"He left money on the table" - Details on Vince McMahon ending deal with WWE's top sponsor (Exclusive)
Vince Russo has highlighted the differences in Vince McMahon’s approach to WWE business deals in 2021 compared to the late 1990s.
Russo, who worked as WWE’s head writer during the Attitude Era, discusses the modern-day WWE product on Sportskeeda Wrestling’s Legion of RAW. He mentioned in this week’s review that many aspects of WWE programming are aimed at children, including the Braun Strowman vs. Shane McMahon storyline.
The host of Legion of RAW, Chris Featherstone, pointed out that the median age of a WWE viewer is 54. In response, Russo recalled how Vince McMahon once canceled a deal with Skittles because his company had a different target audience than the fruit-flavored candy.
“Chris, I swear I remember when we went full-blown Attitude Era. Bro, at the beginning of the Attitude Era, do you know who the number one sponsor was? Taste the Rainbow [Skittles]. And, bro, I remember Vince bringing the ad guys in, ‘Bro, kill the Skittles ad. We can’t be doing Taste the Rainbow on this type of a show.’”
Watch the video above to hear more of Vince Russo’s thoughts on this week’s WWE RAW episode. He gave his honest opinion on The Fiend's new mask, Jeff Hardy's latest defeat, and much more.
Vince McMahon knew WWE would receive more advertisers
Although Skittles was WWE’s top sponsor at the time, Vince Russo said Vince McMahon had faith that the company would receive better offers.
“And, bro, he [Vince McMahon] left money on the table but Vince was, ‘Bro, with the direction we’re going, we’ll get 10 other advertisers. We’ve got nothing to worry about.’ But now [in 2021] it doesn’t matter?”
Russo also referenced Matt Riddle’s scooter, Xavier Woods’ trombone, and Braun Strowman’s new “Strowman Express” sound. He questioned why WWE produces these type of segments when the average viewer's age is so high.
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