"It's insulting to them" - Vince Russo on Aleister Black and Elias' WWE pitches (Exclusive)
Former WWE writer Vince Russo believes Aleister Black and Elias inadvertently harmed their chances of succeeding in the company by pitching their own ideas.
Black, who received his release from WWE last week, recently disclosed several ideas that he had for his onscreen character. RAW Superstar Elias has also been known to submit his own pitches to WWE’s creative team.
Russo worked alongside Ed Ferrara on WWE and WCW’s writing teams in the late 1990s and early 2000s. During a recent edition of Sportskeeda Wrestling’s Writing With Russo, he said he welcomed ideas from wrestlers about their own characters. However, Russo believes the same cannot be said for the majority of writers.
“Bro, once we left [to join WCW], when you went to creative with ideas, bro, the difference is now the ego kicks in and it’s, ‘Oh, okay, bro, let me get this straight, you’ve gotta come to us with your ideas because what are you saying? Our ideas aren’t good enough?’ It’s insulting to them," Russo said. "Bro, that’s all pride and ego. He [Aleister Black] made it clear [that he was pitching ideas]. Bro, I know another guy like that… Elias did the same thing. Week after week, idea after idea after idea. Bro, that’s the worst thing that you can do because they take that as, ‘What are you telling us? We’re not doing our job?’”
Watch the video above to hear more of Vince Russo’s thoughts on Aleister Black’s WWE release. The former WWE head writer also discussed Black’s unhappiness with his role in the company.
Vince Russo compares Aleister Black and Elias to Raven
Wrestling legend Raven worked for companies including WWE, WCW, ECW, and IMPACT Wrestling between 1992 and 2010. He often pitched his own character ideas to Vince Russo when he arrived at the building on the day of television tapings.
Although Russo liked that approach, he reiterated that WWE’s writers prefer to create ideas themselves.
“Just in reading his [Aleister Black’s] comments, this was a very creative guy. I know Elias is a very creative guy. We see what has happened to him," Russo continued. "Bro, like Raven… Raven used to be that guy, where the minute I walked in the building he was in my ear with pages and pages. I know how that would be received at the WWE, but to me it’s like, ‘Bro, this guy’s thinking of his character non-stop. Thank you, Raven, thank you.’”
While it is unclear who came up with the idea, Aleister Black (now known as Tommy End) recently revealed that he almost aligned with The Undertaker. As a result, he could have been featured in a supporting capacity during the Boneyard match between AJ Styles and The Deadman.
The nixed idea would have seen Aleister Black come to The Undertaker’s rescue at WrestleMania 36 after Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows tried to help AJ Styles.
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