Booker T Blasts Hypocritical Vince Russo For WCW Role

Booker T has accused Vince Russo of “breaking the cardinal rule” when he joined WCW.

After a successful run as WWE’s Head Writer, where he helped shape the storylines of the Attitude Era, Vince Russo made the leap to WCW in October 1999. However, his time in the company was polarising as he took the ‘Car Crash TV’ philosophy further than in WWE, where Vince McMahon had the final say on the TV product.

During this time, Russo not only made himself an onscreen character but infamously booked himself to win the WCW World Heavyweight Championship from Booker T during an episode of Nitro in September 2000.

Recalling the incident on his Hall of Fame podcast, Booker T claimed that by writing himself into the show, Russo had broken “the cardinal rule” before branding him a hypocrite.

“When he came to WCW, he did something that’s — he broke the cardinal rule. And that is, [he] came in as a writer, and the next thing you know, he put himself on the show as a talent.

“Not just put himself on the show as a talent, but he wins the [WCW] World Heavyweight Championship … Everything that Vince Russo talks about, it’s kind of hypocritical. It’s kind of hypocritical … He’s gotten so much from this business as far as him still being able to make money off it, and then when he was in it, he implemented himself right into the main stories of the business. I just don’t get someone like that.”

Vince Russo Justifies WCW Title Win Over Booker T

Vince Russo has addressed his WCW World Heavyweight Champion win, claiming it was done to generate maximum viewership for Nitro. He also explained that he had a different approach to wrestling, saying he treated wrestling content as a TV show rather than a wrestling show.

H/T to Wrestling Inc. for the above transcription.