The headline rang out among all the message boards around the country.
Every Fidonet node was filled with people in disbelief.
Why did he leave? Why now, when the WWF was at it's peak of popularity?
And who's that bastard sleeping with my wife?
The answers where simple, Russo assures us. He said he had grown tired of the WWF and wanted a new challenge.
And quite a challenge it was.
Plenty of talent. 0 motivation. Just give them all a story and things will straighten themselves out.
But weren't there stories before, any casual fan would ask?
Yes and no. In the technical sense yes. Anything that explains why a match happens is technically a story. But the problem was, said the Bible according to Russo, that these stories had no cohesion, no logic. It was his duty to give them that purpose.
Some agree with him and leave it at that. But some delve deeper.
Some actually believe that it may have been because he didn't have a clue where to go next with some of the stories. The Austin McMahon saga was a classic on many levels, and while not perfect, helped the WWF gain it's solid foot on the Monday Night arena. But where to go from this? What else can you do to keep the fans interest? Those may have been factors leading up to Russo's and co-hort Ed Ferrera's quick and incredible departure.
Now, it is obvious, the change is very visible. The backstage vignettes, the shorter matches, the slightly more cohesive storylines, and even the backstage "they're WALKING(!)" sequences mark the major dent that Russo and Ferrera have made to World CHampionship Wrestling. Even Turner's censors seemed to have lightened up a bit. More T&A with the Nitro Girls. Kimberly kneeling down and removing a protective cup from the pants of pseudo wrestler David Flair. Both examples of how much more they are now able to get away with than the previous establishment.
Has it made a dent in the ratings? Yes, but by a point or so. Not even close to the reign that the WWF is holding on so dearly to. But time may tell a different story soon.
But with change comes a price. With so many earth-shaking, TV crashing changes to the format, the new "Powers that be (or powers to be according to Schiavonne)", seemed to overlook one fact. Changing so much will alienate their core audience... the fans looking for a change. On USA and TNT now run two similar shows, with Nitro now a sort of "RAW-lite" to many.
Long story short, the question of whether or not it was a good choice, and of how it will affect both in the long run, is still up in the air. Maybe the answer is just a few more weeks away.
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