"Tank Abbott cost me my job" - WCW veteran says that storyline with MMA legend cost him his job
Vince Russo recently opened up about how a storyline he pitched for Tank Abbott cost him his job in WCW.
Vince Russo is a former writer for both WWE and WCW. Russo later also had a role in creative at TNA Wrestling.
In a recent interview with The Hannibal TV on YouTube, Vince Russo was asked about Tank Abbott's run in WCW. The former WWE writer revealed how his plans for Abbott had cost him his job in the promotion:
"Tank Abbott cost me my job at WCW because when Bret Hart was concussed, and I literally found out the day before that he wasn't going to make the PPV, not the day before but days before, I had to totally write that PPV and I was going to have a battle royal for that WCW title. The story in the battle royal was going to be that Sid was going to be #1. At the end of this, he was going to be the last one standing, he was going to be out on his feet, he was going to be exhausted and here was going to come a fresh Tank Abbott and Tank was going to hit him with the knockout punch, send Sid over the ropes and all of a sudden Tank Abbott was the WCW Champion and we would have had a lot of fun with that and we would have been able to figure that out but people who wanted me out of WCW, stooged that off to Bill Bush at the time, JJ Dillon at the time, whoever else was in charge of WCW. They stooged it off, they buried it to those guys and that led to Bill Bush telling me there's going to be a change in direction and that led to me deciding to go home."
Tank Abbott had a short run in WCW
Tank Abbott made a name for himself as an MMA fighter in the early days of UFC, also making a cameo on an episode of Friends. Abbot also had a brief run in WCW in 1999-2000.
WCW are said to have had big plans for Abbott initially, but these were shelved after Russo left. Tank Abbott ended up in a storyline with 3 Count. Abbott wanted to join 3 Count and later started a feud with them after he wasn't allowed to join the group.
If any quotes are used from this article, please credit Hannibal TV and give a H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription.