Details on Vince McMahon's "yelling argument" due to disagreement over a WWE main event
Vince Russo recently recalled how he and Vince McMahon yelled at each other before WWE SummerSlam 1998.
Steve Austin defeated The Undertaker in the main event at Madison Square Garden to retain the WWE Championship. Following the match, The Deadman respectfully handed the title to his fellow babyface before staring him down from outside the ring alongside Kane.
Russo, WWE’s head writer at the time, thought the New York fans would have preferred either Austin or The Undertaker to work as a bad guy. Speaking to Pounding The Meat’s Vinny Vegas, the 61-year-old revealed that he strongly disagreed with McMahon’s booking for the match.
“There was one time I got in a yelling argument with Vince,” Russo said. “I’ll never forget it, bro, because it took place in his limo, and when I’m telling you he’s in the front and I’m in the back, that’s how close we were.” [30:59-31:12]
Russo understood that the WWE Chairman wanted his top attractions to be happy behind the scenes, which is why he allowed them to remain babyfaces. However, from a storyline perspective, the former writer believes the match could have been better.
“Vince was trying to make the talent happy, and I totally got that, I totally understood it,” Russo continued. “They were his two biggest draws, two top stars, but I’m like, ‘Bro, this is wrong, man, they don’t want a babyface match.’ Austin and ‘Taker will tell you to this day they had the wrong match at Madison Square Garden.” [31:47-32:11]
SummerSlam 1998 featured eight matches, including Triple H’s Intercontinental Championship victory over The Rock in a ladder match. The show is also remembered for Ken Shamrock’s win against Owen Hart in a Lion’s Den match.
Vince Russo had no problem standing up to Vince McMahon
On this day in history (August 30th) Triple H defeated The Rock to become the new Intercontinental champion at #SummerSlam 1998!
Then, Stone Cold Steve Austin defeated The Undertaker to retain his WWF title in front of a packed Madison Square Garden. https://t.co/EFv0B1I72g
Alongside Ed Ferrara, Russo was instrumental in writing WWE storylines when RAW drew its highest television ratings in the late 1990s.
Many former WWE stars have admitted in recent years that they should have formed a closer relationship with Vince McMahon. In Russo’s case, he was never afraid to speak his mind while interacting with his former boss.
“I was not the guy who didn’t fight for what I believed in,” Russo added. “I went toe-to-toe with Vince McMahon and if I thought something was right, I stuck to it and I drove it. If he came up with an idea that I didn’t think was a good idea, I’d say it. And you know what, bro, he respected me for that because nobody else was doing that.” [32:14-32:39]
Russo, who later worked for WCW and TNA/IMPACT Wrestling, reviews RAW every week on Sportskeeda Wrestling’s Legion of RAW show. The latest episode can be found here.
Please credit Pounding The Meat and give a H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription if you use quotes from this article.