Former WCW Star The Maestro Would Like to Work with Young Talent in WWE or AEW
Former WCW performer the Maestro joined VOC Nation Wrestling with History to talk about the downfall of WCW, the most memorable moments in his career, and his aspirations for the future.
You can hear the entire interview at http://vocnation.com; here are some highlights of what Stro had to say:
On watching the competition during the Monday Night War: “We would watch each other’s shows. WCW guys would watch Raw, WWE guys would watch Nitro, and ECW guys would watch us both. I even remember sitting there with Rick Rude as he was critiquing a Val Venus match… It was an amazing time in the business.”
On not wanting to go to the WWE after WCW was sold: “My contract was up just before then and I was advised not to renew. (With the talent that went to WWE) I saw what they did with the talent that crossed over and the way they were filtered out…I had a feeling that was going to happen because the politics was really heavy between the 2 companies. When Vince bought them out, I had a feeling that some of the WCW guys were going to feel the wrath politically.”
On WCW’s failure with dream matches: “WCW tried to create some of that magic. The Hogan and Ultimate Warrior rematch at Halloween Havoc was far fetched from the Wrestlemania match from years prior. They could have had some potential dream matches. Bret Hart and Hulk Hogan could have been a really big deal. Wrestlemania has it’s own feel, and WCW was just a different breed of animal.”
On the downfall of WCW: “Everybody wanted to do their own thing as far as the office was concerned. It was a revolving door of (bookers) at one point. Each one wanted to do something different and erase what the old boss did before. It was really hard to have continuity. As talent, we made the best of what was given to us. It was like trying to make an omelet out of a few eggs. The office just couldn’t keep it together.”
On the wildest thing he’s seen in wrestling: “At Juggalo Championship Wrestling, there was a match with Gypsy Joe. To finish the match, there was a tranquelizer dart that one of the guys used on the other. It was crazy. Gypsy Joe was making a comeback, and the guy took a tranquelizer dart out of his leg and shot him.”
On working with Eric Bischoff: He’s always been straight with me. Hogan and Savage are the two people that introduced me to Eric. He looked out for me while he was there.
On whether he’d work for WWE or AEW as a trainer: “I do a lot these days, with wrestling and acting, and working on VOC Nation. Anything is possible; I’ve helped current talent (grow their careers) – Scott Dawson, Sasha Banks, Luke Gallows, Karl Anderson, Bobby Rude…I wouldn’t mind helping out (at WWE or AEW). Once this business gets in your blood you can never get rid of it, even when you retire. I’d just like to be part of the machine to help keep it going and to constantly help better the product.”
Wrestling with History airs live on VOC Nation every Wednesday night at 9:30PM ET with legendary guests and listener calls.
Wrestling with History features VOC Nation founder “The Voice of Choice” Bruce Wirt and former convention and appearance promoter Wrestlingmarx Erik. The VOC Nation Radio Network was born out of AM Radio in Philadelphia, and has grown into one of the most successful independent Internet radio networks in the world.
Featuring guests from wrestling personalities such as Hulk Hogan, Eric Bischoff, Joey Styles, Matt Hardy, and Mick Foley, to entertainers like Lou Ferrigno, The Insane Clown Posse, Roberta Flack, and Kristy Swanson, VOC Nation has given listeners insightful programming for nearly 10 years.
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Link to the interview here: https://www.stitcher.com/s?eid=63568503&refid=stpr
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