The following are highlights from a recent WZRtv interview with former WWE Superstar Big Vito:
On the sale of TNA: “There is so much financial debt that I think they’re so consumed with that. They tried every different angle to change things. They haven’t had any success. When you change heads of the departments, you change the people who run it. It’s the same thing that happened with WCW and it’s the same thing happening all over. You change, change, change, change.”
On Dixie Carter: “From what I understand, [Hulk] Hogan and [Eric] Bischoff are out now [and] it’s Dixie Carter running it. Dixie Carter, she might be a nice lady [but] she’s not groomed in the wrestling business. She’s been talked to and talked around, ya know, manipulated in the wrestling business, but she doesn’t know the wrestling business. She’s not the Jarrett’s. She’s not Hulk Hogan. She’s not anyone who’s had that kind of pedigree. This has nothing to do with being a man or a woman. When you’re not brought up in the wrestling business from the bottom up and you don’t know, you’re going to spend a lot of money and do a lot of stupid things. I’m not saying she’s a stupid lady. I’m not saying she’s dumb. She’s probably very smart in other areas, but this is the wrestling business. If you’re not groomed in it from the bottom up and polished, how do you not know what kind of product to put out? Another knock against TNA is they’ve had the same talent for 10 and 12 years. There’s only a handful of guys that’s been with the WWE for 10 or 12 years.”
On Vince Russo: “Well from what I know, Vince Russo, me and him back in the day, I helped him start out in the wrestling business and he helped me get into WCW. When he was in TNA, I was there when he was there. When he left, you know, I left. And then really just a couple of phone calls here and there, but ya know, nothing of nothing. I mean, he mentioned me in his books, he mentioned me in a nice way. I appreciate it, but as far as friendship and all that other stuff, ya know, he’s his own man. He does things his own way. He never returns a phone call, just like a lot of guys, but you know that’s Vinnie Russo and I can’t say nothing bad about him. He gave me my chance in WCW, and people remember [this] — giving somebody a chance doesn’t mean they gave you a spot. When you get a spot you have to earn it and I carried the ball and I ran with it, just like I did in every organization. I never was on the bottom, I always rose to the occasion and came to the top. So anybody who thinks that somebody gives you something — they can put you in any spot in the business, but if you don’t carry the ball, then you ain’t doing nothing. I carried the ball in all my positions, in all my companies and I’m very happy and very proud of my time. Whether it was in ECW with Da Baldies as Vito Skull LaGrosso, or Big Vito in WCW, Big Vito in TNA or Vito “The Toughest Man To Wear A Dress” in WWE.”
On Johnny Stamboli and a WCW reunion show: “Johnny Stamboli is still wrestling. He’s doing his own thing and he’s got his private life. He’s doing very well. You know everybody still asks when are The Mamalukes coming back and you know that would probably be one of the best things to happen if they ever had a WCW reunion show.”
On the current WWE product: “I think that the gimmicks they’re putting on are interesting. The guys are doing a good job down in NXT developing these guys. They have a lot of new faces [and] they’re trying to make new stars, but at the end of the day they’re still going with the name guys. You have the big names and they’re making the angles around them and you can’t change that. People wanna see them.”
On the WWE return of Goldust: “They brought back Goldust for a reason, ya know? Not because he was Dusty Rhodes’ son, ya know, Cody Rhodes or whatever. That’s Goldust. He’s the best gimmick in all of wrestling. That’s one of my favorite gimmicks. He is a gimmick and that’s something you wanna watch.”
On John Cena: “You know everybody can say what they want about [John] Cena, but that guy is still drawing money. Whether you love him or hate him, he gets a reaction.”
On Ryback: “They brought Ryback in, you know? Ryback was up and then he was down. If I could work a program with him, you’d never hear Big Vito complain about how he ever got [hit] too hard. I would love to work with that guy because it’d be a hart-hitting thing.”
On the way wrestlers come up in WWE these days: “A lot of guys who they’re bringing up today, like the problem they had in the past, they don’t have that experience and they’re not polished. They’re pushing guys up and you can’t learn everything from wrestling school. You gotta go out there and earn it and do it and when they try to polish you up and put you out there before you’re ready, sometimes it doesn’t come off as good as it can be.”
For more information on the Big Vito Wrestling Academy, visit the official website online at BigVito.com.
You can check out the complete interview online at Justin.tv/wzrradio123/
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