While many within wrestling were shocked last week when it was learned that the sale of WCW to Fusient Media Ventures had fallen through and that Time Warner/AOL had cancelled all WCW programming on their stations, many within WCW were not.
Including Konnan.
When contacted by SLAM! Wrestling last Friday and told about the memo WCW circulated to its employees about the company going on hiatus effective next Tuesday, the Mexican star did not seem surprised.
“I just know that we’ve been through this for six months and it’s not fair to the wrestlers who have no job security,” Konnan said over the phone from his home in San Diego, CA. “There’s no credibility from the people we work for. We’ve been told so many times it was going to be sold it’s almost like if you get a divorce from your wife and she hasn’t moved out for whatever reason. There’s no closure. They’re afraid to make any moves because they know the next administration is going to have their own ideas. So everything’s been on hold for six months. It’s frustrating for every single person in the company. It’s hard to work under those conditions.”
With the demise of WCW an almost certainty, Konnan has already started to think about his next move.
“My contract is set up so that I can still work in Puerto Rico and Mexico so I’ll go work there. I have a couple businesses in Mexico that I’ve left behind that I’m still making money off of. I’m talking to officials from Direct TV in Mexico to produce wrestling shows in Tijuana for the Latin American market.”
Before he’s allowed to work in Mexico, he first needs to rectify problems he’s having with his work visa.
“I haven’t got my paper work cleared. I’m a month away from being able to work back in Mexico. I haven’t wrestled in Mexico in two years.”
Konnan is also considering quitting wrestling should things not work out.
“My father is a private investigator. He has offices in Columbia, Venezuela, Miami, in Mexico. He always told me to get out of wrestling and to get into that with him. I’m studying criminology right now. So I do have a plan in case I get fed up with the whole situation.”
Konnan blames the downfall of WCW on the backstage politics that were going on.
“I can’t deal with the politics. Being in WCW, it’s very political. That’s why we’re here. That’s why we’re in the shape we’re in right now and because of the politics. Because of too many guys who had their own agendas and unfortunately for Eric Bischoff he entrusted a lot of people who had hidden agendas and by the end of the day everybody was looking for their own self-fulfillment instead of the company’s.”
Should WCW somehow manage to find a new buyer within the next few days, Konnan thinks certain steps should be taken to help turn the company’s fortunes around.
“The ingredients are here you just need a complete overhaul. I think the number one thing you have to do is lay down the law and no matter who you are you will do a job. There’s this mentality, this old school idea held by the guys on top that if they lose one match their career is over. I have seen The Rock do more jobs than any other main event guy I’ve seen in my life and he stays on top. And even though Hunter’s gotten out of doing a lot of jobs, he’s put a lot of people over, made a lot of people look good.”
“I would have spent every single nickel and dime I had to get Paul Heyman. He’s just a genius,” continued Konnan. “I would get the best promotional department that money can buy. The junior heavyweights are something you can make a lot of money with. I would use the guys on top, every single one of them to elevate other guys. You’re elevating and making new stars by using what you have on top and putting others over.”
Konnan feels the failure on the part of WCW’s top stars to put over and job to younger talent is directly responsible for the current predicament.
“It’s bad enough they won’t do a job, they won’t even make a guy look good. I think the most professional thing you can give back to this business, which has given you so much, is putting someone else over when it’s your turn. I made a living in Mexico out of putting people over because when they beat me, they became famous and I still held on to my spot.”
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