Vince Russo Interview: TNA To Compete With WWE, Heat With Roddy Piper & Jarrett, more

Thanks to Lord Meph from VinceRusso.net for the following:

Lord Meph: Do you believe TNA can eventually compete with WWE the way WCW did years ago?

Vince Russo: Yeah, I really do believe that and I really believe that now more than ever, especially with the Fox deal. I'll be honest with you, didn't believe it. I was a doubter. Just doing the PPV once a week, you have to ask yourself right off the bat, how many people have black boxes; how many people are seeing it for free. These are things they don't know in the PPV industry. To make our mark with just PPV, that was really, really, really gonna be difficult to do. Now that we have a national stage, I think now we definitely have the opportunity to give people that alternative.

Lord Meph: How real was the heat between you and Roddy Piper? Any chance of him coming back to TNA anytime?

Vince Russo: Well, I mean, it was real. I didn't appreciate what he said about Owen [Hart]. I think he was out of line and I couldn't stand hearing it. I was in the back, I didn't even know Roddy was gonna be there that night, nobody told me. They swerved me, I was outside of the building looking to make my entrance and next thing I know I'm hearing bagpipes out there, which is fine, you know. I don't mind being swerved, they didn't want anybody to know Piper was coming in. But as I listened outside and I heard him say those things he said about Owen, I couldn't stand it anymore because he was out of line and Roddy Piper had no idea what my relationship was with Owen Hart. He had know idea how much I loved Owen and cared about Owen; probably more than anybody. I loved the guy. So I wouldn't allow myself to hear it anymore.

When I went out there I had no idea what was gonna happen, but I had to, because he was wrong and I couldn't stand Owen's name being used and being brought up under those circumstances. But since then we've worked together, I mean, I have no problem with Roddy. I never had a problem with Roddy. Like I said, I didn't agree with him in that instant and that's why I went out, but I have no problem with him personally, professionally. I have no problem working with him, I'd love to work with him again. It was a lot of fun when he was [in TNA].

Lord Meph: Wrestling has seen a steady decline in the last few years since the demise of WCW in terms of fan interest, attendance and ratings. In your opinion, what is missing, or what needs to be done differently to bring back the many fans who seem to have become disinterested with pro wrestling?

Vince Russo: You've got to open up the door to those people that don't watch wrestling, just like we did in the late 90's. You're always gonna have your core wrestling fans and they're always gonna watch wrestling because they love it. I've stuck with them up until I'm 43 years old. They're a shell of themselves now, there's no question about it but my loyalty to them is still there just like the wrestling fans, they're loyalty is still there. What you've gotta do is, you've gotta re-open the door to those non-wrestling fans like we did before and it's what needs to be done, it's the reality.

The one thing you can't do in the business is insult the intelligence of the viewers; that's when you're going to turn them off. Another case in point, and we're guilty of this in TNA, y'know, things like throwing powder in someone's eyes during a match. How many fights do you know of, real fights, where somebody is throwing powder in someone else's eyes? That's what I mean about those "rules of wrestling" that have been handed down from generation after generation after generation. It don't work anymore. Until everybody starts looking at those things under a microscope, it's gonna be difficulty to bring those non-wrestling fans in.

Lord Meph: If WCW would have left you in full charge without the handcuffs, where would WCW be today?

Vince Russo: No question we would have been beating WWF in the ratings, no question. I can tell you that right now, with confidence. If they would have allowed me to do what they said they were gonna allow me to do, there's no question in my mind we would have turned it around. Unfortunately, y'know, I'm not pointing fingers, I'm not blaming anybody, I'm not putting the heat on anybody else, but the truth is they never allowed me to do what they told me they were gonna allow me to do. For whatever reasons. I never had the chance, and like I said, I'm not making excuses. It's history. It's whatever, 3, 4 years ago. But I know, with the talent we had there at the time, if the politics wouldn't have been involved to the level or degree that they were, if we would have had the TNA crew with the people working behind the scenes at TNA and it was that environment, there's no question in my mind that we would have turned the tables on the WWF.

Lord Meph: On a recent column on 1wrestling.com, you said that six months ago you almost hated Jeff Jarrett. What was the reasoning? Creative conflict and difference of opinion? How is your current relationship with Jeff Jarrett?

Vince Russo: I think a lot of the reasons were selfish. Again, [TNA] was Jeff's baby. I had a lot of ideas and I was giving Jeff a lot of contributions and I feel at that point in time, he wasn't really using them and I had a problem with that at that point in time. I had a problem with that because I was being very selfish, at that point it was all about me. To be honest with you, I was hurt by Jeff when they made the decision to bring in Hulk Hogan. Not that I have a problem working with Hulk - I don't. If it weren't for the lawsuit, I'd work with him tomorrow, and I mean that. I have no hard feelings in my heart about him, no hatred, I'd work with him anytime. But, under these circumstances, with the lawsuit and what not, [Hogan's] lawyer basically said that he couldn't work with me.

So I felt at that point that Jeff made a decision where for business reasons he brought Hulk Hogan in, and he told his good friend to sit at home and I had a problem with that. But again, you've gotta understand that that was a point in my life, 9 months ago, where I was looking at things very, very selfishly. I despised Jeff over a lot of those things. I was at one point, where I was telling Dixie Carter to stop paying me. I didn't want to get paid anymore, I didn't want anything to do with TNA, and that's the point I was at in my life. This was some time back in November. It was basically at this point where I felt such a hatred for a guy that I loved as a brother. I mean, I loved Jeff deeply, and that love turned to hatred. It was at that point in time that something just said to me, "What are you doing? You're filled with such hatred in your life and such selfishness. Look at what this business has done to do, Look what you're doing". It was really at that point where, and I know people don't understand, I don't expect them to understand, but I wasn't a religious person.

It was at that time in my life when I was feeling such a hatred, where I was filled with God's grace. He just came to me, and He came upon me and everything in my life changed; my feelings for Jeff, my attitude, my priorities.... Everything changed. From that point forward, I've been a different person, and of course, when you're in the wrestling business, people are going to say it's a "work". Believe me when I tell you, it's not. Right now, I probably love Jeff more than I ever have, I'm so proud of him for what he's accomplished when people doubted him, including me. People laughed at him, people said, "you're never gonna be able to pull this off". I gotta be honest with you, when I was at that first show on Fox, two weeks ago, the first guys went through that tunnel, y'know, it was Johnny Swinger, it was Glen [Gilbertti] and there was Trinity; I gotta tell you, I got choked up because I myself didn't see that happening. When they went out there, I was so choked up, because of what Jeff had done and what Jeff had accomplished, and what had happened up to this point, it didn't matter, he did it and nobody else could. At that point I was just so proud of him that I was just overwhelmed with emotion. And that's why when I tell you, y'know, I am here to help him see his vision through. I give him all the credit in the world because I wouldn't have been able to accomplish what he did. And there is nobody who has any idea what this man has gone through for the past 2 years. He set an example for me, and I'll never forget what this one person accomplished because it's really been an inspiration for me.

Lord Meph: Anything to look forward to on TNA that you think we, the viewers, should be excited about in the near future?

Vince Russo: I'll be honest with you. Now that we have the two shows, we're kind of in the writing mode that we were in the WWF whereas we're basically writing the shows from week to week. Only because time doesn't allow you to get out in front of the arc. I couldn't even tell you what's going to happen 2 weeks from now. I can tell you I think we're in the right direction. It's gonna be a slow build. This thing doesn't happen overnight. I think we're in the right direction. I've been extremely proud of what the guys have been doing in the ring, I mean, the athleticism is through the roof. You know, guys putting their bodies on the line and me seeing things in the ring on a weekly basis that I haven't seen since I've been a wrestling fan. Putting your body on the line where one false move or one missed spot and you can break an arm or break your neck or break a leg. To me, that has been what I really, really enjoyed most about the Fox show these 2 past weeks is what these guys have been doing in the ring.

Lord Meph: That's one of the big differences between WWE and TNA right now is WWE seems to have moved to a safer style of wrestling as opposed to TNA which features very dangerous, very extreme types of moves.

Vince Russo: You know what it is? It's not that it's safe, that may be the wrong word. What I like to say is, these guys are going through the motions. They're veterans, they've been there a long time; let's face it, they're not making the money they once were and a lot of them don't have pride in what they do. Some do, don't get me wrong but some don't and what happens is, they wind up going through the motions.

Whereas at TNA, you've got guys 22, 23, 19 years old. This is their first opportunity, they've got something to prove, everybody is working together as a team. There's a purpose, they want to put TNA on the map. The working environment and the working atmosphere right now is a different world compared to where [WWE] is right now.

To read the complete interview, click here.

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