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Vince Russo has claimed that WWE officials legitimately believed RAW Underground and RETRIBUTION had the potential to turn the company around.
Russo stated that the higher-ups used the two ideas to convince USA Network executives that Monday Night RAW was heading in the right direction. Unfortunately for the creative team, the new introductions failed to take off on TV and were scrapped within months.
WWE has had several hits and misses over the years, and it's safe to say that RAW Underground and RETRIBUTION are amongst the worst angles in the promotion's long history.
Here's what Vince Russo had to say during his interview with Wrestle Buddy:
"WWE sold the USA Network on RAW Underground and RETRIBUTION being the next things that were going to turn the company around," revealed Vince Russo. "They really convinced them of that." [36:00 - 36:15]
RAW Underground debuted in August 2020 under the leadership of Shane McMahon. By the end of September, the shoot-style wrestling concept was discontinued due to multiple backstage reasons.
As for RETRIBUTION, the faction was active for 230 days between August 2020 and March 2021 until they were disbanded.
Vince Russo says network executives can't improve WWE's numbers as they don't know how wrestling works
Vince Russo continued to talk about the issues affecting WWE and bluntly stated that TV network officials lacked the required knowledge about the wrestling business.
Despite WWE having some of the best performers in the world, Russo felt it didn't matter as the influential people working at USA Network and FOX couldn't explain the reasons behind the disappointing viewership figures.
"But you know, again, you've got the best workers in the business working these television people who don't have a clue of how wrestling works. USA Network couldn't tell you why this show isn't drawing," Russo added. "They couldn't tell you, bro. If you asked them why aren't you guys doing the numbers, they wouldn't be able to tell you because they don't know." [36:16 - 36:37]
In case you missed it, Vince Russo also made a few comments about Cody Rhodes and whether the superstar was capable enough to "draw the masses." You can read more on that here.
If you use any of the above quotes, please credit Wrestle Buddy and give a H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription.
