Vince Russo stands as one of the most controversial and divisive figures in the history of professional wrestling.
The New Yorker joined WWE in 1992, working as a writer for WWF Magazine. In the years that followed, Russo worked his way up the company ladder, becoming WWE’s head writer in 1997. During his tenure with the pen, WWE embarked on the Attitude Era, which is still revered by fans to this day.
However, his commitment to pushing the envelope eventually came at a price, as following a dispute with WWE Chairman Vince McMahon, the writer joined WCW in 1999. Notwithstanding a brief return to the company in 2002, Russo has often been critical of WWE, something which has continued all the way up to the present day.
Speaking on a recent episode of the It’s My House podcast, Russo addressed the topic of the WWE Hall of Fame. While many might assume that Russo would never be in contention for an induction, controversial figures such as The Ultimate Warrior, have appeared at the ceremony in the past.
With that being said, Russo admits that his recent critical comments about WWE will rule him out.
“Number one, I don’t think they ever in a million years would reach out to me… because I have been way, way, way too outspoken concerning how I feel about the company and the product and certain people there,”
Russo went on to express his disdain for modern wrestling, adding that he hates talking about it. However, he also admits that he saw working in wrestling as a job, and nothing more, in contrast to figures like Jim Cornette and Eric Bischoff.
Referring back to the Hall of Fame, Russo explained that even if he was asked to be inducted, he’d say no, commenting that he doesn’t need to be “validated” by Vince McMahon.
“Number two, I would have absolutely no interest; I would say thank you but no thank you,” Russo continued, “I don’t need to be validated by Vince McMahon to consider my life worthy. I need to be validated by my wife, by my dad, by my kids, by my friends; that’s who I need validation from, not Vince McMahon. I’m happy for guys like Bischoff, Cornette guys like Prichard. They live the wrestling business; they eat, drink, shit, you name it. But wrestling, it was a job to me. I was not this freaking wrestling mark that got my dream job. Today I hate wrestling. I hate talking about wrestling. The only show I watch is RAW because I get paid to watch RAW.”
Vince Russo’s tenure in WCW was mired in controversy, with the head writer being fired and rehired as well as winning the World Heavyweight Championship during his single year with the company.
Russo later enjoyed an on-off relationship with TNA/IMPACT Wrestling, finally leaving the company in 2014.
H/t to Sportskeeda for the transcription.