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Kayfabe! Timeline – The History of WWE 1998 as told by Vince Russo
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Timeline: The History of WWE – 1998 As Told by Vince Russo
My apologies, both to the readers of 411, and, to the people at Kayfabe Commentaries, for getting this posted so late. It’s been quite the hectic month for me, between my forty hour a week shoot job (copyright Dutch Mantell), as well as what feels like a million other things going on. Anyone that knows me knows that I always try to keep an open mind when I’m reviewing anything, be it a wrestling match, or a KC release. I never go into anything with any preconceived notions. Anyone that knows me also knows that I have a less than sterling opinion of Mr. Russo and his philosophies on what makes for a good wrestling show. With those two pieces of info out of the way, I have to admit, that, out of all the interviews that Russo has one (Guest Booker, YouShoot, WCW Timeline, and now WWE Timeline), this is far and away the best of them. For the same basic reason that the Iron Sheik YouShoot was so good, it’s not what you’d expect from Russo, but everything you’d expect for a good WWE Timeline.
Russo himself is very laid back. He’s not on the defense in the least. It’s easy to see why. Instead of having to face harsh (and deserved) criticisms about David Arquette, he gets to talk about one of the most successful times for the company, and it happened while he was at the helm. But, it’s not like Russo is stroking his own ego talking about all the great things that happened, and, how they were all his idea because he’s such a brilliant man. He talks about his dealings with Vince McMahon, and his memories of dealing with the boys from that time. They talk about D’Lo Brown for a bit, and how he basically owes his success to the Road Dogg, because he didn’t really have any character or personality before Road Dogg invented B’Lo for that famous RAW skit.
Of course, one of the reasons that this might have turned out so good, was that KC were very selective about the things discussed. It makes sense, because, if they included every single major happening, then this would be a WWE Timeline of Cornette-like proportions, and I don’t think anyone would care to sit through that. But, some of the omissions were a bit jarring. The only thing talked about King of the Ring that year was a quick discussion about why Shamrock got the nod, and, the Foley/UT match. They don’t bring up the fact that Austin lost the WWF Title, and won it back the next night. They talk about the incident with Austin driving the Zamboni, certainly an iconic moment in RAW history, but, how about the PPV the night before where Austin lost the title on a double pin? Somehow, it was more necessary to talk about the Hardys (nobodies at the time) getting an upset win on Sunday Night Heat, but not the actual Breakdown show. Judgment Day, the next month, is also glossed over. Yes, McMahon pissing himself is another famous moment from the time (and it’s funny to hear about Vince loving potty humor), but nothing is talked about in what led up to it, with Austin getting “fired.” In fact, come to think of it, they really don’t talk much about the actual booking at all.
As surprisingly solid an interview as this is, there are still times Vince lives down to his reputation. Seventeen years later, and he’s still defending the Terri Runnels miscarriage angle on the basis that it would happen on any primetime drama. He and Sean discuss pole matches, and Vince states that he only ever booked three pole matches in WCW: the piñata one, Judy Bagwell on a forklift, and Viagra on a pole. I quit watching WCW in late 1999, so I can’t comment on the accuracy of that statement. But, it sounds pretty suspect (and, if I’m wrong, I’ll gladly tweet admittance of it). Most glaringly, he actually states that the Montreal screw job was his idea! It’s been nearly twenty years since it happened, and it’s just now coming out who the real mastermind is. That’s got to be the best kept secret in the entire history of wrestling.
