Russo speaks

[Deezy]

Former TNA Writer Vince Russo recently spoke with Dameon Nelson of the Pro Wrestling Report. You can watch the full interview below. Here are some highlights:

Rumors that Spike and TNA came to a stalemate because of him:

That’s just ignorance. Somebody who has no idea about how negotiations between a network and a show on a network. That’s millions and millions of dollars that go well beyond a Vince Russo. That’s just from people that have no understanding how the business works.

Lying about his consulting position with TNA:

From the get-go my job at TNA hinged at nobody knowing i worked for them. It was going to be secretive. I didn’t like that from the get-go. I don’t like to be dishonest and not being in the open and to hide things. I don’t like that and i felt very uncomfortable. The fact of the matter is, that’s what Dixie Carter wanted. I did my best for 10 months and do the best i could do for what they wanted.

His relationship with Dixie Carter:

You know here is the thing. I’ve worked with Dixie Carter for over 10 years now. Every time i sat back and watched while Dixie brought in new leader after new leader. I know full well how things were going to turn out and where it was heading. But my job was the television part so I never got involved. I always took on this attitude of looking out for Dixie Carter and looking out for her interest and i think Dixie knows that. That’s why I think there will always be a relationship between us. I just wanted to have the best television show and protect her.

Why he thinks the Internet Wrestling Community hates him:

Here’s the thing. I’ve been working in wrestling for over 20 years now. No nobody from this internet wrestling community has ever approached me or confronted me about anything. They just report what they have heard from another party. What they heard from hearsay. What they heard from this ‘source’ that nobody knows about. Nobody has ever dared to confront me as you and I are having this conversation right now.

The point is this. the internet wrestling community is just a small part of the audience. My job as a creator is to make the highest rating i possibly could. When you are talking about high ratings you need to talk about the appeal to the masses. When you need to appeal to the masses you can’t exactly do things the internet wrestling community wants you to do them. You are more or less going after a broader appeal of that casual fan. So because i did not represent wrestling the way they (The internet wrestling community) wants it. That’s what started the personal attacks ‘I’m a moron, I’m an idiot, I don’t know what I’m doing’

What he thinks of the issues between SpikeTV and TNA:

I’ve been holding this back for years and I finally get to say this. I felt like Hannibal Lector when he was strapped in and had his mouth wired shut. SpikeTV is a horrible partner. Why TNA would ever want to partner with Spike is beyond me unless there were no other options. If SpikeTV were the only option to stay on television then I would understand it. They are a horrible partner, they know nothing about the wrestling business. The way they advertised and marketed the program over the years was absolutely atrocious.

I can tell you this from a position where I worked with the USA network. I worked directly with Bonnie Hammer. She was the female version of Vince McMahon. She knew what she was doing. When you had Bonnie Hammer at USA and Vince McMahon, the sky was the limit. If TNA signs another deal with SpikeTV great for them. It will move along for another two years and everyone will work but the product will not grow on SpikeTV. My hope for TNA is that a new network comes along and embraces TNA and gives them the time and investment to help grow the product. I can’t say this enough. TNA ON SPIKE TV WILL NEVER GROW!

In case you have time on your hands



He's not wrong about the IWC, the people who report on things being his fault, never asked him any questions. Some have written books and recently relreleased it on how he helped kill WCW and yet, never asked him one question or tried to get his side on things.

He's also not wrong on the hardcore wrestling fans seemingly hating on things that don't cater to their wants and needs and seem to get bitter when companies try to branch out and attract casuals, but than again. You could say that about MMA diehards, Metallica diehards, fucking anything that has a hardcore fanbase for that matter. But, you just can't seem to reason with those people though.

 

[John McHenry]

He's right about Spike TV too. Still I wonder what his big idea from his youshoot was.

 

[Deezy]

True, SpikeTV has had a terrible track record when it comes to promoting any of their shows. Don't have UFC or WWE to lead into, and they were shit at even promoting Raw.

 

[Keith]

The reason why no one asks him about anything is because he never gives anyone a stright answer, he would make a good politician.

Russo hasn't had any attention for awhile, and knows how to get it, is all this is. BORING!

 

[ThatGuyFromNukemHigh]

Why the IWC hates him? I hate him because it was his bright idea to take Owen's safety line away.

 

[Deezy]

The reason why no one asks him about anything is because he never gives anyone a straight answer, he would make a good politician.

Russo hasn't had any attention for awhile, and knows how to get it, is all this is. BORING!

Cornette never gives a straight answer either, he would just go on an tangent and deflect the original question. Also, nobody ever asks him about anything he is directly accused of. His shoots are as reliable as the ones done by other wrestlers. They all work them, nobody is ever going to act like they fucked up.

And the guy was interviewed and he gave his take on things.....Weird huh? That Attention whore, how dare he answer questions. THE NERVE!!!!

Why the IWC hates him? I hate him because it was his bright idea to take Owen's safety line away.

Okay, this is a new one. Even Bret Hart who had all the details because of the Martha Patterson lawsuit never said that in his book or subsequent interviews and I would take his word over anyone else. I get that he could be blamed for writing that pratfall, but again, why does noone ever say that Owen could've refused to do it, he already did for a proposed storyline of him being in love with Debra, hence the reason for the Blue Blazer gimmick (His idea btw as detailed in Bret's book).

Couldn't be the guys who did Sting's ziplines that fucked up and used a rope grab instead of descender?

 

[Keith]

Cornette never gives a straight answer either, he would just go on an tangent and deflect the original question. Also, nobody ever asks him about anything he is directly accused of. His shoots are as reliable as the ones done by other wrestlers. They all work them, nobody is ever going to act like they fucked up.

And the guy was interviewed and he gave his take on things.....Weird huh? That Attention whore, how dare he answer questions. THE NERVE!!!!



Okay, this is a new one. Even Bret Hart who had all the details because of the Martha Patterson lawsuit never said that in his book or subsequent interviews and I would take his word over anyone else. I get that he could be blamed for writing that pratfall, but again, why does noone ever say that Owen could've refused to do it, he already did for a proposed storyline of him being in love with Debra, hence the reason for the Blue Blazer gimmick (His idea btw as detailed in Bret's book).

Couldn't be the guys who did Sting's ziplines that fucked up and used a rope grab instead of descender?

Some of that is fair, but I don't agree on the Cornette part, and he was honest about why Smoking Mountain didn't work out. Russo has never once taken credit for WCW being dire under his watch, or the total crap he produced at TNA. He constantly lives off his WWF run which was over ten years ago now! Never mentions that his ideas were filtered by Vince or someone who knew what they were doing, never says that he got lucky because of the pool of talent he had to work with etc... IMO he picked that interview and knew that the questions would work out for him.

I don't place much blame on Russo for the Owen inciddent. He never should have been the Blue Blazer second time around, and it was a pointless stunt to begin with. Also, according to Ted Dibiase WWF put Owen back as the Blazer because he refused to take part in a storyline when he was involved in a affair (didn't want to have to explain it to his kids), that paints WWF in very bad light.

 

[ThatGuyFromNukemHigh]

It was Russo's idea to take the secondary safety line off. Bret even corroborated in My Real Life in the Cartoon World of Wrestling. Real scary thing would have been if the midget was on the line with him.

Im sure continuously turning down jobs after the rest of your family fucked off was a great idea for Owen's career. Not that agreeing to this one was any better for it, but he had to be thinking his job was in jeopardy if he decided to turn down more ideas. How many times could any of you get away with telling your employer you wont do something that is asked before you find yourself looking for a new job?

 

[Kiffy Lube]

We all know the harness was workin' properly beforehand but Triple H made a deal with the devil and Owen's life was sacrificed. So if anyone is to blame it's Triple H.

 

[Deezy]

and he was honest about why Smoking Mountain didn't work out.

Blatant liar when it comes to how he ripped off Rick Rubin and embezzled money from Smokey Mountain. Listen to his business partner Tim Horner.

 

[Deezy]

It was Russo's idea to take the secondary safety line off. Bret even corroborated in My Real Life in the Cartoon World of Wrestling. Real scary thing would have been if the midget was on the line with him.

Im sure continuously turning down jobs after the rest of your family fucked off was a great idea for Owen's career. Not that agreeing to this one was any better for it, but he had to be thinking his job was in jeopardy if he decided to turn down more ideas. How many times could any of you get away with telling your employer you wont do something that is asked before you find yourself looking for a new job?

Nobody ever seems to remember that the performers rehearse that shit during the day. If he didn't feel comfortable, he is well within his rights to refuse to do it. Wrestling or not, you can drag their ass to court if an employer fires you for doing something you deem dangerous. Unless I have been working the wrong way for 10 years in my stints in construction, forestry, oil rigging and pipeline fitting where I have told bosses I was uncomfortable doing something I thought was too dangerous for me.

 

[ThatGuyFromNukemHigh]

Nobody ever seems to remember that the performers rehearse that shit during the day. If he didn't feel comfortable, he is well within his rights to refuse to do it. Wrestling or not, you can drag their ass to court if an employer fires you for doing something you deem dangerous. Unless I have been working the wrong way for 10 years in my stints in construction, forestry, oil rigging and pipeline fitting where I have told bosses I was uncomfortable doing something I thought was too dangerous for me.

Ever try to take an employer to court while not unionized? Its typically not a great idea since its your money, that you are no longer making, going up against a corporate entity that has enough money to pay you plus however many other employees, etc. Chances are stalling will bankrupt you, and you will never see the court date. Then in the world of wrestling you have to worry about things going public, any future in the business can be jeopardized depending on what information gets out, if all that gets out is you are difficult to work with and refuse ideas constantly, you may never find a decent position any well off company again, would have sucked if Owen survived, but had to headline Smith's shitty promotions.

 

[Deezy]

Ever try to take an employer to court while not unionized? Its typically not a great idea since its your money, that you are no longer making, going up against a corporate entity that has enough money to pay you plus however many other employees, etc. Chances are stalling will bankrupt you, and you will never see the court date. Then in the world of wrestling you have to worry about things going public, any future in the business can be jeopardized depending on what information gets out, if all that gets out is you are difficult to work with and refuse ideas constantly, you may never find a decent position any well off company again, would have sucked if Owen survived, but had to headline Smith's shitty promotions.

Bullshit, also if you are a star like Owen was in 99, you could work anywhere, no matter the rep. Fucking Teddy Hart doesn't have the star power Owen had and still gets work.

 

[The Cork]

WCW under Russo was great, but I know how you guys take rasslen' so serious and hate fun things.

Also, Owen screwed Owen.

 

[Deezy]

Courtesy of F4Wonline.com, below is a response from David Schwarz, the Senior Vice President of Communications with Spike TV:

“I want to start by saying we enjoyed a great relationship, a very collaborative relationship with Dixie Carter and her team over the years. We took TNA from a late night spot on Saturday nights, doing 500,000 viewers, to a two-hour time slot that did two million viewers over time. Spike went out of its way, not in just adhering to its contract, but above and beyond the contract. We paid Hulk Hogan, we paid Eric Bischoff, with our money. We financed many shows. We financed U.K. shows. We helped promote. We gave TNA a prime time slot of Thursdays from 9-11 p.m. I think his comments are way off base. Clearly, he doesn’t know what he’s talking about. He’s somebody who thinks more of himself than really exists. Vince Russo never meant anything to Spike TV. He had nothing to do with negotiations. Nobody cares about Vince Russo at Spike TV. Nobody cares or knows who he is. We have a great relationship with TNA. We went above and beyond for them, as they did for us. Dixie helped promote our shows. What Vince Russo is saying is complete nonsense.”

Correct me if I'm wrong, but wasn't this site saying Vince Russo was the straw that broke the camels back when TNA was cancelled reports came out? :hm:

Oh dirtsheets, when will the people who follow them blindly ever going to realize, they know as much as we do, which is what we see on TV or told by wrestlers.