Former WWE, WCW and TNA writer Vince Russo posted the following at RelmNetwork.com regarding Hulk Hogan’s appearance on Good Morning America (Video) this week to apologize for his racism controversy.

“As you know, I’ve supported Terry Bollea throughout his latest unfortunate ordeal. I’ve stood up and stated that we all make mistakes, have no right judging others, and are expected by God to show love, kindness and forgiveness. But . . . as a person who has dealt with severe depression for over 30 years now, this is the second time that Hulk has played the “suicide card” on national TV when things weren’t going quite his way.

Being in the darkest valley you could ever imagine–especially since I was kicked to the curb, then blackballed from the business I’ve loved for over 40 years– I’ve experience certain feelings and emotions that I don’t care to share with others. I guess, what I’m trying to say, is that when Terry starts going down that road I just hope he’s being sincere, because as somebody that suffers from the disease—it’s extremely both personal and serious.”

Former WWE, WCW and TNA writer Vince Russo has posted a new blog entry discussing the way WWE has booked Bray Wyatt. More specifically, Russo says WWE creative has “failed Bray Wyatt miserably” and there’s no excuse for how badly they’ve dropped the ball with him. Say what you want about Russo’s booking history, he makes some good points of what could have been with Bray’s character.

“Listen, I’m not by any means implying that writing a weekly, three-hour wrestling show is an easy job, because it’s not. And, if there was anybody that would come up with excuses to protect those thankless, faceless, poor slobs—it would be me. However, when they come across as blatantly inept as they do at times—there are just no excuses. When it’s clear cut that a talent is being stymied by the writers, and not their natural ability—then something needs to be done. What I’m saying is this ;

IF YOU’RE A WRITER FOR THE WWE AND YOU HAVE NOTHING FOR BRAY WYATT . . .THEN YOU SHOULDN’T BE A WRITER FOR THE WWE.

There are no excuses here, folks. Bray Wyatt is far and away the most gifted talent that has commanded a wrestling ring since the days of the Attitude Era, and WWE Creative have failed him miserably. That includes Vince, Triple H, Stephanie McMahon and anybody else who has had anything to do with the growth of his career. The very first time I ever saw Bray Wyatt walk to the ring, with that mesmerizing music, and that brilliant entrance—I knew this guy was absolutely unique. He was special . . . there was nobody else like him. Having worked with him for many years, there’s no way that you couldn’t compare him to Taker. The only thing that was missing was that physical presence, and that was clearly replaced by a personality and a look that was created by a genius . . . Bray Wyatt.

The night that Bray surprised Chris Jericho upon his return to the WWE, which now seems like decades ago, I thought that this unique icon was well on his way to becoming a cornerstone in the Fed for years to come. It was all there, right in their grubby, little hands, all they had to do was dot the Is and cross the Ts. Whatever you gave this guy was going to be gold. But, who would have thought for a second that the brain trust leading WWE Creative would have dotted the Ts and crossed the Is instead. In what seemed impossible to do . . . they failed Bray Wyatt miserably.”

Former TNA Wrestling star Gunner recently appeared on The Pancakes & Powerslams podcast to talk about a number of subjects. Below are some of the highlights from the interview.

On if he had any issues with pay in TNA: “There were a couple of times where some pay got messed up when it may have come in a couple days late. I was always paid – to the most part – on time, pay was never kept from me, or anything like that. I know I talked to a few guys who hadn’t been paid in 30-45 days, and I said, well if that’s the case, you have to man up and say something, because in our contract it says we have to be paid in a certain amount of time after the shows. For the most part, I was paid on time, and paid right.”

On working with Vince Russo: “I always enjoyed working with Vince. I never had any issues. Sometimes his ideas were all over the place, but for the most part, he would ask you for your input. “What do you think about this, bro? What do you think about this?” He gave you a lot of leeway to do your own thing.”

On CM Punk saying “Thanking God is a weird thing to do”: “I don’t think it’s weird. We all have our different views. I’ve got buddies, like Ken Anderson, he’s an atheist, but we’re like best friends. We talk about religion all the time, and he knows that my faith is a huge part of what I do. It keeps me strong, and always has, since I was in the marine corps and when I went through war. I don’t think it’s weird at all. It’s no more weird than anybody else’s beliefs.”

Check out the complete interview at BlogTalkRadio.com.

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WWE Hall of Famer Ric Flair has appeared on WrestleTalk TV and spoke about a number of topics including the demise of WCW and working with Vince Russo.

– Flair spoke about working with WCW towards the end of the 90’s and admitted that it’s not a time that gave him many fond memories and that if Ted Turner knew what was gong on, he believes he would have put his foot down.

– He also spoke about Vince Russo and how that when he joined WCW he was “just trying to survive” though he confessed that he wasn’t a fan of some of the things he did with Russo but he got on with it anyway because he had a family and generally everyone just wanted to survive.

Vince Russo recently spoke with Donald Wood and the rest of the Ring Rust Radio crew. Here are some highlights of what Russo said about:

If he still has something to offer the wrestling business:

“That’s a really good question and it’s really like a double edged sword. I am content doing my thing on the Relm network, there is no doubt about that. Vince Russo not having any chains, rules, and nobody telling me what to do is beyond a freeing experience, it’s incredible. However, what I do for a living at vincerussobrand.com depends on wrestling therefore, I make a living off of professional wrestling. When I watch WWE and TNA on a weekly basis, I see how subpar the television shows have become. I see the drastic decrease in ratings and that concerns me. Without wrestling, there may not be a Vince Russo. I would love to help those companies, I know I can help them, I know what they are doing wrong, but when you offer your services free of charge and they say thanks but no thanks, there isn’t too much you can do. The answer to that question is for my own longevity, the wrestling business needs to prosper, and I am willing to help it. If they aren’t interested that’s up to them, but I more concerned about my own future.”

The fundamental changes he’d make to TNA:

“In my opinion, I watch TNA, it’s just wrestling 101. They are in the wrestling bubble, week in and week out they are telling wrestling stories, and a perfect example of that is the feud of Jeff Jarrett and Dixie Carter. You have a thirteen year feud between Jeff Jarrett and Dixie Carter, an ongoing story, and they way they introduce that story back to TV is through a King of the Mountain wrestling match? You don’t have to be Vince Russo to see that that is ridiculous. That’s bad fake wrestling; they came up with no creative whatsoever. If that story presented in the correct fashion and the right way, almost as a shoot with the history and reality of it, trust me it would have been a lot more compelling than Jeff showing up on a show and saying I am going to be in a wrestling match.”

If WWE has too many writers and what the proper balance is:

“You are absolutely right. They have a week to write a television show. When there are twenty people involved in the writing of that show, you are going to spend a lot of time running into each other. While you are running into each other for a good majority of the week, you suddenly get to crunch time. All of a sudden its Saturday or Sunday and you don’t have a complete show yet, so we will just finish it when we get to TV and that is what you are seeing today. I’ll just go back to the old Russo and Ferrara way of two guys wrote the show, brought it and pitched it to Vince, and that’s it. It’s a proven ingredient and formula that worked. Now I’m not saying Russo and Ferrara should go back to WWE, what I am saying is replace Russo and Ferrara with two other guys, make it simple, same vision, and you will have a much better product. There is no way that could be a compelling and intriguing show with all those writers involved in it. ”

His biggest regrets booking WWE & WCW:

“I’ll say my regret is in the wrestling business because it doesn’t matter where I was; it falls under the umbrella of the wrestling business. My biggest regret as I stand here now, on the outside looking in, I’m 54 years old now, and my biggest regret is whatever company I worked for is I made them my number one priority. What that means is I put God behind it, my family behind it, my wife behind it, and my kids behind it. When I worked for those companies they were my number one priority. Now when I sit back and see how thankless those individuals are that I gave my life to and put before my family, I am absolutely ashamed of myself. Shame on me, I should have never of done that and I should have known better. It was never about the money, it was about my pride, and wanting to be the best that I could possibly be. I am a goal driven guy and I made that my priority. I made Vince McMahon my priority, I made Dixie Carter my priority, my time at WCW was my priority. Looking back now, that was a huge mistake that I can never take back.”

Has wrestling evolved enough over the past several years?

“I think as we speak, wrestling right now is a niche market. Look at your numbers. Less than five years ago, TNA was doing 5,000,000 people. Nowadays they are doing a quarter of that. Look at the fifteen-year decline of the WWE. The people watching wrestling in 2015 are wrestling fans that are always going to be watching wrestling. The problem is they have lost the casual TV viewers. Those were the 5,000,000 people that are now gone. Wrestling has already become a niche market. Anybody can study and look at the numbers, see where it once was, and see where it is today. I want to say this – I publically want to totally separate Lucha Underground from all of that. Lucha Underground is not a wrestling company, they are a TV show. They treat the product like a TV show, they produce it like a TV show, and they treat the wrestlers like TV stars. So in my opinion they are in a category all by itself because they are not a wrestling company, they are a TV company.”

His relationship with Hulk Hogan over the years:

“Number one, we didn’t really have a relationship in WCW. People seem to forget about that. They want to pin everything that happened at WCW on me. The reality of it is I worked there for nine months. I really didn’t generate that relationship with Hulk Hogan during my time there. I was really grateful that when he came to TNA, we were able to settle any differences that we may have had. I am very grateful and thankful for that. As his spot in WWE right now, I am thrilled for the guy. I don’t know where the wrestling business would be without Hulk Hogan. For him to be in the spot he is right now as an ambassador for WWE, he deserves that spot. I am absolutely thrilled for him.”

His relationship with Triple H & if he’s seen Triple H bury talent:

“No I never have, but I will say this: When Triple H was breaking into the WWE, and the Madison Square Garden incident happened, where he became the scapegoat, there was nobody in his corner more than me. When that character was first being developed, there was no one developing that character more than me. I used to write every single one of his promos. I only had one instance working with him that he really disappointed me. He straight out didn’t want to do a job to D’Lo Brown and I really had an issue with that. I never read or followed in any of that stuff about him, but I was very disappointed when I almost went back to WWE back in 2002 and found out more or less Triple H was not in my corner after all I did for him. Fast forward twelve years later and you see the position he is in and Stephanie is in and now it makes all the sense in the world. If you eventually want the power, then you want to keep a guy away like a Vince Russo away who from a creative stand point is going to produce better content and better TV than you can. A Vince Russo is a better writer and went to school for writing to be a writer and knows the art of writing. When that happened in 2002 and I learned he was working behind the scenes to keep me out of the WWE, I would be lying to you if I told you my opinion of him did not change.”

The folks at Chair Shot Reality have released the latest blog by former WWE head writer Vince Russo. In the latest edition of the blog, Russo recalls the original plans for Chris Jericho’s debut in the WWE during the Attitude Era.

Below is an excerpt from the blog:

“When I was working as the Head of Creative for the WWE, part of my job was to constantly be scouting talent in an effort to make the “team” roster the best that it could possibly be. Honestly, most of my suggestions came from ECW, where I suggested the likes of the Dudley’s, Taz, Al Snow and the BWO. Through whatever working relationship Vince had with Paul Heyman at the time, the “idea” was for me to tell Vince who would be an asset to the WWE roster from ECW, triggering Vince to inform Paul who we were interested in. Unfortunately, this rarely worked out the way Vince had planned, for whenever we told Paul we were interested in one of his talents—he told Vince they weren’t interested back. This routine caused some back door maneuvering on both my part, and certain ECW talents at the time, but eventually we got who we wanted and they came to the destination of their choice.

The situation in acquiring WCW talent was much more difficult being that there was no working relationship in place–and both sides hated each other. Vince McMahon was always one to try and stay as far away as possible for lawsuits, so he rarely crossed the line when it came to purging WCW talent. However, even knowing Vince’s limitations, the first time I ever saw Chris Jericho—I KNEW that I had to be writing for him in a WWE uniform!

From the moment he ever walked through that WCW entrance, Jericho absolutely dripped with charisma. And, I’m talking about PRE-Attitude Era, when it wasn’t yet even “cool” to be “cool” in wrestling. Jericho was light years ahead of the curve. There were no unbelievable “heel faces” when he was shopping boos from the fans, and there was certainly no kissing babies when he wanted you to like him. Chris Jericho was simply being Chris Jericho–a bona-fied superstar in the wrestling business, to become iconic in the years to come.

Honestly, I can’t remember that initial conversation with Chris, I’m sure he probably does. I can’t recall whether he reached out to me, or I to him. Either way, it didn’t matter, all that did was that WE WERE TALKING!

What I do recall is how nervous Chris was. Even though his contract was expiring with WCW and he clearly just was just wanting to look at his other options, talking to “the enemy” was just taboo at that time.

After several conversations, Chris decided that he was going to be WWE bound once his WCW contract expired. From there, JR took over in the negotiations, because that was never my job–nor did I ever want it to be–and television product went into full “LET’S IMMEDIATELY GET JERICHO OVER” mode. I have to give Kevin Dunn and his entire staff an ENORMOUS amount of credit for making Jericho “special” from the moment we saw him. To this very moment I see it, feel it and STILL pop for it! What incredible vision Dunn’s staff had—a vision that is far and away the standard bearer when it comes to sports-entertainment.

It goes without saying that Chris was over in the WWE from the start—however—what many people don’t know is that when Ed Ferrara and myself wrote our last WWE show, which was delivered to Vince before we made the decision to go to WCW, we had Jericho defeating “The Rock” in the middle 1-2-3, which Ed and I felt would have almost immediately brought Jericho to a new level, without hurting “The Rock” in doing the job. Unfortunately, once we said our goodbyes to Vince, the finish of the match was changed and Rock beat Chris Jericho. For there, I felt that it took the WWE much longer to get Jericho to that next level–compared to if he would have beaten Rock that night.

Regardless–it didn’t matter. Chris was destined to become one of the biggest stars in the business—and he achieved that. And, at the end of the day let me make this perfectly clear—THAT WAS ALL ON HIM!”

Check out the complete blog at CSRWrestling.com.

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Former WWE writer Vince Russo has issued a lengthy response to Jim Ross’ recent rant about the state of the pro wrestling industry. Here’s what Russo wrote:

I GUESS IF JR SAYS IT IT’S OK

Early this morning I read a blog posted by JR about the state of the wrestling business today. Man, did his views sound hauntingly familiar.

While both JR and I grew up wrestling fans, our backgrounds and experiences are vastly different being that we were raised in completely different parts of the country and influenced by regional wrestling and the personalities that represented that region. However, regardless of the differences in both our personalities and philosophies on the wrestling business, I was pleasantly surprised to learn that JR and I are sitting on almost the exact same page when it comes to the reasons behind the declining state of professional wrestling today. In his blog on his own site, JR sited many of the same things that I have been saying regarding the industry for the past year since I became active on social media.

However, regardless that JR and I share the same sediments, here’s the thing that is most fascinating to me. For whatever reason, when JR has something negative to say regarding today’s wrestling business, it is listened to with open ears, accepted and respected. Me, on the other hand, when I poise those same feelings, the haters come flying from the rafters ready to attack me, my wife, my kids and the family dog. I am met with so much hate and venom when it comes to my take on wrestling today, that you would think that I’m actually looking forward to seeing the total demise of a business I’ve enjoyed for over 40 years, opposed to actually trying to help find and offer the solutions to save it.

So why is that? Why can JR say the same exact things that I’m saying, but yet his criticisms are welcomed, while mind are ripped apart by those who read them? Why? The more, and more I look at my position in professional wrestling, the more and more it becomes obvious to me why the wrestling media has made me the most “controversial man” in sports entertainment history.

1. People absolutely just hate me having no idea who I am. They’ve never met me, never spoken to me, and surely have no clue of what I’m all about.

2. People hate the character that they saw in WCW in 2000, and have convinced themselves that that REALLY is Vince Russo, rather then somebody who was just embellishing what people outside of New York wanted to believe New Yorkers were “really” like.

3. People from New York are stereotyped, and there is a prejudice cast upon them if they happened to grow up in that part of the country.

Outside of those three things . . . what else can it be? A man from Oklahoma, who started working for the WWE about the same time I did, is revered over his comments concerning today’s wrestling, while I am crucified for those same sediments? Why? Because he wears a cowboy hat, and I say “Bro”? Because he comes from more of the south while I come from Brooklyn? Tell me, please.

The bottom line is this, no matter where Jim Ross comes from, or where Vince Russo comes from, we have both had ties with the WWE since 1993. We were both there for its biggest period in the history of professional wrestling, and we both follow it today at perhaps it’s lowest. From either one of our perspectives, we can tell you what the problem is, why it exists and what is needed to fix it. Regardless of who we are, and what we might represent to different people–we’ve both been there, done that, and are in a position to give an educated opinion based on our backgrounds.

In other words, whether you’re from New York, or Oklahoma, it doesn’t matter. Anybody, with any kind of experience in the wrestling business can surely tell you . . . Stamford . . . you’ve got a problem.

Vince

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Former TNA writer Vince Russo is speaking out about the news coverage of Dixie Carter’s talent conference call from earlier this week, where she addressed various issues including their relationship with Destination America and Ring of Honor joining the network.

Russo called out a particular ‘dirt sheet’ for claiming that the wrestlers weren’t happy with the way Dixie Carter handled the situation, claiming she was evasive and does not communicate well with the TNA roster.

He says that the report was based on one source, who may have been biased and that it’s irresponsible to trust the view of one person who might have their own agenda.

Here’s what Russo wrote on Facebook on Saturday:

Today, the same dirt sheet who broke the story about the imminent cancelation of TNA on Destination America filed the following report concerning a conference call that Dixie Carter held with the talent:

“The wrestlers at the meeting were not happy because they felt overall Carter was being evasive, and also it was hard to buy the idea that she was presenting that adding ROH to Destination America was to their benefit. The keys to the talent question and answer period is that talent complained that they wanted better lines of communications”.

Here lies the issue, folks—unless you were actually on that call yourself, this is second hand reporting coming from “a source”—a mole—who was presumingly on the call and then in turn reported the result to the said dirt sheet—speaking for ALL the wrestlers at the meeting. The information did not come directly from the call to reporter—there was a middle man. A middle man. A middle man who was perhaps dissatisfied with the call himself, was maybe even a bit disgruntled, thus putting HIS/HER spin on the phone conversation the way THEY saw it—in speaking for ALL the wrestlers on the call.

The overall feelings of the wrestlers are being stated as “fact”, when the only “fact” is that the person/persons who gave that information—gave it from THEIR perspective which is simply that—THEIR PERSPECTIVE.

Again, when looking at stories such as this, you just really have to be careful in determining “truth” from “perspective/opinion”. No two people view anything the same, everybody always has, and presents their own “take”, or “spin”.

My point–take what you read with a grain of salt. Don’t fall into the trap of allowing “reporters” to make you believe what they want you to believe.

Vince

David Bixenspan tweeted a leaked 2006 email from Vince Russo to Dixie Carter, pushing for TNA to feature an “attractive, sexy, female executive” character to make the show “hip” and add a new dimension to the product.

Russo, who has had a long standing feud with Jim Cornette, also pushes for Cornette’s removal from television, since he is a 1980’s throwback rasslin’ cartoon character and conflicted with the edgier elements of the show like Kurt Angle and Samoa Joe.

https://twitter.com/davidbix/status/604158747972386817

https://twitter.com/davidbix/status/604159770929577984

Former WWE, WCW & TNA writer Vince Russo has posted a new blog at the Chairshot Reality website talking about Vince McMahon forgetting how to create new stars, specifically as it relates to Kevin Owens’ WWE TV debut on Monday’s RAW.

Russo says that when Sami Zayn made his WWE debut answering John Cena’s US Championship Open Challenge, there was no impact – he was presented as “just another wrestler.” The Ascension’s debut was “so laughable you ‘almost’ have to think it was intentional” and Neville was in the same boat after his debut.

Russo explains why Owens didn’t come off as a star and Vince McMahon has lost his touch.

“Then of course, this week there was Kevin Owens. A guy who looked like he just came from Gleason’s Gym, where he was training to be a “rassler”. Owens didn’t look like a star, he didn’t smell like a star, as a matter of fact he looked like a guy that could have possibly jumped the guardrail. Which reminds me—I STILL REMEMBER Hillbilly Jim when he was “presented” as “somebody” the first time we saw him on WWE TV. And, Owens dropping Cena? That did nothing but make the 115th time World Champ look bad.

Save your hate mail. This isn’t a Kevin Owens thing, just like it wasn’t a Sami Zayn thing, just like it wasn’t a Adrian Neville thing, just like it wasn’t an Ascension thing. Those guys are strictly employees who get paid to do what the boss says to go out and do—that boss is Vince McMahon. Somewhere along the line, shortly after the Attitude Era (what a coincidence), Vince McMahon forgot how to make stars. He forgot how to create them, how to manufacture them, and how to getthem over. When you think about it, who has gotten over to SUPER stardom in the last fifteen years? I’m talking household names? In my opinion that list is quite small, as a matter of fact I’d put two people on it—-Kurt Angle and John Cena. OK, I’ll even allow you to put the beloved Daniel Bryan on there if you wish—but his success had NOTHING to do with creative, other than being given the platform to perform.”

He went on to say that over the past 15 years, we’ve seen lots of great performers in WWE, but none of them have gone on to reach the heights of Steve Austin, The Rock, Mick Foley, Undertaker, Shawn Michaels or Bret Hart. “What got CM Punk over to the level he was?,” Russo asked.  “Him sitting on the stage with a microphone and cutting a promo that only he could cut—there was no help there from Vince on that one.”

– “The Lunatic Fringe” Dean Ambrose Chris Jericho’s guest on this week’s Talk is Jericho podcast, which you can listen to over at PodcastOne.com.

– Former WWE writer Court Bauer of MLW Radio is Steve Austin’s guest on this week’s Steve Austin Show: Unleashed at PodcastOne.com.

– Former WWE, WCW and TNA writer Vince Russo is back with his latest blog. In his latest online piece, Russo takes aim at Sami Zayn, ranting and raving about why he feels Zayn will not “equal ratings.”

“RAW is a television show and Sami Zayn is NOT a television star—nor—will he be anytime soon. Sami is an exceptional wrestler on a wrestling show, and the only people who care about him are those die hard wrestling fans who are looking for 5-star matches that the massive don’t give a !@#$% about.

That’s why as champion Seth Rollins isn’t drawing no matter how hard they push him. Seth Rollins is a great wrestler, who only appeals to those purists who watch RAW for quality matches. The casual masses don’t care about that. What they care about are characters and storylines that ENTERTAIN them like the other TELEVISION shows they watch.

RAW wasn’t a GREAT show because Sami Zayn was on it—and the numbers clearly back that up.”

Russo admits Zayn is one of the best wrestlers on WWE’s roster, but “wrestling doesn’t draw.”

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Former WWE head developmental trainer Bill DeMott was recently interviewed on Vince Russo’s podcast and discussed his resignation from WWE following widespread allegations of abusive behavior towards his students.

Here’s what DeMott had to say about ‘millennials’ and their sense of entitlement:

“I always use the term it’s never the quarterback, it’s the coach. Millennials, I think right that’s what this generation is called the millennials. I think it’s in the whole world. So what I can say and what I will say is as a dad as you are, as I am, I try to figure that out to keep my children away from that entitlement.

I guess it’s old school that you get what you earn and you try to earn what you want. I think that’s all I am going to say about that because I think no matter what the case, Walmart, Publix, IBM, I always use IBM I don’t know why, I go to a lot of management seminars and that’s a lot of the conversation, the opening conversation: ‘What do we do when they don’t like that?’ And I want to walk out because I’m not going to learn anything if I’m still trying to figure out.

It’s tough, it’s going to be tough for whoever has to figure out what they want tomorrow.”

Vince Russo has added his name into the mix of WWE fans who were not satisfied with the “go home” segment of Monday’s RAW between WrestleMania challengers Roman Reigns and WWE World Heavyweight Champion Brock Lesnar.

Russo didn’t only vent about the angle, but he took it a step further, declaring that Vince McMahon is completely out of touch and needs to step down as the man who has the final say over what airs on WWE television.

Russo wrote:

Three hour build-up all leading up to two men having a tug-o-war. No thanks . . . glad I watched Teen Mom premiere.

— Vince Russo (@THEVinceRusso) March 24, 2015

WWE should be absolutely ashamed of themselves for going into WM with lame !@#$% finish. Starts & ends w/Vince. You've lost it, boss. Sorry.

— Vince Russo (@THEVinceRusso) March 24, 2015

What would I book as main for Mania? Vince taking of his loafers, leaving them in the middle of the ring, and retiring.

— Vince Russo (@THEVinceRusso) March 24, 2015

To make clear-WWE problem IS NOT due to lack of effort of the talent's part-it's do to the Dr. Seuss mentality of writing/producing show.

— Vince Russo (@THEVinceRusso) March 24, 2015

Could you imagine STONE COLD having a tug-o-war over his Title? Even though ATTITUDE is gone, can somebody at least have a freakin' TEMPER!

— Vince Russo (@THEVinceRusso) March 24, 2015

Lucha Underground star Johnny Mundo (aka John Morrison) recently spoke with the Shining Wizards podcast to talk about his post-WWE career, as well as a number of Lucha Underground-related topics. Below are highlights from the interview.

On Lucha Underground: “I like a lot that you compared it to ECW, because that’s one of the comparisons that I make often. Not necessarily that it is ECW, but ECW really felt like it was its own world. It wasn’t WWE’s lights. It was its own thing, and I definitely felt that way about Lucha Underground from day one. It always had its own identity. That Identity is evolving as time goes on. As the bigger superstars get signed, and that happens more frequently, as we got (Alberto) Del Rio now and who knows what could be happening in the next couple of weeks. This isn’t just a wrestling show. This is a world we are creating and that appealed to me. It’s not just a typical wrestling show that’s going to be gone the next day or move. The Identity is not going to be changing. So far it’s been really good.”

On being happy post-WWE: “Oh, 100 percent. In WWE, you’re wrestling matches with handcuffs on. You come up with ideas constantly, and half the time you’re not allowed to do what you want. I understand why it’s like that because it’s a business and they’re very protective of talent, angles, and the things that they’re doing, but I feel like it started to become a case where they were trying too hard to resist all this new stuff, ideas, and moves. I think it started hurting their product, and it’s been hurting their product for a while. And it’s really nice to not have to deal with that and to go in and say that I’ve got 5 cool ideas, and Prince Puma has 5 cool ideas, and while we’re not probably going to be able to do all of them in every match, let’s pick the coolest stuff and do it.”

On Lucha Underground’s faith in him: “It means a lot. And like I said, I couldn’t be happier to be a part of this organization. I do think that what I’m doing in Lucha Underground is great for me and it’s really good for them too. I’m pouring a ton of energy into Lucha Underground and going out of my way to not even have the best matches that I can have, but have the best match I can have and then some. Taking risks and pushing myself to try things that I’ve never tried in WWE because they probably wouldn’t have been allowed or the people that I was working with might not have wanted to go that far. To have free range and the responsibility and the trust to let me pull the wagons so to speak for Lucha Underground has been really rad.”

On Lucha Underground vs. WWE creative: “For one, the Lucha Underground creative team is top notch. They are very all solid, talented people. There’s no eccentric billionaire who’s showing up at the last minute and demanding Lucha Underground to be rewritten the day of TV. I really feel like that is the difference. I feel like other promotions have too many chefs in the kitchen, so to speak. There are too many people with power, and they have different agendas, and when those agendas collide, and arguing starts to happen over storylines with stuff getting changed the day of, it starts to suck for the fans because you’re following a story and a couple weeks in the whole thing gets squashed or changed and it doesn’t seem like anything ever happens or pays off. I think Lucha Underground has done a good job so far of having their stories pay off and creating intrigue in this world they have created.”

Vince Russo’s involvement: “Yeah, he was there. I did an interview with him for his YouTube channel. He was there to watch the show, though. He is in no way going to be a part of the creative team of Lucha Underground. Everyone there knows that’s 100 percent true. Vince Russo knows that’s 100 percent true. I don’t know if he’s trying to tell people he is or not, but he’s not. He was there as a wrestling fan. He told me and everyone there that he watched the show and he had a good time. He interviewed some of the talent, and I had a really fun 20 minute interview with Vince Russo. Just shooting the shit about WCW, TNA, WWE, Lucha Underground, and when he puts it up on his channel I hope everyone watches, but he is not involved with the creative of Lucha Underground.”

Check out the complete interview at ShiningWizards.com.

• HUGE Backstage Update On CM Punk’s UFC Debut Date & Opponent!

Vince Russo and his former business partner Chris Cash are both speaking out and giving their sides of the story regarding their falling out over the Pyro and Ballyhoo website.

Russo’s statement is above, here’s Chris Cash’s letter:

This entire situation is a lose-lose for me. On one hand, I can tell my side and the story and some will believe me — some won’t. Either way, I’m right in the thick of all the public backlash. Or, I could tell very little and attempt to move on with my life. But knowing wrestling fans, that would be worse in their eyes.

In either scenario, however, I don’t get the one thing I was after all along: fair compensation.

I have been working alongside Vince on this entire project for nearly a year now. We were 50/50 partners, and I have proof of that if anyone needs it. However, when Vince lost his TNA money, I agreed to defer my money for awhile until we could get Vince back on his feet. That was my first and only mistake. It should have started as a true partnership from the beginning, or it should have never started at all.

If you are visitors or members of this site, you know how much I’ve done. Vince has publicly admitted it over and over again. Vince was basically the public face, while I handled literally everything else.

From web development/management, to producing, to social media, to marketing, to handling sponsorships, and even down to handling outside work that “I” found for Vince — I was the guy running things behind the scenes. Some of you may not feel my part was as valuable as Vince’s, and I’m not naive to think people were signing up because of me, but my time, energy and knowledge is valuable. Hopefully each of you can at least understand that before jumping to a conclusion about this situation.

About two months ago, I felt it was time I finally started getting my cut. The VIP subscribers were growing at a very steady pace, Vince had several appearances lined up, plus other outside work coming in each month as well. Our initial agreement was finally being met, in my eyes.

When I approached Vince about it — months ago, mind you — I could tell things were likely going to change. Anytime “business” was discussed, Vince didn’t really want to go there. We found ways to pay me a little over the past few months, but it was a far cry from the agreement Vince and I set from day one.

A couple weeks ago, Vince and I took a trip to Los Angeles to cover Lucha Underground. And yes, that is ALL we were there to do. Meltzer got his stories dead wrong, and it’s truly a shame that someone IN the company was feeding him such BS. It came with the territory though when it involves Vince — 95% of the stuff reported on him..I’ve found to be biased and/or completely off the mark.

I digress.

I had one heck of a time getting back home due to weather. I was supposed to return on a Monday evening and didn’t make it home until Thursday afternoon. Needless to say, I had plenty of time to think about things as it pertained to my future — in general, and with this project.

By this point, Vince and I are ten months into this whole thing. We just surpassed 800 VIP members and we were on pace to hit our goal of 1,000 by WrestleMania.

When I finally returned, I sent Vince an email. That email outlined the three options I saw going forward for the site. Either:

a) We start taking the profit from the site each month and splitting it per our original agreement (this was strictly website revenue and did NOT include his outside sources of income. Several of which, I was solely responsible for setting up.)

b) He buy me out and move on without me.

Or c) We shut down new memberships and close one month later.

Did Vince take it as an ultimatum? Definitely. Was it one? Maybe. But either way, it’s what I needed to continue going forward. I’ve been working a full-time job during most of this process. I also had a family to support. And, most importantly, it was time that Vince truly commit to this partnership.

Immediately, due to Vince’s response to the email, it was clear we would no longer be able to continue as partners moving forward. He felt I was being “unsupportive”, which I found to be ironic that it came the day I just got back from a week-long trip to LA specifically for the website.

Either way, one of the things he said in the email made things very clear. He said:

“You’re not going to be into this until you’re making a certain amount. I UNDERSTAND THAT. I need somebody that is into this 100% of the time regardless. You are looking at money, I am looking at passion. Two total different things and that’s OK.”

I found that also to be ironic, and also very incorrect. I was the guy running things every step of the way for virtually nothing — for ten months. Vince was the one receiving 99% of the money and refusing to budge when it came to me finally getting fair compensation.

His statement honestly said it all. He wanted someone that would do all the work, for as long as it took, without blinking an eye. And while that is commonplace in the wrestling business — trust me, I’ve been involved in this type of stuff for eleven years now — I honestly didn’t expect it from Vince.

You have to understand though — I had been taking the subtle approach for two months as it related to money. This was the only way to get his attention. And it certainly got his attention, although what followed was not anywhere close to my goal with all of this.

Now…as to what happened next, I really just want to bullet point a few things that are FACTUAL:

– When conversations broke down and both of us realized an amicable resolve was not possible, we agreed to shut down the website. My last text to Vince on Friday night was for him to write a post stating we would stop accepting new member sign-ups on March 1st, and then officially close the site down on April 1st, making sure VIP subscribers got exactly what they paid for.

Vince emailed me again late that night with one final “offer”, if you can even call it that. Basically, I was no longer viewed as a 50/50 partner in his eyes because I was no longer doing 50% of the work. I won’t deny that I scaled back, but not by much, and only because I wasn’t being treated as a 50/50 partner. So take that however you want…even when Vince suggested in that same email that the “new” agreement, according to him, should be 80/20, he also said in that email he would not put anything in writing. 80%, 20%, 100% — none of it mattered if he didn’t want to put it in writing.

Either way, the plan was still to stop accepting new members and then close a month later.

– Late Friday night, I changed the admin password to the backend of the website that both Vince and I used. I did it to protect MY interests. With that account, Vince could have basically taken everything from the site that he wanted and used it for his new project that he said MULTIPLE times he planned to start if PyroandBallyhoo shut down. Rather than pay me, he would just go somewhere else and do it. While I couldn’t necessarily stop him from doing it, I certainly wasn’t going to make it easy.

Vince found out even later that night I had changed it. This is where the whole “locked out of my own site” came about. One very important point: when Vince found out I had changed the password, he emailed me three times and called me once between 12:30am and 6:40am Saturday morning — I was sleeping.

By the time I woke up around 7:10am, another contributor to the site had written an official message on the site. You probably saw it — the whole “P&B Is Going On Hiatus” post. In that post, Vince put over his all-new “Vince Russo Experience” that was going to be coming back, and even further, he put a box at the bottom soliciting emails where people could get updates on that launch of his new project.

— My intention when I changed the password to the admin account was to give Vince a new limited-access account to the site where he could continue still post his content for that final month of operation. However, rather than give me a reasonable amount of time to respond to him — literally, I was asleep — he decided to go public with everything and, as the saying goes, the “sh*t hit the fan”.

— As for the “hi-jacking” of Twitter. By the time I woke up that Saturday, Vince had already changed the passwords to literally everything else associated with the site. Emails, Twitter, Facebook and YouTube — all properties of the site that “I” set up. So yes, I went through the security measures to regain access and control of those accounts.

— I did NOT block people on Vince’s Twitter account as he has suggested during the time I had possession of it with the exception of one person, I believe. And that person was personally attacking Vince Russo. Anyone else that was blocked, Vince blocked them before I had control and now, I can only assume as an attempt to use it to his advantage, Vince is selling it like he’s doing people a favor by unblocking them. Seeing as how HE was the one that blocked them in the first place, I can only assume he’s trying to position himself in a “certain light”. Got to admit though — it’s pretty smart. He was very “Block happy” the entire time I’ve known him, and most of the time, I didn’t blame him at all.

— I never once blocked Vince from PayPal. He STILL has full access and control over that account, and always had it. Full transparency — I couldn’t have changed that password if I wanted to because HIS personal bank account is tied to the account. Vince said in a recent YouTube video he posted that he was blocked from PayPal — it’s a blatant lie. While he is trying to shift liability of refunds and Support on me — and even though I did help some people with their issues — I was NOT the one being paid directly for VIP memberships. The majority of that money got deposited directly into one particular bank account — and it wasn’t mine.

— I received a threatening legal letter from Vince’s attorney on Saturday around 1:00pm my time. I didn’t see it until 3:00 when I got home from work. In the letter, the lawyer said that Vince owned the domain and all its content, that I was not to operate the site without him (didn’t plan on it), and that I was to turn over all of it, including Vince’s Twitter account, promptly. The website domain was registered in my wife’s name (in order to get a $.99 special through GoDaddy), I produced the majority of the content on the site without compensation so I had legal rights to those, and the Twitter account, I was already planning to turn it over.

— Speaking of the Twitter account, it’s come to my attention that people close to Vince are claiming Twitter forced me to return Vince’s account. Again — not true. I willfully handed it over and had never planned on keeping it.

That’s really it. Vince’s lawyer and mine went back and forth a couple extra times, I held off on a statement because I was told that Vince might be interested in some sort of buyout option, and I thought that MAYBE, an amicable solution might still be reached.

Vince had plenty of time to show what his intent was going forward, but he made it clear when he didn’t respond to our emails about it. Thus, my lawyer instructed me that it was time to move on, put all of this behind me, and simply tell my side of the story.

Look — I know I will take the heat from Vince Russo supporters. I know Vince Russo bashers will have a field day with this, burying Vince any chance they get. I can’t control that and I wish I could. I don’t want either of those things to happen.

I don’t want to turn this into a personal attack on Vince. Personally, I think Vince is genuinely a good guy. But, in MY opinion, I was done wrong in this situation. Vince was willing to sing my praises, and he did on many occasions, when it came to the fact that he couldn’t have done any of this without me, but when it was time to actually take the business to the next step professionally, he refused to do it. Most importantly, he refused to offer any rational or realistic alternative or compromise.

Everything had to be done on his terms, or nothing. His terms were nowhere near fair, and it was clear we needed to part ways. It absolutely should have been done in a better manner, but as soon as Vince went public, a private solution simply wasn’t going to happen.

So, there you have it — my side of the story. Since I’ve come to peace with the fact that I will not be getting compensated fairly for my time and energy invested into this project from day one, I didn’t see any other option but to get my statement out there as quickly as possible.

I’m sure many of you will still support Vince in his next project, and that’s fine — it’s your prerogative. I just ask that you look at the facts listed here, listen to his side, but then…read between the lines and find what TRUTH works best for you.

If you think I’m lying about something, simply ask me to prove it. I will likely be able to do just that. If you don’t care, then that’s fine too.

Vince’s plan — he told it to me several times — is to find a way to take what WE created and start it elsewhere, cutting me out completely. He feels justified in doing so, but I find it, simply, stealing what was half mine. I gave him ample amount of time, and plenty of opportunities, to try and make this is a peaceful split. He refused to accept any of them.

Lastly, I do want to apologize to any visitor of this site, any listener or viewer of the podcasts we produced, and especially, “The Brand” VIP members of the site. None of you deserved this. And unfortunately, it ultimately falls on both me and Vince for not being able to find a mutually-beneficial solution.

I feel like I honestly tried to do just that. Vince refused. That’s the truth.

I’m happy to answer any further questions if any fans or media wants it. Don’t look for me to bury Vince Russo, however. I still think the guy is genuinely good-hearted, has an incredible work ethic, and I genuinely wish him the best of luck in the future. But I simply couldn’t go on putting in the work I was putting in without getting fairly compensated going forward.

As long as it’s respectful, you can reach me via email at wzchriscash@yahoo.com.

As far as PyroandBallyhoo.com is concerned, I will be shutting it down. Again, I’m not naive to think this website is worth anything without him. That being said, my whole point is that it’s not worth anything without me either.

The moral to all of this? For me, at least, it’s that you don’t put trust as the focal point of your new business — no matter how trusting you are, or how trustworthy your partner may seem at the time. Get everything in writing. Vince and I should have done just that from the very beginning. That way, there would be no gray areas — it would be clear as day..black and white.

Again, I want to apologize to all of you affected by this. I honestly thought Vince and I had a good thing going, and I know he did too. It’s just unfortunate that he would rather close it all, attempt to start over from scratch, rather than just try to do what’s right by the one guy who was there with him from day one.

Either way, you live and learn. And I can bet that I’m not the only one who learned from this situation. How much you want to bet Vince is definitely making sure EVERYTHING is in his name moving forward.

If you need to refunds or have Support-related question, I recommend you go through PayPal to get it. If you paid in the final days of Feb or first days of March, you are entitled to your refund if you choose.

Thanks again everyone for a fun journey. I was proud, along with Vince I’m sure, of what we accomplished in less than a year. It’s very unfortunate the way things went down — everyone loses.

I will now be putting this behind me. Moving on. I’m available for questions and I won’t dodge any of them. I truly have nothing to hide and I only did what I felt was best for me and my family, just as I’m sure Vince thinks he’s doing it for those same reasons.

Either way, thanks to everyone who supported us during all of this. Aside from the last week, I had a blast and it’s been a great learning experience.

Until next time…here’s to tomorrow and what it lies in store.

– Chris Cash

PS. Sorry for the long-winded explanation, but I wanted to try and get as many details fit into my explanation as I really only plan to tell it in this much detail once. I hope you understand. What you choose to believe, or not believe, is truly up to you.

Vince Russo announced this weekend that he is parting ways with his own official website, PyroAndBallyhoo.com.

On his official Facebook page, the former WWE, WCW and TNA writer wrote, “I will not be posting anything—blogs, videos, podcasts, from this point going forward. I am no way any longer associated with the site.”

Regarding those who signed up for the paid membership portion of his website, Russo stated, “Please know, that if you renew your monthly membership, you will not be getting any content from Vince Russo from this day going forward. I also ask you to not buy any Vince Russo merchandise, as I no longer have access to the orders.”

What this means for the future of the website and for those who paid for a membership remains to be seen.

• VIDEO: Jon Jones, Anthony Johnson Prank Dana White With Major Fake Brawl (LOL!!)

As noted earlier, Vince Russo was backstage at the Lucha Underground television taping this past weekend. There have been some rumors floating around regarding Russo possibly working for the company, but all signs are pointing to this not being the case.

Lucha Underground held a meeting with top officials to discuss Russo’s appearance and they flat out denied that Russo would be hired. A few veterans in the locker room were leery, but it was made clear Russo won’t be writing for Lucha Underground.

Russo himself claimed he was only in attendance to check out the show and interview a few people for his podcast, but some people felt Russo seemed like he was looking for work.

Russo was reportedly treated well at the show, but he’s not very familiar with lucha libre. He apparently made a suggestion that the show needs more female wrestlers, which did not go over well.

• VIDEO: UFC Fighter CAUGHT ON TAPE Violently Assaulting Man At His Gym!

(Credit: Wrestling Observer Newsletter)

GFW founder Jeff Jarrett recently spoke with the v2 Wrestling Podcast about a number of topics, including plans for his new promotion and more.

Below are highlights from the interview:

On whether GFW will be a standalone promotion: “The short answer is yes. I have been working with the team on what wrestling fans are calling a standalone promotion. Multiple conversations with talent, distributors, sponsorships, venues, legal, finance, everything that goes with launching the brand. I don’t want to get too overinflated and say major announcements, but I’ll call them very exciting announcements around WrestleMania and then the weeks to come after that. So in the next 4-6 weeks, the first announcement will be coming.”

On his relationship with CM Punk in TNA: “He did work with us for a little while, yes. It was in the Asylum days when I was wearing 5, 6, 7 hats every Wednesday night. We had a very business-like, cordial relationship. To say that I missed the boat would be an understatement of the year, but things like that happen. My father started two guys from California that drove cross country and the first time I laid eyes on them was Thanksgiving 1985. Very young and very green, they were called the Blade Runners and within 18 months after they left my father’s promotion they became Sting in WCW and the Ultimate Warrior in the WWF. So promoters miss the boat and there is a long track record of that, but Punk seized his opportunity when he got to WWE. Quite frankly, he goozled that entire promotion and left on his own terms. To this day he’s still one of the hottest box office attractions in professional wrestling, and he’s not even doing it any more.”

On whether there will be a place for Vince Russo in GFW: “We enjoyed our years together but no, not at this time.”

On his controversial departure from the WWF in 1999: “At the end of the day, I showed up to work that night in Cleveland, and (Vince McMahon) had two options, I had two options, and we both took Option A. We agreed on a price, and the rest is history. I have spoken with Vince McMahon several times since that day”.

On whether he will remain an active wrestler: “No, my full-time days in the ring are over. Not to say I’m not going to put on the tights again, and quite frankly, in the last two weeks I don’t know what it is but I’ve gotten several offers from promoters in Canada, the Carolinas and California, so like I did last year, I’ll probably have a few shows here and there. But my main focus is Global Force Wrestling and launching that brand as a standalone promotion.”

On his role in GFW: “I like to refer to (my role) as somewhat of a matchmaker. In the old days they called it a booker, but a booker is really a matchmaker and let the fans decide. The talent, it’s not like you want to slap on and say this week you’re the Gobbledy Gooker and next week you’re Skinner. It’s who is Talent A and why are they Talent A, what’s to like or not like about Talent A. You put them against Talent B, who they are and why they are, and they go out there and get it done in the ring. I think that’s a recipe for success in professional wrestling.”

On GFW’s style compared to other promotions: “It’ll have its own style, but I don’t believe in recreating the wheel. I think Wrestle Kingdom 9 proved it, and Jim Ross said it in some of the videos that we produced on him, wrestling fans don’t over-think it. Give the fans what they want. Great wrestlers, hard-hitting style, championships, winners, losers and larger than life personalities – that’s what we plan on doing. I’ve always had that philosophy, dating back to my early days in the territories and my father’s and grandmother’s promotion. You have good wrestlers, and whether it’s black hats and white hats or however you want to define it, the people have to know and understand that Wrestler A is fighting Wrestler B and why they’re fighting, what are the results on who wins and who loses, and what’s going to happen next. I don’t think you need to overthink that in any stretch of the imagination. I think there are instances, from NXT to Wrestle Kingdom 9 to Triplemania, the successful wrestling shows going on in the world today are, at its core, basic and simplistic.”

Check out the complete interview at Podomatic.com.

• PHOTOS: Several HOT Pics Of RONDA ROUSEY In Sports Illustrated’s SWIMSUIT ISSUE!!

In this week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter, it was reported that Vince Russo is in talks with the promotion and will be traveling to Los Angeles for a meeting. Dave Meltzer wrote that Lucha Underground Executive Producer Eric Van Wangenen is pushing to get Russo into the company, despite his questionable track record of booking Mexican wrestlers.

Van Wangenen has since denied the report and responded to several fans on Twitter pleading with him not to work with Vince Russo.

https://twitter.com/ericvanwagenen/status/566097186069680128

https://twitter.com/ericvanwagenen/status/566101901134295040

Industry insiders who follow Lucha Underground noticed that the most recent Lucha Underground tapings included some segment that reminded them of the Russo style of booking. One match in particular from the February 7th taping was a Mask vs. Mask match that took place with virtually now buildup. Dario Cueto ordered Sexy Star and Super Fly, who are friends on the show, to wrestle each other with both of their masks on the line. There was little to no followup to the angle.

Former WWE Diva Chyna is claiming that Triple H physically abused her when they dated from 1996-2000. During her recent appearance on Vince Russo’s podcast, Chyna revealed that Triple H once hit her and she actually found a love letter from Stephanie McMahon to Triple H when she and Triple H were still an item.

Below is a transcript of Chyna’s comments on the subject.

“So I think Hunter’s plan was to get me to leave the relationship first and then that way he can start dating Stephanie and like everything would be cool. So I would ask Hunter time and time again, I figured it was better just to address the problem and ask him honestly and I would have to believe his answer, so we got into a heated argument, we were not getting along, I told him ‘I know something’s going on. Don’t tell me something’s not going on.’ He swiped my hand, I swiped his hand, he hit me. I went back like Jerry Springer and then I was like OK that’s the deal breaker for me, the relationship is now over, so now I have to leave. After that, I know that he was crying and I know that he felt bad that he hit me, and my first initial reaction was to get up, and like I don’t know, I was just in shock and it felt like a Jerry Springer moment, it was very surreal, and I just couldn’t believe that he hit me. But he knows that like I don’t stand for physical violence, albeit we’ll get to that after with Sean [Waltman], so I knew at that point I had to leave, but I needed some sort of closure so when he was gone I started looking all over the house, and I looked into his, long story short, I looked into his briefcase and I found a love letter from Stephanie that had [been] dated a year back, so the whole time they were doing the storyline basically they were together.”

Triple H has since responded to the allegations, releasing the following statement of his own.

“The false statements and reckless allegations made by Joan Laurer (aka Chyna) on a recent podcast about a physical dispute are a complete fabrication. While Joan has had significant struggles in life, this does not justify making such claims.”

• PHOTOS: Several HOT Pics Of RONDA ROUSEY In Sports Illustrated’s SWIMSUIT ISSUE!!

Former WWE performer Joanie Laurer (aka Chyna) mentioned recently that she recorded an interview with Vince Russo that will drop on PyroAndBallyhoo.com on Monday after WWE RAW. Chyna noted that she talks about topics during the interview that she was told to keep quiet, but she decided not to.

Russo noted on his official website that he received a phone call from Laurer at 11pm and the two discussed her thoughts on what Triple H said about her regarding the WWE Hall Of Fame.

The Chyna-Russo “shoot interview” is being promoted with the following teaser synopsis:

“The conversation lasted almost 2 hours. Triple H could have prevented this. He could have taken the high road—he chose not to. Whatever follows—they have simply brought upon themselves. God said to put others before ourselves . . . .and, I truly believe that.”

In the following video, Chyna explains that she’s had enough and will talk about it more in the interview with Russo that drops on Monday. She said it felt good to speak out on WWE and that she’s needed to get all of this off of her chest for a long time now.

http://youtu.be/UdSg5uRSVj4

Additionally, Russo released the following video defending Chyna.

http://youtu.be/we2z46HwOJ4

• BACKSTAGE NEWS: Chael Sonnen AND Ronda Rousey Appearing At WrestleMania 31 This Year?!

Former WWE performer Joanie “Chyna” Laurer, who is currently in Japan, posted a new video where she speaks about a number of subjects.

Chyna noted that she recently got engaged to a Japanese man, hinting that he was from Osaka, Japan. She said that the man is someone she has known since 2002 that doesn’t speak much English. She said the two will soon get married and he will move to the United States.

Laurer also hinted that she may soon return to the world of pro wrestling, even mentioning Lucha Underground specifically.

She also noted that she recently recorded an interview with Vince Russo that will drop on PyroAndBallyhoo.com on Monday after WWE RAW, mentioning that she talks about topics during the interview that she was told to keep quiet, but that she decided not to.

Below, Chyna talks about her recent talk with Vince Russo and the continued fallout from Triple H’s remarks about her not being a likely candidate for the WWE Hall of Fame.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UdSg5uRSVj4&feature=youtu.be

• WWE CANCELS Plans For Daniel Bryan vs. Dolph Ziggler At WrestleMania 31?!

Former WWE head writer Brian Gewirtz continues to contribute to WWE creative on a consistent basis. Gewirtz, who now works as a consultant for WWE, was backstage at the WWE Royal Rumble pay-per-view in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania this past Sunday night.

Gewirtz worked full-time for WWE beginning in the late 1990s, soon after Vince Russo and Ed Ferrara jumped-ship from the company to take jobs with the now defunct WCW promotion during the infamous “Monday Night Wars.”

Gewirtz was removed from his head writer position in WWE in late 2012, however he continues to have a hand in the creative direction of the company.

• Vince McMahon FURIOUS Over Mistake During Royal Rumble + Chris Jericho TURNS DOWN WWE Offer!

(Credit: ProWrestling.net)

The following are highlights of Vince Russo’s new interview with Al Snow:

On how long he has been in wrestling: “May 22 will be 33 years since I had my first match in Springfield, Ohio in 1982. I have made a living in the wrestling business for almost 33 years.”

On getting his big break in 1995: “Two things: One – it was a different business… At that time, when I broke in in 1982, it was different in the sense that the locker room that would be full of talent that had been working seven days a week for 10-15 years and that’s all they did for a living… It took a long time to work your way off to get in a spot where you were put in a position to draw… The other reason was timing: I broke in 1982; Vince started the war in 1984 and started buying up all the talent. Vince went around and bought all the workers in the territories.”

On coming up with the “head” gimmick: “Chris Candido was tight with Paul E. I asked him to go to Paul E who then went to Vince McMahon. Bruce Prichard, who was head of talent relations for WWF, rolled my contract for a third year and wouldn’t let me out. I actually asked for my release 90 days ahead of time. Vince put me on loan to Paul E. Paul E. didn’t overproduce you. He had no plans or intentions to me. He was doing this as a favor. It gave me an opportunity to go some place else so somebody would see me on someone else’s TV being a star and I knew I had to do that. I found this styrofoam head in the back and it worked. It caught your (Russo)’s attention and gave me a second opportunity with WWE.”

On whether it took time for “Head” to get over: “It connected pretty quickly…I ended up dislocating my shoulder badly in a match with a wrestler. Paul E. was taking an interest with the head gimmick and was going to get me to do something in the arena with Sandman. Candido went and argued on my behalf to do a vignette. I did a vignette in the locker room where everyone was normal and I was arguing with the head. Paul E. allowed me to do them, he never wrote them or told me what to do or say. He just told me to do these vignettes and film something. I came up with the most ridiculous stuff where everything was normal in a situation and the only thing that was crazy was me interacting and arguing with the head. Thanks to Paul E. for allowing me the freedom to do it, airing it and took advantage of it.”

Russo thought Snow would stay with TNA after doing the guest-referee spot, but he never saw Snow for a long time afterwards. “That thing was the most confusing thing I have ever been involved in. I honest to God have no clue. TNA brought me in. Mick Foley was the special guest referee between Rhino and Kurt Angle. I come out of the crowd out of nowhere, get an enormous reaction, slap Mick which leads to a distraction, allows Rhino to screw Angle. I figured at least the next day at TV I would do a promo or something to explain my actions or something and maybe do a match, since we were there for three days. I could put Mick over and be done with that. I get it. I literally slapped Mick, the finish happens, and Jeff Jarrett asks me to sit in the production meeting, doesn’t talk to me all day. I’m not on TV. Doesn’t talk to me the next day. You (Russo) catch him before I leave and then Jeff talks to me and says ‘I know you’re looking for a job. We’ll figure something out’, said something vague and that was it. To this day, I don’t know what that was about.”

On Grado and British Boot Camp: “I didn’t blow him off. You don’t just get respect in this business. You’re not entitled to anything in this business. You have to earn everything in this business.. I had respect for Grado until he showed up late for an opportunity…Here’s this kid on a TV show, most people would kill just to be on a TV show. To be on a TV show to pursue your dream and get a contract and be a part of an international organization, and a platform to promote yourself. It’s a once in a lifetime opportunity. You’re asked to come back to work out and you show up late… I’ve been there. You’ve got to have more than a fancy entrance to get me to respect you.”

On Vince Russo’s influence on the business: “…I genuinely have nothing but the utmost respect for you and consider you a friend in this business. I’ll say this and I’ve said this before in other interviews. There are a lot of people, Vince, who owe you for their opportunity and the break they got because if it hadn’t been for you, they would have never gotten it.”

Check out the complete interview at PyroAndBallyhoo.com.

• PHOTOS: WWE Diva LANA Poses In Maxim Magazine!

Vince Russo hosted his podcast “The Swerve” from England via www.pyroandballyhoo.com. Robbie E of TNA and The Amazing Race was the special guest this week, and the highlights are below (audio audio available here):

Robbie spending 10 years on the indy scene before being discovered:

“I started wrestling at 16 and signed with TNA at 26. 10 years. I went through college. There wasn’t a moment when I slowed down. 2-3 shows a week. I did some WWE extra work: jobber matches, dark matches, tryouts, developmental systems. There were a lot of times where I was led on to believe I was going to sign a contract but it never happened…Other guys my size were getting signed. During that time, I was 160 lbs and I was very young when I was trying out, so I guess it wasn’t the right place or the right time.”

Robbie on starting with the Jersey Shore character:

“I wasn’t doing it period. I wasn’t doing it until you told me to spike my hair up. I never did a character until that afternoon. Never did one remotely related to Jersey Shore. I zero never remotely liked Jersey Shore; granted my real life was kind of like Jersey Shore probably. Wrestling character: I never had my hair up, never fist-pumped, nothing.”

Robbie on younger wrestlers not focusing on character as much:

“They forget the wrestling they watched when they were a kid. I don’t get why they do that. Everyone when they were younger had characters that were larger than life and polka dot shorts. I don’t know why people forget about that. Polka dot shorts is normal. It’s pro wrestling.”

Robbie on teaming up with Zema:

“Zema was an X-Division guy that did a lot of that stuff. Now that he’s our DJ, doesn’t wrestle as much and has more character, he said the last year of his life has been the best year of his life, in wrestling. He’s having the time of his life, appreciating it more so much and loving it so much more – being full character, goofing off as opposed to having an X-Division match and remembering so many things, getting knocked out.”

Listen to or watch the full podcast and interview where Robbie E talks a lot more about “Character vs. Wrestling”, teaming with Zema and Jessie, his TNA contract status, and much more.

During the free podcast this week, Russo also talks about Macho Man Randy Savage going into the WWE Hall of Fame this year and whether Hogan inducting him is a genuine gesture on Hogan’s part or the biggest rib in wrestling history.

The bonus video shoot interview with Robbie E, exclusively for the VIP section, has Russo questioning Robbie about The Amazing Race, how Robbie picked up Brooke Adams, why they broke up, and more. Vince Russo’s VIP section on www.pyroandballyhoo.com/vip has 20+ video shoot interviews and new weekly podcasts, video podcasts, blogs and content including Russo re-booking WCW 2000 every week.Use discount code BLACKPUDDING to gain VIP access for just $2 your first month!

Robbie E is @RobbieEImpact on Twitter. Impact Wrestling is on Destination America every Fridays at 9pm EST.

Rusev slips and falls during match (VIDEO)