Vince Russo vows to retire if WWE RAW star gets "over" (Exclusive)
Vince Russo has been involved in the wrestling business in various capacities since the early 1990s. The former TNA Wrestling, WCW, and WWE writer recently claimed he will stop talking about wrestling when Lyra Valkyria gets "over" with fans.
In April, Valkyria moved to RAW after four years in WWE's developmental systems. The former NXT Women's Champion made an instant impact by forming an alliance with fellow Irish star Becky Lynch. She also reached the Queen of the Ring final before losing to Nia Jax.
Russo appeared on Sportskeeda's The Wrestling Outlaws with host Dr. Chris Featherstone and former WWE star EC3. The one-time WCW World Heavyweight Champion made it clear he does not think Valkyria will become as popular as some think. He also repeatedly referred to her as "Lyra Velcro."
"I must have said on our show, 'If Lyra Velcro ever gets over, I will retire from wrestling,' and some dude was actually asking me when I'm gonna retire because Lyra Velcro is so over," Russo said. [15:52 – 16:10]
Wrestling fans and those within the industry use the term "over" to describe someone with a large fanbase. In Vince Russo's opinion, many people use the word too easily these days:
"I think this is lost in wrestling, bro. Honestly, I think this is lost. The meaning of over. I don't think people understand what being over means, bro." [16:14 – 16:27]
Watch the video above to hear more from the panel on several topics, including AJ Lee possibly returning to WWE alongside her husband CM Punk.
Vince Russo compares Becky Lynch and Lyra Valkyria
In 2015, Lyra Valkyria began her wrestling career after being inspired by Becky Lynch's early success in NXT.
Vince Russo can see why fans have gravitated toward Lynch in recent years. However, he does not feel the same about Valkyria:
"I'm not a big fan [but] people paid money to go see Becky Lynch," Russo continued. "There's no question about that, bro. Some people bought a ticket to go see Becky Lynch. I don't think there's one person buying a ticket to go see Lyra Velcro. And it's nothing against her. Bro, a lot of this has to do with the booking and the positioning and the story that they're [telling]." [17:51 – 18:15]
Valkyria recently joined forces with former Women's Tag Team Champions Katana Chance and Kayden Carter. The 27-year-old will face Sonya Deville on the July 22 episode of RAW.
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