Vince Russo and Jonathan Coachman are calling out WWE’s creative system, and they don’t think enough people are being held responsible when ratings or fan interest drop.
While speaking on The Coach and Bro Show, Coachman asked whether WWE creative is directly affecting the ratings right now. Russo didn’t hesitate and said the answer is obvious based on the feedback he gets every day: “Without a shadow of a doubt. And I’m just saying that based on the feedback I get every single day. Every single day.”
Coachman then argued that, during his time in WWE, the people who usually got cut loose from creative were lower-level assistants, not the veteran names actually shaping the product. He pointed out that people like Michael Hayes, Bruce Prichard, and Ed Koskey have remained in place through multiple creative eras.
“They have nothing to do with creative, these young kids that they bring in. Or you have a Brian Gewirtz who left with The Rock to run his company. But all the meat and potato guys, the Michael Hayes, the Bruce Prichards, the Ed Koskeys, they are still there.”
Coachman also brought up Road Dogg, suggesting he may have become a scapegoat while others avoided blame. He questioned whether Road Dogg was let go because he pushed back on creative decisions.
“And the one guy that was just a recent scapegoat, Road Dogg, and he comes out all of a sudden with every week that goes by, he’s looking like a babyface at everybody else. Did he get let go because he was the one that was pushing back on creative? It looks that way to me.”
Vince Russo then compared WWE’s current setup to his own time working under Vince McMahon. He said he directly told Vince McMahon that if he didn’t improve the numbers, he expected to be fired.
“I told Vince, if I do not increase your numbers, I expect to be fired. It’s that simple. This is my job. This is what you’re telling me I need to do. If I don’t accomplish that, you need to get rid of me and go on to the next person.”
The former WWE writer claimed the company has not truly moved on creatively since he left in 1999, arguing that many of the same ideas and people have remained in place for decades, calling WWE a one-trick pony.
“They have not gone to the next person since I left there. You got to remember I left there in 1999 and that’s when Stephanie moved in with Triple H. When I left, that’s when they moved in. So, we’ve been talking about this one-trick pony for 27 years now. 27 years.”
Russo and Coachman’s argument is simple: if creative affects ratings, then the people in charge of creative should be held accountable when the product struggles. Whether WWE agrees with that view or not, their comments show that the debate over the company’s creative structure is not going away.
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