Vince Russo on Bischoff & Hogan

[@jimmyfaustjr7373]

putting the title on Arquette was pretty stupid

[@jokerzwild00]

That, and putting the title on himself.

[@SRPC21]

@@jokerzwild00 I don’t know, Vince McManhon did it in the wwf. I don’t think it was necessarily a bad idea, it’s just how it was executed (I.e. there were too many title changes beforehand so it didn’t really mean anything).

[@jeromefecto8085]

Hannibal you got the best wrestling interview and thank you to put some less known guys(Gilles Poisson for example) even if they not reach all the fans.

[@theeja]

He's looking very fluffy these days.........BRO!

[@DarksaberForce]

He's Chew-bro-ca

[@mikewood7496]

great shoot interview Russo looks like Wolfman Jack, lol.

[@michaelmercury1297]

I don't know why people think Eric Bischoff is a genius . All he did was get all the older top WWF guys and bring them to WCW and try to recreate WWF in 80's .

[@jasonkraatz5968]

Russo is probably the most controversial figure in wrestling. Sure he was going to fail in WCW but that was a sinking ship already. Russo did the right thing by pushing guys like Jarrett and Booker T to the main event. Those guys worked their asses off for their spot and they deserved to shine. Had there been enough time I think WCW could have turned a corner but I think at that point WCW was going away and it was just a matter of time.

[@Johnnyrocks34]

Russo was terrible. The show was unwatchable under him. Making judy bagwell chanpion, david arquette, himself. He says the belt is just a meaningless prop. So why have championship. He made wrestling unwatchable. I didnt even understand what was happening when he was in charge. He was number one worst head guy ever. At least buschoff had some success being in charge

[@riddlers91]

Russo improves ratings. The numbers dont lie. So all the ECW and ROH fandoms, please stop hating on him because he writes better shows that the crap you shout "this is awesome!" to.

[@DarksaberForce]

Don't forget the NXT fandom. The worst of them all.

[@jakeinator722]

Russo stole what ECW offered in the 90s. FACT.

[@GuyBurny]

jakeinator722 ECW was way more brutal but I can see what you mean.

[@davidbreen6335]

Bro is Russo's trademark line

[@Very_Stupid]

It's a new York thing. At least 55% of us in whatever age, racial or gender group say it... Just not excessively.

[@lee-ur7nt]

I personally believe Russo's version of Bash at the Beach events.

[@mikeperry7335]

lol tna was on Spike when it was doing those ratings it's now on the old tv guide channel huge difference in the amount of people have access to each

[@selfiekroos1777]

But he's prolly right about hogan and flair

[@williamford3379]

russo was great!!!! bischoff was great!!!!! Hogan was great!!!!!! flair was great!!!!! in the end it was the ego of them all that killed wrestling!!!!! sad but true. love them all but it destroyed it all

[@jokerzwild00]

When those dudes were firing on all cylinders and taking input from others they all made some great contributions to the business. When they start buying their own bullshit and thinking that they're above criticism is when they made some dire mistakes that have led us to this vanilla, bland, McMahon dominated version of the industry. Hogan is an amazing self promoter. Russo is full of shit for the most part but I think it comes from a good place. He genuinely believes that he's some kind of creative genius and once in a while he does have a good idea. He definitely does need a filter though, as much as he hates to hear that. Bischoff is not the character that he played on TV. I don't know why some people seem to think he was playing himself. Sure he was an asshole at times, but he was a corporate executive so it kinda comes with the territory. He was also put into a no win situation when the Time Warner merger was happening. He had to put too much attention on corporate politics and couldn't focus on wrestling, then didn't delegate his authority well when all of that was going on. He damn sure did turn WCW around in the mid 90s though. Without him there probably wouldn't have even been a Monday night war at all. They're all flawed, as are all of us.

[@AmericanCombatAssoc]

Great interview. At the time he's referring to ratings were far higher than they are now, whether he or Bishoff was in charge.

[@thomasgann8754]

Russo looks like he is in the witness protection program. He must be afraid Corny is going to find him.lol

[@ii9714]

That's out or order BRO

[@RobertoTheOriginalManFromTheA]

Short term success gives people a hell of a ego.

[@JPLooney]

Truth, him and Bischof share that characteristic..

[@zzzzzz6888]

Russo is underrated

[@HScorpio1811]

Russo himself is his greatest fan. In every interview it seems that he totally lacks the ability for self-criticism. Whichever story he is telling, it is always about him being a great guy and having done nothing wrong.

[@therebel4332]

If you cant admire your own work who will?

[@jokerzwild00]

@@therebel4332 yeah but being a little critical of your own failures is a healthy thing. Constantly pushing blame off on others is an easy way to keep making the same mistakes.

[@mikebadaoa2019]

I never heard any story if russo burying anyone he helps build new stars he helped create successful segments raw .eric destroyed wcw to cater to hogam . russo did admit hogan didnt know about promo

[@HhhHhhh-nu4lm]

I'll take Russo over Eric .Russo helped WWE win back ratings. Russo helped build stars Eric buried people to please hogan and older stars.russo wanted to used older stars to build new stars .

[@williammunny1844]

Ya know, people will always hate on Vince Russo. It’s become a fad over the last 10-15 years. They’ll never get over the fact that David Arquette won the title, on a technicality, by pinning Eric Bischoff. He didn’t make Hogan tap, he didn’t cover Sting for the 1-2-3, he didn’t have “a run” as champ.... GET OVER IT. Take the stick outta your ass. Wrestling was often illogical, tacky, and funny. But that’s why I loved it. Wrestling is boring as shit now because it’s all about the wrestling matches, and it’s formatted like it’s a legitimate sport with real athletic competitions, which is utterly laughable. I miss the gaudy announcing, the larger than life characters, and the interesting storylines. That’s all gone, on the large scale. #HireRusso

[@robdangripp9406]

when russo took over on late 99 he started pushing wrestlers that needed to pushed like Benoit & booker T and a lot of the mid carders that was held back because of Bischoff & Hogan trying to run everything they brought him in to make WCW like the WWE and the good ole boys didn't like the push then in early 2000 when benoit and the radicals left WCW Became total garbage when KEVIN SULLIVAN became in charge

[@robertrodriguez787]

And how many places did Chris and the Radicals pack in . like Sting , Hogan , Flair and Piper Did

[@cringeonfilm3009]

I have always wondered why they never liked each other. I assumed they'd get along because they have similar ideas about the business. Eric likes the semi-realistic approach and so does Russo.

[@nicopillay4059]

Bischoff likes the focus to be on the guys he likes. NWO, Flair, etc Russo wanted to push new talent from the mid card to the main event.

[@kriegpaolo]

The problem with the Hogan Bash at the Beach angle was that Russo went too far with his words, he made it personal and completely buried Hogan. Russo never acknowledged that fact.

[@beastieboys3]

kriegpaolo He said they agreed for them to leave because he was going to get nasty and personal and it would feel realer if they weren't there.

[@mikebadaoa2019]

Hogan buried alot wrestlers with his politics .russo helped younger stars.russo has gut to say no to hogan

[@bacchusendo9032]

Also, the perspective of Hogan is that after Bash at the Beach, Russo had no other plans for him in the storylines and was thus "getting rid of Hogan"

[@HhhHhhh-nu4lm]

@@bacchusendo9032 they told Russo not to call hogan they couldn't afford himb

[@thorboysen3318]

Vince Russo & Kevin Dunn vs. Jim Cornette & Eric Bischoff...! Loser-leaves-business-match...!

[@m.k.v.g.7203]

Cornette would be in the shspe of his life for that one ("piss on Vince Russo's grave")

[@GuyBurny]

@@m.k.v.g.7203 fuck cornette

[@sagitariusa8962]

@@GuyBurny oooopsie poopsie biiiaaatchhh

[@jorisweyen7934]

Heard too many versions from too many different people to make sense of any of this. Can't believe a word Russo says

[@beasthuntersixsixsix6897]

really? look at the contributions then. what did cornette ever do for wwe creative? russo was a cornerstone of attitude era not cornette and attitude eera is the reason why wrestling is still alive today

[@TheNextStep851]

@@beasthuntersixsixsix6897 Exactly. WWF in 1996 had all the big players there and they were doing nothing. WWE had all the big players there in 2002-03 and they were doing nothing. WWE supposedly has the most talented roster its ever had in 2021 and they're doing nothing. Who is the common denominator there?

[@chillguydave925]

Vince Russo did get ratings the reality is the older wrestler had more power

[@ilikemountains2585]

Oof, the shoot bubba the love sponge just relased from hulk less than 24 hours after this happens says otherwise

[@linkbiff1054]

He looks like Jerry Garcia.

[@dbean4884]

Russo is awesome.

[@ericzagranis1978]

I agree bro!

[@michaelhembree4167]

I'm with u vince

[@nicopillay4059]

Russo is pro-wrestling's fall guy for everyone else's shortcomings. "We messed up and don't know who to blame so we blame the talented writer from NY who talks funny." He was the only writer who cared about the personality of the talent in relation to their gimmicks, and improve skills, and charisma. Gerwitz was probably the next best guy, then Prichard.

[@jocylean]

He talks about a ratings increase but fails to mention the disastrous PPV buys. Strange, must have slipped his mind

[@brianconnelly4704]

This is such good shit

[@kerpal321]

vince russos version of wcw was pure garbage

[@robdangripp9406]

when russo took over on late 99 he started pushing wrestlers that needed to pushed like Benoit & booker T and a lot of the mid carders that was held back because of Bischoff & Hogan trying to run everything they brought him in to make WCW like the WWE and the good ole boys didn't like the push then in early 2000 when benoit and the radicals left WCW Became total garbage when KEVIN SULLIVAN became in charge

[@jasonmyers8600]

wcw was pure garbage

[@kerpal321]

@@jasonmyers8600 wcw was really awesome before the nwo thing got stale, it was more exciting than RAW for some time

[@robertrodriguez787]

@@robdangripp9406 And what happened WCW went out of business when he pushed these so called Old Guy. And Pushed these Young Guys who were still Crapping in there Diapers when Flair ,Hogan and Piper were Selling out Arenas and Putting asses in them Seats .Now Name me one New Blood that had 96.000 people attend a Event to see them Wrestle like Hogan did with Andre . Name me one New Blood that Packed them in like Flair and Piper did .

[@thebohemiangroove]

Looks like the unabomber with that beard bro

[@adamjoe3207]

At least he put Hogan in his place so I've give you credit for that

[@freezhollywood]

wcw needed some new blood its late 90s who tf wanted to see hogan and piper its not the mid 80s

[@jokerzwild00]

A lot of people wanted to see them. Hogan, Piper and Savage were not that old back then (compared to some older guys who wrestle now, like AJ Styles) and they were still very big deals in the 90s. People knew those names and they brought mainstream attention. If Hogan in particular had never come to WCW we probably wouldn't even be watching these kinds of videos because WCW wouldn't have gotten as big as it did without the buzz his name brought to the company. When he turned heel it was a shot in the fucking arm to the industry and wrestling in general took off like a rocket almost overnight. It's easy to downplay everything those guys did in the 90s because of what a clusterfuck WCW turned into, but that's intellectually dishonest.

[@robertrodriguez787]

And what happened to these New Blood . Name me one Wrestler from the New Blood that Did what Flair ,Piper and Hogan did . And that is Pack them in . Name me one New Blood that is remembered like Hogan , Flair or Piper . Name me one New Blood that is up there with Harley Race, Bruno San Martino ,Lou Thez or Nature Boy Buddy Rogers . Because Flair ,Piper and Hogan are .

[@BRockin25]

Russo is bs about 99% of the time but the Bash at the Beach story seems legit

[@mikebadaoa2019]

It mostly older guy like hogan piper and flair who hate russo bécasse he tries make them put younger guy over instead winning titles

[@robertrodriguez787]

@@mikebadaoa2019 Well think 💬🤔 about it how Many of them Young Guys put Asses in them Seats like Flair and Piper ,how many of those young Wrestlers 96.000 people pay to see them Wrestle like Hogan did with Andre . How many of them Wrestlers became what Hogan ,Piper and Flair or Sting when these Guys left Wrestling and Became Part Timers .

[@barrymcdonough344]

Hogan and bischoff where not in on it

[@bobby.m136]

Did u ever see 5.2 on a Monday night.... Someone who's done nothing good for the business whatsoever is in no position to criticize anybody else even though a lot of this shit is true

[@garethwilby4033]

Why does Russo always call everyone brother?

[@marcusalvarez370]

Russo said PAPA!!! PAPA!!! I WANT TO BE LIKE THE NATURE BOY!!! PAPA SAID NO!!! NO!!!🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@davejohnson7583]

he never takes responsibility for his failures and he always uses ratings to defend himself vince nobody watch the show because of you they wated because of the talent simple as that i see why cornett hates this guy

[@TheFailedmessiah]

How long Bichoff was profitable, 83 weeks. Ha!

[@jamesmcclain5906]

Imma Cornette mark and the more I hear Russo aka sh!tbag talk the more corney makes sense lmao jim cornette the voice of reason frfr wild

[@lucavandresh9788]

Well Russo I looked up the nitro ratings and you are lying bro you did not massively increase the figures in your first 3 months with WCW, Russo was hired October 5th 1999 and fired January 17th 2000 and here are the ratings prowrestling.wikia.com/wiki/Monday_Night_Wars_Ratings

[@christoperburke8380]

Say what ya want about Russo I respect him alot more then Bitchoff

[@robertrodriguez787]

Did you respect him when he had Owen up 75 feet in the Rafters and fall to his Death ☠️💀. Say what you will about Eric and I don't like that Used Car Salesman . But at least he never had anyone Dead Blood on his Hands

[@Alejandroelgrandehijodelasanta]

take me crazy but I'm sorry vince I pay the ex-wwe to go to wcw to sink it was a plot

[@412StepUp]

Russo said he went to WCW mainly to see if he could do it and succeed without Vince McMahon. Well we all found out. He couldn’t!

[@TheHannibalTV]

and Vince has never matched his days working with Russo either ratings have gone down every year steady since and have dropped in over half in the last 2 years with the current crap they put out.

[@412StepUp]

THE HANNIBAL TV - yes, that’s true too.

[@412StepUp]

I’ve actually always thought that Russo and McMahon together is the best writing combination. And that Russo by himself is the worst.

[@TheNextStep851]

@@412StepUp Russo oversaw yearly growth at TNA and they peaked at over 2 million viewers. McMahon needed Russo way more than Russo needed McMahon. The last 20 years proves that.

[@HhhHhhh-nu4lm]

@@TheHannibalTV Russo admitted hogan and Eric knee there was going to be promo but not what he was going to say .Russo improved

[@78bcat]

Saddest thing in the world is a grown man who can't own failure. My nieces and nephew always have an excuse when they're wrong and I'm consistent in telling them you have to own up to your mistakes. It's the only way you ever learn.

[@jokerzwild00]

This guy... lol. I gotta give it to him, he genuinely seems to guy his own bs.

[@kevinroulette]

Well spike tv was way larger than pop. So probably about same people watching per how many people have it . Russo is a poison to the biz . If he was so good he'd be working for wwe ,TNA, Roh Orr njpw

[@jaredc1987]

Are ratings what makes a wrestling company money? I thought it was ticket sales, merchandise sales and ppv buy rates and the weekly tv ratings is your advertising to get people to come to the show in person. Maybe I'm wrong

[@Natendowii]

Ratings are part and parcel of where you make money, but the REAL money making comes at House Shows and Pay Per Views.

[@TheHannibalTV]

Good ratings lead to more money from the TV stations to air the show and more money from sponsors to advertise on the shows.

[@blooddiamond93]

Ratings means there are eyeballs watching that show and the more ppl watching, the more they can charge advertisers to run commercials during the show, so yes, ratings = money in an indirect way.

[@DarksaberForce]

That's what Eric believed. Goldberg vs Hogan on free TV and not PPV.

[@78bcat]

You are wrong....but where Russo doesn't understand the business he claims to be a part of, TV. TNA needed demographics, not ratings. Spike wanted demographics they could sell to advertisers. A show with a small audience but the right demo is worth 3 times as much as a show with a big audience and the wrong demo.

[@jarrettmetz4346]

Vince Russo is a delusional

[@Johnnyrocks34]

Russo was worst ever. Guy was a joke

[@orlandodominguez8315]

lol this guy lies a lot

[@GuyBurny]

Can you back that up? 😂

[@robertrodriguez787]

@@GuyBurny Can you back up he ain't bullshiting

[@iamthewalruscuckookachoo1372]

Russo not taking responsibility for anything and talking about other people treating others like shit is rich lol.