Vince Russo has worked with some of the top names in wrestling. There are not too many people within the industry who can describe what it is like to work with Dixie Carter, Eric Bischoff, and Vince McMahon.
Vince Russo was recently a guest on the Wrestling With Reality Podcast where he described what it is like working for McMahon and Bischoff, having worked with both during the heyday of the Monday Night War Between WWE and WCW. Russo would actually leave the WWE in 1999 to jump ship to WCW to see if he could make it as the head writer for the brand without the filter of Vince McMahon.
The following highlights were sent along to Fightful.
Vince Russo Talks Working For Vince McMahon:
I would go to work at the crack of dawn and I would go home from work when the day was long over.
And bro, every time I drove into that garage at Titan, every morning, Vince's call was there before mine. No matter what time I got there every night, his call was still there when I left and the end, bro. That's the thing when you're working for a boss that sets that example. You can't help but to say, "God, I gotta give my all to this guy."
But then, bro, there's the other side of that where you're seeing a guy that's got nothing else in his life. You know, like, this is it, bro. He doesn't watch sports. He doesn't watch sports, doesn't go to the movies, bro. I don't even know if Vince has ever set foot in a grocery store.
And bro, like with me, you know, while I was in the WWE, I started growing a family. And bro, things started changing for me and okay, this is my job. This is a job. I come to work, I give you everything I have, you pay me. This is my job. This will never, ever be more important to me than my family ever.
And then all of a sudden, bro, there's, there's that wedge. Because Vince doesn't want to hear that. Yeah. That job should be more important than your family. That should be number one. That's why, bro, when people bring up the idea, "Oh, you know Vince Russo's jealous because they, they hired Bischoff and Prichard, and they didn't call him and he's bitter."
It's like, are you out of your effing mind? At my age, like you really think, bro, I'm going to be 60 in a year. You really think, bro, I'm going to move to Connecticut and in my last years, you know, 10 - 20 years, whatever it is, I'm going to be at Vince McMahon's beck and call like, are you out of your f'ing mind bro?
You couldn't pay me enough to do that bro. I am not kidding you. Vince McMahon himself could call me tomorrow and offer me $10 million dollars. No, bro. Like, no. I like, I did that already and I was able to do that when I was younger, bro. That's not what I want to be doing as a freaking 60-year-old man.
Vince Russo On Working With Eric Bischoff:
Here's why Eric and I will never get along. Okay, bro. Vince Russo is a "in the freaking trenches guy". I'm going to get my hands dirty, bro. I'm going to stink. I'm going to be sweaty. I'm going to be the first one there. I'm going to make you stay after the show and do pre-tapes till we get it right. You know that I am going, I don't even want to say lead by example because it wasn't about that.
It was about doing whatever it took to put on the best show. That's what it was about. Eric, on the other hand, doesn't like to get his hands dirty. Eric likes to be the boss. Eric likes to be in charge. Eric likes to do as little work, physical work as possible. Eric likes to have people fear him.
Which I have a huge issue with. Because bro, we're all equal, so don't, don't play that card with me. You're freaking better than anybody else, because you're not.You freaking are not. And, and you know, the experience and the time I spent with Eric, that was always the way he carried himself. Bro, here's a perfect example.
You heard the rumors. About why he was let go from WWE that they couldn't find them. He was in the break room. I mean, we, we heard all that, bro. I could tell you firsthand when, when, when I was at freaking TNA, bro, we would have a production meeting at about 12 o'clock to one o'clock and then we'd go to work, show starts at six o'clock bro.
We're working nonstop for those five hours nonstop pro Eric Bishop off production meeting would end. [He] and Hogan would disappear wherever they disappeared to back to the hotel room. I don't know what they were doing, bro. They would literally come back 30 minutes before the show. So here we are all busting our freaking ass.
Eric's nowhere to be found then 30 minutes before the show him and Hulk would arrive. So that's why when I heard those stories about the WWE, I'm like, yeah, bro, that's, that's freaking Eric. He's not in the freaking trenches with everybody. And bro, maybe there was a time when he was may, maybe during the early days of the NWO he was.
But I know the Eric I worked with bro at WCW and TNA. He was not in the trenches. He was a Monday morning quarterback. You know, he would, he would critique the show after it aired when he was a part of the process and it just that, you know, the old saying, that didn't work for me, brother. Either you're going to jump in this with all of us, or like, bro, just go do your own thing.
You can hear the full interview at this link.
