Vince Russo Interview

Eric: To get what you were just saying about the writing, after last night’s suicide angle, I’d have to agree with you. When you left the WWF, the big angle was the wedding of Stephanie McMahon and Test. I've heard that they didn't know where you were going with the angle. If you were still with the WWF, how would you have gone with that angle?
Vince Russo: Where we were planning on going was we were really going to concentrate on getting Test over. That's the thing. We really did concentrate on making new stars and giving everyone an opportunity. What we were trying to accomplish was we were trying to get Test over. So the WWF at the time would have another star. I think the way it was going to be laid out was I think Test was going to leave Stephanie at the altar and join D-X. If that's the way I remember it. Again, without Ed and myself being there to really protect the younger guys, getting Test to that next level certainly wasn't going to happen.

Eric: The bookends with you about to go to WCW. Did you write what happened after that point as part of your original manuscript or has that not been written yet?
Vince Russo: No, that's going to be written. I’m definitely going to be starting writing the second book with ECW press and talk about WCW and TNA and also get into what I'm doing now. It was just after I wrote the first one, when I was done with the WWF, I was about 350 pages in so if I would have continued the book it would have been way too long. So I cut it off after the WWF, and I plan on writing the second volume and starting it up real soon.

Eric: As the book went on, your tone changed. Did you find that writing the book was a cathartic experience that led to your conversion?
Vince Russo: No, because I got converted, I changed those parts. And commenting on the old Vince, I had done that, and after I was already converted, the truth is, after I became a Christian, I really no longer had it in my heart to bury anybody or to hurt anybody or to shovel dirt on anybody. But on the other side of the coin, I really needed to be honest with what I felt and what I was going through at the time. Whether it was right or wrong, I still had to be honest of what my feelings and what my emotions were at that time. Let's just say that I really concentrated on not doing it in a vicious way, because that's not how I wanted it to get across.

Eric: I asked my readers to send me in some questions when I found out I was going to be interviewing you. Almost every question involved the drug and death cycle that the business currently has. Your first meeting with Vince McMahon, according to the book was at something called the steroid symposium. What do you think went wrong with that steroid program and do you think the new one will work?
Vince Russo: No, it's a joke, the whole thing is a joke. The bottom line is they don't want to spend the money. That's the bottom line. They can have all the parades they want and say they're going to put this policy in place and that policy in place. The WWE is in business to make money and not spend money. And that's at the bottom line and the reason why a lot of that testing stopped in the first place was because of the cost of it. Anything that costs them money, they're going to think twice about. And that's not just the WWE, that's any business. Any Businesses does not spend money, where they don't have to. And that's why after Eddie Guerrero, OK we’re going to put a test in place and blah blah blah blah blah blah blah. That’s why when three months from now, when everybody forgets about Eddie Guerrero, which is ridiculous and a sin, when everybody forgets about that, it will be back to business as usual, until unfortunately there is another tragic death. Then they'll say they’re gonna drug test and everything again and blah blah blah blah blah and forget it again in another three months. The WWE, the wrestling business in general does not have the best interest of the boys. That's my opinion. I was in the business for 15 years. I know how things work, and I can say from a professional standpoint, they're not looking for the best interest of the boys. They are looking for the best interest of their company, and how they're going to make money. That's really unfortunate, because you're dealing with life here. And that's why with Ring of Glory, and what I'm trying to do, it's the complete opposite. We really do care about these guys. We really do care about these families. And if it means losing money along the way to help some guys out, well that's what it's all about.