Interview: Vince Russo praises WWE for Jinder Mahal push, smarks hating Mahal and Cena, what Vince taught him
What's the story?
Vince Russo is the WWE's most well-known ex-writer, be it for his success, or the way he divides opinion. This week, Russo spoke to our us on The Dirty Sheets Podcast via our “DS 247” show. He talked about a number of things, including new WWE Champion, Jinder Mahal.
You can listen to the full podcast by clicking the SoundCloud link, below.
In case you didn't know...
Jinder Mahal won the WWE Championship at Backlash when he defeated Randy Orton. The decision to put the title on Mahal was a last minute call and shocked many wrestling fans.
The heart of the matter
On the podcast, Russo was full of praise for Mahal and applauded the WWE for putting the WWE Championship on him. Usually a fierce critic of the current WWE product on his Podcast One show, "Vince Russo's The Brand," it was surprising to hear Russo speak so positively about a WWE booking decision.
Russo also suggested that the move to put the belt on Mahal, could represent a change of direction for the WWE- moving away from pushing the indie talents, who Russo feels are partly responsible the decline of the ratings.
Here is a transcript of Russo’s comments:
On smarks criticising WWE’s booking of Jinder Mahal as WWE champion, Russo said:
VR: “Jinder Mahal wins the title, and literally 10 minutes after he wins the title, Helen Keller is on there, and he talks about Jinder Mahal’s back acne, which, basically, he’s outright saying Jinder Mahal is on steroids. Let me tell you guys something, bro. I worked in the wrestling business for 25 years, in every locker room you can imagine. I’ve been around every single Superstar. Never, never, ever would I accuse someone of taking steroids unless I visually saw them stick a needle in their, a**.
And bro, you don’t do something like that. You don’t accuse somebody of something that you don’t know 100%. In the world of supplements today and how things change on a daily basis, there’s so much legal, over-the-counter stuff you can take today that can make you look magnificent. Of course, you’ve got to work out like a freaking friend on top of it, but to accuse a guy of being on steroids.
How in the world can you do this when you’re a little wuss writer in a basement somewhere probably never even met this guy (Jinder Mahal), and you’re gonna accuse him of something that serious. Even I would never freakin’ accuse a guy of being on steroids or taking illegal hormones unless I personally saw a guy put a needle in his a**.
That’s the stuff that freakin’ pisses me off. This mark, Keller, is upset Jinder Mahal won the title, so right away (the fan says) he (Mahal) is on steroids…You can never accuse someone of that (being on steroids) unless you don’t know 100%.”
On the topic of marks hating wrestlers like Jinder Mahal and John Cena, Russo added:
VR: “These guys are all freakin’ marks. They live vicariously through guys who look like them- ordinary guys. And when a guy like a Mahal comes along or when a Cena comes along. You know when legitimate big guys come along, they (smarks) will do everything they can to rip those guys because those are the guys they don’t want representing wrestling.
And what they’ll try to do is they’ll say whatever they have to say to try to steer their sheep in that same direction. But, man, I gotta tell you- whether or not Jinder Mahal is on steroids, I would love (it) for these guys to accuse him of it to his face.”
On the issue of internet smarks accusing Jinder Mahal of being on steroids, Russo stated:
VR: “WWE is a legitimate business. There’s a board of directors. It’s a publicly owned company. Do you really think Vince McMahon is gonna put the belt on somebody that gets tested and is on steroids? But, as I said, that’s what pi**es me off about these guys.
It's because they’re talking about freakin’ human beings. And when it doesn’t go their way, they don’t care what they say about anybody. And to accuse somebody of something like that when there’s no way you could a hundred per cent know, I would love them to run into Jinder one day and see what happens.”
Furthermore, on the topic of several current industry ‘experts’ rating independent matches higher than that of the WWE owing to their personal agenda as WWE doesn’t allow them direct access to their company, Russo declared:
VR: “These guys never had access to the WWE. I started working for the WWE in 1993. These guys were- their opinion and their comments were jokes to us- because we knew they were marks. We knew they didn’t represent the casual fans---Somehow or the other, fast-forward 20 years later, and somebody at the WWE is listening to what these morons are saying.
And by listening to what these morons are saying and going more and more towards that style, the WWE loses audience on a weekly basis. They lost 5 million viewers since WrestleMania, and I’ve got, to be honest with you. I think they’re on to that now. I think they understand that now. They tried to go with all these other guys, (but) the casual fans don’t care. They made a big statement last night, and I think we’re gonna see the pendulum go the other way.”
Besides, on the Attitude Era as well as the earlier WrestleManias, Russo stated:
VR: “My style of wrestling (writing) was basically just me ripping off the WWE from earlier years. I mean, I say it all the time. I don’t think the Attitude Era was the greatest period in WWE wrestling. I was there for those early WrestleMania days.
As a matter of fact, I went to WrestleMania 4 and 5. When you look at WrestleMania 1 through like WrestleMania 5, those were some great freakin’ years. And all I did in the Attitude Era was take from that- with the characters and the storylines and the dialogue. That’s all I did. We basically took 1983, and we recreated that in 1997. But today, they (WWE) are so far away from what wrestling represents to a lot of people, that they’ve lost a lot of people in the process.”
Furthermore, on the topic of WWE executives, including Triple H and Stephanie McMahon, potentially misguiding Vince McMahon while over-exaggerating the importance of social media, he added:
VR: “Yes, bro. I think Triple H and not only Triple H and Stephanie, I think quite a few people have sold him the importance of social media and ‘it’s a different time’, and this and that. Vince McMahon taught me a long time ago - If you make a good television show, people will watch it.
And if it’s good and it’s going week-to-week, they’re going to anticipate it, and they’re going to want to watch the first run. That’s how it works, and he knows that’s still the truth. And as I said, I think with last night; I think they’re finally getting to the point of starting to wise up to that a little bit.”
Besides, on Jinder Mahal’s WWE Championship victory at Backlash, Russo asserted:
VR: “I’m thrilled. I think it (WWE booking Mahal to win the title) was the right thing. It was the right thing for business. I think they are on to something. I think it was very, very important. But of course, now we’ve got to sit back and look at how they book him because it’s not just about winning the title.
What are they gonna do with him on SmackDown Tuesday night? To me he’s bullet-proof. To me, he’s absolutely bullet-proof. And nobody can touch him. I would get rid of those two Singh brothers. He doesn’t need those guys. Because you can look at this guy and believe he can beat anybody on the roster. And I would make this guy freakin’ bullet-proof. I wouldn’t make him the chickenshi* heel. I would make him bullet-proof because he’s very, very believable.”
Besides, on the topic of fans giving Roman Reigns highly negative reactions despite the fact that he’s promoted as a face, Russo added-
VR: “They (WWE) should just let him naturally react to the freakin’ crowd.”
On the current Women’s division, Russo opined:
VR: “Look at where Sasha Banks came in, and where she’s now. Look at where Becky Lynch came in, and where she’s at now. It (the Women’s Revolution) got real old, real fast. Because these girls could get in the ring, and they’re great athletes, and they’re great workers, but you know after so many matches you’ve seen it all.
There’s nothing you can do that can top it. And yesterday was the perfect example. A 6-woman tag that was just a freakin’ throwaway! Who could’ve cared who won that match? And I’m sorry, bro, but your core audience is still males. And I’m not gonna apologise for men wanting to see beautiful, sexy women. I’m never going to apologise for that.”
Russo spoke on WWE’s future, stating:
VR: “They (WWE) have to book Jinder right. They have to book him right, bro. This is so freakin' important. And I’m just a little concerned because the WWE got into a real bad 50/50 booking. And nobody gets ‘over’. They’ve got to book this guy right.”
Furthermore, on possible over-saturation of the sport on TV, he added:
VR: “Oh Absolutely! Absolutely.”
What's next?
Mahal will defend his WWE Championship against Randy Orton at the Money in Bank PPV in St Louis. This is Orton's mandatory rematch and will take place in his hometown.
Author's take
Jinder Mahal's upside can not be ignored. He is significant to the WWE increasing their Indian viewership, he looks like a legitimate physical specimen, and he generates legitimate heel heat.
Although I feel Orton is likely to win the WWE Championship back in his hometown of St Louis, I am partly in agreement with Russo and would prefer that the WWE give Mahal a credible run and chance to succeed.
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