Vince Russo Talks People Blaming Him For WCW's Demise, Vince McMahon's Mindset, Raw Main Event
Former WWE and WCW creative writer Vince Russo was a guest on the Wrestle Reaction Video Show Live after Raw on Monday Night (audio available at WrestleReaction.net). During the interview, Russo spoke out on the current WWE product, the end of The Undertaker's WrestleMania streak, his working relationship with Eric Bischoff, his official website (PyroandBallyhoo.com), and the three-hour Raw format, among other topics. Highlights from the interview are as follows:
His belief that Vince McMahon lost his competitive edge:
"In my opinion, the Vince McMahon before the purchase of WCW, was a different Vince McMahon. The Vince McMahon I worked for was a freakin' killer. He would do anything to be number one. He would slice your throat, rip your eyes out, it didn't matter. When I went back and met with him in 2002, he was a different guy. And I remember, I even said to Vince, where is your bravado? What happened? And I think once he was able to buy WCW, which I think was a tremendous goal of his, his ultimate goal. Everybody knows the history between him and Ted Turner. When that happened, there was nothing else. What else could Vince possibly combat and defeat in his life?! It's like when a team wins the World Series, the next year they suck. Once you obtain that achievement, it's downhill from there. I really think Vince lost a lot of his competitive edge when he bought WCW."
His reaction to WWE booking a 4-on-3 Handicap Match on Raw:
"The hottest guy they've got on that show right now is Bray Wyatt. You've got a tag team match of seven guys out there. So, first of all, you're making Bray Wyatt one of seven guys. So now, all of a sudden, he's like everyone else. He's not special anymore. Then, to not give him the last entrance, to introduce Del Rio after him? I'm sorry bro, but there's no excuse for that. That's creative 101. How do you not bring this guy out last? You kill the lights, have that effect in the crowd with all the (cell phone) lights, have the guy do something devastating off the bat. Where's Vince on this? Where's the great filter he was?"
His reaction to people blaming him for the fall of WCW:
"Here's what people don't understand, and this is a shoot. The thing that always aggravates the crap out of me is that "I'm always making excuses for WCW." When Ed (Ferrara) and I first started, the rating before that was a 2.9. Three months later it was a 3.6. So right there, what am I making excuses for? We walked into a 2.9. When they decided they wanted a change, it was a 3.6. I don't know what I'm making an excuse for. I was there for only two weeks, and that merger (AOL Time Warner) came down. Two weeks I was on the job! And as soon as that merger came down, little by little, you knew that these guys did not want to be in the wrestling business. You knew where this thing was headed. We could've gotten the rating up to a 4, 5, or 6, it wouldn't have mattered. They just didn't want to be in the wrestling business. To blame me, or to blame Eric (Bischoff), or to blame Hulk (Hogan), it's so ridiculous!"