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WrestleTalk TV in the UK have held yet another groundbreaking interview. This time they interviewed one of the most controversial names in wrestling, OSR's own Vince Russo. Here are the highlights.
* Russo was properly brought on to the WWE creative team around September 1997, shortly before the Montreal Screwjob. The main team was Vince McMahon, Jim Cornette and himself. This was the only time he mentioned Cornette.
* He was asked if he thought the creative process in the WWE now was the same as when he was there, and he said "Absolutely not, absolutely not".
* Russo described the creative process in his time as himself and Ed Ferrera sitting in a room, trying to make every minute of 2 shows important. Because he and Ferrera were on the same page, they were able to come up with the best possible shows.
* The interviewer pointed to reports that McMahon constantly changes and re-writes scripts, even on the afternoon of the show. The interviewer asked if it was like that for Russo, and he said absolutely not.
* He described McMahon as "The Editor". Russo said that he and Ferrera had proven to McMahon that they could write a wrestling show and knew what they were doing. He wasn't boasting, but explaining that they earned McMahon's trust through hard work.
* Russo said that he and Ferrera were under a lot of pressure to make every show better than the last one. He often lost sleep over putting together these shows.
* He agreed that McMahon is a genius, but he is not a creative genius. McMahon did not have the ability to write a wrestling show. He is reliant on writers doing this for them.
* Russo and Ferrera would put shows (Raw and pay-per-views) into 8 segments, and then checked everything carefully. McMahon would pick out one tiny detail in each segment, which he called a "nuance", and tweaked it slightly. Every time he did this, the whole segment automatically became better. He said that a segment that was "almost 8/10" would suddenly become a "solid 9/10" once McMahon was done. Sometimes the nuance would be so small and even insignificant that it almost got cut from the script. But then McMahon would take that thing and use it to improve the whole thing.
* Russo and Ferrera challenged themselves to write at least one segment that McMahon could not improve somehow. They never succeeded.
* Russo was critical of how McMahon uses the current creative team, which now consists of 25-30 writers. He believes that they cannot be successful unless McMahon trusts them and works with them in the same way that McMahon had worked with him and Ferrera. If McMahon focused on 2-3 writers that McMahon was prepared to sit down and work with, then it would save the company a lot of money.
* He is really disappointed in the current product. It makes him mad to see the lack of effort from everybody. In the Attitude Era, EVERYBODY was passionate about giving their best.
* A host brought up McMahon's recent comments about current superstars not reaching for the brass ring. Russo said that he was surprised that McMahon agreed to do that interview with Steve Austin and that the podcast gave him "a chuckle".
* Russo brought up an ECW promo in which Austin mocked Russo's writing in WCW. He thought it was genuinely entertaining and liked it.
* Russo clarified that it is not the talent's fault that the product is so bad. He admits that every wrestler in the Attitude Era and the current roster works very hard to give their all. One of the hosts asked him if he believed the current roster has a lot of talent, and he immediately agreed. He said their problem was the material that they are given to work with. He said they were let down by others' lack of effort.
* He was asked why he felt there was a lack of effort and if the problem was that the writers were not putting enough time into creating diverse storylines. He said that this was not the problem at all. He emphasized his earlier point that a smaller creative team working with McMahon directly is more effective than a team of 25+ writers who don't.
* Another host suggested that there would be more disagreements on larger teams. Russo agreed and then added that it was causing major problems now. He blamed the disagreements on why scripts were being changed so often, and why some were not finished by the time fans entered the arena.
* He said that the success of the Attitude Era was convincing casual wrestling fans to watch the show, because true wrestling fans would be watching anyway. The WWE needs to appeal "to the masses" again.
* Russo said that if he was booking the Royal Rumble, he would book Roman Reigns to win. He believes Reigns to be the most popular person right now, BUT the WWE has done a lot to hurt him.
* He said that the WWE should put the WWE World Championship on Reigns, let him be himself and then let audiences see what he has to offer. He said that the WWE should stop giving him corny dialogues but just let him be himself. If he can't make it as himself, then move on to the next guy.
* Russo believes that if the WWE really wanted to get Reigns over, then they need to give him a win over Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania. He reminded the hosts that Lesnar destroyed Cena at SummerSlam and people remember this. So Lesnar would be the guy that could get Reigns over.
* A host suggested that Bryan was a bigger fan favourite and asked what the WWE should do with him. Russo said that it did not seem like the WWE had a clear direction right now. He felt certain that the WWE didn't have a clear plan for Bryan right now. He wanted to wait and see what the WWE had in mind.
* He suggested that Bryan could face Undertaker at WrestleMania, but had heard that Undertaker would be facing Bray Wyatt instead.
* Russo was worried that the WWE didn't have something in line for Dean Ambrose and that they need to put him over.
* He theorised that Seth Rollins would be feuding with Randy Orton going in to WrestleMania.
* Russo suggested that the WWE could turn Ambrose heel, and then have him face Bryan at WrestleMania. The match could put both men over.
* Russo said that only the Undertaker knows if Undertaker has any more matches left in him. Russo is disappointed that he was defeated last year. Lesnar's win did not put Lesnar over, but buried the Undertaker. The Streak used to be so strong that Undertaker could put someone over without losing to them.
* He said that the WWE needs to put some NXT talents into the Rumble to give them some exposure. He likes seeing legends in the Rumble, but it was important to put over new talent.
* He is a big fan of Enzo Amore (screw you guys - Tired ) but never remembers his name. He feels that Amore is entertaining and fans enjoy his promos (screw you twice - Tired ).
* He remembers 'The British Bulldog' Davey Boy Smith as being a major practical joker, and confessed that he had a great body. But he also remembers that Smith would oil up his muscles more than any other wrestler he knew. If Smith was about to step in front of fans or cameras, he would cover himself in baby oil for the appearance.
* He said that the WWE Hall of Fame is a joke because there are a lot of undeserving names who got inducted before a deserving people did. He said that Smith should have been one of the first to be included, and hoped that he finally would be this year.
* Russo was properly brought on to the WWE creative team around September 1997, shortly before the Montreal Screwjob. The main team was Vince McMahon, Jim Cornette and himself. This was the only time he mentioned Cornette.
* He was asked if he thought the creative process in the WWE now was the same as when he was there, and he said "Absolutely not, absolutely not".
* Russo described the creative process in his time as himself and Ed Ferrera sitting in a room, trying to make every minute of 2 shows important. Because he and Ferrera were on the same page, they were able to come up with the best possible shows.
* The interviewer pointed to reports that McMahon constantly changes and re-writes scripts, even on the afternoon of the show. The interviewer asked if it was like that for Russo, and he said absolutely not.
* He described McMahon as "The Editor". Russo said that he and Ferrera had proven to McMahon that they could write a wrestling show and knew what they were doing. He wasn't boasting, but explaining that they earned McMahon's trust through hard work.
* Russo said that he and Ferrera were under a lot of pressure to make every show better than the last one. He often lost sleep over putting together these shows.
* He agreed that McMahon is a genius, but he is not a creative genius. McMahon did not have the ability to write a wrestling show. He is reliant on writers doing this for them.
* Russo and Ferrera would put shows (Raw and pay-per-views) into 8 segments, and then checked everything carefully. McMahon would pick out one tiny detail in each segment, which he called a "nuance", and tweaked it slightly. Every time he did this, the whole segment automatically became better. He said that a segment that was "almost 8/10" would suddenly become a "solid 9/10" once McMahon was done. Sometimes the nuance would be so small and even insignificant that it almost got cut from the script. But then McMahon would take that thing and use it to improve the whole thing.
* Russo and Ferrera challenged themselves to write at least one segment that McMahon could not improve somehow. They never succeeded.
* Russo was critical of how McMahon uses the current creative team, which now consists of 25-30 writers. He believes that they cannot be successful unless McMahon trusts them and works with them in the same way that McMahon had worked with him and Ferrera. If McMahon focused on 2-3 writers that McMahon was prepared to sit down and work with, then it would save the company a lot of money.
* He is really disappointed in the current product. It makes him mad to see the lack of effort from everybody. In the Attitude Era, EVERYBODY was passionate about giving their best.
* A host brought up McMahon's recent comments about current superstars not reaching for the brass ring. Russo said that he was surprised that McMahon agreed to do that interview with Steve Austin and that the podcast gave him "a chuckle".
* Russo brought up an ECW promo in which Austin mocked Russo's writing in WCW. He thought it was genuinely entertaining and liked it.
* Russo clarified that it is not the talent's fault that the product is so bad. He admits that every wrestler in the Attitude Era and the current roster works very hard to give their all. One of the hosts asked him if he believed the current roster has a lot of talent, and he immediately agreed. He said their problem was the material that they are given to work with. He said they were let down by others' lack of effort.
* He was asked why he felt there was a lack of effort and if the problem was that the writers were not putting enough time into creating diverse storylines. He said that this was not the problem at all. He emphasized his earlier point that a smaller creative team working with McMahon directly is more effective than a team of 25+ writers who don't.
* Another host suggested that there would be more disagreements on larger teams. Russo agreed and then added that it was causing major problems now. He blamed the disagreements on why scripts were being changed so often, and why some were not finished by the time fans entered the arena.
* He said that the success of the Attitude Era was convincing casual wrestling fans to watch the show, because true wrestling fans would be watching anyway. The WWE needs to appeal "to the masses" again.
* Russo said that if he was booking the Royal Rumble, he would book Roman Reigns to win. He believes Reigns to be the most popular person right now, BUT the WWE has done a lot to hurt him.
* He said that the WWE should put the WWE World Championship on Reigns, let him be himself and then let audiences see what he has to offer. He said that the WWE should stop giving him corny dialogues but just let him be himself. If he can't make it as himself, then move on to the next guy.
* Russo believes that if the WWE really wanted to get Reigns over, then they need to give him a win over Brock Lesnar at WrestleMania. He reminded the hosts that Lesnar destroyed Cena at SummerSlam and people remember this. So Lesnar would be the guy that could get Reigns over.
* A host suggested that Bryan was a bigger fan favourite and asked what the WWE should do with him. Russo said that it did not seem like the WWE had a clear direction right now. He felt certain that the WWE didn't have a clear plan for Bryan right now. He wanted to wait and see what the WWE had in mind.
* He suggested that Bryan could face Undertaker at WrestleMania, but had heard that Undertaker would be facing Bray Wyatt instead.
* Russo was worried that the WWE didn't have something in line for Dean Ambrose and that they need to put him over.
* He theorised that Seth Rollins would be feuding with Randy Orton going in to WrestleMania.
* Russo suggested that the WWE could turn Ambrose heel, and then have him face Bryan at WrestleMania. The match could put both men over.
* Russo said that only the Undertaker knows if Undertaker has any more matches left in him. Russo is disappointed that he was defeated last year. Lesnar's win did not put Lesnar over, but buried the Undertaker. The Streak used to be so strong that Undertaker could put someone over without losing to them.
* He said that the WWE needs to put some NXT talents into the Rumble to give them some exposure. He likes seeing legends in the Rumble, but it was important to put over new talent.
* He is a big fan of Enzo Amore (screw you guys - Tired ) but never remembers his name. He feels that Amore is entertaining and fans enjoy his promos (screw you twice - Tired ).
* He remembers 'The British Bulldog' Davey Boy Smith as being a major practical joker, and confessed that he had a great body. But he also remembers that Smith would oil up his muscles more than any other wrestler he knew. If Smith was about to step in front of fans or cameras, he would cover himself in baby oil for the appearance.
* He said that the WWE Hall of Fame is a joke because there are a lot of undeserving names who got inducted before a deserving people did. He said that Smith should have been one of the first to be included, and hoped that he finally would be this year.
