Vince Russo Avoids the Hogan Lawsuit on Internet Show

I did not intend to dedicate another column to WCW again this week, and then on Wednesday, Vince Russo appeared on the company’s Internet program “WCW Live,” and opened up a can of worms.

Russo remains the head of the creative team, which no longer includes Eric Bischoff. The booking committee consists of Russo, Ed Ferrara, Terry Taylor, The Disco Inferno (which explains why he is apart of the Filthy Animals), and Bill Banks, who also defected from the WWF shortly after Russo and Ferrara.

The topics addressed by Russo were just as interesting as subjects omitted from the show. Earlier in the week, Hulk Hogan filed a lawsuit against World Championship Wrestling for defamation of character. The suit stems from the July PPV “Bash at the Beach.” Hogan claims that comments made by Russo damaged his character and image.

Many observers feel the lawsuit is a continuation of the Russo/Hogan angle from the “Bash at the Beach” PPV, however, the suit is legitimate according to a report in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. John Taylor, Hogan's attorney, adamantly denies that the lawsuit is part of a publicity stunt and insists that Russo's comments were a breach of contract. It is interesting to note that Hogan is not using Henry Holmes, his primary attorney.

Hogan was scheduled to appear on Court TV to discuss the lawsuit, but pulled out at the eleventh hour. Jeremy Borash and Bob Ryder, the hosts of the “WCW Live” Internet show, conveniently failed to bring up the Hogan lawsuit, nor were callers allowed to question Russo on the matter.

On the program, Russo revealed he has fourteen months left on his contract. He commented that Brad Siegel, TNT President, is unlikely to keep him on staff for the balance of his contract. Either way, Russo stated that he is finished with professional wrestling when his WCW tenure ends.

“I will be as far away from this business as I can possibly get for the rest of my life. And that is a promise,” claimed Russo, who later stated, “This is an ugly business. It's a nasty business, it's a dirty business, it's a back-stabbing business, it's not a nice business.”

Russo has become a proponent of reality based entertainment, a far cry from his past infatuation with crash television. Rather than slicing “Nitro” and “Thunder” into numerous segments, he is now trying to trick viewers into believing what you see is in reality a “shoot.” Russo believes this is the direction the wrestling business will follow. To this observer, it sounds like a desperation Hail Mary pass.

For a change, Russo did not take full credit for the WWF’s recent turnaround. He claimed WWF’s ratings, “are exactly where they are the day I left.” During a recent television interview, Russo had claimed that the WWF was averaging a 7.0 rating for “Raw” when he left for Atlanta. In reality, the WWF has only hit a 7.0 (or higher) rating three times over the past five months.

Russo on McMahon, “right now, he is on the mind set that whatever he puts out, they are gonna watch it... You know what? They are, but I'm telling you, they won't be.” The WWF has returned to successful storylines - Triple H vs. The Rock and Kane vs. The Undertaker. What Russo fails to realize is that during WWF’s repetition, WCW has not developed any enticing storylines or created new compelling characters.

Tidbits: Konnan's pay has been cut due to his tricep injury … Former WWF superstar Ken Shamrock faces Kazuyuki Fujita on the August 27th Pride show … ECW plans to give Steve Corino a huge push … WCW has released Elizabeth, Lenny Lane, and Christopher Daniels … There is no word on when the WWF plans to bring back Paul Bearer … ECW is high on newcomer E.Z. Money

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