By James Caldwell, Torch assistant editor

TNA writer Vince Russo appeared on WDFN FM in Detroit over the weekend and talked about a number of subjects, including not being able to watch WWE TV because he can't sit through their product and defending "spectacle" gimmick matches.

Read the previous recap on Russo reaching burnout before Hulk Hogan and Eric Bischoff came to TNA and responding to criticism.

-- Russo said he can't sit through a WWE TV show because he believes their creative effort is on cruise control without any imagination put into storyline developments, twists, and turns.

"I'm looking at their show creatively and when I talk about going through the motions, they're going through the motions. Their writers and their creative team is on cruise control," Russo said. "I don't watch their show from start to finish because quite honestly, I can't. I've seen it before. There's nothing new to me.

"I'd rather be criticized for trying new things that don't work than not try anything at all. I will continue to throw stuff at the wall and see what sticks and see what doesn't rather than stay complacent and put on the same old show week in and week out."

-- Russo was asked about TNA over-using gimmick matches and stipulations to the point where that tool in the toolbox loses its effectiveness. Russo defended his writing, saying they've toned down gimmicks since he took over, but he views gimmicks as an attraction for casual viewers he wants to rope into watching Impact.

"I don't think it's a fair criticism because I more or less became head of creative in July and we've done away with a lot of that. A lot of those calls weren't my doing. From July up until this point, we've done away with a lot of that," Russo said. "When you talk about gimmick matches, I don't look at as a gimmick match; I look at as a spectacle. If I'm not a wrestling fan and I'm flipping through a channel, am I going to stop on the channel where there's just two guys in a ring wrestling or is there a better chance of me stopping at that channel if there's two guys wrestling in the ring with a ladder involved? I look at as a spectacle and what's a better way for us to draw that casual fan that may not be a wrestling fan?"

Caldwell's Analysis: There's your perspective on Russo writing a show filled with gimmicks that will attract non-wrestling fans who will never spend a dime on a wrestling product rather than trying to build a product that actual wrestling fans with disposable income can emotionally invest in and potentially spend money to see a PPV. Don't get me wrong, gimmicks have their place in wrestling as attractions. However, TNA has a documented history of over-reliance on gimmicks and shortcuts rather than building up feuds that naturally lead to a stipulation match to settle a feud or an issue.

It's very clear on what caused Russo and Jim Cornette to butt heads in TNA, as Cornette has his philosophy that there are three layers of wrestling fans - hardcore fans (TNA PPV buyers and ROH-type fans), casual fans (the above category + WWE fans), and non-fans who will never like wrestling and will never watch wrestling and who will never spend money on wrestling. Russo wants to get the third category with spectacles and attractions (such as a gimmick match for the sake of a gimmick match), but the cost trade-off is alienating a certain percentage of the core audience with the disposable income.

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