Chuck Palumbo is especially qualified to discuss the demise of WCW from a wrestler’s point of view as he was one of the contingent that jumped to WWE after Vince McMahon famously bought his competition in 2001.
Palumbo along with partner Sean O’Haire were the last-ever WCW Tag Team Champions in that company and brought that title with them when they were part of the invading Alliance group. Tensions were understandably high between rival stars as those once seen as competition were now seen as rivals for positions in what was now wrestling’s one major company.
Speaking exclusively to Inside The Ropes’ Kenny McIntosh, Chuck Palumbo has discussed how he thinks more success could have been attained if everyone was just able to get along.
Palumbo explained:
“On one hand, it was super-exciting to be part of that. Felt like, “Hey, they’re going to use us, they’re going to do something with us.” On the other hand, there was such a disconnect between the WCW talents and the WWF talents.”
“There was egos involved and the fact that they didn’t really want us there, sort of, and, “Hey, these guys are going to take our…” You know, think about it. It’s going to be tough for the WWF talent. When they see guys coming in, they’re thinking we’re going to grab those spots, right? We’re going after those spots. So there’s some tension there. Looking back, if we had bonded and got along – because the business was about to go into a monopoly, basically… So we should have stuck together.”
“If they were more welcoming, I think we could have been more successful. But it was a real time to be in the business because these things are really happening. The buyout was real. The fact that WCW talent was coming over to a new home was real – as real as it had been in a long time.”
During the conversation, Palumbo discussed one WWF star in particular that was unwelcoming, in stark contrast to his tag team partner who Palumbo described as a “sweetheart.”