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Vince Russo believes some young wrestlers are wrong to expect veterans of the business to perform at the same level that they once did.
Russo, WWE’s head writer in the late 1990s, went on to work as a writer and on-screen talent for WCW and IMPACT Wrestling. He also made appearances for independent wrestling promotions.
Speaking to Sportskeeda Wrestling’s Dr. Chris Featherstone, Russo recalled how he once saw an inexperienced wrestler giving instructions to Bill Irwin at an independent show. In Russo’s opinion, legends like Irwin (known as The Goon in WWE) sometimes agree to certain spots even if they are struggling physically:
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“This young talent was laying out this match like Bill Irwin was 25 years old, and I was listening to this, and of course he was agreeing to everything. Bro, those old-timers… I’m telling you, that’s how Sting got hurt [against Seth Rollins at Night of Champions 2015], because those old-timers are not gonna say ‘no.’ That’s not what they do.” [13:46-14:08]
In the video above, Russo also explains how the likes of Cesaro should plan for a career outside of wrestling in the coming years.
Vince Russo thinks some veterans should no longer wrestle
Sting suffered a worrying neck injury after receiving a Buckle Bomb from Seth Rollins at Night of Champions 2015. The WWE Hall of Famer, who was 56 at the time, felt numbness down both arms and struggled to stay on his feet.
Using the Irwin and Sting stories as examples, Vince Russo added that young wrestlers have to be more careful with older opponents:
“When Irwin walked away, I just said to the kid, ‘Bro, what are you doing? He’s not capable of doing this. You’ve gotta make this as simple [as possible].’ My point is, Chris... that goes on all the time with guys that shouldn’t be in the ring, and they’re agreeing to do all this stuff that could quite frankly kill them.” [14:12-14:39]
Sting, 62, made his in-ring return in 2020 with AEW after a four-and-a-half-year absence from wrestling. Irwin, by contrast, competed in his final match in 2012 at the age of 57 [H/T Cagematch.net].
Please credit Sportskeeda Wrestling and embed the video if you use quotes from this article.
