Vince Russo just put Johnny Gargano’s WWE value under a microscope — and his question was as direct as it gets: is this guy actually making the company money? Russo went after WWE’s continued investment in Gargano while arguing that being popular with hardcore fans and people backstage doesn’t automatically mean someone deserves valuable television time.
The subject came up on the Coach and Bro Show as Russo and Jonathan Coachman discussed WWE making tough business decisions with its roster. Russo said wrestling is still a business at the end of the day, no matter how much people personally like a performer.
“Coach, it’s again, guys, this is very hard because I’ve been in the spot, but you’ve heard me and Coach talk about this a lot. Business, at the end of the day, it’s business, bro.”
Russo then zeroed in on Gargano and WWE’s repeated backstage shots of him “planking,” arguing that the material felt like something being kept alive because somebody inside the company is a fan.
“Come on, guys. Let’s be honest, and nothing against him and nothing against his wife. We got Johnny Gargano planking in the back for weeks. Somebody likes Johnny Gargano.”
Russo didn’t deny that Gargano has plenty of supporters. In fact, he pointed straight at Gargano’s popularity within the internet wrestling community and even brought up CM Punk working with him.
“As a matter of fact, a lot of people like Johnny Gargano in the internet wrestling community. That’s why CM Punk did the whole thing with him.”
That didn’t impress Russo. He argued that WWE can’t build its entire product around what hardcore online fans enjoy if casual viewers aren’t going to care.
“Not one casual fan in the world is ever going to care about that. They could care less about that. It meant nothing.”
Russo then took another swipe at the audience WWE appears to be targeting with that kind of material.
“But again, this is the audience we’re catering to.”
Then came the line that cut right to the heart of Russo’s problem with Gargano’s push. He didn’t ask whether Gargano can wrestle. He didn’t ask whether fans online like him. Russo wanted to know whether Johnny Gargano can actually put money in WWE’s pocket.
“But when you talk about business, when you talk about dollars and cents, the question is, period, end of story: Is Johnny Gargano going to make this company money?”
Russo also questioned what WWE was accomplishing by repeatedly showing Gargano backstage if those appearances weren’t building toward something bigger.
“And by having him lay around in the back for however long it was, what was that doing other than there are people in the company that really like him?”
To hammer the point home, Russo compared Gargano’s situation to an NFL player who might be loved inside the locker room but keeps failing when it’s time to produce.
“Coach, if you’ve got a wide receiver for the Minnesota Vikings and everybody loves the wide receiver, but every game you put the wide receiver out there, he’s dropping four or five catches, how many games — how long is that going to last before the wide receiver’s on the bench?”
Coachman answered that it wouldn’t last very long, and Russo immediately brought the argument back to business.
“Yeah. Yeah. It’s business, guys. It’s just business.”
Coachman wasn’t exactly rushing to defend Gargano either. He questioned why WWE would keep paying and featuring someone if the recurring backstage material isn’t actually leading anywhere.
“And to your point, if you’re just having him planking in the back and he’s not leading to anything storyline-wise, then why are you paying him?”
Russo made sure to say the criticism wasn’t personal. His point was that WWE is supposed to be the biggest wrestling company in the world, and he believes that means the people getting television time need to be elite entertainers who can justify their spot. Russo then laid out exactly what he thinks WWE’s standard should be.
“And it’s not personal. But bro, again, Coach and I always get back to this. We are talking about the greatest wrestling company in the world. That’s what we’re talking about.”
“So every wrestler on this show, in my opinion, should be the greatest — not wrestler — the greatest entertainer in the wrestling business.”
Gargano has never had trouble winning over the hardcore wrestling crowd, but Russo clearly doesn’t care about star ratings, online praise or how many people backstage like him. He wants to know whether Gargano can make WWE money — and based on everything he said here, Russo doesn’t sound sold one bit.
Do you think Vince Russo is right that Johnny Gargano isn’t going to make WWE money, or is he completely overlooking Gargano’s value to the company? Let us know what you think in the comments.
This transcript was produced exclusively for Ringside News from the original recording. Republishing the transcription in full is prohibited. When using excerpts, provide prominent credit and a link to this article.
