Vince Russo Talks About Vince McMahon’s Loss of Competitive Edge & More

WrestlingRumors.net associates Frank Manzo and Joe Omega recently sat down and had a conversation with former WWE, WCW,  and TNA Head Writer Vince Russo. Russo appeared on their program, “Wrestle REACTION” on June 23.

Among the topics discussed during their chat was Russo’s thoughts on Vince McMahon losing his competitive edge, the company not protecting the character of Bray Wyatt, the end of The Undertaker’s undefeated WrestleMania streak, PyroAndBallyhoo.com, and more.

Russo had some interesting things to say about McMahon and his current mindset when it comes to business. Russo goes as far as to say that Vince McMahon today is nothing like the Vince McMahon that he knew when he and “The Boss” were writing WWE television. He says,

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. 

Russo also discusses his thoughts on Bray Wyatt and how he doesn’t believe that the company is doing what they need to in order to protect the character. Again he questions McMahon’s current thought process behind booking WWE TV, especially how Wyatt was booked during the June 23 edition of “Monday Night Raw.” He says,

The hottest guy they’ve got on that show right now is Bray Wyatt. You’ve got a tag team match of 7 guys out there. So, first of all, you’re making Bray Wyatt 1 of 7 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?

A Russo interview would not be complete without a discussion about his time in WCW. He addresses the constant claims that he was the one that killed the company, which obviously could not have been the case. Russo says,

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. 3 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 2 weeks, and that merger (AOL Time Warner) came down. 2 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!

Watch the complete Vince Russo interview below, and catch “Wrestle REACTION” every Monday night immediately after “Monday Night Raw” via WrestleReaction.net, or right here on WrestlingRumors.net!