"Never seen a TV show that has attempted to make attractive women look unattractive" - WWE Veteran on Rhea Ripley and Becky Lynch (Exclusive)
Vince Russo recently opened up about his issues with how WWE presented female talent. The former WWE writer felt that top women's superstars looked more appealing in real life than television and stated that the company was at fault.
Rhea Ripley, Becky Lynch, and almost every female WWE star regularly post images on social media. Speaking on this week's episode of Legion of RAW, Russo noted that the wrestlers look entirely different from how they are portrayed on RAW, SmackDown and NXT.
Vince Russo also shared his belief that the company doesn't need to go overboard with the looks of their female stars.
"I don't know what it is. I have never seen a television show that has attempted to make very attractive women look unattractive," said Vince Russo. "I don't understand. I'm not just talking about Becky Lynch. I'm talking about Rhea Ripley. I don't understand it. Bro, Rhea Ripley put a picture up of her this week, and she looks stunning. I mean, absolutely stunning." [7:16 - 7:47]
Vince Russo on why WWE does not let female stars be their natural selves on TV
The outspoken personality never minced his words when criticizing Vince McMahon and his team's practices. He couldn't grasp why the promotion had its talent put on a little too much makeup.
Russo noted that professional wrestling viewership has a larger male demographic and said that the product, to a significant extent, was targeted at men. Russo noted that Rhea Ripley's Instagram handle was a perfect example of why the company should tone it down in the cosmetics department.
"I don't understand. When you look at Becky, when you look at Rhea Ripley when you look at Asuka, I don't understand the idea of literally putting makeup on attractive women to make them unattractive," continued Russo. "This is a show generally for men. I don't understand the concept, bro. I mean, bro, she put up a picture of herself this week, Rhea Ripley, I mean bro, it was like straight out of a modeling catalog. I don't get it. I don't understand it." [7:48 - 9:00]
WWE has made great strides in women's wrestling in recent years, but considering Russo's observations, the company might be somewhat reversing this progress and going backwards.
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