Former WWE, WCW, and TNA writer Vince Russo recented started a weekly podcast on WrestlingInc.com entitled “Nuclear Heat.”
Russo first states that Reigns got booed out of the building at the 2015 Royal Rumble is because WWE unnecessarily put Daniel Bryan in the match as well as pairing Reigns with other performers who had no chance of winning and going on to headline WrestleMania 31:
“It had a lot to do with putting Daniel Bryan in that match, which they didn’t have to put him in, having him eliminated, leaving Reigns in there with three other guys that had no chance of winning the match, so they put Reigns in a horrible position. The people booed him out of the building. From that day on, from where I sit, my professional opinion is that the WWE has been catering to the internet, the internet wrestling community, the small audience with the loudest voice! Everything they said they weren’t going to do, now they are doing. They are catering to that crowd, which they already have. The casual fans are no longer there.”
Russo then went on to discuss current WWE World Heavyweight Champions Seth Rollins and how he isn’t over with the fans because of the way his character has been written, which makes it impossible for the audience to connect with him:
“Seth Rollins is a great wrestler, Seth Rollins is not over. The reason Seth Rollins is not over is because creative has butchered his character. He [has] got more personalities than Sybil. One week, he’s running away. The next week, he’s standing up to Dean Ambrose. The next week, he’s running away. The next week, he’s standing up to Triple H. There have been so many changes with this Seth Rollins, there is no way anybody in the audience can be emotionally attached to him.”
Russo then went on to compare Rollins to WWE Hall of Famer Shawn Michaels:
“[If] you want to see the difference in what I am talking about, go back to the Attitude Era and watch [when] Shawn Michaels was the [WWE] Champion. Watch the consistency of his character. He always stayed true to himself! Seth Rollins is a Duncan Yo-Yo, it’s up, it’s down, up and down, up and down, up and down.”
You can watch the entire debut episode below:
![video](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/IEVMHiV7vew/maxresdefault.jpg#auto)
Editor’s Note:
I have always enjoyed Russo’s point of view, as it is always interesting to hear what goes on behind the scenes from someone who actually made creative decisions. I will be tuning in to future installments for sure.