Mike Rotunda Recalls Jumping From WCW To WWE, Becoming IRS Character
While Mike Rotunda is set to enter the WWE Hall of Fame this weekend as a member of the U.S. Express, his tag team run with Barry Windham is arguably what he's least known for in wrestling. For most fans, Rotunda is best remembered for his run in WCW as Michael, or VK, Wallstreet, or his time in WWE as IRS, where he won the WWE Tag Team Championships three times with Ted Dibiase. During an appearance on "Stories With Brisco and Bradshaw," Rotunda revealed how the Wallstreet/IRS gimmick first came to be in WCW, and why he left WCW for WWE shortly after its creation.
"Tony Schiavone came up with the idea of doing the 'Michael Wallstreet' [gimmick]," Rotunda said. "So they put me with Dustin's old wife...Teri [Runnels]. She did the computer stuff, and it was good content, because the movie 'Wall Street' was hot, and I supposedly inherited this money. So I hired a girl to do my statistics, so I knew how to beat somebody. The problem was...they [WCW] had sent me a notice saying they weren't renewing my contract.
"So Tony Schiavone came up with this idea, and I did it, and USA Today called me, and wanted to do an article. I did the 'Inside Edition,' and back then, they couldn't buy any promotion like that...I did the show, I did the article, and so Jim Herd sent me a thing 'We're going to extend your contract for six months.' And I'm like 'You're out of your freaking mind.' So I called Vince, and that's when I went back into WWE because I knew what was going to happen in six months. They'd just start beating me and the character would be dead."
Rotunda Calls IRS His Most Known Character
While Rotunda acknowledged the success he had with his other characters over the years, he admitted that IRS was easily his most recognizable role, as well as the one that provided him with the most longevity during his career.
"It was definitely my most known character," Rotunda said. "I did Mike Rotunda with Barry Windham for a couple of years, and then I did the Varsity Club, which I thought they cut short. They could've gotten a lot more mileage out of that. And then, like IRS, I did like 5 or 6 years, so it was the longest run [of my career]. And it worked well with Ted and I, because Ted was the rich millionaire guy, and I was the crooked tax man, and it kind of just meshed."
If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit "Stories With Brisco and Bradshaw" and provide a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription