Former WWE employee recalls having heated argument with Vince McMahon over booking top stars (Exclusive)
Former WWE head writer Vince Russo recalled the one time he got into an argument with Vince McMahon. This was when McMahon was the Chairman and CEO of the company.
Russo reviewed this week's episode of Monday Night RAW and expressed confusion over who was the babyface and heel in the Gunther vs. Damian Priest match at SummerSlam. This led the former writer to recall an incident from SummerSlam 1998 when WWE planned to book a match between The Undertaker and Stone Cold Steve Austin.
During this week's episode of Legion of RAW, Russo recalled how he raised his voice with Vince McMahon. He detailed that The Phenom and Austin, being good friends, wanted to have a babyface vs. babyface match, but that would not be good for the fans.
"I'll never forget man, it was the Highway to Hell in SummerSlam and it was Taker against Austin. I think this was the one and only time I literally raised my voice to Vince McMahon. What happened was that Taker and Austin were such good friends and good buddies that they wanted to have a babyface match. They didn't want there to be a heel and a babyface. I remember it was Madison Square Garden and I got into an argument." [From 2:38 onwards]
During the same discussion, Russo revealed how Vince McMahon respected Austin and Taker's opinions because they were major stars at the time.
"Listen, Vince was right because the level with Taker and Austin, you gotta do what they want, he was right about that. But I got so hot at Vince. I'm like, 'Bro, this is New York, Madison Square Garden. They want to cheer for somebody and they want to boo. They don't want a babyface match.' I respect these guys are buddies." [From 3:15 onwards]
Watch the full video below:
During the match, Stone Cold Steve Austin defeated The Undertaker and retained the WWE Championship, capping off an exciting SummerSlam.
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