Bad Boy Vince Russo speaks out...

[Guest pappajacks]

The following are highlights from Xtreme Mayhem's interview with Vince Russo! The interview was conducted by Mike Nagel and Jeff Meacham on January 28th, 2003. Visit http://xtreme.themayhem.com/ to listen to the streaming audio or downloadable version of the one hour interview!

 

- He starts off by talking about how he got into the wrestling business. He started with a small radio show in Long Island and he eventually was able to get some WWE (WWF) talent on his show. He wrote a letter to Linda McMahon and got hired as a freelance writer for WWF magazine, and made about $150 a month writing stories for the magazine. Soon, he become editor of the magazine, and once he got his foot in the door, he was able to eventually become a television writer. He got hired to write for the magazine right before Wrestlemania X.

 

- He put over Steve Austin as the guy who WAS the Attitude era. Steve Austin was given the ball, and he carried it on his back. He was at the right place at the right time, but at the same time he was able to pull it off. He said Austin and Vince McMahon had great chemistry as well which helped things. He doesn't think the wrestling business will ever peak again to the level it was during the Austin/McMahon era in his lifetime. Russo also put over Sable as one of the main factors of the WWF's success, saying that she drew the second biggest pop next to Austin every single night. He doesn't think any female has been able to hold a candle to Rena Mero since she left the WWF. He said that the boys in the back hated the fact that Rena was more over than any of them and because of that, they made her miserable backstage. The boys would then say things to Vince in his ear, and eventually people like Rena and Chyna would part ways. He doesn't think that the current women in the WWF will be allowed to get over as much as they could because of the situations with Rena and Chyna.

 

- One of his favorite moments in WWF was the "This Is Your Life" segment with The Rock and Mankind. He also loved the way that they turned Rock into the "Corporate Champion" at Survivor Series. Despite Austin coming back, he doesn't think they will be able to reach the level of success with him that they once had.

 

- He spent three and a half hours in a car with Raven last week and listened to Raven's philosophy and can't believe that WWE let a guy go who can bring so much to the table with his intelligence and creativity. He said the real "black hole" of the business was that you could throw away your entire career if you look at someone the wrong way. He said that it was BS that guys like Jerry Lynn and Ron Killings didn't make it in WWE, because they have everything it takes to reach the top. He said he was given a roster and his goal was to put every single guy over. He said it didn't matter what he felt about a person as long as they could make the product more successful. Russo put over Kevin Nash as one of the few established stars that didn't give Russo a difficult time and Nash did every single thing that Russo asked.

 

- When he signed with WCW, he knew he was dead two weeks later. He found out who his friends and enemies were and knew things wouldn't work for him. He said it was Eric Bischoff's idea to have Russo go on television as a character. He said that WCW wanted immediate ratings which wasn't possible, but Russo felt that sometimes when you need something done, you had to do it yourself. He put his body on the line and did whatever it took to get ratings for WCW.

 

- After leaving WCW, he started a business in Atlanta and, while it was doing fine, he got bored with it and also noticed how terrible the WWE's product had become. He called Vince McMahon and got hired to be part of the creative team, ahead of the RAW and Smackdown writers but below Stephanie McMahon. After a seven-hour meeting, both himself and Vince McMahon realized that things weren't going to work out. From there, Russo was given the consultant role. Jeff Jarrett wanted Russo to work for TNA so Russo decided he would be better off doing hands-on work for Jarrett rather than sitting at home and critiquing RAW and Smackdown every week. He went to TNA to do harder work for less money, but is happy with what they have done so far. Despite the progress, he admitted that TNA isn't a pimple on Vince's ass yet.

 

- Russo starts to talk about the David Arquette WCW Title win. After the production meeting, Tony Schiavone came up to Russo and said "What If?" He said at the time, WCW was starving for publicity. He made mention that the WCW belt was a prop. He said everyone at the meeting went along with his idea. The WCW belt ended up getting tons of publicity, and he doesn't regret it and he would do it again. Once again, he brought up that nobody objected to the idea and actually thought it was a great idea.

 

- Russo moves on to Roddy Piper's debut at NWA TNA. He was at the back door of the building and Jeff was the only one who knew he was there and was ready to hit the ring. All the sudden, he hears bigpipes and he had no clue Piper was going to be there. The minute Piper touched on the Owen Hart incident, Russo said that Piper was crossing the line because Piper wasn't there and didn't know Russo's relationship with Owen. Russo said he loved Owen very dearly and it was fine to talk about Russo, but mentioning Owen was going to far. He said that the only trace of wrestling in Russo's house is a framed cover of Owen Hart from a WWF magazine. He has that magazine cover to remind himself that doesn't want to lose focus on what life is all about.

 

- He is having a lot of fun with TNA despite making only a tenth of what he was getting in WWF/WCW. He said that there is no BS or backstage politics and everyone works on a face-to-face basis. He said that WWE's product has moved backwards and everyone goes through the same motions and their is no evolution. He said that the WWE is too believeable and said they are insulting the intelligence of the fans. He said that people in the business don't even want to watch the show. He says that the NWA TNA storyline is a real-life situation where the younger guys like Chris Daniels want to evolutionize the business and the older guys like Dusty Rhodes don't want to change the business.

 

- He doesn't like how WWE gives the Tough Enough kids the impression of how glorious being in the business is. He doesn't think that the Tough Enough kids will ever have a chance because Kurt Angle and Brock Lesnar are the only two big stars WWE has made in a four-year period.

 

- He called the WWE writing team atrocious, and he told Vince McMahon that these guys were not able to turn the product around. He said to be a successful wrestling writer, you need to know what the inside of the business is all about and guys from Hollywood can't cut it.

 

- Vince McMahon's genius is by putting other geniuses in key positions around him. When there are no geniuses around him, he is no longer a genius. He said Kevin Dunn was one of these guys and Russo called Dunn one of the most valuable guys in WWE.

 

- Russo said that he never trusted Eric Bischoff for one minute in WCW. Russo liked Bischoff and he was the one that told Vince McMahon to hire Eric Bischoff in WWE. There was just something about Bischoff that wouldn't allow Russo to trust Bischoff the way he wanted to.

 

- He called Mike Sanders a tremendous talent with a great brain for the wrestling business.

 

- He respects Mike Tenay because Tenay has his viewpoints and he sticks to them. Russo may not agree with Tenay's ideas, but like how Tenay stands up for what he believes in.

 

- He called Buff Bagwell a sad story and felt that Bagwell could be one of the top guys in the business if he wanted to. He doesn't expect Bagwell back in TNA anytime soon.

 

- He had a blast working with Ric Flair in WCW.

 

- Russo called Jeff Jarrett one of the few true friends that he has had in the business. He said that they have always been honest with each other, and Jeff had been put in the middle of Russo's personal issues with Jerry Jarrett.

 

- Russo never liked Jim Ross, or vice versa. Russo felt that Ross didn't like him because Russo was closer to Vince than Ross.

 

- He said Goldberg was the one person who he has disliked as a human being. He said he doesn't dislike guys like Hogan or Flair or anybody else who have different opinions than him, but he can't stand Goldberg.

 

- He said Steve Austin was tough to deal with, but was a tremendous talent nonetheless and there will never be another one like him.

 

- Russo finished up by saying that he wants the business to be the best that it possibly can be. He hopes that the wrestling business can go on long after he's gone.

[Guest EternallyLazy]

I actually like Russo... he's done wonders to NWA - TNA

 

but I still can't believe he stands behind the David Arquette bullshit

[Guest pappajacks]

Vince Russo is 1,000 times better than the writers that the WWE has (except Heyman). When Russo is surrounded by the right people, he is very effective. People don't give him enough credit for the rating boom from 1997-99. The full 2 hours of RAW were captivating and his cliff hanger endings made us tune in the following week.

[Guest oldschoolwrestling]

I actually like Russo... he's done wonders to NWA - TNA

 

but I still can't believe he stands behind the David Arquette bullshit

How long til a star comes in and wins the NWA title?

[Guest EternallyLazy]

Only time will tell...

 

I predict Carrot Top

[Guest TheArchiteck]

Pretty cool read.

[Guest Renegade]

Only time will tell...

 

I predict Carrot Top

I predict Steve-O

[Guest CoreyLazarus416]

Well, TNA has already had a non-wrestler come in and defeat a wrestler in a match (Hermie Sadler...ugh)...

 

Looks like it's a decent interview. I REALLY want to know if there's a time limit to the Gag Order WWE put on Raven, because I'd LOVE to hear Raven's rant on it all.

[Guest evenflowDDT]

I actually like Russo... he's done wonders to NWA - TNA

 

but I still can't believe he stands behind the David Arquette bullshit

How long til a star comes in and wins the NWA title?

When it becomes a big enough pimple that one of its stars has Hollywood drawing power?

 

Ron Killings, Steven Seagal, and Ja Rule in Half Past Dead 2: Quarter to Hell... coming soon to a TNA ring near you?

 

I do, however, agree with his idea that a title is just a prop, since in storyline terms and due to real-life politics, many a heel/poor wrestler has cheated to hold belts for multiple title reigns of months and months while being far from the "best" that said belt is supposed to represent.

[Guest The Hitman Returns]

Thanks for the great interview link!!

[Guest Slapnuts00]

I actually like Russo... he's done wonders to NWA - TNA

Like eliminating the good wrestling portion of the show!

[Guest The Notorious CRD]

Say what you will about Russo, but the sports entertainment vs. traditional wrestling angle has really caught my interest to the point where I'm back to watching TNA every week instead 2 shows a month.