Steve Carrier on June 14, 2023
Former Impact Wrestling star Angelina Love opened up about her departure from the company and shared her thoughts on the management changes that occurred during her time there. Love specifically mentioned her observations regarding Dixie Carter’s behavior and aspirations.
While speaking with Steve Fall for WrestlingNews.co, Angelina mentioned that a change in management was the catalyst for her departure from Impact Wrestling. She explained that under the previous management, Vince Russo ensured that all the female talents on the roster had opportunities to be incorporated into the show. However, when Eric Bischoff and Bruce Prichard came into office positions, Love felt a noticeable shift in their attitudes towards her. She described how they went from being friendly to ignoring her completely. The changes they implemented resulted in fewer talents being utilized on the show, which created a less vibrant backstage environment.
“It was a change in management that was the catalyst for that. If you have 14 girls on the roster, Vince (Russo) is going to make sure that like 10 to 12 of those girls, if not all of us, are somehow incorporated on the show, so it was always very fair. I will just say this because they were not fond of me and I was not fond of them. Eric Bischoff and Bruce Prichard, once they kind of came in and got like an office position, it was just like, for me anyway, they were so nice to me before they had any kind of position, and then once they got into position, they would just walk by me like they never saw me, ever.”
“They changed up so much stuff, and then it did become like, at least 40% less people that were always on the shows before were on the shows. It was minimal. There was like tumbleweeds blowing by backstage. There was like nobody there. I happened to be in the storyline with Winter at the time and it sucked. So then they didn’t like it. So then it was just like, ‘Well, we’re not going to do anything with that.’ We were all paid per appearance, so if you don’t work, you’re not getting paid. I had already been there like for five years at that point. They already knew what I could do, but once Vince kind of got pushed out, a lot of it was just was real negative and went downhill. I ended up quitting in July 2012. Hogan gets a lot of flack. I really liked Hulk. I put it all on Prichard and Bischoff.”
Love also shared her perspective on Dixie Carter, claiming that Carter wanted to be like Stephanie McMahon and had the wrong people giving her advice.
Love mentioned a conversation between Carter and Eric Bischoff that reportedly changed Carter’s demeanor and contributed to a negative atmosphere backstage. Love expressed that Carter’s desire to have multiple segments on every show led to the sidelining of many Knockouts, including herself. She criticized Carter for prioritizing her own presence on the show instead of delivering what the audience truly wanted.
“I had heard of a situation where Eric had had a conversation with her (Dixie Carter) in the offices that really made her flip a switch and it went less from a kind of cozy family-ish, nice vibe backstage to being cold, like heartless, kind of just gray kind of vibe, and it was like, everybody could feel it. No one liked it. She definitely had the wrong people in her ear giving her very bad advice, and well, we see where that took them. She went off in her own world. She wanted to be Stephanie McMahon so bad. 80% of the Knockouts ended up getting pushed off the show because Dixie had to have 11 segments every show. She put herself all over the show, and it’s like, that’s not what people want. It’s not what people are tuning in for.”
Throughout the interview, Love emphasized her disappointment with the management changes and the subsequent negative impact on the atmosphere and opportunities for talent at Impact Wrestling. She ultimately decided to leave the company in July 2012. Despite her criticisms, Love expressed her fondness for Hulk Hogan, who also worked with Impact Wrestling during that time.
What are your thoughts on Angelina Love’s comments about her departure from Impact Wrestling and the management changes that occurred during her time there? Do you agree with her observations regarding Dixie Carter’s behavior and aspirations? Leave a comment below.
June 14, 2023 5:29 pm
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