Very few figures in professional wrestling continue to spark debate quite like Vince Russo. The former WWF, WCW, and TNA head writer recently sat down with EH+ Wrestling for an extensive interview to discuss his new memoir, Total Nonstop Agony: The Rise and Fall of TNA. Over the course of an hour, Russo spoke candidly about the emotional process of writing the book, his relationships with Hulk Hogan and Eric Bischoff, his thoughts on modern wrestling, and why he believes this may be the final chapter of his memoir trilogy.
Closing the Final Chapter
For Russo, finishing the book wasn’t simply about writing another chapter of his wrestling career; it was about finally closing the book on an era that had lingered over him for more than a decade. “Originally, when I started writing, I really wanted to write a trilogy,” Russo explained. “I wanted to cover all three companies that I worked in.”
Although his previous memoir, Rope Opera, was released sixteen years ago, Russo said he wanted to revisit his TNA years. “I really didn’t think I was gonna write another book. It’s a lot of work. But I really wanted to finish that final and last chapter with TNA.” What surprised him most wasn’t writing the book, but it was how naturally the stories came back to him. “I was very surprised how easily that third book poured out of me. There was a lot of stuff inside that had been stored inside for so many years. When I started writing, it was just great therapy because all this stuff just started coming out that I didn’t even realize was in there anymore.”
Though Russo admitted that the process became emotionally therapeutic at times. “It was a great release for me. A lot of stuff that had been held down for so long came out, and it was really, really great to just get everything out of my system.”
A Different Style of Memoir
One thing readers will immediately notice is the book’s stream-of-consciousness style, something Russo intentionally incorporated to show how his mind works creatively. “I wanted people to really experience me as a writer. That’s what I go through when I write. I may be writing a show, but all of a sudden my mind just might go somewhere else.” Rather than editing those moments out, Russo embraced them. “I kind of wanted to share that with the people reading the book because a lot of that is the writing process.”
Russo admitted that recording the audiobook was even harder than writing the book’s manuscript. “When I did the audiobook… I broke down several times,” Russo revealed. “Some of those things were really, really tough to talk about. Especially Daphne. That was very, very tough. Even the last chapter of the book, Hulk Hogan, was very tough to talk about.”
Russo on Hulk Hogan
Russo said there was one reason he chose not to hold anything back. “If this was gonna be the last book, everything was gonna be in there.” One of the interview’s more surprising moments came when Russo discussed Hulk Hogan. While Russo remains critical of several decisions surrounding Hogan’s arrival in WCW and later TNA, he made it clear he never personally blamed Hogan for negotiating creative control. “I had zero ill feelings towards Hulk Hogan. Never had any bad feelings towards him.”
Russo instead placed responsibility on management. “If I could negotiate a contract where I’m gonna get creative control, I’m gonna get creative control. I never held that against him. That was on WCW. That was on TNA.” He added, “When you’re negotiating a contract, especially in wrestling, you get everything you can get.”
Eric Bischoff and TNA Still Draws Strong Feelings
However, Russo did not hold back when it came to Eric Bischoff. If Russo’s comments on Hogan surprised listeners, his thoughts on Eric Bischoff certainly did not. Russo was asked whether time had softened his opinion on Eric Bischoff, Russo didn’t hesitate. “I hate using the word ‘hate,’ because I really am a Christian guy. But he is probably the guy in my entire life that I despise more than anybody else I ever met.” Russo claimed their relationship was doomed from the beginning. “From the very first day I met him… he chose to be that way to me.”
He also revisited the incident that ultimately convinced him to leave TNA. “When he [Bischoff] was backed into a corner, the only way he could get out was to tell Dixie [Carter] about private conversations that him and I had.” For Russo, that crossed a line. “When he pulled that, he was dead to me. From that moment on, that guy was dead to me.” Despite the controversy covered in Total Nonstop Agony, Russo also spent much of the interview celebrating what he loved about TNA.
He believes fans sometimes forget how passionate everyone was during the company’s early years. “We were honestly and truly an underdog. We never looked at it as competing with WWE. We just wanted people to watch the show and enjoy it.” Russo described the locker room as a family. “There was a real camaraderie, a family environment.”
When asked about what he was proud of in TNA, he reflected and said he remains proudest of the Main Event Mafia. “I really enjoyed the Main Event Mafia, man. It was a lot of fun.” He also confirmed that one of TNA’s defining features, the six-sided ring, was actually his own idea. “Jeff kept saying, ‘What can we do to be different?’ I’d seen the six-sided ring in Mexico, and I thought, ‘Man, that’s different.'” Russo believes abandoning it ultimately hurt the company’s identity.
Ultimately, Russo reveals what he thinks hurt TNA the most. “Her [Dixie Carter] biggest issue was she couldn’t make decisions. Lack of leadership, because it was a lack of confidence, man. There was a reason for that, and I talk about it in the book, and I totally understand it. But you can’t have a leader of a company who’s afraid to make decisions. I knew sooner or later that was gonna be her downfall. And eventually it was.”
Wrestling Today
The conversation eventually shifted towards today’s wrestling landscape, where he is often seen as a controversial figure in the podcasting world. Russo maintained his stance, arguing that character development has largely taken a back seat in today’s major promotions. “Everybody’s a wrestler, and wrestlers are a dime a dozen.” He continued, “You will never get over to the masses by doing wrestling moves. Never. Characters are gonna get over. And if you’ve got them both, now you’re a star.” Russo also believes that today’s promotions have forgotten what made professional wrestling successful in the first place. “Wrestling is entertainment. That’s why they hate me, because they believe it’s real.” He finished his thought by saying, “Until wrestling goes back to entertainment, it’s never gonna draw the fan base it once had.”
One moment that surprised the hosts was when Vince Russo spoke highly of AEW Founder and President Tony Khan. “If you don’t like Tony Khan, something’s wrong with you. He is such an entertaining character. I don’t watch AEW. I stopped watching it five years ago, so I don’t critique the product. It’s his company; he can do whatever he wants with it. I stopped watching because it wasn’t the type of wrestling I like. But as far as a very likable, very funny characters, I think Tony Khan’s great for the wrestling business.”
Looking Ahead
Although Russo joked throughout the interview about wanting to retire, he admitted wrestling continues to find ways to keep him busy. Between the Russo Brand, his new show with Jonathan Coachman, his work with Juggalo Championship Wrestling, and now Total Nonstop Agony, retirement remains on hold. “I want to freaking retire, bro. Like, tomorrow.” But he laughed and admitted that things had played out differently. “For some reason, it’s not happening.”
For readers expecting another backstage wrestling book, Total Nonstop Agony offers considerably more than stories of creative meetings and locker room politics. It is Russo’s most personal memoir yet, examining not only the rise and fall of TNA, but also the personal highs and lows that shaped one of wrestling’s most outspoken creative minds. As Russo put it during the interview, “There’s nothing throughout my entire wrestling career that I didn’t tell the truth about. That’s basically what the book’s about. It’s truthful.”
Total Nonstop Agony: The Rise and Fall of TNA is available at local bookstores and online vendors, including ECW Press. Signed copies of Total Nonstop Agony: The Rise and Fall of TNA are available through Russo Brand, where Russo personally autographs each order.
Read the full Slam! Wrestling review of Total Nonstop Agony: The Rise and Fall of TNA here.
You can listen to the entire interview with Vince Russo by listening to the latest episode of EH+ Wrestling here.
You can even watch the entire interview with Vince Russo by heading to @HutchHenries where EH+ Wrestling has all its videos.
