Vince Russo Buries Dave Meltzer for Sitting with Fans at SmackDown And Losing Subscribers

The fallout from Dave Meltzer’s appearance at SmackDown just escalated—and now Vince Russo buried the veteran journalist in a big way.

After a video showed a fan harassing Dave Meltzer at ringside during the April 10 episode of SmackDown, the situation quickly moved beyond the incident itself. On April 12, Vince Russo took to Twitter and used the moment to fire back at Meltzer, referencing a past comment that questioned his success in the wrestling business.

Russo first brought up Meltzer’s original criticism about his career, setting the stage for his response: “Look at this quote from @davemeltzerWON concerning me: The guy hasn’t been successful at anything on a major scale since 1999, and wasn’t at the end of that year either.”

From there, Russo directly addressed the timeline, arguing that his longevity alone proves Meltzer wrong. He then shifted to listing his current projects, pointing to his podcast network, media appearances, and upcoming book as evidence that he’s still active and relevant.

“1999. It’s now 2026. Do the math—27 years later and I am STILL making a living in the wrestling business. http://RussosBrand.com Podcasting Network is now over a decade strong, @TheCoachandBro is just coming off a wildly successful interview with @AEW Chief @TonyKhan, I have a third book coming out on July 14th and I am working for the hottest Indy Promotion out there right now, @jcwlunacy, where we have increased our numbers 400% in 6 months.”

After laying out his résumé, Russo turned his attention back to Meltzer’s presence at SmackDown, questioning how that fits into his definition of success. He doubled down on that point, challenging Meltzer directly and framing the criticism as out of touch.

“So what is success to Dave Meltzer? Buying a ticket to @WWE Smackdown and sitting with the Marks so he can write a review for a newsletter that has lost thousands of subscribers over the years? That is your definition of success, Dave?”

Russo then escalated things further by claiming Meltzer’s public comments are hurting his own credibility. And he wrapped it up with a final jab aimed at Meltzer’s appearance and he even uploaded an AI photo of himself dying Meltzer’s hair.

“The more you open your mouth the more credibility you lose so PLEASE keep opening up your mouth it’s GREAT for my Business. And, the dye job is on me.”

What started as a fan incident involving Meltzer has now escalated into a broader back-and-forth, with Russo adding his voice and turning it into something much bigger. At this point, the conversation isn’t just about one moment at SmackDown—it’s about long-standing divides in the wrestling world that continue to resurface in moments like this.

Do you think Vince Russo made a strong case defending his career, or did this just add fuel to an already unnecessary situation? Let us know your thoughts below.