WWE women couldn't refuse Vince McMahon storyline ideas, former writer claims (Exclusive)
Former WWE writer Vince Russo recently gave his take on Vince McMahon booking women in uncomfortable storylines.
In the early 2000s, McMahon booked his wife Linda and daughter Stephanie to kiss former WCW executive Eric Bischoff on television. Russo, WWE's head writer in the late 1990s, believes the segments were "creepy" and showed an element of "perversion" to McMahon's storytelling.
On Sportskeeda's The Wrestling Outlaws show, Russo added that he could have booked himself in a similar storyline with Velvet Sky in TNA/IMPACT. However, he knew where to draw the line with talent:
"I worked with some of the most beautiful women you'll ever see in real life in that wrestling business, and a couple of those businesses I played a role on television where I had a lot of power and influence," Russo said. "You know how easy I could have been making out with Velvet Sky if I wanted to? Let's just be honest, I would have never done that in a million years." [2:37 – 3:07]
Russo thinks Linda and Stephanie McMahon likely felt pressured to agree to anything Vince McMahon wanted them to do. He believes the same could be said for Trish Stratus, Vince McMahon's former storyline love interest:
"You put a woman in that situation, it's different now, but back then you put a woman in that situation, it's the boys' club, it's professional wrestling," Russo said. "Bro, they ain't gonna say no. They're not gonna say no. Linda McMahon's not gonna say no. Stephanie McMahon's not gonna say no. All those angles that Vince did with Trish and all those women, they're not going to say no." [3:09 – 3:36]
Watch the video above to hear Dr. Chris Featherstone and NWA Worlds Heavyweight Champion EC3 discuss Vince McMahon's booking ideas.
Vince Russo compares his writing to Vince McMahon's
Before joining WCW in 1999, Vince Russo co-wrote WWE shows alongside Ed Ferrara. The two worked together on scripts before presenting their ideas to Vince McMahon, who ultimately had the final say on storyline developments.
Although Russo sometimes receives criticism for his booking, he is glad he never put a woman in a controversial romance storyline:
"Vince knows they're not going to say no, bro, so to me that has always been so freaking creepy. And you can say whatever you want about me, I never used any power I had to get over on women that couldn't say no like that." [3:37 – 3:58]
Russo also spoke about Linda and Vince McMahon living apart for decades during their marriage.
What are your thoughts on Vince Russo's remarks? Let us know in the comments section below.
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