So this is comparing WCW numbers from July 1999 to July 2000. Average attendance is down 55%. Average gate down 53%. Monday night ratings are down 25% (although Dave points out that it's not a fair comparison because Nitro switched from 3 hours to 2. So if you account for that, it's even worse and would actually be about a 31% drop). PPV buyrates down 45%. In July 99, they sold out around 17% of their house shows. In July 2000, they sold out exactly 0% of them. A lot can change in a year. And while I'm pointing it out, it's worth noting that Vince Russo was in charge for probably 75% of that year.
Dave Lagana writes in, talking his experience working on "Friends" and talking about how most TV shows are written by writing teams and how stories are crafted in TV writing rooms and so on and so forth. Basically, it leads to the one big question every writer, booker, and performer should ask themselves: how will the audience react to the long-term story? Not how loud the momentary pop is or how much you were able to swerve the audience with a surprise that doesn't make any sense, etc. The point he's trying to make is that Vince Russo is doing literally everything wrong and he has no idea how to write television. He's also pretty fed up with Russo's constant everything-is-a-shoot booking, where they openly acknowledge scripts and bookers and shit in every segment. He's not the only one.
In regards to Russo blaming his failures on Turner's standards & practices department, Bischoff called it "a crock that Russo peddled" and said his excuses were "a load of crap."
