Being that I am one of the ONLY wrestling journalists who takes great pride in having a DEGREE in Journalism, it is VITAL to me that I remain subjective and unbiased at all costs. You see, I take my craft extremely seriously; that’s why RussosBrand.com and Patreon.com/RussoTWC aren’t gossip columns like many of the other Rasslin’ Platforms. Quite frankly . . . I don’t care about that shit. It’s just not important to me.
Having a career where I am just waiting on “Moles” to feed me gossip, any gossip, is an absolute joke to me. Do you think I’d spend my time 24/7 trying to get the “skinny” on what’s happening in the WWE Locker Room? No . . . I don’t give a F*ck. Why? Because it is trivial . . . unimportant. That is not Journalism. That is “DIRT.” Thus the name—“Dirt Sheet Writers.”
It was a few years ago that Conrad Thompson invited RussosBrand.com and me to the first ever “All In” Convention that he had put together. I’ve always been a big fan of Conrad’s and was actually HONORED that he extended the invite. And, even though I no longer make ANY personal appearances, I told Conrad, “For you—I will be there.”
Then the news got out. Immediately after it broke, the “Wrestling Marks” went ABSOLUTELY NUTS!!! The ol’, “If Russo’s going to be there . . . I’m not going.” The backlash of Conrad’s kind gesture had wholly turned on him. I mean, truth be told, why would ANYBODY want the guy who helped draw 8-10 million people to Monday Night Wrestling—even though he “killed the business” along the way—be, invited to a WRESTLING CONVENTION, of all things?
But, the man Conrad Thompson is . . . he stuck to his guns. He called me and said, “Vince, none of this is coming from my camp—I still want you there.” As the “Russo rumor” drew more and more steam, the comments became more and more personal. Of course, the labels started to fly, “Vince is a “Racists,” Vince is a “Homophobe,” Vince “Hates Women”—even his wife of 40 years. Bottom line, the “Wrestling Marks” didn’t want me there, and they were willing to do or say ANYTHING to prevent me from going. Was I “surprised”? What do you think?
Unfortunately, the next thing that happened did, in fact, take me back a bit.
Now, one of the highlights of my career was NO DOUBT, getting to work with the “American Dream” Dusty Rhodes and his son Dustin. As hard as this is even to believe, I actually even competed against Dusty in a ring. Working with “Dream” was just an unreal experience, and being “old school,” I treated Mr. Rhodes with the utmost respect.
My relationship with Dustin was much deeper than that. During his “Goldust” run, we were connected at the hip. At one point, I wrote exclusively ONLY for that character, even being invited to travel with him to the “Conan O’Brien Show,” where Conan’s producer allowed me to write the entire segment between Dustin and Conan. I loved Dustin, man, and Teri too. At one time, they really were like family.
So when younger brother, Cody, who I had never met, was asked by a “Dirt Sheet Writer” about Vince Russo during the time of the “Wrestling Mark” boycott, of course, Cody, did I mention who I had NEVER MET, made a derogatory remark towards me. And he even laughed about it.
Needless to say, I went off on the “American Nightmare” on a video that is still out there somewhere. To label someone—that you haven’t EVEN MET—yeah, I have an issue with that, just as I’m sure you would. Now, don’t misunderstand me—I know EXACTLY why Cody did it. Think about it, why would you make such a careless, irresponsible, childish remark about someone that you NEVER EVEN MET? The answer is simple: Cody wanted to get over with the Marks.
You see, in “Wrestling Mark” Lore, it is in vogue to bash, insult, belittle, slander, lie about, take shots at, label, and discredit Vince Russo. It makes you one of the “Cool Kids,” if you will. That’s why Cody said it. He said it to get over with the “Wrestling Marks” and, in my opinion, for a “so-called” professional to stoop to such lows. It wasn’t just careless and irresponsible . . . it was downright embarrassing.
Yeah, man, I was distraught by Cody’s words. Say whatever you want about my writing—WHO CARES—but when you start talking about my CHARACTER when you don’t even know me—I have zero respect for you. NONE. So, needless to say, Cody Rhodes was not one of my favorite people after that.
But . . . this is where integrity and honor of your craft come in. Despite his cutting words, I still had to talk about Cody every week. It was part of my job. Now, the easy thing would have been to bury him in EVERYTHING that he did, but that’s not how I was taught. If you actually ever listened to RussosBrand.com, you will find that I routinely put over the likes of “Arch-Enemies” like Jim Cornette and Eric Bischoff who downright DESPISE ME—more Jim than Eric . . . I think. Yeah, I have ZERO PROBLEM putting either one of these men over based on their accomplishments in the business.
But, when “Rhodes to the Top” aired, I commented that Cody and Brandi were coming across as the two most unlikeable characters on TV. That entire show positioned them as coming from a place of power and money and just being better than everybody else. Hell, Brandi was pregnant at the time and made it clear to the audience that returning to wrestling was more important than the birth of her child.
Was I wrong? Shortly after that, Cody started getting booed and booed LOUDLY by the same AEW “Wrestling Mark” crowd who once adored him. The same group that he attempted to get OVER WITH at my expense!!! They were BOOING HIM OUT OF THE BUILDING. So, my comments were based on MY OPINION. I would have said that about anybody if they were coming off to me that way on a TV show.
But then . . . something happened, Cody signed with the WWE.
PART TWO NEXT WEEK.
With baseball season coming up, Vince is promoting a new platform surrounding his love for the game. Go to Patreon.com/VRFBB and find out how you can compete in one of Vince’s Fantasy Baseball Leagues . . . against HIM!!!)
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