The fall of WCW is once again a major topic of discussion thanks to the ‘Who Killed WCW?’ docuseries and unsurprisingly, Vince Russo is a huge part of it. In fact, he recently made a bold claim about his on-screen character during his time in WCW.
WCW has garnered attention with VICE’s “Who Killed WCW?” docuseries, with its latest episode titled “New Blood,” featuring Vince Russo. Despite criticisms from fans and some veterans who worked with him at WCW, Russo defends his tenure, claiming he wasn’t responsible for the company’s decline in quality.
Vince Russo would claim that his on-air character was far better than the majority of the WCW roster at the time, which was certainly a bold claim to make.
“I’m just going to be one thousand percent completely honest with you: as far as an on-air character? I felt that I was better than 80% of that roster,” Russo boldly claimed. The criticism Russo faces is often due to him booking himself onto the show and putting the WCW World Championship around his own waist, however, he explained that happened on the receiving end of a ton of pressure. “I made the mistake of saying ‘You know what? ‘F it, if you want ratings, I will go out there and get ratings myself. I almost got killed, bro. I almost got killed!”
Russo acknowledged that much of the animosity towards him today stems from the belief that he embodied the character he portrayed onscreen. However, he admitted regret overstepping into the ring, particularly due to incidents like Goldberg allegedly injuring him despite Russo having a concussion.
“He’s supposed to Spear me into the entrance way, and I told him ten times, ‘Bro, I got a concussion, like just please, work me to the entrance way.’ What does he do, bro? He Spears me right into the iron rail. Come on, man?”
No matter what, it’s quite obvious that Vince Russo remains a polarizing figure in wrestling history, defending his creative choices while acknowledging the controversies and risks associated with his tenure at WCW and that’s unlikely to ever change.
Do you believe Vince Russo’s claim has any merit at all? Let us know in the comments section below!