Russo is joined on today’s show by his co-host Jeff Lane and Glenn Gilbertti (Disco Inferno).
Russo and Gilbertti speak about the recent trend of people accusing others of sexual harassment. Russo says it’s terrible what some men have done to women over the years, but he also thinks some people might be seeking attention with these claims. He doesn’t like that it’s taken some of them 20 years to come out with their accusations, and it makes him think back to his time in WWE.
He points out that bikini contests were a common occurrence in WWE during he attitude era, and the women loved them because it gave them a chance to be on television and showcase their amazing bodies that they worked very hard to have. He mentions that any of those girls could come out at any point now, making accusations based on things that happened in that company at that time.
Even though that woman might have been on board with it and enjoying herself at the time, those accusations would paint WWE and Russo in a terrible light nowadays. Gilbertti says he thinks WWE should book an all-women Brawl for All if they’re so intent on having their women presented as legitimate badasses.
Russo and Gilbertti have no idea what WWE is doing with Lana right now. Russo says WWE’s going to put her back with Rusev and even though it’s taking way too long to happen, he guarantees it will happen eventually.
Russo and Gilbertti discuss the chances that we’ll see Daniel Bryan return to in-ring action in WWE. Gilbertti says that he severely doubts Bryan will ever wrestle in WWE again, even if he were to sign a waiver taking complete responsibility of his health while in the ring. Gilbertti also points out that by having Bryan sign that kind of waiver before competing, they’d basically be admitting that they’re putting an unhealthy performer in the ring.
Lane points out that Paul Heyman did an interview this past week, in which he claimed that he’s the only relevant on-air talent left in the wrestling business from the old NWA days. He went on to say that while some people thought the way he carried himself back in the day was basically career suicide, he credits this behaviour for keeping him in the business
Russo says that everyone knows why Heyman has lasted in the business for this long: he’s a politician. When the going gets tough, Heyman knows how to swing things in his favour backstage and he’s been doing it for decades. Gilbertti says that Heyman’s schtick desperately needs a makeover, and he needs to manage someone other than Lesnar.
Lane mentions that last weekend’s NXT Takeover: War Games event didn’t sell out. Gilbertti says that this isn’t a real issue because NXT isn’t going to sell out big arenas every weekend. They will sellout their Takeover shows during SummerSlam and WrestleMania weekend because fans travel from all over the world for those events, but the other Takeover shows will have a hard time selling out arenas.
Speaking about Austin Aries’ time in WWE, Russo says that Aries was stuck in the Cruiserweight division at it was clear that he had no interest in being there. Russo admits to having issues with Aries in the past, but he doesn’t understand how WWE can lock Aries into Cruiserweight mode, while treating Finn Balor like a main-eventer who’s a credible threat to Brock Lesnar.
Lane mentions that Jack Swagger did an interview recently where he talked about the financial challenges of working for WWE. He said that some months his salary would be $2,000 or less, and it’s hard to budget your life around that. Gilbertti doesn’t doubt that $2000/month figure, because he heard that the two main event talents at a recent WWE house show made just $500 each.
Russo enjoyed the A.J. Styles/Brock Lesnar match at Survivor Series, but he thinks Lesnar should have shook Styles’ hand at the end since they’re both fan favourites who had no heat with each other leading into this bout. Gilbertti points out that McMahon still considers Reigns the top babyface and Lesnar the top heel as they head towards their WrestleMania match.
Gilbertti informs that the rumoured backstage heat on Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens is definitely accurate. He heard that after Owens and Zayn were sent home from the overseas tour by WWE, the rest of the crew on that tour went to a bar that night and actually toasted to them being sent home.
That sums up today’s episode of Vince Russo’s The Brand. You can listen to the show yourself anytime here, and I’ll catch ya next week for another recap!
