"Hogan was already made" - WWE veteran says Vince McMahon had no hand in creating Hulk Hogan (Exclusive)

WWE veteran Vince Russo recently pointed out how Vince McMahon never created any characters of his own but was handed to him in various ways.

McMahon is regarded as the most powerful man in wrestling history, owing to his contributions to making WWE a global juggernaut. When the 77-year-old purchased the company from his father, Vince McMahon Sr., he chose to split it from the NWA and led an enormous national expansion. As things stand today, the company is the most recognized name in the wrestling business.

However, speaking on Sportskeeda Wrestling's Writing with Russo, Vince Russo explained McMahon might not be as creatively influential as people think he is. The former WWE writer claimed that when Vince McMahon came into power, he hired established stars from other promotions.

Russo added that although the former WWE CEO provided them with a big platform, he wasn't responsible for developing their characters. He named Hulk Hogan, Randy Savage, and Rowdy Roddy Piper, among others, who were popular even before joining the Stamford-based promotion.

"When Vince McMahon took over, he was taking these characters already made from other territories. Savage was already made, Hogan was already made, Piper was already made. Bob Orton was already made. These guys were already made. Now, don't get me wrong. As a promoter, he was putting them on a bigger stage and making them larger than life, but he did not create these people," said Vince Russo. [1:18 - 1:51]

Check out the full video below:

Vince Russo doesn't think Vince McMahon ever created any great characters in WWE

Furthermore, Russo explained that as the mid-90s came along, he and Ed Ferrara joined WWE to steer the ship during the Attitude Era. He added that after this, Brian Gewirtz was instrumental in the success of the Ruthless Era.

Vince Russo mentioned that things began downhill once Vince McMahon took it upon himself to build characters, hardly any of which were great.

"Now let's look at this chronologically. As those people are moving on, you've got the early 90s. Then somewhere around 96-97, Russo and Ferrara come around, and then, I'll give credit where credit is due, you got Brian Gewirtz, who was responsible for the Ruthless Aggression, and he kept that going. But after that, this is Vince McMahon, guys! This is all Vince McMahon. So my question would be, at what point did Vince McMahon ever create great characters?" added Russo. [1:51 - 2:50]

WWE Raw last night on USA Network (8-11pm):
2,260,000 viewers
P18-49 rating: 0.76
#1 cable original in P18-49
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The 77-year-old was in charge of this week's episode of RAW, which was negatively received by fans despite performing well in ratings.

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