sitting there pitching Triple H they usually are sitting there hoping and praying for the approval of Triple H.”
“So when Mark Shapiro says this — and let’s be honest, man, Mark Shapiro has said loads of things where he has literally talked out his a**. But when he says, ‘We’re 100% accountable for the creative,’ to me, my knee-jerk response to that is that they’re protecting Triple H.”
“That’s what it feels like on the surface, but is he talking about from a star standpoint when he talks about we control the creative? Is he talking about, you already know, the Pat McAfee, the Jelly Rolls, the IShowSpeeds and these kind of people who they’re incorporating or they’re injecting into the business? Is that what he’s talking about?”
Russo Slams Triple H’s Ego Amid WWE Fan Backlash
Throughout the same podcast, Russo criticized Hunter’s ego for putting himself everywhere in the WWE product. He said,
“Guys, you’ve gotten to grasp in freaking wrestling if you end up in an influence position or a position of management, you simply don’t put yourself in front of the boys, bro. That’s going to create huge, huge issues, man. You usually put the boys first. The boys are the explanation why you’re earning money. But for Triple H to place himself on the market in front of every little thing, bro, to me, that was a mistake.”
“If you’re putting yourself on freaking billboards and video games, and also you’re everywhere in the WrestleMania ads, take into consideration that, bro. This guy was front and center within the WrestleMania ads. Are you wrestling, bro? Are you within the most important event? What, man? You think that individuals are buying tickets since you run this company? There’s no business sense coming out of that. That’s 1,000% ego, bro. That’s getting yourself over.”