Wrestling veteran admits being "confused" about 77-year-old icon returning to WWE after 19 years for WrestleMania (Exclusive)

There have been rumors that WWE is working with a 77-year-old icon to make a special appearance at WrestleMania 40 in Philadelphia. Apart from the local connection to the city, wrestling veteran Vince Russo admitted he was confused about the ordeal.

On the latest episode of Sportskeeda's Writing with Russo, host Dr. Chris Featherstone asked ex-WWE head writer Vince Russo about the rumors surrounding 77-year-old movie icon Sylvester Stallone making an appearance at WrestleMania 40. As of now, the talks have seemingly stalled, but there seems to be hope that he will appear at Philadephia. Although not a native of Philadelphia, his iconic career-defining "Rocky" character is strongly associated with the city to the point where there is a statue of him there.

Vince Russo disagreed that it made sense and admitted to being confused about Stallone at WrestleMania. He used the examples of Logan Paul and Bad Bunny to show how the company uses modern figures to draw in a younger audience, and says the Hollywood veteran's possible appearance for WWE contradicts that idea:

"It's a bit confusing to me because I don't know. I just wondered, does WWE have a specific audience? When I look at what they've done with Logan Paul and Bad Bunny, Sylvester Stallone, mid-70s! He's fifty years older than the people I just mentioned. It's a little weird. I get the Philly thing but are you going after the young kids with Logan Paul and Bad Bunny, or are you going over the 60-and-over crowd? It's very, very confusing to me. I'll be honest with you. What they've done with Bad Bunny, what they've done with Logan Paul, I get Philly. I don't think that's a fit. We heard Sami - Stallone saying how he was Rocky and if that's what they're looking to do, oy vey!" [From 02:36 to 04:06]

You can watch the full video below:

A few weeks ago on RAW, Sami Zayn paid tribute to Stallone's Rocky movie during his interview with Jackie Redmond.

Sylvester Stallone revealed his Rocky character was influenced by a WWE icon

Not many know this because of Sylvester Stallone's lack of appearances (apart from inducting Hulk Hogan into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2005), but he genuinely admires wrestling.

In an interview with Sports Illustrated, Sylvester Stallone revealed that he was influenced by the all-time great legend Bruno Sammartino while also stating his love for wrestling:

"I love wrestling...It’s all about getting swept up in the drama. There’s a passion for that world, big time. People like Bruno Sammartino, those are people that helped forge my personality and my outlook on life. Bruno, Gorgeous George, [bodybuilder/actor] Steve Reeves, [boxer] Rocky Marciano—especially Rocky Marciano. I love wrestling’s mythic qualities. I made my daughters watch wrestling—I wanted them to watch for the story," said Sylvester Stallone. [H/T Fightful]

He also slammed the idea that it was fake, comparing it to his stunts in films. He even admitted to making his daughters watch wrestling for the storytelling aspect of it.

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