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Vince Russo believes the current WWE roster sorely lacks the kind of star power it possessed in the past.
Andre the Giant, Hulk Hogan, Macho Man Randy Savage, and The Ultimate Warriors were among WWE's top attractions in the 1980s. The likes of Bret Hart, The Rock, Shawn Michaels, Stone Cold Steve Austin, and The Undertaker later became the company's marquee names.
Russo was WWE's head writer in the late 1990s when RAW regularly drew its highest television ratings. On Sportskeeda's Writing With Russo show, he used Austin Theory and Damage CTRL members Dakota Kai and IYO SKY's example to explain how wrestling has changed:
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"The rock show no longer has rock stars," Russo said. "Hulk Hogan was a rock star. Andre was a rock star. Savage was a rock star. Warrior was a rock star. Austin was a rock star. Austin Theory's not a rock star. I can go up and down. The SKY sisters [Dakota Kai and IYO SKY] are not rock stars." [10:59 – 11:20]
In Russo's opinion, many modern-day wrestlers try to replicate their favorites from years gone by instead of creating their original personas:
"It's a cover band," Russo continued. "In the 90s, we had real Journey, we had real Styx, we had real Foreigner. Today, we've got all cover bands. That's what this is, bro. These are the cover bands. No question about it." [12:06 – 12:29]
Watch the video above to hear Russo's reaction to WWE canceling several live events.
Vince Russo names two rock stars in WWE right now
Russo added that he would not pay to see cover artists perform songs from his favorite rock bands. Similarly, he struggles to enjoy current wrestling when shows do not feature megastar attractions.
The one-time WCW World Heavyweight Champion believes Bray Wyatt and Randy Orton are both rock star performers. However, he cannot say the same for IYO SKY:
"All of them are not capable of doing that [being viewed as rock stars]," Russo stated. "There are probably, if we're gonna be nice about it and generous, there's probably a handful. These guys are not Steven Tylers, no matter what they do. Bray Wyatt could be Steven Tyler, Randy Orton could be Mick Jagger, yes. Some of these guys aren't even the warm-up band. IYO SKY is not Stevie Nicks, will never be Joan Jett. No, bro, I'm sorry, man, I'm sorry." [14:24 – 15:04]
Russo previously said he has "zero interest" in Dakota Kai and IYO SKY. He thinks Aliyah and Raquel Rodriguez are a more interesting duo than the Women's Tag Team Champions.
Do you agree with Vince Russo? Let us know in the comments section below.
Please credit Sportskeeda Wrestling's Writing With Russo and embed the video if you use quotes from this article.
