famth
Trap-Jaw
"don't shoot, that's my job"
Posts: 356
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Post by famth on Feb 19, 2006 18:32:16 GMT -5
damn skippy!
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Post by Clarence "Showstealer" Mason on Feb 20, 2006 9:07:31 GMT -5
I loved the interview and all but I think I have to get this off my chest.
If you took a shot every time Vince said "I've got to be/ I'll be honest with you (or you guys)" I reckon you'd be out cold by the twenty minute mark
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Jeff Mack
Don Corleone
Drago is mankind's greatest hero
Posts: 1,362
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Post by Jeff Mack on Feb 20, 2006 10:47:20 GMT -5
I think what I enjoyed most about the interview was an inside look on what's it like to work for Vinnie Mac.
Being a writer myself, I know what it's like to be burnt out. All you can come up with are bad ideas. So the fact that WWE writers aren't given ample time to recharge the batteries (there's no down time between seasons like regular TV shows) in addition to not getting any credit for their hard work makes me now sympathize with wrestling's often bad writing.
Furthermore, knowing that Stephanie, a business-oriented person, is at the helm of the creative side of the business makes me think that writing for the WWE could be very frustrating.
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ACG2x
Unicron
Posts: 3,139
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Post by ACG2x on Feb 20, 2006 11:22:02 GMT -5
Being a writer myself, I know what it's like to be burnt out. All you can come up with are bad ideas. So the fact that WWE writers aren't given ample time to recharge the batteries (there's no down time between seasons like regular TV shows) in addition to not getting any credit for their hard work makes me now sympathize with wrestling's often bad writing. This is one of the best paragraphs in this thread. The poster speaks the truth. The WWE writers have the following- a)- No down time or off season to write new storylines and recharge creative batteries b)- The highest rated show on cable televison, of which they have to deliver ratings for c)- A sometimes tyrannical boss who demands success I can see WWE creative often write just to come up with something. Also, regular TV shows have off season production meetings for the next season's set of shows. Therefore, an idea that looks good on first glace can be run by a team of people dedicated to said show and see if it really sounds as good as it did when it was first brought up. WWE does not have that. There is no "second review" of many ideas. It's just write something and go with it. I'm guessing often creative comes up with ideas just to have something to put on TV. Awesome first part of the interview. ("I gotta be honest with you" ) The last 10-15 minutes were gold.
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Post by skechark on Feb 20, 2006 13:38:36 GMT -5
I think what I enjoyed most about the interview was an inside look on what's it like to work for Vinnie Mac. Being a writer myself, I know what it's like to be burnt out. All you can come up with are bad ideas. So the fact that WWE writers aren't given ample time to recharge the batteries (there's no down time between seasons like regular TV shows) in addition to not getting any credit for their hard work makes me now sympathize with wrestling's often bad writing. Furthermore, knowing that Stephanie, a business-oriented person, is at the helm of the creative side of the business makes me think that writing for the WWE could be very frustrating. Is it just me or has anyone else noticed the excellent job the writers and wrestlers are doing these days? The writing and wrestling is good and have improved things a lot. The wrestlers are exciting and the faces like Cena,HBK,Shelton, for example.. are doing things to get you to want to like them. These wrestlers do put in an incredible amount of hard work and deserve our support and praise.
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famth
Trap-Jaw
"don't shoot, that's my job"
Posts: 356
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Post by famth on Feb 20, 2006 13:59:28 GMT -5
Meh, I don't think Russo was burnt out, he was just coming up with bad ideas. As was proven in WCW where there was no one to control him. Yes he had good ideas but lets face it, it's not like he really would have been writing alone, I seriously doubt that. And he was working with some of the greatest talent ever, who could have the best match you've ever seen and wouln'dt need to follow a script because they are good because of who they are. How could Russo write for Steve Austin?
Also it wasn't like Russo was booking the matches. That was for one simple reason, he wouldnt know how to book a good match. thats why on raw back in the day, matches were 5 minutes long and when he was writing for wcw, the matches were horrible.
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Post by Pete "The Genius" Poffo on Feb 20, 2006 14:02:27 GMT -5
One thing that puzzles me with the writers today, well not puzzles but kills the suspension of belief, is the on injury leave Batista has just been replaced by Kurt Angle.
It's like they had this whole 4 months worth of scripts written, Batista has had to take time off and Kurt has simply taken over the role.
What happened to the times when wrestlers would get injured or leave for other promotions impromptly and plans would have to be quickly rewritten, that led to some great advancements.
Off topic enough, so I'll stop there.
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famth
Trap-Jaw
"don't shoot, that's my job"
Posts: 356
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Post by famth on Feb 20, 2006 14:46:48 GMT -5
Tis called lazyness. They can just do that and not need to worry about wrestling fans wanting to change to a different show that might be on at that time.
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Flexy Lexy
Don Corleone
LORD, HEAR OUR PRAYER
Posts: 1,418
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Post by Flexy Lexy on Feb 20, 2006 16:26:07 GMT -5
RD did you have to restrain yourself when interviewing Vinny Roo?
I mean your with the guy who singlehandedly ruined WCW, I would find it hard not to berate him.
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Hiroshi Hase
Patti Mayonnaise
The Good Ol' Days
Posts: 30,755
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Post by Hiroshi Hase on Feb 20, 2006 20:02:51 GMT -5
Very good interview and has definitely changed my view on Russo, I look forward to Pt.2 of this interview.
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CaptainRon
Trap-Jaw
SaveUs, Mean Street Posse!
Posts: 455
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Post by CaptainRon on Feb 21, 2006 13:23:04 GMT -5
Is it just me or has anyone else noticed the excellent job the writers and wrestlers are doing these days? The writing and wrestling is good and have improved things a lot. The wrestlers are exciting and the faces like Cena,HBK,Shelton, for example.. are doing things to get you to want to like them. These wrestlers do put in an incredible amount of hard work and deserve our support and praise. Okay, who let Stephanie McMahon here on the Board? ;D
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STMP
Hank Scorpio
Wild and Only 50
Posts: 5,569
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Post by STMP on Feb 21, 2006 14:58:23 GMT -5
Vince Russo sounds like a nice guy and I believe he meant well. But he came up with a lot of crap. When you think about it, the only good thing and the reason the Attitude-era was extremely succesful was the Austin/McMahon feud. It was new and it changed the face of wrestling. All of a sudden a heel was the topface and he was fighting the big, corporate boss. No other tv-show gave you that, no other tv-show would let you take out the agression on your boss. But WWE delivered, you could let out all your emotions by just cheering Austin on.
And if you didn't like Austin, there was enough interesting stuff for the casual fan. And if you didn't like wrestling, well, there were a lot of boobies.
WWE during the Russo days was a good place for the casual fan. And the wrestlers themselves kept the hardcore fans by wrestling some really good matches.
However, that doesn't turn Russo in a good writer. And if he spoke with Edge for 2 hours and all he came up with was "you're gonna be a guy who dresses in dark clothing and never speaks" how good is he then. Edge and Christian became a succes when they became their dorky selves and that is not something Russo discovered after talking with them for hours. It's actually kind of strange that the Brood was the complete opposite of who they really were.
Another thing that made no sense was that wrestlers are writing the WWE. No they are not, WWE is hiring professional writers, who don't have a clue about wrestling and wrestling history. Russo was a fan and he could write. He grew up with wrestling and like he said, wrestling fans know that wrestling can be predictable so just change everything and let them guess what is coming next, give them something new. That idea doesn't come from 'Vince Russo, professional writer' but from 'Vince Russo, wrestling fan'.
If you look at ECW, pretty much every gimmick and idea came from the wrestlers themselves. And ECW was full of Wrestlecrap, just look at the Dudley family, but the wrestlers made it work. The gimmicks became succesful and stuff like the FBI and the Dudleys got over. Not thanks to writers, but wrestlers who were able to have fun with their own gimmicks.
So my conclusion pretty much is, Vince Russo is a nice guy, but like Heyman once said about Bischoff "He's full of shit"
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Post by webleed4real on Feb 22, 2006 8:53:57 GMT -5
I thought it was contradictory that he said the reason that his gimmicks worked was because they were already a part of the wrestlers.
Yet, if he came up with the Val Venis gimmick, Sean Morley is actually the complete opposite of his porn star character that he plays. That didn't make sense to me.
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