He is regarded as one of the most controversial men in the history of professional wrestling. He’s credited with saving the WWF from the brink of bankruptcy, and sending WCW to the brink of bankruptcy. Now back in the wrestling business writing for TNA, I thought it would be a good time to take a look back at RF Video’s Vince Russo Shoot Interview.
Filmed about five years ago (a guess), Russo discusses his entire wrestling career up until the filming, from his start as a video store owner, to his work on the WWF Magazine, right up until the time where things got interesting and he became the WWF’s head writer during the height of the Monday Night Wars. Convincing Vince McMahon that Monday Night Raw had to become a more edgier and realistic show, Russo tells of how he helped turn the show from an ongoing failure into an overnight success.
He also talks in great detail about working with the likes of Shawn Michaels, the Rock, Mick Foley, and Steve Austin, and he is more than happy to credit them with some of his success. But he also goes into detail about his working relationship with McMahon, which eventually came to an end when he and fellow writer Ed Ferrara felt burnt-out. So, having achieved great success and apparently saved the WWF from total extinction, Russo and his co-hort jumped ship for the even greater challenge of saving WCW.
It’s during this part of the interview that Russo discusses the ongoing political problems that played a hand in WCW’s downfall. Expecting an overnight change in their fortunes, Russo and Ferrara were removed after just three months, despite a slight upturn in ratings. His second tenure with the company, trying to work alongside Eric Bischoff, was perhaps his most controversial, which saw David Arquette’s World title reign, Hulk Hogan’s departure from the company, and actions which eventually led to the demise of the once most powerful wrestling promotion in the world.
In conclusion - a very disappointing interview. For a man known to court controversy throughout his career, Russo was far from controversial, especially when he was reluctant to name those he had confrontations with in both the WWF and WCW. Some regard Russo as a genius. Others regard him as an idiot. But if you knew nothing about the man and wanted to get some insight into him by watching this interview, then you’ll be very disappointed.
Now it’s time to plug a few of items;
Visit A-Merchandise, the official sponsor of The Two Sheds Review, by logging onto www.a-merchandise.co.uk. They stock a wide array of DVDs from all over the world, including FWA, Premier Promotions and IPW: UK from Britain, ROH, Shimmer and PWG from America, as well as merchandise from WWE, UFC, Pro Wrestling NOAH and much more.
The final voting for the 2006 Two Sheds Review Awards is now open, with Edge, John Cena, Shawn Michaels, C.M. Punk and Samoa Joe up for the Wrestler of the Year award, and Mirko Cro Cop, Chuck Lidell, Tito Ortiz and Georges St. Pierre up for MMA Fighter of the Year. There’s also ten other categories to vote in, and polls close on February 10th. Log onto www.twoshedsreview.com to find out more!
And finally, some of my work has made it into book form, with the first two stories of my 1990 Anglo-Force series, co-written with my brother Paul, and The Two Sheds Review: Wrestling Pulp Fiction, featuring three wrestling-based fictional stories, now available to buy in either print of via download in PDF format via www.lulu.com/twosheds316.
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