"I'll get heat for saying this" - Vince Russo gets real about major issues women face in wrestling (Exclusive)
Vince Russo highlighted the issues women face in professional wrestling while paying tribute to Daffgney Unger during the latest episode of Writing with Russo.
Daffney Unger passed away on September 1st at 46, as stated earlier. Russo shared a close bond with the former TNA star, who he knew for almost 22 years.
Russo was reminded of Chyna, aka Joanie Laurer, and said he was familiar with how tough it was for women to survive in the wrestling business.
Russo was willing to take the heat when he said that the notion of men and women being equal in 2021 was false. The former WWE head writer has been in the wrestling industry since the 90s, and wishes no female talent endures the challenges he faced during his career.
Russo said that while some people cope with the difficulties in wrestling, some talents just weren't built to withstand certain types of hardships.
"It brings me back to Joanie. It brings me back to that, knowing what these women were going through on an emotional and mental level. You know Chris, listen, man, I'll get heat for saying this because, Chris, in 2021, men and women are equal. No, they are not. No, they're not! And I can tell you, Chris, from what I endured in the wrestling business, I couldn't imagine being a female and going through what I went through. And I said this with Joanie's death, bro, when it's over, there are some people that, and you know this as a psychologist, Chris. There are some people that can deal with it, and there are some people that can't; it depends on your make-up and who you are," Russo revealed.
We have to be a little bit more delicate with women in this business: Vince Russo
Vince Russo continued and said he didn't blame Daffney and Chyna for struggling in the wrestling business as he felt the people around them were responsible for protecting female talent.
Russo said people had to be 'delicate with women' in wrestling and should not treat them like their male counterparts. Russo explained that female performers were different from men in many ways and urged everyone to address the long-running problems that have plagued women's wrestling.
The wrestling personality also mentioned Ashley Massaro – a former WWE star who passed away in 2019 – and stressed the importance of fixing perceptions towards female wrestlers.
"I never blamed Joanie because she couldn't deal with it, and it looked like, obviously, you know Daffney was struggling for a very, very long time, and bro, I'm sitting here and thinking about Ashley Massaro. And I'm like, we have to be a little bit more delicate with women in this business. The notion that they are equal to the men, no, they are not. No, they're not. Men and women are different physically, emotionally, and mentally. And now when I'm looking at Joanie and Massaro, and I'm looking at Daffney now, like, 'Woah, wait for a minute, guys. We need to look at this, man. We've heard Mickie James talk about ageism and how for women, it's over at a certain age. Guys are going into their mid-40s. There is a lot here when it comes to women in the business, and bro, we need to really start paying attention to that, bro," Vince Russo added.
Russo didn't mince words as he passionately spoke about matters affecting talented female athletes in the world of professional wrestling.
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