All The Wrestling Characters Today Are Written To Be Too Similar, Vince Russo Says

Vince Russo was WWE's head writer during the Attitude Era between 1997 and 1999. The New York native's work paid dividends for the organization as they leapfrogged World Championship Wrestling in the Monday night ratings war. Today, Russo has a "big problem" with an aspect of the current writing process. 

"Bro, when I would be sitting here writing, and I'm writing for Road Dogg, bro, I'm Road Dogg. I'm Road Dogg," Russo said on the "Oh, You Didn't Know?" podcast via AdFreeShows. "I know this character so freakin' well; I know what he's gonna say, I know what he's gonna do, I know how he's gonna act. Every character I wrote for, I became them. I knew them inside out, so I was always true to the character ... I feel that over time it's more of that babyface-heel blanket. Like, 'He's a babyface, so this is how he has to act.'"

Paul "Triple H" Levesque is currently leading WWE's writing team as Chief Content Officer. "The Game" assumed the role last summer following the retirement of Vince McMahon amid a slew of sexual misconduct allegations; the 77-year-old has since returned to the promotion in an executive capacity after reinstating himself to WWE's board of directors. 

Russo worked closely with McMahon during his tenure with the promotion. However, he departed the Stamford-based company in 1999 following a dispute with the veteran promoter. Russo would go on to write for WWE's rivals WCW and Impact Wrestling.  

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit "Oh...You Didn't Know" with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.