Vince Russo reveals one thing he "desperately needed" from WWE stars (Exclusive)

Vince Russo was WWE's co-head writer in the late 1990s when RAW often drew the highest viewing figures in the show's history. The one-time WCW World Heavyweight Champion recently recalled how wrestlers' in-ring believability played a part in his writing style.

WWE fans and legends are sometimes divided on the best way to tell wrestling stories. While some prefer to focus on the in-ring aspect of the business, others say professional wrestling is now a sports entertainment product.

Russo discussed his days in WWE on Sportskeeda Wrestling's Writing With Russo alongside host Dr. Chris Featherstone. The 64-year-old often approached wrestling as a weekly soap opera rather than a legitimate competition. However, he also acknowledged that his storylines only worked thanks to wrestlers' intense characters:

"The one thing, which I desperately needed, bro, they wanted it to look real," Russo said. "They wanted you to believe everything they were doing was absolutely real. They took great, great pride in that, and I needed that. I mean, I definitely needed that to get my stories across." [3:09 – 3:29]

Watch the video above to hear Russo's unique take on Triple H attending Linda McMahon's Senate hearing a day before SmackDown.

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Vince Russo on WWE Attitude Era stars' in-ring safety

In Vince Russo's opinion, current performers are "reckless" from an in-ring perspective compared to wrestlers from the 1990s.

While accidents are always likely to happen in wrestling, the veteran writer thinks Attitude Era talents took better care of their opponents:

"They took great pride in a couple of things," Russo continued. "Number one, making you believe it was real. Number two, never hurting the guy they were working with. Always protecting their opponent and working together. I mean, they took great, great pride in that, man." [3:32 – 3:49]

Russo also told a story about Stone Cold Steve Austin trying not to break character after a legend tried to attack him at live events.

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Please credit Sportskeeda Wrestling's Writing With Russo and embed the video if you use quotes from this article.