Notably being inducted into the Legends' Wing are former World Champion Ivan Koloff and Kamala the Ugandan Giant.
The legendaryWrestleMania 13match between Bret Hart vs. Steve Austin will be honored.
He won’t be mentioned, and he certainly won’t be inducted, possibly ever.
He has been pushed to the sidelines, blacklisted, and almost discarded into the dustbin of history.
And the roller-coaster ride started from there.
Suddenly, the promotion went from being kid-friendly and cartoonish toan almost R-rated broadcast.
Cursing, sex, and blood became the company’s new trademark.
Which, in turn, drew new viewership.
He would return a few months later to team with former World Championship Wrestling President Eric Bischoff.
While he did have a long tenure with Dixie Carter’s TNA Wrestling, his booking became hit-or-miss.
Russo even had a ‘blink-and-you’ll miss it’return to World Wrestling Entertainment in 2002.
That includes those at the very top of the pecking order, like Triple H and Shawn Michaels.
Without the support of his contemporaries, he has absolutely no shot at ever walking on the red carpet.
And while it seems like we’re belaboring the point, it changed the face of the industry forever.
In the eyes of many observers, Russo was the mastermind of the moment.
Even today, some of those stars still appear under the gimmicks that he created for them.
So, his impact is still being felt in the industry, even when it goes unrecognized.
Should he receive ALL the credit for that success?
Russo was simply a part of that.
But in hindsight, no one could say that he wasn’t a gigantic influence on that.
