| Vince Russo on returning to WWE, TNA, Waltman, Sting, Styles
This past week Vince Russo joined the No Holds Barred radio show to talk about the progress of NWA-TNA, the companies plans to work again with Sting, the strengths and weaknesses of the company, the WWE's TV product, and a whole lot more.
Vince started off the interview by talking about the company's progress over the past year and change. He said that when they first created the product he would tell Jeff Jarrett constantly that every week they were on the air it was making them stronger and stronger. He felt that lasting 1 year was huge for the company and he thinks it's a reflection of the TNA staff and all the hard work they've done.
He thinks the company's strongest department is their talent roster. He said that a company can have the greatest storylines in the world or the best characters around but if the in-ring work doesn't deliver then it doesn't make a difference. He feels the TNA roster is very young and hungry and as they gain experience they will become the stars of tomorrow for the wrestling business.
As far as the companies weaknesses are concerned he says it's hard to say because they've only been around for a year and the company is trying to find out who their audience is. He said the company is trying to find out if the fans want more wrestling, better storylines, more things outside the ring or something else and as they get a better understanding of what their fans want then it will be a lot easier to critique the good and bad.
Vince put over AJ Styles by saying his work in the ring is absolutely phenomenal and he is the best he's ever seen. He said there is not one person in the business today who can perform like AJ does inside the squared circle and it's his job to make sure AJ improves in the other areas where he needs help. Vince feels Shawn Michaels was the greatest the business has ever seen as far as the complete package is concerned and he sees AJ as having the same upside and he's honored to be paired alongside him in their current angle.
He talked a little about the opportunity to have a few laughs at Jeff Jarrett's expense by coming out a few weeks ago on the show wearing Double J's horrendous attire and pulling off the fake Ha-Ha laughs. He said the idea was his and Jeff was a great sport about it and he expected that he would be because they are able to joke around with one another behind the scenes a lot.
On the topic of hardcore wrestling and it's place in NWA TNA, Vince says he feels it is a good fit and he hopes to help the division develop similarly to how the X division developed. He said TNA is trying to innovate the business and lead it into the 21st century and it is a big reason why they experimented with the Hard 10 and the points system. He said The Sandman has been putting his body thru hell recently and a little bit of rest was needed but there are no plans to do away with the Hard 10 division at the current time.
Talk shifted to the writing team for TNA. Vince said that when things go bad he usually is the one who catches the blame for everything but at the end of the day, the final decision is made by Jeff Jarrett since TNA is his baby. Vince added that Glen Gilbertti and Scott D'Amore are also part of the writing team and that things have been working out really well among all of them. He added that the writing team structure in TNA is very different compared to the WWE because in TNA they encourage the talent to contribute input and work with the writing team to make their angles and matches a lot more interesting.
As far as the WWE product is concerned, Vince feels the WWE doesn't have the creative people on board to turn the company around. He said he met with Vince McMahon when there was talk of him returning to the creative team and he spent 6-7 hours meeting with the writing staff and felt at the end of the meeting that things would not improve if Vince didn't make changes to the creative staff. He said he had a few conference calls with the members of the WWE writing team following his meeting in CT and told Vince McMahon himself that he didn't have enough confidence in the creative teams vision for the company to turn things around. He stated that he doesn't watch the WWE product currently and the only way he would is if he was paid to do so and he doesn't mean it as a cheapshot to the company, he just doesn't find it enjoyable as a television viewer.
Vince believes the possibility of him ever returning to the WWE is very slim. He said when he and Vince McMahon had success together a lot of it was possible because they were able to openly communicate but based on the way things are now, there are so many layers to go thru just to get Vince's ear and since the company went public the politics have increased and made for a less enjoyable environment. He finished his statement by saying that if things are still the same as they were the last time he met with them, there is no way he could go back to that kind of atmosphere.
We discussed Sean Waltman and his future with TNA and Vince made it clear that he never had any problems with Sean despite hearing that Waltman was not a fan of his. He said he has always respected Sean Waltman's talent in the ring and feels when he's on his game he can be one of the best in the business. He added that Sean hasn't been back with TNA due to a few different reasons including his need for time to deal with personal issues as well as a shortage of passion. He said he'd love to see Sean back with the company but as long as he could be the old Sean Waltman.
Vince announced that TNA has held conversations with Sting and are expecting to bring him back within the next month or so. He said a lot of that is contingent on Jeff Jarrett being able to work things out with Sting as far as financial terms are concerned but he expects that they will do business together again very soon. As far as the interview segments were concerned on the TNA program, Vince feels that things came across really well because Sting was and always has been very honest. He said he's always had a tremendous amount of respect for him because he is a sincere man who was not afraid to tell you the truth whether it was good or bad and because of those factors he knew the interview segments would work out well.
He doesn't think TNA is delivering great show after great show after great show and feels a lot of it has to do with the fact that the company is built around a lot of talent which is very green. He feels that as the talent gain experience it will really help the company evolve and the first year should be viewed as a learning experience for most of the superstars who have been consistently performing for the company. He said that he truly loves working with the current roster and while some of the shows during year #1 may not have delivered what everyone wanted at times, most of it had to do with the fact that guys were just learning how to cut promos and raise their game on a larger stage. As the company continues to move forward Vince thinks there will be better consistency and the wrestling fans around the world will start to see the show gain momentum and become a very solid television program.
Vince talked about those who bash him for putting himself in front of the camera. He said the main reason he does put his face on television is to help get the younger talent over. He feels a lot of people know who he is based on his experiences in the business and if he can use that to help increase the awareness of the other talents then he's accomplishing what he set out to do. He closed the statement by saying he's not waiting for a phone call from a hollywood agent to start a career in the movie business and when it comes to understanding what he's all about, sometimes he's just simply misunderstood.
Vince closed the interview in a joking manner by promising to have Harley Race not take as long to hit Kid Kash with a punch the next time around.
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