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After some alleged resistance, Triple H seems to be finally in control of WWE's creative. While he's been praised for some decisions, Vince Russo called out the company for not having Tommaso Ciampa appear on this week's RAW.
As announced on the show, Ciampa was medically not cleared following last week's attack, and he missed RAW due to the storyline injury. In his absence, Johnny Gargano had a tough night as he lost to Ludwig Kaiser, thanks to a distraction from Giovanni Vinci.
Vince Russo couldn't understand why, despite a kayfabe injury, WWE's booking team did not think about Tommaso Ciampa being in Gargano's corner during the match against Kaiser. Russo explained on the latest Legion of RAW episode:
"They're going on and on about Triple H, and this is what drives me crazy, too. So Gargano is wrestling Kaiser and we are told that Ciampa is not cleared to wrestle. Okay, bro. He is not cleared to wrestle. What does that have to do with him not being there to have Gargano's back? Zero. That's what I'm talking about. What kind of a friend and partner is this? Okay, bro, you're not medically cleared to wrestle. Does that mean you can't be there in street clothes and have Gargano's back?" [From 24:00 - 24:40]
Vince Russo wouldn't let Triple H off the hook and put the onus on WWE's Chief Content Officer for missing an excellent opportunity to feature Ciampa on Monday Night RAW.
From a storyline perspective, Russo said it didn't make any sense for Tommaso to sit at home while his partner struggled to overcome the numbers advantage of the Imperium.
Vince continued:
"And you're going to sit there and tell me Triple H is a great booker? Really bro? Triple H just painted a picture where these two guys were just brought together last week; they are going to reform their tag team, that Ciampa is just sitting at home knowing damn well that Gargano is going into a three-on-one situation, and I guess they are not close enough to show up and have his friend's back." [From 24:41 - 25:50]
Former WWE writer Vince Russo recalls dealing with injured stars
While Ciampa isn't out with an actual injury, many wrestlers just aren't used on TV in WWE after they get hurt. Vince Russo felt it was a wrong practice and believed that even if injured, the company could get the talents in front of the cameras to advance stories.
Vince Russo, who worked in various creative teams in different companies, including WWE, stressed that there were many ways to present wrestlers in angles even if they were at their 100% physically.
"I know what we're going to get; while we're saying this, we're going to hear tomorrow that Ciampa is really hurt," said Russo. "And I'm going to say, okay, how really hurt is he that he can't show up? I've dealt with hurt wrestlers all the time. They just couldn't work; they could walk! But they just couldn't work." [From 25:51 - 26:30]
What do you think about Vince Russo's observation? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.
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