Konnan Describes Relationship With Former WWE, WCW & TNA Booker Vince Russo

Vince Russo has always been a polarizing figure within the pro wrestling industry, having spent time backstage in promotions including WWE, WCW, and TNA. Someone who recently stuck up for Russo while appearing on "Busted Open Radio" is his former WCW co-worker Konnan. According to Konnan, he remembers getting excited upon hearing that Russo was coming to work for WCW after his stint in WWE.

"Me and Disco [Inferno] ... used to watch [his] show 'Backstage' and we thought, 'Who's writing this? This is great stuff,'" Konnan said. "When we found out Vince was coming to [WCW], the first thing we told him is, 'Bro, can you do anything with us? Because they're not really doing nothing with us.'"

Russo then helped come up with a storyline for The Filthy Animals, a group featuring Konnan, Rey Mysterio, Eddie Guerrero, Torrie Wilson, and several others. However, after an angle that saw the group bury Ric Flair out in the desert, the storyline was dropped.

"What happened was there was a division in the f***ing ranks," Konnan continued. "All the guys that were loyal to Eric [Bischoff], that he gave big paychecks to and he was friends with, they did not want to work with Vince, and Vince was like, 'Well, if you're not gonna work with me, I'm gonna take my ball and go home.' And he became very difficult to work with, right?"

Konnan clarified that he liked Russo but compared the writer's career to that of director M. Night Shyamalan, stating that Shyamalan had an early hit with "The Sixth Sense" but failed to ever follow up in a satisfying way. He believes that Russo had a good run in his early days with WWE but was never able to recreate the magic elsewhere.

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit "Busted Open Radio" with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.