Vince Russo Says He Doesn't Think The Royal Rumble Was The Right Place For AJ Styles And Sami Zayn
Vince Russo has no shortage of opinions on professional wrestling. The Royal Rumble debuts of AJ Styles and Sami Zayn were no different.
On last night's episode of the Wrestling Inc Podcast, which you can see above, Vince Russo debated as to whether debuting Styles and Zayn at the Royal Rumble was the right call.
"I'm not so sure that out of the 3.5 million the WWE has these days, how many of them knew who AJ Styles was," Russo said. "There's a huge difference in the pop in the house, and the 3.5 million people at home. In my opinion, I don't think this was the best way to debut AJ Styles."
Russo felt that debuting Styles as a surprise could have been a mistake, because fans might not have known who he was. Instead, he thought a build would have worked better.
"I would have had a little bit more of a build up and have him come in being somebody for those who didn't know him. I'm thrilled to death for AJ. At this point in his career, he needs to be on the main stage," Russo said.
Styles wasn't the only one that Russo thought didn't connect with fans at home, as Sami Zayn also appeared. Zayn and Styles both spent a large portion of their careers wrestling in Orlando, where the Royal Rumble was held.
"I understand you're going to the younger guys, but Sami Zayn is another guy who is niche market, Orlando, NXT. In the house, good pop, at home, how are the people going to react?" Russo asked.
"When this match is done and over with, they're not going to remember AJ Styles' performance. I had already forgotten who Sami Zayn eliminated. They're going to remember the end, Triple H. Nothing against those guys, I just don't think a Royal Rumble is where you're going to get somebody fairly new over unless they win it," Russo said.
You can check out the full episode in the video above or the audio player below. For a direct download, Click Here. If you want to subscribe, you can do so through iTunes as well as our RSS feed, which you can use this to subscribe through any podcast app. If you're enjoying the show, please subscribe and rate on iTunes!