Vince Russo has made the astonishing claim that he secretly worked as a consultant for USA Network on matters regarding WWE Raw.
Outspoken wrestling veteran Vince Russo has claimed that USA Network hired him in the lead-up to WrestleMania 36 in 2020 as a consultant on WWE Raw. Russo was WWE’s Head Writer from 1997 until 1999 when he left the company for WCW.
Speaking on his podcast, The Brand, Russo alleged that he held the consultant position for two years until just after WrestleMania 38 in April 2022 and received a lucrative deal.
“I’ve been keeping a little secret for the last two+ years. I want to come clean. Well, bro, I’m going to break the news to you on this show. I have not said this publicly before. From March, pre-Mania, bro, it was right before Mania in 2020, up until this past Mania in 2022.
“So basically, bro, for two years, I was consulting for the USA Network,” revealed Vince Russo. “For two years, bro, the USA Network paid me very, very, very well.”
Vince Russo went on to assert that he contacted the Vice President of USA Network directly and Vince McMahon was aware of Russo being hired.
“Now, if you want to know how this came about, let’s take a couple of steps back, and I will explain it to you. I got in contact with the Vice President at the USA Network, who was overseeing Raw.
He knew who I was, called me back immediately, and we had a long discussion. So the first thing he did was he went directly to Vince McMahon.”
As for why he’s “coming clean” on this now, Vince Russo says it’s simply so that people are aware he knows what networks are looking for from experience.
“The reason why I’m coming clean is, bro, don’t tell me what the f*** I’m talking about. When it comes to numbers when it comes to networks, I don’t care if it’s 1999 or 2020; I know where they stand. I know what they are looking for.
“I know what’s acceptable and what’s unacceptable because I had communication with them for two straight years. So, don’t tell me what the f*** I’m talking about, bro, when I’m working directly with the network that WWE Raw is on.”
H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the above transcription.