WWE veteran says Roman Reigns' possible conqueror has lost too much momentum (Exclusive)
Vince Russo has concerns about WWE’s storytelling in the build-up to Roman Reigns vs. Drew McIntyre at Clash at the Castle.
McIntyre defeated Sheamus on SmackDown last week to become the new number one contender for Reigns’ Undisputed WWE Universal Championship. Although The Scottish Warrior has won several singles matches in recent months, he lost major bouts against superstars including Big E and Bobby Lashley in 2021.
Russo, WWE’s former head writer, spoke on Sportskeeda Wrestling’s “Writing With Russo” show about McIntyre’s poor booking last year.
“Those one or two booking mistakes can really, really, really set you back, and you can’t erase it. I’m just gonna emphasize this for the 50th time, 100th time maybe, 1000th time, this is why stories are so important. When you have strong stories, you don’t have to beat people clean. There’s always creative ways to get out of it.” [12:24-12:49]
Watch the video above to hear more from Russo about WWE’s lack of serious challengers for Reigns.
Vince Russo explains why storytelling is key if Roman Reigns loses
And here we go…
#WWECastle 🏴🇬🇧 https://t.co/vtGHoSNivY
Vince Russo was WWE’s head writer in the late 1990s when RAW regularly drew the highest ratings in the show’s history. The one-time WCW World Heavyweight Champion wrote creative storylines to protect the likes of Mick Foley, Steve Austin, and The Undertaker from losing clean.
In modern-day WWE, he thinks Drew McIntyre and Roman Reigns should be booked to look strong in defeat.
“When you beat them clean, there is you and me sitting in our homes saying, ‘Well, he just kicked his butt,’” Russo added. “You don’t forget that. That’s what lack of storytelling is. Austin, ‘Taker, Mick, all of them, were losing during that time, but the story dictated how and it didn’t hurt them.” [12:50-13:17]
Reigns defeated Brock Lesnar in a Last Man Standing match at this year's SummerSlam event. Despite losing, The Beast Incarnate still looked strong as his opponent needed assistance from The Usos to pick up the win.
Do you think Drew McIntyre should defeat Roman Reigns? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section.
Please credit Sportskeeda Wrestling’s “Writing With Russo” and embed the video if you use quotes from this article.