"I'm not going to work for him 24/7" - WWE veteran reveals Vince McMahon used to call his friend and co-worker at 3 AM (Exclusive)
With Vince McMahon seemingly back in power and reportedly in control of WWE creative again, Vince Russo shared an old story of how tedious it can get working for the 77-year-old.
The former WWE writer recalled a time when the internet was on the rise and the company was beginning to make its presence felt online. Russo, who was part of the writing team, helped his good friend Jim Monsees (aka the Matrat) get a job at WWE to help the company explore the optimum use of new forms of media.
Monsees was Shane McMahon's right-hand man, as per Russo. It was during a phase when many in the promotion weren't familiar with how technology was quickly evolving, especially Vince McMahon.
"Chris, I had a friend of mine, who I got a job working for the WWE; if anybody knows, going all the way back to the Vicious Vincent World of Wrestling days, my buddy the Matrat was a guy by the name of Jim Monsees. I got Jimmy a job at the WWE, and he was Shane McMahon's right-hand man," revealed Vince Russo on Legion of RAW. "And that's when Shane was just starting all the social media. So, all the social media now was new to Vince McMahon." [From 45:50 to 46:30]
Russo stated that due to his lack of knowledge of social media at the time, Vince McMahon would often call Jim Monsees at odd hours, inquiring him about things published by WWE on the internet, most notably the old website and WWF on AOL.
While Jim was single and had no family, he was deeply annoyed by McMahon's constant calls early in the morning. Vince Russo noted that, in the end, his friend got tired of the ill-timed phone calls and admitted that he wasn't willing to work round the clock for McMahon.
Russo continued:
"My buddy Jimmy was single. Wasn't married, no family, nothing. So, since social media was new to Vince [McMahon], bro, Vince used to call my buddy Jimmy two, three, four in the morning without thinking twice. 'Oh, I want you to post this. I need you to post this. Oh, I saw this; you need to change this.' Bro, two, three, four in the morning, my friend Jimmy was single, and he was like, 'I'm not doing this.' This guy! I'm not going to work for him 24/7. There has got to be downtime." [From 46:31 to 47:10]
"After five years, he burned me out" - Russo on working for Vince McMahon
Vince Russo might have been highly successful as a head writer in WWE, but he didn't have the longest of spells in the promotion.
The 62-year-old admitted that Vince McMahon "burned him out" and that he had nothing left to offer after being in the Stamford-based company for five years. Russo understands how difficult it is to be a WWE lifer, and being a part of the company's workforce means that employees might have no downtime.
Russo claimed that if anybody wished to be in WWE, they would not have a life outside wrestling.
"That's what happened with me. After five years, he [Vince McMahon] burned me out. Like I was done. I had nothing left to give. I was done after five years. That's why I look at these lifers, and I'm like, bro, I know what it takes to be there that long. Here's what it takes; you can't have a life outside of the place. If you want that to be your life, five years was long enough for me, man." [From 47:11 to 47:50]
Did you know Vince McMahon was in charge of the RAW after WrestleMania? Read more about the backstage situation right here.
If you use quotes from this article, please embed the YouTube video and add a H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription.