Donald Wood: One of the segments we have on the show each week is called Dirtsheet Busters, where we go through the lies of guys like Dave Meltzer and other so-called reporters. As someone who has been a topic of conversation for Meltzer for years, what are your thoughts on him and dirtsheets in general, and what do you say to the people who compare you to Meltzer?
Vince Russo: Please don’t, absolutely not. I don’t even know how anybody in their wildest dreams can make that comparison. First and foremost, I have been there and done that for twenty years. Meltz has never been there and never done that, period end of story. Covering wrestling and being a part of the business for twenty years are completely different things. I’m not a rumor monger, I’m not on the phone all day trying to get dirt, I’m not making up things for sensational headlines that will effect peoples personal lives, that’s not me. Vince Russo is an entertainer through and through. Everything that comes out of my mouth is to entertain you. I don’t talk about rumors and here say and sources, that’s not my bag. My job is to entertain you through my podcast just as I did with my writing.
Mike Chiari: I’m sure most people who have been in your position as a creative writer have done a lot of things that they’re proud of, but have also had some regrets along the way. For you, whether its storyline related or interpersonal relationships or whatever it may be, what is your biggest regret from your time in WWF and your biggest regret from your time in WCW?
Vince Russo: I’ll say my regret is in the wrestling business because it doesn’t matter where I was; it falls under the umbrella of the wrestling business. My biggest regret as I stand here now, on the outside looking in, I’m 54 years old now, and my biggest regret is whatever company I worked for is I made them my number one priority. What that means is I put God behind it, my family behind it, my wife behind it, and my kids behind it. When I worked for those companies they my number one priority. Now when I sit back and see how thankless those individuals are that I gave my life to and put before my family, I am absolutely ashamed of myself. Shame on me, I should have never of done that and I should have known better. It was never about the money, it was about my pride, and wanting to be the best that I could possibly be. I am a goal driven guy and I made that my priority. I made Vince McMahon my priority, I made Dixie Carter my priority, my time at WCW was my priority. Looking back now, that was a huge mistake that I can never take back.
Brandon Galvin: You’re credited with a lot of success and failures from the Attitude Era across WWE and WCW, but one thing we’ve consistently praised you for was the handling of the midcard wrestlers. During the Attitude Era, whether it was good or bad, it always seemed everybody had an angle or character to work with. Why was it so important to you to make sure everybody had something to do and why do you think that’s missing from today’s product given how many talented wrestlers there are in WWE?
Vince Russo: Number one is real easy and I give credit to Jim Ross for this all the time. I say this in every interview and I’ll say it till the day I die. Jim Ross put together the talent roster at WWE. Once that talent roster was assembled, JR gave that roster to me and Ed Ferrara and told us that this is the team. At that point, if you are good enough to make the WWE roster and you are on that team, then it is up to us as the writers to give you a story, to give you a character, to give you a story line, to put you on TV every week with a purpose. Once you have made the roster you are a pro. At that time, our job is to help get you over and assist you in getting over. Everything from character to stories and dialogue. Whether you were Steve Austin, D’Lo Brown, Luna Vachon, it didn’t matter to us. You were on that team and our job was to help get you over. During that time, all Vince cared about was what is Austin or the Rock doing? That’s all he cared about. So I guarantee you, that’s the same mentality today. What is Cena doing? There is nobody standing up for those guys in the middle of the card who go out there every single week with no purpose. There’s no one putting the time or attention into these guys and girls that they have earned. They are on the roster because they are the best in the world but no one is giving them any good material.
Nick was born and raised in Detroit, Michigan, and lived there until the age of 18, when he decided to pack his flack jacket and move to New York City.
