Vince Russo says the comedy in WWE is corny, but that they have “comedy gold” in JCW, Juggalo Championship Wrestling.
Ahead of a new episode of JCW Lunacy set to air on YouTube on Thursday, Russo spoke to Justin Barrasso of The Undisputed about the comedy writing in his company versus what is seen in either WWE or AEW.
“We have comedy gold in JCW,” said Russo. “I go all the way back–my favorite sitcom to this day is The Honeymooners, but I can go back to the Odd Couple and Taxi and Everybody Loves Raymond and King of Queensand Seinfeld, I love comedy. The problem you have in professional wrestling is you really don’t have legitimate writers.
“A lot of people involved [on the writing side] in AEW and a lot of people involved in WWE, they’re wrestlers. Triple H is a wrestler. [Michael] Hayes is a wrestler. And a lot of times, wrestlers don’t know how to write comedy. So what you get is corny. Comedy in wrestling has been corny for decades. Look at what they just did with the gingerbread man, that was corny. Danhausen and his clones? Corny. I love good sitcom comedy based on dialogue. You’ve got to be a trained writer to know how to write that.”
Russo’s full discussion with Justin Barrasso is available here.
Juggalo Championship Wrestling upcoming schedule
Upcoming Juggalo Championship Wrestling TV taping dates include Thursday, May 21 at The King of Clubs in Columbus, Ohio; Friday, May 22 from Harpo’s in Detroit, Michigan; Saturday, May 23 from The Vault in Saginaw, Michigan; and Sunday, May 24 from The Grool Hall in Lansing, Michigan.
Tonight’s episode of Lunacy will air one hour later than its usual time slot on YouTube, beginning at 8 p.m. Eastern.
Tony Khan said his WWE bid back in 2023 was reasonable.
It was recently revealed that the AEW president put in a $6.9 billion dollar bid for WWE back when it was up for sale. In an interview with Vince Russo & Jonathan Coachman, Khan said he though what he had offered was reasonable, and would have kicked himself if he didn’t at least make an offer.
“I was very interested in the process and I think that if there was going to be a sale, I would at least wanted a chance to be involved. If it had gone for any less than that, I would have really kicked myself,” he said.
“While respecting the confidentiality of that, I would say I don’t have any complaints about that process from my side right now,” he continued. “While respecting the confidentiality of the whole thing, I also would say that, at the time, that seemed like to me, just reiterating, if it had gone for any less I would have kicked myself. Why wouldn’t you put in a bid. I thought it was a very reasonable number.”
Khan’s bid came to light as part of an ongoing lawsuit between shareholders and WWE, with plantiffs questioning WWE’s eventual sale to Endeavor. WWE’s new parent company has since combined WWE and UFC into one corporate entity, TKO.
The most detailed update on the Janel Grant case, with her new filing and claims, a look at those claims in detail, what is net for the case, the key thing regarding the future of the case and why it really comes down to the judges ruling, and timeline for all of this. We cover new cais and the arguments for and against binding arbitration or continuing the civil case.
Update on WrestleMania, the card as of this point, reasons for some of the new matches, when matches changed and why, as well as the business for the show, how far behind are ticket sales and interest in the show as compared to the same period last year.
Chris Jericho returns to AEW and as much detail as we have on the decision
AEW Dynasty update and updated major event ticket sales
The death of J Robinson, a college coaching legend and his connections with a number of key figures in pro wrestling, including the recruiting of Brock Lesnar by WWE and the politics behind why WWE waited an extra year to offer him a deal.
The most detailed look at the television ratings for all the pro wrestling shows this past week, including competition, comparisons with one year back, Raw vs. Dynamite and how close it has become, and more.
It’s CMLL tournament of champions month starting this week
Anniversary shows at Arena Mexico and Arena Coliseo this week including a look back at the first show in each building
A look at the four title match show at ArenaMexico on Tuesday
A super hot match to watch on AAA
A look at Stardom’s biggest stipulation of the year and Yokohama Arena show
Current Tiger Mask retires
Best of the Super Junior tournament update
Largest crowd of the year for women’s wrestling in Japan
Hodge trophy winner looked at
Maple Leaf Wrestling announces new TV deal and a look at the weekend shows
Stabbing at a pro wrestling show
Very interesting political match will take place with TNA champion vs. AEW star
American gold medalist challenges UFC undefeated champion
Rebellion notes
Lots of injury updates and business notes
Wrestler complaining about AEW not booking them enough
Kenny Omega talks his and Kota Ibushi’s health
Brody King talks the chants
Tony Khan and his enemies
Kayla Harrison on why her next bantamweight fight will be her last and why she should never have fought at bantamweight to begin with
Crazy Dana White story
Will Mayweather-Pacquiao II take place and what are the issues
Fedor Emelianenko wants to return to combat next year
Nick Khan acquires TKO stock
Bret & Ross Hart talk Badnews Allen in WWE Hall of Fame
— Bryan and I will be back tonight talking Raw, Pat McAfee, Thursday ratings, WrestleMania, Best of the Super Juniors, Wrestling Dontaku, Sakura Genesis and more tonight with Wrestling Observer Radio.
— Paramount Skydance just received nearly $24 billion in funding from Saudi Arabia ($10 billion), Qatar and Abu Dhabi as reported today by the Wall Street Journal. This money was needed for the $111 billion purchase of WBD. They are now hopeful the deal closes by the end of July.
— WWE will announce what matches for WrestleMania will be on Saturday and what matches on Sunday on ESPN’s Get UP show at 9:35 a.m. tomorrow.
— The Hulk Hogan Netflix documentary will be released on 4/22. The trailer came out today featuring an interview with Hogan shortly before his death. Linda Hogan, Jimmy Hart and Kevin Nash were among those talked with for the documentary.
— For Wrestling Dontaku in Fukuoka on 5/3, Yota Tsuji faces Gabe Kidd for the global titel, Ren Narita vs. Oleg Boltin for the Never title, Aaron Wolf vs. Don Fale and Konosuke Takeshita & Shota Umino vs. Yujiro Takahashi & Chase Owens. For 5/4, Callum Newman defends the IWGP title against Shingo Takagi, Hirooki Goto & Yoshi-Hashi & Boltin defend the trios titles against Will Ospreay & Great O’Khan & Henare, Takeshita vs. Owens for the TV title and Mistico & El Desperado vs. Ichiban Sweet Boys.
— Raw tonight is from Houston with Finn Balor vs. JD McDonagh, LA Knight vs Austin Theory, Rhea Ripley & Iyo Sky vs. Michin & B-Fab and CM Punk, Roman Reigns, Brock Lesnar, Seth Rllins, Gunther, Jade Cargill and others are on the show. They had 12,673 tickets out earlier today.
— We’re looking for live reports from the show with any matches not on the Netflix show to [email protected]
— There isn’t really a lot to take out of the Thursday night ratings. AEW did not carry their audience gains over to Thursday and did a number lower than they’ve been doing on a more competitive Saturday. They did 373,000 viewers and 0.07 in 18-49. TNA in its regular time slot on AMC did 200,000 viewers, down about 20-23 percent from recent weeks, but stayed even at 0.05 in 18-49.
— MJF and Pat Buck did an angle Saturday night at the WrestlePro show in Rahway, NJ, to build to a match between the two on 5/31. Among those who wrestled on Saturday’s show were Scotty 2 Hotty and son Keagan Garland, Lady Frost, Dan Maff, Gates of Agony, Ricochet (beating Sidney Akeem) and Anthony Bowens beating Max Caster.
— We’re looking for your thoughts on NXT Stand & Deliver and NJPW Sakura Genesis, so you can leave a thumbs up, thumbs down or thumbs in the middle along with a best and worst match from each show to [email protected]
— Taka Michinoku was involved in an auto accident. He was coming home after a match and a car crashed into him. The airbag deployed and he took a hard hit to the face and was bleeding. An ambulance was called. His car was damaged enough that it didn’t work. He later said he suffered a concussion but he wrestled the next night.
— Tom Aspinall confirmed that he still hasn’t been cleared to start sparring after the eye pokes in his fight with Cyril Gane in November.
— Tony Khan will be appearing on Jonathan Coachman and Vince Russo’s podcast tomorrow.
— Puebla tonight sold out hours ago with a main event of Mistico & Mascara Dorada & Atlantis Jr. vs. Ultimo Guerrero & Gran Guerrero & BlackTiger plus Templario & Esfinge vs. Angel de Oro & Niebla Roja.
— There will be a 1980s wrestling convention in Parsippany, NJ at the PAL on 5/16 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Names appearing are Jake Roberts, Ted DiBiase, Mil Mascaras, Koko B.Ware, Wendi Richter, Jacques & Raymond Rougeau, Brian Blair, Jim Brunzell, Demolition, Ken Patera, Tatanka, Nikita Koloff, Tito Santana, Tommy Rich, Tony Atlas, Boris Zhukov, Cheryl Roberts, Steve Keirn, Austin Idol, Johnny Rodz, Bugsy McGraw, Jimmy Valiant, Baron Von Raschke, Paul Ellering, John Laurinaitis, Dan Spivey, Jose Luis Rivera, Bill Apter and more.
— VICE ran a story on celebrities who are wrestling fans, listing Margot Kidder, Danielle Fishel, Vanesse Hudgens, Timothee Chalamet, Freddy Prinze Jr., Matthew McConaughey, and Cardi B.
— Brian Adias turned 66 today. Hall of Fame promoter Johnny Doyle, a longtime partner of Jim Barnett, was born on this day in 1909. Pampero Firpo was born on this day in 1930. Peter Maivia was born on this day in 1937. Dr. Sam Sheppard, famous for the TV series The Fugitive, who later became a pro wrestler and invented the mandible claws that Mick Foley and Bray Wyatt used, died 56 years ago today at the age of 46. Roberto Cruz aka El Solitario, one of the five biggest stars in Lucha Libre history, died 40 years ago today at the age of 39. Jack Veneno, the biggest star ever in the Dominican Republic and a national hero for his NWA title win over Ric Flair, died five years ago today at the age of 79.
— Lady Frost debuts in AIW on 5/15 in Cleveland at the Globe Iron.
— There will be a press conference at the Palladium Theater in New York on 4/15 for both the Ronda Rousey vs. Gina Carano show on Netflix and the 4/17 Alycia Baumgardner vs. Bo Me Re Shin boxing match at the Theater in Madison Square Garden which will be the ESPN debut of MVPW, Jake Paul’s women’s boxing promotion.
Two veterans of the Attitude Era want to talk to AEW CEO Tony Khan, and Khan apparently wants to talk to them too.
Vince Russo—formerly the lead creative voice in WWE, WCW, and TNA, among other promotions—brought up Khan’s name on The Coach and Bro Show with former WWE commentator Jonathan Coachman.
“Top of my bucket list right now is I want to meet Tony Khan,” Russo said. “I would mark out having a conversation with Tony Khan. It would be surreal to me.”
Coachman followed by saying they want Khan to come on the show. “We need AEW to be successful in the wrestling business,” he added.
Coachman went into more detail on social media. “We have an open invitation for Tony Khan to come on our show.”
Khan himself replied to Coachman’s post. “I would love to come on the show with you and [Russo], Coach!” he wrote. “I’ve been a fan of both of yours for many years!” He added that Russo was doing a “tremendous job” with Juggalo Championship Wrestling, “which I enjoy very much.”
Russo then shared Khan’s post, a sign that the former WCW World Champion could be checking off that bucket list item soon.
“Tony, it would be an honor—seriously,” Russo wrote.
Vince Russo discussed a scrapped storyline for Juggalo Championship Wrestling during a recent interview.
Speaking on the Two Man Power Trip podcast, Russo described a storyline idea involving Mecha Wolf and former WCW wrestler Glacier. Russo said the angle would have featured an unidentified wrestler in riot gear abducting Wolf, with “ICE” written on the back of their gear. Russo said the planned twist was that “ICE” would ultimately be revealed as a reference to Glacier, not immigration enforcement.
“So, bro, I wanted to do an angle where (Mecha Wolf is) wrestling and somebody comes out in full riot gear and on the back: ‘ICE.’ And he’s trying to get Mecha Wolf.“
“And I wanted, when ICE got revealed, I wanted it to be Glacier.”
“Would that not have stuck it up everybody’s a–? They’d be ripping me to shreds and he’s ICE because he’s Glacier, you freaking idiots.”
“But the problem is, bro, I it would never be able to go that far without people being up in arms. You would have to do this for a couple of weeks and then do the reveal. After the first week, people would be up in arms.”
Russo’s full appearance on the podcast is available below. The video is cued to his comments regarding the scrapped angle.
Vince Russo announced plans for the Juggalo Championship Wrestling World title during this week’s episode of Lunacy.
Matt Cardona had previously held the championship, but with Cardona having re-signed with WWE, Russo revealed that James Storm and Ken Anderson will meet to crown a new champion on next week’s episode. Russo made the announcement during his opening promo alongside Big Vito on Thursday’s show.
Russo said:
“Now I know what you’re saying, ‘Vince, I hope you put that title on yourself.’ Because let’s face it guys, I would make a way better champion than CM Punk. And not only that, I wouldn’t have to wrestle in a t-shirt because I’m 50 years old.”
“Old Triple H purged our JCW Champion. But I’ll tell you what, because the kind of guy that I am, I want to personally thank Matt Cardona. Give it up for Matt Cardona, he was a great JCW Champion.”
“I’ve made an executive decision. Next week right here on this show, there will be a match to determine the new JCW Lunacy Champion and that match will be between ‘Cowboy’ James Storm and Mr. Anderson.”
After announcing the title match, Russo also fired Vampiro and Mad Man Pondo. Vampiro had been serving in an on-screen authority role with the promotion.
“Last week when Mad Man Pondo tried to take the life of Mosh Pit Mike, I ordered Vampiro to fire him. And guess what? My good buddy Vampiro told me to shove it up my a–. So I made another executive decision. I said Vamp, you and your boy Pondo, are both fired and no longer a part of JCW. I make decisions, baby! So guess what? I will be the showrunner until further notice.”
Matches featured on this week’s Lunacy included Big Vito vs. Kongo Kong, a JCW Women’s World Title gauntlet match, and an open challenge issued by Mr. Anderson. Also, Jonathan Coachman debuts a new segment.
The full episode of this week’s JCW Lunacy is available below:
Rob Van Dam sees good things in the future for Juggalo Championship Wrestling.
The promotion founded by Insane Clown Posse’s Violent J made headlines in late 2025 with the hiring of Vince Russo as both its head writer and an on-screen character. RVD recently told GamesHub that he’s spoken with Violent J about a possible role in the company.
RVD said:
“The clowns seem right now to be getting all the news, all the media. They’ve got Vince Russo writing their shows now and before Vince came along, I’ve been talking to some people and some of those are my friends who founded it, Violent J (Joe Bruce) from ICP. And he’s been asking if there’s anything I could do to help their company.”
RVD continued, saying he believes JCW is the most underrated promotion currently and that it’s “about to blow up.”
“So I’m gonna say right now, that’s probably the most underrated (promotion) because people don’t know that they’re about to blow up.”
“Just recently, all the comments that I’ve read are so positive. The fans are so excited about what they’re doing and you want to talk about a promoter who’s a hard worker that’s done everything himself, right from the bottom? That’s Violent J!”
Matt Cardona won the JCW World Championship on the January 1 episode of JCW Lunacy, the promotion’s weekly YouTube show. Following Cardona’s return to WWE on the January 2 episode of SmackDown, Russo released a statement on social media acknowledging the risk involved in putting the title on someone who could return to WWE at any time.
Russo wrote:
“Does anybody really believe that you don’t know the risk involved when you put your belt on a former @WWE WRESTLER? That you don’t understand that he/she could return to the company at any time?”
The January 8 episode of JCW Lunacy, available below, features a number one contender match for the JCW World Championship between Mr. Anderson and James Storm. Cagematch lists the show having been taped at Harpos Concert Theatre in Detroit on November 22, 2025.
I am 100% THRILLED for @TheMattCardona. I know this was Matt's Goal, and the opportunity to be able to be on the road and travel with the lovely @ImChelseaGreen once again is a BEAUTIFUL THING! I LOVE both these guys—TRULY!!!
Vince Russo has responded to recent criticism levied at him by Seth Rollins.
During a recent interview with Jay Mohr, Rollins was asked who he liked better between Jim Cornette and Vince Russo. Rollins responded that he doesn’t like either of them, saying, “They are both jackasses.”
When pressed, Rollins said he’d pick Cornette over Russo, as he worked with Cornette in Ring of Honor (2008-2010) and said Cornette was more a victim of “hot take culture.” Rollins continued to call Russo a “hanger-on,” saying “That guy’s an idiot.”
Russo then issued a lengthy statement addressed to Rollins on social media in response, writing:
“So, @WWERollins ‘hates me’ and according to him I’m a ‘hanger-on-er’. So this is why I love being an analyst. I get to really analyze people’s comments.
So, Seth Rollins ‘hates’ a guy that he actually never even met, or even had a conversation with. In other words, he’s never had any contact with me in any way, shape, or form. That equates to — @WWERollins doesn’t know me.
So then WHY the hate?
I’m assuming that it must have to do with my ‘analysis’ of Seth Rollins over the years. While there is no question that Seth is a great athlete, I have always questioned Seth being a great ‘worker’. Why? Simply because I have witnessed dozens of Seth’s matches over the years where he fails to sell. In my book, being a great worker means you know how to sell.
From there, I questioned why, when Seth turned ‘heel’, did he still go out there and literally conduct the fans as they sang along to his song. Is that what a ‘heel’ would do?
Then there’s this — me saying ad nauseam that his ‘mentor’ (thus, Seth being his ‘boy’), @TripleH is not a writer. Guess what? I’m not even going to argue that point. SmackDown just did under a million viewers for the third time. That’s proof enough.
From there, ‘Idaho’s Own’, ‘The Monday Night Messiah’, Seth ‘Freakin’ Rollins’, ‘The Visionary’, and whatever other moniker he’s used over the years, said that I was a hanger-on-er. Bro — I left the @WWE over 26 years ago. Don’t you think by now my hands would have been callused, bloody, and scarred grasping that rope? Brother — I don’t have Seth Rollins muscles. I would have let go within the first three minutes.
And lastly… the obvious… ‘NOBODY LIKES HIM’.
Yup — that must explain why I keep getting hired over and over again even at 65 years old.
Seth — if you want to learn anything about being a character, storylines, what exactly a ‘heel’ is, and yes, even selling — you can tune into @jcwlunacy every Thursday night on YouTube.
Maybe you can even have a sleepover with @TripleH — wouldn’t hurt him to learn a thing or two either.
And while I thank both you and Mr. Mohr for putting me over by mentioning me on his show — PLEASE — and I BEG YOU — respond to this tweet. RussosBrand.com could use the clicks.
Good day and Merry Christmas.”
Russo is now the head writer and an on-screen character for Juggalo Championship Wrestling, the promotion formed by the Insane Clown Posse’s Violent J and Shaggy 2 Dope. JCW Lunacy airs every Thursday night on YouTube.
Russo’s post is below:
So, @WWERollins "Hates Me" and according to him I'm a "Hanger On-er".
So this is why I love being an analyst. I get to really analyze people's comments."
So, Seth Rollins "hates" a guy that he actually never even met, or even had a conversation with. In other words he's… pic.twitter.com/tbJ9yKxgjX
Violent J of the Insane Clown Posse discussed working with Vince Russo, and the new JCW World Championship belt in a new interview with The Takedown on Sports Illustrated.
Russo is both a writer and an on-screen talent for the promotion Violent J has been running since late 1999, debuting on the November 27 episode. New episodes of JCW Lunacy release on YouTube, Facebook, and Twitch on Thursday nights at 7 p.m. Eastern.
Violent J says that when he brought Russo into JCW, he heard from people who felt the move would ruin his company.
“A lot of people did say to me, ‘he’s going to come in and he’s going to ruin your company,'” Violent J said. “The thing is, it’s my company. If Vince came in with some idea that was so bad, why would I possibly let that happen? Right? I’m right here, you know?“
“I don’t see a lot that he writes that I don’t like,” he continued. “I think most of it is really, really good. When I do see something, I just say, ‘hey, that’s not going to work,’ or, ‘that doesn’t really work, I don’t think that works with this audience.’ He’s very flexible. He’s very flexible.”
Also during the interview, Violent J discussed his promotion’s focus on storytelling.
“We’re very heavily involved in storytelling in JCW,” Violent J said. “We’re very invested in telling long-form stories and having reveals and having cliffhangers at the end of episodes and things like that. We’re very, very focused on that.”
In storyline, Russo is the majority owner of the promotion. He released Violent J from his role and is looking for a new showrunner for JCW Lunacy. Matches featured on the most recent episode include James Storm vs. Kerry Morton in a Coal Miner’s Glove on a Poll match, a three-way number one contenders match with Ninja Mack vs. Sewacide vs. Shane Mercer, and more.
The current JCW World Champion is Matt Cardona. Images of the new JCW World Championship belt are available on SI.com.
The Bryan & Vinny Show is back with tons to talk about as we recap AEW Dynamite and NXT! Dynamite was one of the best shows of the year with a bunch of incredible matches, one of them maybe the best TV match of 2025. The other was an atrocious program, terrible booking, no eye for talent, a depressing two hours. But THIS was a fun show as always, so check it out~!
Vince Russo says Violent J of the Insane Clown Posse is the “closest to a Vince McMahon” he has ever worked with.
Last month, Russo was announced as the new head writer of Juggalo Championship Wrestling, the promotion run by the Insane Clown Posse. Russo appeared as a guest on The Ariel Helwani Show on Wednesday and spoke about what he enjoys about his new role.
Russo said:
“I have to say this because I want everybody to know this. I hadn’t seen (Violent) J in 26 years. I worked with him for four days. Violent J, out of everybody I’ve ever worked with, is the closest to a Vince McMahon, without a shadow of a doubt. This guy is a genius.”
“And let me tell you Ariel, how I know he’s a genius. When you are creative, you are not detailed-oriented. You’re not because your mind is out here, you’re always thinking outside of the box. You need somebody else to dot the Is and cross the Ts. That’s where Ed (Ferrera) and I worked so well together. Ed was a detail guy. I sat there and I watched Violent J for four days, this guy did both.”
“And this was unbelievable to me because whether people want to believe it or not, Vince McMahon was really not a creative genius. The genius of Vince McMahon was he could see things that nobody else could see. And what he used to call that all the time is the nuances. Vince would see the nuances that nobody else saw.“
“If I wrote a script that was a 9, Vince would tweak a nuance here, a nuance there, now the show was a 10. But you give Vince McMahon a blank piece of paper, Vince McMahon cannot write you a wrestling show.”
“And that’s why when I saw the creative genius of Violent J, I was like man, this is the guy I want to work with. There’s no politics, there’s no BS, this is a guy who knows we need to expand this and bring it to the world once again and that’s exactly what we’re doing.”
New episodes of JCW’s weekly show are published on Psychopathic Records’ YouTube channel on Thursdays at 7 p.m. Eastern. The most recent episode features Matt Cross vs. Mecha Wolf, Caleb Konley vs. Ninja Mack, Kerry Morton vs. Suicide, and appearances by Big Vito, Vampiro and Violent J.
Russo and the Insane Clown Posse previously worked together in WCW in late 1999 and early 2000. JCW was formed by ICP’s Violent J and Shaggy 2 Dope in December 1999. The duo had also finished a three-month stint with WWE in 1998, where they had a brief role as members of the Parade of Human Oddities. ICP also had a run in ECW in 1997.
Russo’s full appearance on The Ariel Helwani Show is available below:
Dave Meltzer and Garrett Gonzales are back with our post-UFC 321 episode of Wrestling Observer Radio.
We recapped the entire PPV portion of the card which featured a disappointing main event finish between Cyril Gane and UFC heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall.
Here were some of the rest of the topics we covered:
Ric Flair has apologized for his comments about a “three-headed monster” having killed WCW.
On Monday, Flair posted to social media that Eric Bischoff, Vince Russo, and Jim Herd were responsible for the death of the company. Flair wrote that it was, “the people in charge that created dysfunction, animosity, and tried to divide and conquer by lying to everyone and involving themselves in the promotion which was the ultimate failure!”
On Wednesday morning, Flair issued an apology to Bischoff, Russo, and Herd.
Flair wrote:
“A Very Important Person In My Life Reminded Me Yesterday That Twitter Is The Weakest Form Of Communication. I Want To Take This Opportunity To Apologize To Jim Herd, @EBischoff, And @THEVinceRusso Because I Really Don’t Know. I Unfairly Judged You Without Knowing The Inner Workings And Behind The Scenes Of The Business On The Corporate End With People You Had To Report To And Work With. I Wish On A Personal Note That All 3 Of Us Could Have Worked Together And Had Better Relationships! For Vince Calling Me The GOAT, I Appreciate That & You Did Help My Son To Pursue His Dream In Wrestling. I Am Going To Do Eric Bischoff’s Podcast, But It Won’t Be To Bury Anybody. It’s To Discuss Our Differences! @TheRock Is Making A Movie On My Life, And I’m In A Great Place! I Hope This Can All Be Put Behind Us!”
A Very Important Person In My Life Reminded Me Yesterday That Twitter Is The Weakest Form Of Communication. I Want To Take This Opportunity To Apologize To Jim Herd, @EBischoff, And @THEVinceRusso Because I Really Don’t Know. I Unfairly Judged You Without Knowing The Inner… pic.twitter.com/sOn9wltZU6
“I’m Happy To See The Response To My Tweet. I Just Spoke To @EBischoff Personally And He’s At Peace, @THEVinceRusso Is At Peace, And Hopefully So Is Jim Herd. I Won’t Be Appearing On Eric’s Podcast Tomorrow As A Result Of Our Conversation, But I Wish Him The Best Of Luck & I’m Sure He’ll Knock It Out Of The Park!”
I’m Happy To See The Response To My Tweet. I Just Spoke To @EBischoff Personally And He’s At Peace, @THEVinceRusso Is At Peace, And Hopefully So Is Jim Herd. I Won’t Be Appearing On Eric’s Podcast Tomorrow As A Result Of Our Conversation, But I Wish Him The Best Of Luck & I’m… pic.twitter.com/sd86rOmzvL
Bischoff addressed Flair’s initial comments during a live episode of his 83 Weeks podcast that streamed immediately following the airing of “Who Killed WCW?” episode two last night. He responded that while Flair might know more than anyone else about what goes on inside the ring, he doesn’t have experience on the business side of wrestling.
Bischoff said:
“I’m sure Ric has his opinions, and they’re real to Ric in his mind and he still feels strongly about it, obviously, but it doesn’t mean he’s right. It’s just his opinion. It would be like me saying well wait, I’ve produced over 5000 hours of prime-time television, I should be able to wrestle a 20-minute match, I should be able to critique Ric Flair’s matches.”
Flair and Russo had gone back and forth on X following Flair’s initial comments on Monday as well.
“Looks like The Nature Boy is Hitting that RUM CANDY Again!!!” Russo wrote. “Thanks for Giving me that Much Credit. For a Writer to take down a Multi-Million Dollar Company through Words on a Page? I guess I really was Special. Not my fault you weren’t in the Doc, Rick. Sorry, man. I hope you don’t think my excessive use of your son David, and the Rest of Your Family for that Matter—who were all GREAT BY THE WAY—wasn’t the Knife that drew the Company’s Last Blood. Yeah—I failed at Laying Low too.”
Flair responded to Russo:
“Wow, Glad You Got Back To Me @THEVinceRusso!!! Whatever Candy I’m Eating At Least I Can Afford To Eat Which I’m Not Sure You Can. I Would Give You $20k, @EBischoff $20k, And Jim Herd $20k A Piece Wired In Advance To Show Up In Tampa Or Atlanta. I’ll Rent The Venue In Tampa Or Atlanta, It Will Sell Out For Sure, So We Can Hash This Out. And I Guarantee That I Can Probably Sell This To A PPV Status Because I’m Ric Flair And You’re Not. Story Of My Life!”
Wow, Glad You Got Back To Me @THEVinceRusso!!! Whatever Candy I’m Eating At Least I Can Afford To Eat Which I’m Not Sure You Can. I Would Give You $20k, @EBischoff $20k, And Jim Herd $20k A Piece Wired In Advance To Show Up In Tampa Or Atlanta. I’ll Rent The Venue In Tampa Or…
Russo responded to Flair’s apology on Wednesday. He wrote: “Life is way too short to hold any Grievances, Ric. Honestly, at this Point I don’t have any animosity towards anybody and I am at Total Peace. I appreciate your words this morning more than you will ever know. God Bless You, Sir.”
In a strange twist of events, NWA TNA announced on 7/9 that Vince Russo had joined the promotion in an unspecified role.
Russo had been announced by WWE on 6/20 as having joined the company in a creative capacity, but after his first meeting the next day, his job structure had changed from writer to consultant. He was reportedly being paid $1,000 per week for a position many in the company have, where they are supposed to critique the two main weekly television shows and send the reports to Vince McMahon. Rumors abounded that the current writing staff had to turn things around or Russo would be brought in, but it is no secret that Russo returning was, with a few exceptions, a very unpopular move within the company. Russo had sold his CD store in Atlanta and was planning on moving back to the Northeast as he never liked living in the South.
