Former WWE and TNA writer Vince Russo wrote the following open letter to Vince McMahon, Stephanie McMahon and Triple H after watching this past Monday night’s edition of WWE RAW. The letter comes courtesy of Russo’s official website, PyroAndBallyhoo.com.
Dear Vince, Stephanie and Hunter,
First let me apologize for my rant last night on Russo on Raw. I’m Italian, I’m emotional, I’m sorry I get that way sometimes. Come to think of it, you probably witnessed it first hand in a galaxy far, far away—many light years ago. The truth is—I hate to criticize RAW. I really do. Having been there and done that, I realize how difficult it is to come up with two hours of compelling content every week – let alone three. The job is not easy, I understand that, and nobody can be criticized for TRYING and giving their BEST EFFORT—nobody. But . . . the question I have to ask is: “Is what we see every Monday Night honestly and truly your best effort? I just know that having worked with all three of you in the past, I don’t think any of us would have been satisfied, or even ALLOWED last night’s show to air in its final form. Are we seriously not better than that? What happened to our mantra during the Attitude Era when this week’s show was going to be better than last weeks? Remember that, Vince?
I don’t know what it is. I don’t know the structure, because I am not there, but nobody—NOBODY—can tell me that with a bit more effort you couldn’t be doing better than what WE THE PEOPLE are being exposed to every Monday Night. Look—we all love wrestling, we are all HUGE fans of the WWE and in all truthfulness—WE WANT TO LIKE THE SHOW!!! But, you just make it so difficult. Asking anybody to sit through three hours of what you’re currently putting on the air is not only asking too much . . .but, it’s also unfair.
Look, I’m not going to tell you what to do, or how to do it, who am I? All I’m asking is that you all ask each other—is this the best that World Wrestling Entertainment has to offer its fans? If the answer is yes, that I guess I’ve just over-rated you, however, I think we all know that’s not the answer. I don’t think any of you can walk away from that building on Monday night honestly believing that you had just put your best foot forward. I don’t believe that for a second.
Right now, you have an UNBELIEVABLE talent roster, up and down from first match to main event, but the writing and producing of the show is just not serving them justice. You have to know that. What happened to the work ethic and the commitment that we all shared during the Attitude Era? What happened to that passion, when we literally used to leave our own BLOOD, SWEAT and TEARS on the script that we wrote. If something didn’t exceed our expectations we were sick over it for days—I know I was.
Vince, Stephanie, Triple H, YES we will always be here no matter what. We support you, and we support the WWE, but the truth is . . . we deserve better. And, deep down inside I know that you know that.
The latest Michael Cole weekly sit-down interview, which once again features WWE COO Triple H, is now online.
During their discussion this week, “The Game” talks to WWE’s lead announcer about next week’s “season premiere” of WWE RAW, the ongoing drama between The Bella Twins, John Cena vs. Brock Lesnar II at the WWE Night Of Champions pay-per-view and more.
You can watch the complete Michael Cole and HHH interview above.
WWE COO Triple H was Chris Jericho’s guest on this week’s Talk is Jericho podcast at PodcastOne.com. Here are the highlights:
– Triple H’s WWF debut back in 1995 was delayed due to a no-compete clause he had with WCW. He attended several WWF live events before making his official debut.
– Eric Bischoff initially offered him a 2-year deal at $50,000 per year, which he wasn’t happy with. He signed a 1-year deal to prove himself. He said WCW was a total mess, “no structure or organization,” and sent out feelers to WWF through dirt sheets.
– Triple H grew up watching a lot of wrestling promotions but said he always wanted to wrestle for the WWF. Jericho said he went to WCW with the goal of eventually making it to WWF.
– Triple H joked about his WCW gimmick, Terra Rizing. He said originally the name was Terrorizer. He thought that was ridiculous and asked for an actual name. Management added a space in the middle and it was Terra Ryzer, which eventually morphed into Terra Ryzing. He eventually got repackaged as Jean Paul Levesque, which he also thought was ridiculous, because he’s not French. He came up with the blue blood gimmick.
– Jericho asked him about the origin of the Hunter Hearst Helmsley character. He said Vince liked his blue blood character, but wanted to rebrand him as an American, in case they ever wanted to make him a babyface. He said Vince wanted him to be a blue blood snob from Greenwich, CT. When they were coming up with a ring name for him, JJ Dillon dubbed him Reginald Dupont Helmsley. Triple H had come up with his own list of names and they settled on Hunter Hearst Helmsley. He said Shawn Michaels started calling him Triple H from day one. Vince didn’t like the Triple H name when he first heard it but changed his mind the following year.
– When he first joined the WWF, Diesel was champion but Shawn was the top guy in the company. Undertaker, Scott Hall and Kevin Nash were also the major players. He was friends with Terry Taylor before he began with WWF and it helped to have an ally there. He said the guys would make fun of bad wrestling gimmicks and Terra Ryzing was one of their favorites to mock. Despite that, they had told Vince that Triple H was a good talent they should consider bringing in. When he came in, the Kliq looked out for him a lot.
– He was miserable riding with some of his first travel partners. One day when he was at the airport, Kevin Nash told him to ride in the van with him, Shawn Michaels, Sean Waltman and Scott Hall. One night at Denny’s, Sean Waltman and Scott Hall had to be “dragged out.” He had to slap Sean Waltman because he barely had a pulse and they all wound up in the emergency room that night. The next morning, him and Kevin Nash went to the gym to train.
– He said Scott Hall was not very “impressive” when he wasn’t in Razor Ramon mode. When he’d go into character, he completely transformed “as if he grew three feet.”
– Vince McMahon held a meeting at a hotel and it was agreed that the company needed a new direction. Several top agents were there, along with The Kliq. He was in the room when the meeting was about to begin and tried walking out. Vince asked where he was going and he said he was a new guy and he didn’t think he would be part of the meeting. Vince told him to stay. Vince told the guys to evaluate the roster and advise him who should stay and who should be let go. He told everybody to individually write down their thoughts on the roster and the direction of the company. Everybody in the room had Bam Bam Bigelow on the list, because he strongly disliked the Kliq and was disruptive. Triple H said that meeting was the first spark of the Attitude Era, because everybody was pushing for more reality. They questioned, “Why do we have Doink The Clown? Why can’t be just be wrestlers? Why do we have to be firemen and cops? Why can’t it be more real?” Vince agreed that they needed to get away from the campy product geared towards children. They brought up the rock band KISS, who had been an edgy group, but turned away their core audience by having a cartoon and catering to kids. They were no longer cool and were a parody of themselves.
– One of the genius things about Vince is his ability to hear a lot of opinions, think them over and process them. Vince told him to surround yourself with people smarter than you, listen to their opinions and use your judgment to form the best strategy. The President doesn’t have to be the smartest guy in the room. He needs to listen to smart people and make the best common sense decision.
The following are highlights of a new website Q&A update by WWE Hall Of Famer Jim Ross:
On who the best WrestleMania opponent, besides Undertaker, would be for Sting: “[Randy] Orton would work but so would HHH. I think HHH vs. Sting would be interesting and feel that they’d have good chemistry.”
On how he thinks Brock Lesnar could be the face of WWE while working a part-time schedule: “It was mere speculation as it will go one way or another as to who the fans embrace or not. Lesnar’s not working a full time schedule in any role at any time in his future career so it would have to be done creatively but it could be done. The top dog or WWE Champ doesn’t need to be on TV every week whatsoever.”
On whether or not AJ Styles should change his character if he were to sign with WWE: “I don’t think, unfortunately, that it is any thing that we need to discuss because WWE is highly unlikely to ever sign the talented AJ who seems content on what he’s doing now a days. Great talent without question.”
On how TNA and ROH can compete with WWE: “TNA and ROH only need to focus on their brand and eliminate WWE from their mind, by and large. If they commit to their brand, develop new talents, have strong TV outlets, and use logical booking philosophies, they can be more profitable. No one is ever going to threaten WWE’s spot at the top.”
You can check out more of Jim Ross’ online Q&A at his website, JRsBarBQ.com. You can also order JR’s Bar-B-Q products online at WWEShop.com.
– WWE COO Triple H will be Chris Jericho’s guest on this week’s Talk Is Jericho podcast at PodcastOne.com. The episode drops on Wednesday and we’ll post a link here when it’s live.
The WWE rolled through midwest tonight, as they set up shop in Des Moines, Iowa. This week’s card featured a total of eight matches, including a life changing six-man tag main event. It’s time to once again take the WWE to school, and I’ll be the one doling out the grades.
As always, matches will be graded based on usual factors such as workrate, in-ring psychology, move variety, crowd reaction, and overall impact on the storyline. Important in-ring promos will also be graded based on factors such as originality, believability, and importance. Without further ado, here is this week’s Raw report card.
Chris Jericho’s Highlight Reel
Tonight’s show started with Chris Jericho’s Highlight Reel, and featured a shitload of guests, including the Authority, John Cena, and Roman Reigns. There was some entertaining banter during the segment, including Triple H and Jericho hurling corny insults at one another as Jericho dissed Triple H’s pink tie, while the Game chose to attack Y2J’s scarf during a hilarious back and forth. Rollins was extremely over during the promo and got the biggest pop of the night in his home state. Cena threatening to sue the company was pretty lame, however, and held the promo back a bit. It was an overall decent segment, it set up the main event, and the crowd seemed to be into it.
Grade: B
Sheamus and Dolph Ziggler vs. Cesaro and the Miz
The first match of the night was a tag team match featuring the United States and Intercontinental Champions. The Miz showed up with his body double Damien Mizdow and a personal stylist, complete with chairs and makeup. Miz and Sandow were hilarious throughout the contest and the ending was solid. Ziggler and Cesaro also worked well together during the opening portion of the match, with Cesaro’s fall away slam into a pinning combination being one of the most impressive spots I’ve seen in a long time. Overall, it was an entertaining contest and was a good way to advance both feuds.
– WWE Hall Of Famer Mick Foley will be appearing on the September 6th episode of Me-TV’s “Svengoolie”, a weekly series that airs old Universal horror films and bookends them with host segments and comedy bits. In the past, Jerry Lawler, Jim Cornette and Lisa Marie Varon have all appeared on the show.
– Chris Jericho noted on his official Twitter account that WWE executive and on-air talent Triple H will be appearing on his “Talk Is Jericho” podcast this week. Jericho tweeted the following:
Tonight is the Labor Day edition of WWE RAW, which takes place live tonight at the Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines, Iowa.
Confirmed thus far for tonight’s show is a “Highlight Reel” segment with Chris Jericho and special guest, Randy Orton.
Superstars advertised for tonight’s show in Des Moines include John Cena, Roman Reigns, Bray Wyatt, Luke Harper, Erick Rowan, Kane, Seth Rollins and Triple H.
– What hard-hitting questions will Jericho have for Orton?
– How will Cena respond to Brock Lesnar?
– What is going on between AJ Lee and Paige?
– Will Reigns get his hands on Rollins?
– How will Brie Bella move past her sisters actions last week?
Make sure to join us here tonight for live WWE RAW results coverage.
As noted recently, there is a general feeling within WWE that due to the success of Marvel’s “Guardians of the Galaxy” film, Batista may end up staying away from the wrestling scene in favor of doing more movie work.
Apparently people close to Batista say that he still feels let down and unhappy with WWE over the way he was booked when he returned to the company earlier this year.
One source claims that if Batista were to return, however, that it would be to begin a program for WrestleMania 31 next year. Batista himself has expressed interest in working a retirement match against Triple H, however there has been no word within WWE as to whether or not that is something they would be interested in.
– William Regal was announced as the new NXT General Manager this week. Below is a video of the announcement from NXT TV, as well as a video of him reacting to his first night on the job.
– As noted recently, Triple H and Stephanie McMahon took part in a photo shoot for Muscle & Fitness magazine this week. Stephanie McMahon posted another photo from the shoot on Twitter, which you can check out below.
One of the main reasons that Solomon Crowe dropped the hacker gimmick he was using in NXT was reportedly due to the fact that Triple H hated the character.
Crowe, who used to work as Sami Callihan, has also turned babyface in recent weeks and as noted, was recently paired up in a tag-team alongside Kalisto.
There have been some rumors going around that claim Vince McMahon “isn’t on board” for a Roman Reigns vs. Brock Lesnar main event at WrestleMania 31. As we noted in multiple reports over the past week or so, all indications point to the fact that Reigns will be the guy to finally end Lesnar’s streak of dominance at the Santa Clara-based event next year.
Apparently, some people are under the impression that Triple H is pushing for Reigns vs. Lesnar, while McMahon would rather secure The Rock for a big WrestleMania main event again and have Rock vs. Lesnar headline the show.
According to one source, whether or not that was the case at one point, McMahon and HHH are apparently both on the same page now, with Reigns vs. Lesnar being the current working plan for the main event of next year’s biggest event.
– WWE stock was up by 1.71 percent today, closing at $14.89 per share. The high today was $14.99 per share while the low was $14.66.
– In addition to the matches that we reported about last week, John Cena vs.Triple H from WrestleMania 22 and Cena vs. Shawn Michaels from the April 23, 2007 edition of RAW is also going to be included in the new “John Cena: Greatest Rivalries” DVD.
– Below is a new Sam Roberts interview with Stardust.
Sting spoke to Brian Fritz of the Orlando Sentinel during SummerSlam weekend and said if The Undertaker has wrestled his last match, he wants to face Triple H at WrestleMania.
“I do believe I have enough left in my tank for one more match and I would love for that match to be against Taker. If that can’t happen, Triple H, I think. I just would like to have one more match. I would love to say I had one match under the WWE banner and, of course, WrestleMania. Who wouldn’t want to say that they wrestled at WrestleMania at least one time.”
Sting said WWE management (Vince McMahon and Triple H) have made him feel very welcomed and comfortable. He hopes to parlay his video game deal into an actual role with the company, specifically as an ambassador for WWE.
“Yeah, I’m open to that, definitely. I’m open to whatever doors may or may not open. I love the business so yeah, I can see myself being an ambassador,” Sting said.
Kurt Angle recently made inquiries to WWE about a return to the company, attempting to speak with Triple H, who reportedly blew him off. Angle apparently called Vince McMahon at this point, who told him that Triple H handles the talent decisions.
As a result, Triple H is said to be upset with Angle for what he feels was an attempt to go over his head.
Angle has noted in recent interviews that he would like to return to WWE, but also mentioned that he doesn’t feel he can work a full-time schedule these days.
It is believed that WWE has simply dropped the Megan Miller portion of the Stephanie McMahon vs. Brie Bella storyline.
At SummerSlam on Sunday night, Brie noted during her promo that Stephanie “paid off” Miller to lie about having an affair with her husband, Daniel Bryan. Many believe that is a sign that the Megan Miller part of their storyline is done and over with.
Another part of the Stephanie/Brie story that appears to be gone is the angle that began when Stephanie McMahon was arrested and Triple H didn’t immediately come to her aid. Originally, it seemed to be the beginning of some storyline trouble between Stephanie and HHH, however that appears to no longer be the case.
There are some rumors going around lately that there have been some issues backstage in WWE between Triple H and Vince McMahon.
Apparently the word going around is that McMahon has been undercutting HHH on certain issues, however some feel this could be a case of “good cop, bad cop,” in the sense that HHH is just playing the good guy in front of talent backstage.
Regardless of what is really going on, there have definitely been situations as of late where HHH would say one thing to a talent and then Vince would over rule him.
All weekend long, Sting pushed hard the idea of a match with Undertaker at WrestleMania 31 next year. He actually went to Stamford, Connecticut and met with WWE’s merchandise crew, which is a clear indication that a deal is close to being officially finalized between the two sides.
Sting has noted that in his mind, he wants to have just one WWE match and nothing else, however it is said that it is not set in stone and due to the fact that Sting is in good shape and some people in the company are wanting him to do more, he may end up wrestling more than just one match.
As noted on Sunday, Sting mentioned that if Undertaker does not come back to wrestle next year, he would like to wrestle either Triple H or John Cena.
– Below is the photo of Triple H congratulating Brock Lesnar and Paul Heyman backstage on their WWE World Heavyweight Championship victory over John Cena:
In addition to his interview with SIRIUS-XM personality Sam Roberts that we posted earlier today, “The Icon” Sting also spoke with veteran wrestling journalists Dave Meltzer and Brian Fritz in Los Angeles, California this weekend.
During the interview, Sting noted that he is “close” to a deal with WWE, mentioning Undertaker and Triple H as potential opponents he would like to work with in “one final match” at WrestleMania 31 next year.
In addition to the many current and former WWE Superstars, as well as other mainstream celebrities that have taken part in the ALS “Ice Bucket Challenge,” Vince McMahon is the latest person to join the list.
Earlier this week, McMahon’s son-in-law Triple H took part in the challenge, which includes the person who does it challenging three other people to do it next. HHH’s three challenges were to Steve Austin, Hulk Hogan and McMahon.
Prior to dousing himself with ice water, McMahon extends the “Ice Bucket Challenge” to Donald Trump, Maria Menounos and Kermit The Frog.
Check out the video above to watch Vince McMahon take part in the “Ice Bucket Challenge.”
– On Saturday night, WWE will hold one of their biggest live events in a while, as the crew heads to San Jose, California for a show that features both Hulk Hogan and Ric Flair. Also scheduled for the show is John Cena, Roman Reigns, Randy Orton, Dean Ambrose and Chris Jericho.
– In addition to Triple H, who we posted about earlier today, CM Punk also took part in the “Ice Bucket Challenge.” You can check out a video of Punk getting a cold bucket of ice water splashed on himself below.
This morning, outside of Staples Center in Los Angeles, site of this weekend’s SummerSlam, Triple H answered the “Ice Bucket Challenge” from Pittsburgh Steeler Ben Roethlisberger. In turn, he challenged Stone Cold Steve Austin, Hulk Hogan and Vince McMahon.
The hottest event of the summer is practically hours away at this point. The card is set, the matches have been hyped, and it’s time to sit back and enjoy the show (after making a few predictions, of course). Here are my predictions for this Sunday’s pay-per-view.
AJ Lee (Divas Champion) vs. Paige
Paige has been a thorn in AJ Lee’s side since arriving on the main roster, especially since turning heel. She has had the upper hand on the champ over the past few weeks, even pushing her off of the stage on SmackDown at one point. Although Paige has been booked strong, the company realizes AJ Lee is the most marketable Diva on the roster right now. She retains after forcing Paige to tap out to the Black Widow.
Result: AJ Lee by submission
The Miz (Intercontinental Champion) vs. Dolph Ziggler
Since his return, the Miz has sort of fallen flat with the audience, especially since picking up the title at last month’s Battleground. Over the past year, it’s safe to assume Dolph Ziggler will lose any match of even moderate significance, but this could be different, as he has been booked strong and is still over with the fans.
The company is trying to promote the Miz’s dud of a movie that will soon be gracing dollar bins across the country, but I think they realize his title reign isn’t catching on. Dolph Ziggler will pick up the upset victory on Sunday after hitting a Zig Zag in what will likely be one of the shorter matches on the card.
Winner: Dolph Ziggler by pinfall
Jack Swagger vs. Rusev (Flag Match)
Call me crazy, but this is perhaps my most anticipated match on the card. The feud has been built very well and given adequate time to develop. Fans still aren’t entirely sure of what the rules will be for this one, but I’m assuming it’s going to involve the winning wrestler grabbing his country’s flag and waving it proudly in the center of the ring to end the contest.
This is the perfect opportunity for Swagger to go over Rusev and extend the feud a bit longer. He doesn’t have to pin the Bulgarian Brute to win so he won’t look as weak as he would if he lost via pinfall or submission. Expect the managers to also play a role in this one, and expect Swagger to walk out victorious to set up a rubber match at Night of Champions.
Winner: Jack Swagger
Chris Jericho vs. Bray Wyatt
Much like the Rusev/Swagger feud, this program has also been given a proper build. The promo/interview the two cut last week on Raw was awesome and really hyped the match well.
Jericho won last month after hitting Wyatt with a Code Breaker. It will be even tougher for Wyatt this time around, as both Harper and Rowan are banned from ringside. This will likely be a back-and-forth contest with several near falls, with the in-ring work hopefully being a little more polished than last month’s affair. There’s no way Wyatt loses again, however, and will walk out victorious after forcing Y2J to succumb to Sister Abigail.
