In two recent blog entries on his new website 'Pyro & Ballyhoo', former TNA, WCW, and WWE writer Vince Russo talked in-depth about the "Top 10 Easiest Talents to Produce" throughout his pro wrestling career. Names on the list include The Ultimate Warrior (10), The Rock (7), Sting (6), and so much more.
Below is the full list with some of Vince Russo's insightful and in-depth comments that I personally found to be incredibly honest and heartfelt:
10. Ultimate Warrior
Vince Russo made a disclaimer that this was written before Ultimate Warrior's sudden passing in April 2014. Below is an excerpt of Russo's lengthy comments about Warrior:
"To this day, I still don't know exactly what it was that "blessed" me in having a great relationship with the Warrior. And yes-you read that right-"BLESSED." Despite what you read about him, or what uneducated opinions you may have formed, Jim Hellwig was INDEED a GENIUS...
In the short time I got to work with Warrior, let me make one thing clear-I NEVER PRODUCED HIM. NO ONE EVER PRODUCED HIM. You just asked him if he would please wind himself up and GO!!!! You couldn't write for the Warrior-you wouldn't even try. No one on this planet could communicate like him, or think like him, and that was his ULTIMATE gift..."
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9. Pat Patterson and Gerald Brisco
8. Shane McMahon
7. The Rock
"No disrespect to anybody else, but there is one simple reason why The Rock is the biggest star in the history of professional wrestling-he's simply smarter than everybody else. Rock knew how to "work" the "workers" without them having any idea they were being "worked". He was just that brilliant...
I don't even remember an instance where Rock ever raised his voice--not one. I don't even remember the Rock saying he didn't like something that I wrote--not once. What I do remember is the times Rock would call me over as a gentlemen and say, "Roody Poo-I love what you wrote--but what if we add this." And I remember every time Rock being dead on-every time."
6. Sting
"Just a true gentleman of the sport, Sting is one of the few that I dearly consider a friend. If you know Steve Borden, you know that he just doesn't have a mean, vicious, or vindictive bone in his body-not one. He is a true gentleman in every sense of the word, and that is exactly how he carries himself in every locker room that I've ever worked in with him. From a professional prospective, the thing I admire about Sting above all is his trust in you as a writer/producer to STILL take chances, to continue to reinvent himself even at this stage of his career."
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5. Kurt Angle
"Kurt is just a pro. If I was to start a wrestling promotion, and I had to start with one guy to build around, it would no doubt be Kurt-he is the most dependable and reliable wrestler I have ever worked with. He's that cornerstone that every company needs. When people call him a CYBORG-they're not kidding-he is! Another guy who just never raises his voice, never knows more than you do, and just allows you to concentrate on doing your job."
4. Any Female Wrestler
3. Dustin Rhodes / Goldust
"Far and away, Goldust was the most intricate character I've ever had to write/produce for in my career. No two promos were ever the same, or was the same movie ever quoted twice...
I can't even imagine the train wreck we would have had on our hands had Dustin not been cooperative, and gone with the written word. 100 percent trust on his part--100 percent, and at one time that character was more over than any other heel I had ever worked with. And what a great, great natural actor Dustin was/is..."
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2. Paul Bearer
1. Mr. Backlund (Bob Backlund)
"Like Warrior, when I would later be producing Mr. Backlund-you couldn't write for him. There was NOTHING-NOTHING I was going to write that was going to be better than what was just coming off the top of his head. This was entertainment at its finest form-nobody better-nobody."
(Credit: Pyro & Ballyhoo)
CB's Analysis: There is really nothing more to add to what Russo recounted above as it was a pure joy to read his personal stories on so many amazing talents. I will say that one additional point Russo did make before revealing his list is that he never got the chance to produce John Cena or Randy Orton, but he thinks they would have also been real contenders here. This was just an amazing read all-around.
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