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Vince Russo has defended WWE following Ember Moon’s recent criticism of the company.
Moon, now known as Athena, received her release in November 2021. Last month, the 33-year-old said NXT 2.0 superstars had to sit through “stupid meetings” about how to “dress sexy” on television. She also claimed that the company wants female stars to look like NXT Women’s Champion Mandy Rose.
Russo, WWE’s head writer in the late 1990s, told Sportskeeda Wrestling’s Dr. Chris Featherstone that he disagrees with Moon’s comments. He also referenced how the advice about outfits came from fashion consultant Melanie Pace, and not from someone in the WWE system.
“I gotta really side by the WWE on this side,” Russo said. “When they were bringing in a fashion consultant, I think the message was, ‘If you wanna look like a star, you gotta dress like a star. If you wanna be a star, you gotta look like a star. You gotta play the part.’ I mean, she was a fashion consultant.” [7:09-7:32]
Watch the video above to hear more of Russo’s thoughts on Moon's claim that women were encouraged to wear revealing outfits.
Vince Russo’s experience working with women in WWE and elsewhere
After leaving WWE in 1999, Russo worked alongside dozens of women while writing television for WCW and IMPACT Wrestling.
The one-time WCW World Heavyweight Champion added that he never spoke to female wrestlers about their choice of attire.
"I never, ever, ever told any woman I was working with in any company, ‘You gotta wear less clothes,’" Russo clarified. "Never in a million years... They wore what they wanted to wear. Maybe somebody else on a different level was relaying that message, but I can tell you as the head writer of the show, a message like that never came from me." [9:01-9:33]
Russo said last week that women are still treated like “the red-headed stepchild” of wrestling by some people. For that reason, he thinks major stars like Becky Lynch should always speak positively about female in-ring competitors from other companies.
Please credit Sportskeeda Wrestling and embed the video if you use quotes from this article.
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