62-year-old veteran says leaving WWE for WCW was the "beginning of the end" for him (Exclusive)
Wrestling veteran Vince Russo recently opened up about how his time in WWE was much more fruitful than his run in WCW.
It's no secret that Russo made immense contributions during WWE's most popular phase, the Attitude Era. His stint as the head writer laid the foundation for several stars like The Rock and Stone Cold Steve Austin to become household names. However, though Vince Russo left the global juggernaut for WCW amid much fanfare, Russo's time in the now-defunct company was riddled with controversies.
On Sportskeeda's UnSKripted, Vince Russo revealed how everyone in WWE worked like a family during the Attitude Era. He also praised Vince McMahon for always having his back and protecting him from internal politics.
Russo feels that the day he departed the Stamford-based promotion for WCW for a lucrative deal marked the "beginning of the end" of his career.
"The Attitude Era was fine, bro because we were all working together. It was a family atmosphere. Vince McMahon definitely had my back, so politics couldn't come into way. He protected me really well. So that was a good time. I'd say, the day I left WWE and went to WCW, that kind of the beginning of the end," said Vince Russo. [34:50 - 35:18]
Check out the full video below:
WWE veteran Vince Russo on the biggest mistake WCW made
On a recent episode of The Wrestling Outlaws, Vince Russo mentioned how Vince McMahon was influenced to create SmackDown in 1999 after WCW launched Thunder. However, Russo believes Eric Bischoff was right to point out that adding extra two hours of programming was the biggest mistake WCW ever made.
"I'm sure it did, absolutely," Russo said, referring to SmackDown being influenced by Thunder. "The question is did that really come from the network or from Vince? That's the question. That I don't know. Was it the network looking to take advantage like Nitro did or did Vince see that model? Meanwhile, Eric will tell you to this day Thunder was the biggest mistake WCW made, and I agree with him because, bro, you're watering down the product."
20 years ago today was the first WCW Monday Nitro of the Vince Russo/Eric Bischoff era. pic.twitter.com/3gHZdEjoes
While Thunder was canceled after WCW folded in 2001, SmackDown is currently one of the highest-rated shows on network TV.
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