Recently on my site, www.pyroandballyhoo.com, somebody asked me the story behind “Fake Razor” and “Fake Diesel” and whether or not, I was behind that ingenious idea at the time. Much to YOUR chagrin, I would have to admit that even The Vince Russo wasn’t capable of such a lame-brain, inept idea.
Going back to that point in time, my main responsibilities were still with the WWF Magazine, but by then I had established a closer and more personal relationship with Bruce Prichard, who was writing the TV along with Pat Patterson and Vince McMahon. You know, it’s funny, over the years, Bruce – I felt anyway – attempted to, and did, damage my career on more occasions than one. But through it all, really liked Bruce. I still like Bruce.
Bruce Prichard (Brother Love) had one of the biggest personalities in the business, and to this day, nobody tells a better story than him. I think Bruce is one of those guys that has a good heart, but just got caught up for too many years in the wrestling game. I never held that against him personally. I know how life “inside the bubble” works.
When Scott Hall and Kevin Nash were threatening to leave WWE and go to WCW, Bruce was the one who broke the news to me at that time. Looking back, I think there was some concern in Bruce’s voice, but remember: back then, WWE was still invincible. There had never been any competition from anyone, and even if Scott and Kevin were to leave, the company would still thrive. I don’t think anybody at WWE saw the shift in power coming – especially Vince McMahon. But the tidal wave soon hit, and I think it’s fair to say that nobody was prepared.
As I talked about before, Vince immediately went into the “poor victim” role. Look what this billionaire was doing to me, and I’m only a millionaire. The Ted Turner parodies soon followed, along with the “Huckster” and “Nacho Man”. As corny as all that was, you could write it off as being simply that – corny. However, when Bruce explained to me what was coming next, I just wanted to bury my head in the sand out of embarrassment for the company.
