Stevie Richards on Negotiating His Final WWE Contract with John Laurinaitis

[@JTPC2]

His name might have been worthless to them, but it means something to the fans who grew up watching him. Thank you Big Stevie Cool for entertaining us then and still today.

[@jd9119]

Hey do you use a similar screenname on a very particular "fitness" message board?

[@ProfessorGamez]

Indeed

[@JTPC2]

@@jd9119 On some message boards yes, but nothing to do with physical fitness that I am aware of. If you are more specific, I might be able to help.

[@joemckim1183]

The name had value to Richards himself but its not like WWE was going to lose out on not being able to do a Best of Stevie Richards DVD after he left the company.

[@moopert86]

Agree, BWO was fun as hell. RTC was really good while it was around. Stevie managing Victoria was really good too. He did some really good stuff in his time. He never sold a lot of tickets or w/e but the fans have good memories of Stevie Richards.

[@Met182]

Stevie has gotta be one of the nicest, most decent and down to earth wrestlers ever. Comes across as such a genuine good man.

[@joehogan8234]

I got that sense watching him over 20 years ago. He reminds me of Lance Storm and Jerry Lynn. They don't have a big ego

[@CaliforniaDreamin.]

Stevie was actually great on the mic during the right to censor angle. A very believable performer and talented in ring worker.

[@jimh.412]

Yep! 💪

[@josephleahy3285]

Played the chicken shit heel perfectly . He was pretty jacked at the time too .

[@johnathonkelly5117]

Stevie is just a great guy.. I could listen to him talk wrestling for hours

[@DaveMoth]

Wow. Really appreciate Stevie being honestly here. I didn't expect someone who was in his position (super over as a heel in RTC) to be on 75k. Wish you all the best Stevie.

[@Matt-cr4vv]

It’s wild in general to think guys were on that low of a downside. $75K to normal humans is solid income but surviving off that when you pay the entire amount of taxes, zero benefits and traveling full time is wild. Making that amount stretch to cover rental cars, food, hotels and the like would be tough for even the best money manager. Also wild that he didn’t make much over that evidently considering just in general how well the business was doing and usually you’d make more than that just simply by being involved. I get not everybody was making a fortune but $75K is still crazy low to think about. I think that’s around what some of the NXT guys who just train full time are earning.

[@DaveMoth]

@@Matt-cr4vv Exactly, just seems low for how massive WWE was at the time. He was on RAW, Smackdown, Heat, at a time when ratings were outstanding. Also featured as a playable character in all the WWE games. I get he wasn't a main event draw, but he was earning less than a tenth of many in the company.

[@jonathansmith7306]

​​​@@Matt-cr4vv$75k in 2000 is about $180k in today's money. Still not great considering the risks, but not as bad as it seems Source: 75*1.04^23, assuming 4% yearly inflation

[@BigWes95]

I think that was his downside guarantee otherwise he wouldn't be able to afford the travel

[@craigkalies4606]

Stevie Richards is one of the nicest most real people out there. Got to meet him in IHOP.

[@johndamper2934]

Idk why but I find stevie Richard's interviews so interesting. His passion for wrestling really comes through. Hes definitely a wrestler that could have contributed a ton more than what he was allowed to.

[@GameTime-yj6qv]

As if Johnny Ace was a big star himself. Known for being Animals brother, a yes man, the guy with the raspy voice, or the going trying to hook up with divas. Love Stevies honesty and his interviews

[@hiddensword9387]

Nah he knows his place and that was as head of talent relations in a cut throat business setting. It's the people who have big ego's and think they are something they aren't that can't handle hearing they aren't as important in their own minds. Stevie knew that and appreciated Johnny Aces honesty. Your response just sounds bitter for some reason.

[@GameTime-yj6qv]

@@boroughmanager7067 that's right lol

[@GameTime-yj6qv]

@@hiddensword9387 you can be honest without being an *sshole. Stevie took the high road though because he was getting the rights to his name.

[@KayFabe87]

He was actually a pretty big star in Japan, but definitely not due to any exceptional in-ring talent. Just a massive 'gaijin' push, but kudos to him for maximizing it.

[@randybobandy27834678]

@@hiddensword9387 Nah it was just a pointless asshole comment, contributed nothing other than putting Stevie down.

[@Ellisite]

What a great sense of perspective Stevie has. Didn't make anything off BWO in ECW, but he's still feeding his family today off what he built there and just is thankful to Paul Heyman for the opportunity he provided.

[@greenbluntern1168]

We all love Stone Cold, The Rock, Cena but if it wasn’t for workhorses like Stevie Richards there would be no starts because not everyone can or will put someone over in a good way. Love Stevie Richards loved him in ECW, RtC he’s made the best of everything that’s been through on him! He got over by his work and his work only. I would like to shake his hand and say to him that his work his appreciated a lot by a lot of people and his humbleness is, well…humbling. Thank you Stevie!

[@princeofcupspoc9073]

Uh, huh? Steve Austin is a wife beater. How could anyone "love" him? Despise the PoS actually. Dwayne? Cool actor, TERRIBLE wrestler. TERRIBLE. He got over on "charisma" alone. Cena? Good in the ring. Liked his DCU work. But love? Nah. So, confidently stating a falsehood does not make it true.

[@neveroffended45]

​@@princeofcupspoc9073you think the 5 moves of doom is good in ring work ? 😅

[@KayFabe87]

Great example of playing the long game (chess as opposed to checkers) and not letting ego or emotion play into the negotiation to keep the name. The Stevie Richards name was going to be more valuable to Stevie than to the company, so both sides came out of the negotiation without giving up anything. Stevie recognized that he would be able to get a future financial return on using the name so he put emotion aside and allowed logic and forward-thinking to guide his decision instead of feeling "disrespected" as some younger talents in the business have indicated over the last several months. Also known as impulse control. Well done.

[@davidblank420]

What a cool and down tl earth guy. No ego, knows his job and still has a great attitude.

[@cutekanjii]

Like Johnny Ace really was a huge name and star back in the day..... I think one of the reasons the WWF at the time went down to tube as a product oppposed to a business was McMahon became complacent. The older he became, the more financial muscle he grew the more product suffered. Purely from a viewing pleasure perspective (as i know he'd start spouting off how much more money they were making bla bla bla). He became a lot more lax in who he allowed into certain positions. Where as in the mid 80s into the 90s he always had the very best or as best that was available & willing to work for him anyway for the positions needed. They did not need to be yes men as such, they just had to know more & be better at than he was at that specific task. And also outdo the competition. So that particular facet of the product was left in capable hands & it was a position that person had respect in with the wrestlers. But as time went on he started letting idiots or guys who weren't anywhere near the best or most knowlegeable for that position come in. So the likes of Johnny Ace was taking over from JR was a downgrade. Same as Michael Cole for him on commentary. But Vince didn't care now because where as his a future may have depended upon getting these things right at the time. As we can look back with hindsight but at the time he didn't know for sure he'd end up a billionaire. But once he was one, the more "yes man" type qualities were far more desirable to him than the "being the best man for the job" type qualities.

[@MrDp115]

Perfectly said

[@inutero10]

My god this man has an aura about him that radiates positivity. God bless big stevie cool!

[@seano79]

Been a fan of his since ecw. Wish wwe had done more with him but you can say that about alot of ecw guys.

[@davejohnson7583]

One of the most under appreciated workers of the attitude era no doubt should still be in the business and is one of the few honest guys from his era first class

[@mrmoviemanic1]

Stevie Richards will always be remembered for me cause he has just a super fun character even for the short period of time he was involved, he made an impact on me, a lot of people can’t do that.

[@luisreyes8903]

True full honest disclosure. Before this interview I just took Steve richards was some square head straight edge chump. How wrong I was. Easily some of the best content. From now on I will listen to this guy whenever possible. Thank you so much for all of your hard work and great content.

[@craigwilson3532]

His character ain't worthless. I love this guy. Seems like a great guy

[@Kravis63]

That was a smart ask by him for that last contract!

[@theheathen7236]

AEW should give this guy a job .. He deserves it .. Hes got a wealth of knowledge to bestow .. Great guy ..

[@tylongkicks8821]

Definitely should be used in creative or an producer

[@MrMisanthrope84]

There's people like Stevie in every industry. The hard working selfless types who don't realise how valuable they are and never get their due. I honestly think he'd be a huge asset to somewhere like AEW who needs people like him to keep everyone in check and genuinely help get more superstars over. One of the unsung heroes of the Attitude era right here. What he knows is invaluable in any wrestling company. Tony Khan should get this guy in. He'd be everything he thought Punk was gonna be.

[@2texastornado]

Big Stevie Cool. Still cool after so many years and humble too. Much respect to him

[@whisperienced]

Always a Stevie Richards fan, never watched ECW, seldom was able to see WCW but when channel 67 was coming in I got to watch Richards on WWF C shows and he was very entertaining.

[@silveredgrunion7196]

Stevie is far from worthless. Infact in 2005 his matches with Hardcore Holly on Velocity were insane. Like seriously. Stevie got everything over. Far from worthless. One of the best of a generation. I didn't say most popular or most over or most famous, but without question, one of the best, period. Nice dude too

[@mentiramentira]

Gotta love Stevie! Wish they bring him back as an announcer

[@joemckim1183]

Stevie was able to remain in WWE from 1999-2008, that's a full decade. A lot of guys that only get used to put other people over don't get to stay that long usually.

[@brandondavenport6147]

Stevie Richards is a awesome wrestler

[@MLSNYC88]

That's actually a really healthy way to look at it. Good on him for not being consumed on what he missed out on and instead seeing what he gained.

[@georgemaranville3305]

Stevie marking out for Dutch!

[@jesterr7133]

Why would they bother signing Stevie to that final contract if they had no plans for him to even finish it?

[@johnfalcetta5431]

Stevie seems like such a laid back cool dude.

[@GoldBawls]

Stevie and Johnny talking would sound like one guy talking to himself.

[@ltopomcfly5583]

Johnny Ace being petty and rude about Stevie's name value sounds like bitterness that Ace was a nobody. Stevie was way bigger.

[@fredcasdensworld]

No he wasn't he was being factual, and Stevie basically AGREED WITH HIS ASSESSMENT as this clip shows

[@ButWhatIfItIs]

​​@@fredcasdensworld Nonsense. Never fails to make me laugh when people say stuff like this, like you're meaning to tell me Ace couldn't have just nodded and told him 'done' or 'that I can do' - what relevance was telling him that to anything? Also he didn't "agree" with his statement he just understood the meaning and went along with it. Sure Stevie didn't care, but it was just another example of why Johnny Ace is a total c**t. (although a c**t is a useful thing)

[@hiddensword9387]

No, business is called cut throat for a reason. Johnny was probably making more money than most wrestlers would make in his role as talent relations. He is just not messing them around and giving them the facts.

[@hiddensword9387]

@@ButWhatIfItIs Nope, business is cut throat and he is in giving it to him straight, many can't swallow that.

[@EmoEmu]

It kinda sounds like he was trying to be honest about Stevie's situation.

[@chrischada4570]

Stevie seems like a really smart guy

[@insignificantaftermathPROJECTS]

You'd think with Stevie's voice, he would have perfected Laurinaitis' voice.

[@NateBragdon-t3l]

I met Stevie at a local Indy show in Boston. Couldn’t have been a nicer guy. He spoke with me for about five or 10 minutes. We were bullshitting. He was really really cool to talk with. There’s a guy that he had some stardom. He didn’t let it go to his head and is a people person all day long and gives a shit!

[@KeganStucki]

Steven in RTC is probably my favorite heel character of all time...I hated him! It just goes to show how amazing Stevie really is...I honestly didn't realize they were the same guy for far longer than I care to admit!

[@CSC52698]

I love listening to stories from Steven Richards.

[@moopert86]

Man, it may have been the truth... but Johnny Ace didn't have to put it that way. Stevie was a guy who was out there busting his ass for the company for years at that point, show him a bit of respect.

[@ShaqyIsGreat]

Yea could of said it in a way better tone

[@Reck46]

Hope your health is back on track we all care

[@Dennis_Frey]

We love you Stevie ❤

[@jackkarlis]

One of the nicest wrestlers I've ever met!

[@alexandru5369]

Stevie is a great guy and a very smart businessman name trumps salary in some situations for sure

[@turtlebutter6401]

He’s always had a cool voice I feel like. All the best to you Stevie

[@michaelsoto8490]

I always liked Steven Richards, especially back when Shawn was on his 4 year hiatus. WWE needed a good super kick and Richards delivered just that

[@jackdeath0431]

I loved Steve's run on Sunday Night Heat, when he was the "GM" of the show and he was with Victoria, when she was psycho....I wish lower card wrestlers could some storylines, A little push that get them on TV. Like back in the Attitude Era...when lower card wrestlers go to do something of significance

[@positively_broad_st3780]

If Stevie said 'Bro' every other sentence, he would sound just like DDP...

[@710moose8]

What an amazing guy knows who he is

[@Cawksuckah]

Underrated as he was amazing on the mic

[@UltimoDragon83]

For all the bad parts of Jonny Ace, he at least did Stevie a solid there on his name - to WWE it was meaningless but it would allow Stevie to use it on the Indies or TNA.

[@gregwelsh2985]

Stevie Richards has always seemed like a really level headed, well educated person. We was an excellent worker, but I'd be much more interested learning how to wrestle from him rather than actually wrestling him. Plus, he's probably the best wrestler to go to if you want to swing a chair. Ask JBL......wait never mind, JBL won't remember.

[@gmatuz8276]

It sucks that WWE made him believe he was worthless, Stevie was always entertaining whatever gimmick he played and when he was in the right to censor I hated his guts, so he damn sure did his job as a heel. To me Stevie is just one of those wrestlers I never really appreciated until he was gone, like x-pac or Finlay

[@Matt-cr4vv]

They weren’t saying he was worthless as a human being or something. He was saying that the name in terms of the character itself was worthless in the sense of there aren’t any long term plans to monetize the name so it brings no value in preventing you from having it or keeping it around. He could’ve bullshitted him or played hard to get with it but what’s the point to do that to stroke ego? Just be real with it.

[@jmo8934]

Didn’t Stevie say that it was Arn Anderson who amped Chris Masters up so much before a match he had with him telling him to go as hard as he could, that Stevie could take the punishment. Masters was so hyped up he kneed Stevie in the face flattening his nose, knocking out teeth etc. Masters was upset by the damage that he did and Stevie heard Arn Anderson say ‘don’t worry Chris, it’s only Stevie’.

[@djwhitesox]

Stevie is great!

[@lookitskazzy]

Interesting take from Steve here since he answered the question about why he can use the bWo stuff and WWE doesn't seem to care. Like "Stevie Richards", bWo is worthless to WWE. They can absolutely trademark it if they want to - parody has nothing to do with the ability to file a trademark - but it's not worth it to them so why bother with paying counsel by the hour to file the paperwork and slap him with a C&D?

[@Gary-su8sb]

When will this entire interview be up?

[@urogoth]

I for one never thought of Stevie being worthless. I was a fan of so many people that in the grand scheme of things weren't so called "important" and will never forget about. I'd say the top 90% of people that were in ECW in the mid 90s are wrestlers that are unforgettable, and I didn't even get to see too much of it myself then.

[@JeromeDoyle]

Stevie is legendary.

[@dk9695]

raven probably got to keep his name after his wwe release for exactly the same reason.

[@freddysmith1471]

I looked up the trademark for the BWO/Blue World Order in the US Patent and Trademark Office. The Blue Meanie owns it. Neither ECW or the WWE ever filed a trademark on it according to the recrods.

[@bane3991]

Only 75k a year? Damnn, i would think just being on tv in 1 of the highest rated shows you would make a little more than that. 75k back then would be about 120k now. But the exposure is really good too. He could be a trainer both PT and wrestling. He could make more money on independent shows.

[@VXGaming]

They arnt going to put alot money into enhancement talent which is what Stevie was.

[@bane3991]

@@VXGaming Even if they did, he was a jobber. There's no money to be made there.

[@HeyBuddays]

Considering that jobbers use to be a couple hundred dollars an appearance, 75k a year guarantee is pretty solid

[@tonyclifton2230]

Considering he was paying for his hotels I imagine he was not saving much.

[@djmonstrosity6971]

$120k would have been a fairer salary back then. 75k is really low. That's a basic tv contract salary. And Stevie was worth more then that.

[@lcass1986]

I loved the right to censor storyline! It was actually really logical how they went after the biggest sinners like Val Venis and the Godfather, Steven was like a cult leader. Stone Cold would have been an obvious rival too!

[@JohnnyMarin-fl6wb]

I love stevie Richard's

[@DRChupacabrah]

good for him.

[@luna-rt4vx]

Him and foley must be the nicest guys, I feeel the wrestling business deserved them

[@quintonjones1558]

Would have loved to see him as champ in RTC.

[@user-dq6se6er8j]

Yeah over The Rock, Stone Cold, Triple H, Undertaker, Kurt Angle, Jericho, Benoit, Guerrero… I can see that

[@quintonjones1558]

@@user-dq6se6er8j since only 1 guy can be champ at a time I guess that’s how it would work.

[@Halbared]

How come Stevie never did anything of note in the WWF? He seems smart, he could talk, and wrestle. Not have that killer instinct?

[@bane3991]

He was a jobber. Someone has to do it. They can't all be world Champs. Perhaps his promo skills weren't on that elite stone cold and rock level. He was a bit undersized too. At that time massive favoritism was shown towards the bigger guys.

[@jonathancoleman6482]

He’s a jobber that’s what they do

[@darrenhigham753]

Ya don’t have to win every week to be anything

[@GoldBawls]

Too nice.

[@DecemberGuy77]

Given his mic skills, I suspect he could have been a great heel manager. And I also suspect that's not what he would have wanted to do.

[@Juggalo94]

Stevie coulda been more he should’ve been more he didn’t have to be world champion but damn it he was a good worker no problem backstage and humble.

[@russellbarlow1796]

Things like this are why I changed my mind about wanting to get into the business. The suit and ties are snakes and care nothing about talent

[@djmonstrosity6971]

75k is nothing after road expenses and tax even back then. You'd be better off working a normal job.

[@jonbourgoin182]

Did Right To Censor ever have any merch? I can't imagine they did but I'm curious

[@jd9119]

I don't know if they could trademark white shirts, black ties and black slacks.

[@djrussell1989]

I think he definitely undersells himself. There's plenty of wrestlers that you wouldn't remember from wwe but steven Richards isn't one of them. Sure he wasn't a top guy but I think every wrestling fan in the world knows Right to censor. And on top of that his work with Victoria always stood out to me. That's not to mention BWO. He talks about himself as though he was Heidenreich or Nathan Jones. Have a good one.

[@quesoblanco444]

It is so weird that a man has to wrangle over legally being able to be called Stephen.

[@GinkgoPete]

You look like CM Punk in the Thumbnail lol

[@Erebosmagnus]

Damn, they really nickel-and-dime some guys. Given that talent has to pay travel expenses, you'd think they'd at least guarantee six figures.

[@mrsinister8943]

Stevie could of been a little bit bigger than he was. He had good mic skills,a good worker and had charisma and was a very likeable person like he's always been. He just never had the machine behind him and never had that great push or a great character or character arc. I cant believe he was making only 75k a year. Even when he was leading RTC? They could of definitely did more with him or tweaked his character and given him a big push to see how far he could go but I'm sure in that business alot of it is about who you know and how much ass you kiss and wrestling politics.

[@christhornycroft3686]

How someone looked at the Dynamic Dudes in 1989 (in another company) and decided Johnny Ace was better suited for an executive position in the WWE is beyond me. But hey, that's Vince. Clearly there's something personal there, and Shane Douglas has stated as much. I wouldn't want to have to deal with that goof either. Then again, for all the criticism I can give McMahon or Laurinaitis, you can't argue with the financial returns. It doesn't really matter at this point who the champion is. Nobody is filling arenas regularly for wrestling. Because AEW is an upstart company, whether their champion draws or not still matters a lot from a business end of things, but WWE in 20 years has figured out how to make that almost irrelevant. So Johnny Ace could basically do what he wanted and sign the guys he wanted. In his case, it was mostly models he wanted to turn into wrestlers, with minimal success. When you're hiring based 100% on looks, it's basically all on the performer to take initiative and actually learn to be a wrestler rather than just a model who hair pulls. It's too bad Stevie, Shane and others didn't get a fair shot in one of the big companies. What they did in ECW should have been able to be duplicated in another company, and WWF came close with the Attitude Era, but nothing quite matched what ECW was from about late 1994 until around 1998, when there was kind of a mass exodus.

[@sumlittlepunk]

i get how not owning a name like "Hulk Hogan" must have bothered Vince. but i really fail to see how owning the names of guys like "the Dudley Boys" really helps the company. if anything it hurts the impact of their eventual returns or rumble appearances. like Cody Rhodes return. would it have had the impact it did if he wrestled under another name elsewhere? or a Matt Cardona. if he was out there as Zack Ryder it would only make the pop bigger if he ever goes back.

[@DecemberGuy77]

When Vince brought in the Road Warriors, he was forced to call them the LOD because Ellering smartened them up and convinced them to hold onto their Road Warriors names. Ever since, Vince has had a hard on for owning licensing rights.

[@gabepollock1641]

Vince has that litigious nature because he got screwed over on profit one too many times by not holding copyright, and ever since then he’s been hyper vigilant about it.

[@for111]

"The company, I don't believe, has any immediate plans to use that name so I think if you do leave us, retaining it shouldn't be an issue" How hard is it not to be a total prick about something?

[@Dnddy5617]

Liked Stevie n raven in wcw

[@davidcoates7615]

The flock was awsome.

[@insignificantaftermathPROJECTS]

And now Stevie is getting traction on Yotube with his name.

[@cfhcowboy9292]

Where's nova nowadays

[@JamesSmith-sw3nk]

Wow! $75k/yr is hurting money for pro wrestling especially WWE. Shane Helms has previously said that anything under $500k/yr for full time WWE wrestling once you are a name isn't worth it because of road expenses etc.

[@twk8520]

At least Ace was honest about it His time was up. Ace for all his faults doesn't pick who leaves Vince does. It's how Vince saw Stevie. Ace was a yes man to Vince. After a decade of being used as a Job guy he knew how they felt. It was a paycheck Stevie knew it could end anytime. BWO could of made WWE money but was ignored.

[@QuartzMatrixed]

I have a question. Is Johnny ace related to animal of l.o.d.?

[@brettmartin8372]

Yes sir brothers

[@brettmartin8372]

Very different looking for sure 😂

[@satan3959]

There was also a third brother who wrestled briefly as well, his name was Marcus. Wrestled under the name The Terminator, as well Fury (as one half of the Wrecking Crew) with The Bounty Hunter (then known as Rage) Bounty Hunter was Al Green (who was also Kevin Nash's second partner in The Master Blasters tag team)

[@shellbacksclub]

Laryngitis!

[@Sevenduece]

#bWo4life

[@WisconsinParkour]

Paints Johnny Ace as less of a bad guy.

[@johnny5805]

I always thought he was a big star. 20 years later, and Stevie says he was not. Stevie's wrong.

[@ramoncesareo3717]

Stevie was underwater

[@Leisure3389]

Billion dollar company low-balling a standout guy

[@jugghead82]

WOW that's MESSEDUP your name is worthless are you kidding me that's just WRONG Stevie was an is a Legend an a Amazing Wrestler.

[@andrewvassos3304]

WHEN wwe sent maxi modest a cease and desist letter for her name he got creative and trademarked the name Maxi Padia..what a worker

[@aleiterful]

🎈

[@stephenlanegraff4574]

Who is he? No clue who this guy is.

[@dennishbergkamp]

He looks like CM Punk and Shawn Michaels's lovechild with shoe polish for hair.

[@shellbacksclub]

He's proud of the BWO?

[@thegreat1007]

5:47 for Laurinaitis to say that is just ridiculous Stevie was on TV and been featured in program more than most for them to say there is he was completely on valuable to the company is ridiculous he is just so full of it

[@thegreat1007]

5:06 he wasn't worthless to the company he was very valuable he can be used as enhancement Talent to enhance all the guys that were in the ring with him just ridiculous that hed say that...