Gerald Brisco fondly remembers being on WCW Nitro's final tapings representing WWE.
In an interview with WrestlingInc, Brisco was part of a select group of people who were in Florida on the final episode of Nitro back in March 2001, a group that included Shane McMahon. Brisco spoke about the night and how WWE was in a celebratory state over its definitive win over WCW, but felt bad for the WCW wrestlers who feared that they lost their jobs.
"It was an exciting night. It was a celebration. We'd gone to Pensacola, FL or Panama City, FL [for] the last taping of WCW where we're taking over, and I felt so rewarded because it wasn't WCW, but I was there for Georgia Championship Wrestling when we took over that. So I kind of came full circle. Then when WCW went out of business, I was a part of that takeover too. We were there. We're getting ready to do the deal with Shane where Shane bought WCW. We're cutting in. I was running Gorilla, and they needed somebody there to make sure that Shane wasn't going to get shorted on the time somehow mysteriously. Those guys were completely professional on the transition, and I didn't think anything would happen, but I was pleased to be there. So of course, when the show was over, it had been a highly, extremely uncomfortable day, and a day where the stress level was just sky-high. There are guys crying they've lost their job. They're begging, and they're yelling. You don't like to see stuff like that, especially when we're not too long ago, you were those guys in the exact same positions. You had the emotion for them, but also on that same deal, the tremendous accomplishment that we just pulled off," Brisco said.
When it came to the celebration after Nitro and Raw, Brisco said he, Bruce Prichard and Shane drank all of Vince McMahon's wine that was supposed to be consumed once they picked up Vince. The trio was flying to Cleveland where that night's Raw took place to pick up Vince and they all decided to drink Vince's wine, which put a sour note on the night.
"We got on the plane, and we rushed because we were in the panhandle of Florida. We had to go, I believe it was, to Cleveland to pick up Vince and the rest of the crew that was doing RAW and then take the plane and go over to Chicago. Well, we knew Vince kept his wine, that is special. It's Vince's wine that he loved, so we got on a plane. We didn't have time to stop and get our own refreshments because we knew the plane had them, but we didn't know we were going to be drinking this wine. So Shane, Bruce and myself, we can consume some adult beverages. So anyway, we got on a plane. We consumed our lot. Then all of a sudden, we're thirsty, and we're still about an hour from Cleveland. And Shane said, 'That old man's got his wine here,' and so we asked a flight attendant, 'No, that's Mr. McMahon's wine.' Shane said, 'Well, I'm Mr. McMahon, and I'll take responsibility.' Pop, pop, pop. So we're all drinking and toasting each other, having a hell of a time. We ask for another drink. She said, 'Sorry, the wine's gone,' and all of a sudden, Shane said, 'All the old man's wine gone too?' And she said, 'Yes sir, Shane. All of Mr. McMahon's wine's gone too. Now we know we're in trouble because he's gonna get on the plane, and he's gonna be happy and celebrating. And there ain't nothing to celebrate with. That was the longest 30-minute flight from Cleveland to Chicago and the quietest, and of course Bruce, I don't know if you have been around Bruce and Shane when they've had a few, but they're kind of noisy, and I get a little boisterous too. So we're wrestling in the plane. I think they're going to kick us off in midair after a while," Brisco said.
The video interview can be seen in its entirety at this link and the written article can be seen at this link.
