83 Weeks - Halloween Havoc 1999 [Show Notes] (Patreon)

This will be Eric Bischoff’s first time watching the first pay-per-view Vince Russo ever put together for WCW - Halloween Havoc 1999!

Season 11 - episode 1!

Let’s get into everything that was going on at the time. You were sent home by Harvey Schiller on September 10th, 1999.

Just a few weeks later…it’s announced that Vince Russo was leaving the World Wrestling Federation and taking Ed Ferrera with him to take over WCW and its creative team.

Let’s discuss Russo coming in as we see our first match…

From the Nitro book:

“On Saturday, October 2nd, Russo boarded a 10am flight for Atlanta, Georgia, his plans for defection a closely guarded secret. During the afternoon, he traveled to a Marriott hotel to meet with a contingent of WCW representatives, including Dillon, Busch, and Gary Juster, the company’s Vice President of Arenas and Merchandise. Throughout the day, and as reported by Dillon in his autobiography, “Russo did a great job selling himself to [Busch]. [He] told Bill that he had been writing the shows for the WWF, and not Vince McMahon. He also claimed that McMahon would make a cursory glance of the scripts and sign off on them.”

Do you believe that to be the case in this type of negotiation?

Were you involved - discussed - talked to about any of this? I mean you are a Time Warner employee still - being paid by them. Did anybody consult with you about anything WCW related after you were sent home?

Were you hearing from any talent?

From the Observer

“1. Disco Inferno retained the WCW cruiserweight title pinning Lash Leroux in 7:35. Leroux has shown a lot of potential but these two simply did not work well together. Leroux nearly killed himself on a flying huracanrana off the top rope. Not much heat, particularly since WCW PPV openers usually get easy heat. After Inferno used a piledriver, and Leroux came back with a nice one arm power bomb, Disco hit the last dance (stone cold stunner) for the win. After the match, Leroux dropped Inferno with a firemans carry into a form of a Michinoku driver. *1/4

They showed Chris Benoit and Dean Malenko coming to the building, telling Perry Saturn they had quit the revolution.”

The Nitro book would continue…

“Ultimately, the discussion extended into Sunday, allowing the ultimate decision makers to enter the fray: Brad Siegel (bearing a New York Yankees cap) and Dr. Harvey Schiller. “I remember meeting him with Brad,” says Schiller of Russo. “I remember he came with a strong resume and background, but that’s about it.”

“Before Russo could fly back to Connecticut, the party tendered its offer - the position of ‘Creative Director’, a role purportedly promising full control over WCW programming, as part of a three-year deal, effective immediately. In terms of compensation, a generous base salary was proffered, augmented by bonuses for achieving targets related to Nielsen ratings and pay-per-view buy rates. In response, a weary Russo, sensing creative fatigue to be imminent, pushed for the pact to expire a year earlier. “I knew at that point that I was already burned out on the wrestling business,” he says. “I was looking to give WCW my all for two years, [and] then walk away from the business.”

Looking back - was this the move that ultimately caused the end of WCW in your mind?

From the Observer

“2. It was announced before the show that Rey Misterio Jr. was injured, so the tag titles were held up, and would be decided in a three-way match with Harlem Heat regaining the belts for exactly one night beating Konnan & Billy Kidman and Brian Knobs & Hugh Morrus in 5:02. It was announced as a falls count anywhere match with two referees, stips needed to be added based on the finish idea. Konnan & Kidman still came out wearing the belts. These belts really don't matter since they are going to be changing hands every week. It was a decent brawl, but too short with a WWF-style finish. There was a funny spot where they were brawling outside and Knobs crashed into a female photographer with her back turned not paying attention, and she totally no-sold it. So much for the illusion of high impact movement. Heat and Knobs wound up fighting backstage with them breaking thin wood strips on Knobs' head. Morrus pressed Kidman and dropped him on a chair. Morrus also moonsaulted Konnan through a table, to set up a Konnan shoulder injury angle. Backstage, Stevie Ray hit Knobs with what appeared to be a very light foam mannequin and T pinned him. Since it was backstage, the crowd didn't see it. The camera work then missed the second key spot when Kidman pinned Morrus maybe 15 seconds later in the ring (the pins were supposed to happen simultaneously), and it was never made clear what Kidman did although I was told it was scheduled to be a shooting star press but ended up being a face jam. One ref counted one pin backstage and the other counted the one in the ring. The refs conferred and the fans booed when they gave the belts to Heat. Konnan sold a shoulder injury big-time and the announcers played it up as well, with the first part of the storyline being that he and Misterio Jr. left together to go to the hospital. *1/2

DDP & Kimberly came out for an interview and the Flair vs. Page match ended up a strap match, because they said Flair spanked Kimberly 14 times. DDP came out with an expensive shirt and was doing gestures exactly like The Rock talking about Flair liking to spank it, whack it and jack it. Standards and Practices must have had fun with that stuff.”

What do you think - considering this is the first time you’ve seen the show - of the format so far? Too much, too fast?

From the Nitro book

“Bill Busch called me,” remembers Dick Cheatham, “and said, ‘I just made the greatest decision in the history of WCW’.  “I said, ‘oh, Bill, what did you do’?  “He said, ‘I just hired the brains behind the WWF’.  “I said, ‘who?’  “He said, ‘Vince Russo’.  “I didn’t know who he was.”

Have you talked about any of this move with Bill Busch at any point in time?

Were you paying any attention to WCW at this point in time - or were you enjoying your time off?

From the Observer

“3. Eddie Guerrero beat Perry Saturn in 11:12 via DQ. Guerrero came out wearing Flair's rolex from Nitro and gave it to Bobby Heenan at ringside. This was the best match on the show, but was hurt by a lame finish. Match didn't have much heat either. Guerrero was dropped on the ring steps early. Saturn limped early, but eventually seemed fine, and even did a quebrada after limping. Saturn also did a one-arm power clean into a back suplex. Saturn's second quebrada ended with Guerrero getting his knees up. Saturn tried a third quebrada after Guerrero missed a frog splash, but Guerrero caught him with a dropkick. Saturn used a head and arm suplex off the top rope. After a really good sequence of moves ending with a superplex off the top by Guerrero, Flair came out with a tire iron and destroyed Guerrero for the DQ. Kidman tried to help Guerrero but Flair laid him out as well. Torrie Wilson came out next, but Flair threatened her, then started dancing and kissed her and she sold it like she liked it. Flair then got his watch back from Heenan and left. ***”

Do you think this type of finish helps elevate anyone - especially the guys like Eddie & Perry who were toiling in the midcard - the same people Russo had talked about trying to move up the card - younger talent?

That’s not all Russo had to say…from the Nitro book…

“I knew I was going to have to deal with Standards and Practices,” Russo recalls, “but I was cool with that.” Moreover, upon his recommendation, WCW agreed to offer his writing partner - also working without a contract for McMahon - a two-year agreement of his own. “I pitched Ed Ferrara in my first meeting with them. He was never originally part of the deal,” divulges Russo, whose decision to support his collaborator paid immediate dividends. After reading the fine print, Ferrara insisted on a ‘pay-or-play’ clause for the twosome, meaning that regardless of circumstances, WCW would be obligated to pay the entire amount promised on each deal. When asked to elaborate on the eventual terms, Russo responds, “[I] don’t think discussing my salary is anybody’s business but my own. I will say this [however] - I wouldn’t have signed a two-year contract with WCW…for less than one million dollars over that time.”

Eric - chat me up about your issues with Standards & Practices? How impactful were they when you were running the show?

Do you think a big deal was made about them when in reality - if you can keep it contained within reason and taste - you might not have those issues?

YOU’RE GOING TO WANT TO PLAY THIS SEGMENT

“Buff Bagwell came out next, saying he had a problem with the writers. It was a line delivered to get a pop, and nobody in the audience reacted. When he brought up Jeff Jarrett, there was a reaction. Jarrett came out and they had a short brawl. Lex Luger came out, mad at Jarrett for him KOing Elizabeth backstage at Nitro. Luger got the guitar from Jarrett and went to hit him with it but he moved and Luger gave Bagwell this totally lame shot with a guitar so gimmicked it seemed like it was made out of cardboard. The guitar didn't break as it was supposed to, and Luger then tapped it, I mean lightly, on a turnbuckle pad and it fell apart showing everyone just how gimmicked it was. Jarrett ran off. Guerrero, selling the attack from Flair, called Misterio Jr. on the cell phone telling he and Konnan to come back to the building. Sid was bloodied earlier in the show by a Goldberg attack.”

Eric - let’s put some of this into context. The Nitro before - the first show that Russo supposedly put together for WCW - and this is directly from the Observer:

“Bagwell did an interview first proclaiming himself as a new superstar based on all the various internet interviews that Vince Russo had done talking that point up. Again, it is clear they are booking with the idea that the entire wrestling audience is on the internet. Russo's name was brought up early in the show as they were trying to get over the idea it was a new WCW plus they

need his name over for future angles both on the show and on the horizon. Bagwell then came out later in the show, without his gimmick, wearing an "I'm doing a job" face, wrestling La Parka in a grudge match from Thursday, and doing nothing on offense and visibly showing he wasn't allowed to, and making Parka look like an idiot, and then laying down for the pin, getting right up and going something to the effect of, "Russo, did I do the job right?"

They shot to backstage where the undercard wrestlers watching the monitor were popping seeing the bigger star have to lay down for the underused foreigner who gets no respect. At this point Jarrett ran in and clocked Bagwell with the guitar with Jarrett saying he's actually the chosen one because he's closest with the guy who has the stroke.”

I mean Eric - what in the hell are we doing here? Should this be presented in this way at any point in time on a professional wrestling program?

The Observer would continue…

“This angle was done in this manner to create the idea that there is a booker who tells people to lose, since the original plan (which may be changed since they book for the internet and this will get out before the match) was something along the lines of Hogan vs. Sting with Hogan doing the same thing, trying to exercise his creative control and refusing to do the job for the match, somehow Russo, or whomever will play the Vince McMahon role, will get his way at the end and Hogan will leave, only to come back later as an anti-authority babyface ala Steve Austin, or how Russo would have scripted a return of Bret Hart to the WWF had he had the chance (Sting's interview building the Hart match up seemed to be Russo still trying to fight the fight about Montreal, with Sting saying how it's wrestling and in wrestling everyone gets screwed and lied to, almost trying to make it as this perversely romantic thing about the business).”

Did it just show that Russo may have had an issue producing original content and had to go back to what worked in the WWF and tried to put his own spin on it?

Did you know at the time of Bash at the Beach 2000 it was almost a complete copy of what they had Hogan & Sting do later on this show?

Speaking of TV ratings….here are the ratings for Nitro from your last show on September 6th - which was unopposed as Raw aired at 11pm due to the US Open - up until the Halloween Havoc show…

9/6 - 4.1

9/13 - 3.3

9/20 - 3.1

9/27 - 3.0

10/4 - 2.9

10/11 - 2.6

10/18 - 3.3 (Russo’s first Nitro)

It’s crazy to see the decline from your last show to the steadiness of the 2.6 and 3.3 after that including Russo’s first show. Do you think your leaving led to an exodus of fans…or was the 3.3 really the baseline in your mind since WCW ran unopposed?

From the Observer discussing Russo’s first Nitro

“The new era of WCW television began on 10/18 in Philadelphia, with Vince Russo and Ed Ferrara's first Nitro. There was no mistaking the fingerprints even if viewers didn't have that fact drummed into their heads from early in the show. Far more detailed work was done in scripting the show then at any Nitro in recent memory and possibly ever.

Time will tell, but after the first show, my feeling was that when Nitro was in its heyday with the good undercard wrestling climaxing with the star power matches on top, it was a far better three hour show than this was. However, this was better than the majority, but not all, of the recent Nitro shows. The throwing so many angles at people burns out the audience faster than wrestling matches do, and by late in the show, the crowd reactions were similar to Raw, in that the crowd was dead for the wrestling. This show was very entertaining for the first hour and entertaining still for the second hour. By the third hour, even though there was nothing "wrong" with the show, it was evident this style of booking doesn't translate well into the three hour format. Fortunately, it appears most likely if not a certainty that Nitro will be cut back to two hours in January.”

Were you in the conversations about moving Nitro to 2 hours - and do you think the product would’ve been better as a 2 hour show?

From the Observer

“4. Brad Armstrong pinned Berlyn in 4:23 after Berlyn went for his neckbreaker, Armstrong held onto the ropes and Berlyn took the bump himself. They seemed like they were building a good match until they went to a finish out of nowhere. Match had no heat. After the match the bodyguard, who is in for a big push, punched Armstrong who sold it big. 1/4*”

I mean - this is crazy just looking back. Brad Armstrong - who had barely done anything at any point in WCW - and Berlyn a pushed character and that’s it. Nothing against Brad Armstrong - but do you think this was a direct shot at you and the creative of Berlyn?

From the Observer regarding the first Russo Nitro

“Backstage the feeling appeared to be mixed as to the show, but it should be a far more competitive product once the show moves to two hours in January. The show was still disorganized, with a lot of wrestlers confused about things, not liking other things, but also realizing things were improving and more people were going to be added to the mix and stars will be attempted to be created.”

Was the disorganization in WCW real when you were there? Or do you think it was blown out of proportion?

The Observer would continue:

“Wrestlers didn't know if they were supposed to be the faces or heels in segments, as witnessed by Flair thinking he was the heel against the Filthy Animals in their segment, and the Filthy Animals thinking they were turning heel against Flair by jumping him, resulting in a confused crowd which sided with Flair since they went four-on-one on him. Nobody could get straight answers and that segment apparently changed five different times during the show.

Most of the non-wrestling segments were done in pre-taped segments before the show started, with three crews working at a time, one headed by Ed Ferrara, one by Kevin Nash and one by Bill Banks (a former WWF magazine and website writer who left WWF this past week and started with this show, debuting along with Jeff Jarrett).

There were scripts handed out far more detailed than anyone had in the past and nobody was doing interviews not at least having an idea of what they were supposed to be saying, far different from the past where guys were sent out with no preparation and winging it, and new characters, most notably Kimberly, Buff Bagwell, Jarrett and The Filthy Animals seemingly in line for big pushes.”

There’s such a thing as too much isn’t there? And to not give the wrestlers - the talent - the direction on who is a babyface or a heel - there’s no story is there?

What did you think of working with Ed Ferrara & Bill Banks when you were in WCW?

This is an interesting note from the Observer

“In the wake of the departures of Russo, Ferrara and Jarrett, Vince McMahon began ordering all employees, not just talent, whether under contract or not, to sign a letter stating that upon leaving WWF for any reason (including being fired), they could not work for WCW, or for that matter, any Time Warner company, for the period of one year. Most, but not all employees, signed that contract. Whether this will hold up in court is questionable, since WCW in its contracts with Darren Mathews (Steve Regal), Paul Wight (Big Show) and Chris Irvine (Jericho) also had 90-day non-compete clauses after the end of the contracts but WCW failed to enforce the clauses and Wight and Irvine started with WWF immediately upon the expiration of their WCW deals. The technical difference may be that Georgia, where WCW contracts are executed, is a right-to-work state, however if WWF employees are living in Georgia, that same right-to-work standard could apply rendering the paper meaningless. Non-compete clauses aren't unusual in competitive industries of this type. Typically, for example, in major markets in broadcast news, there is a 90-day period from the time an on-air personality leaves a station to when they can appear on a competing station.”

Eric - can you answer to that? Why did WCW have no issues with Regal, Big Show & Jericho going to WWF right away? Is Dave correct about that?

From the Observer

“5. Rick Steiner regained the WCW TV title from Chris Benoit in 12:50. This was Benoit's worst PPV match in a long time, which speaks volumes about Steiner. Benoit was actually great opening with a superplex off the top and a tope. After Steiner kicked Benoit low, he started working on him. This was so exciting you could hear loud boring chants during a Benoit match. Benoit made his comeback with the three straight german suplexes for a near fall. Ref Mark Johnson went down. Steiner picked up a chair but Benoit nailed him and gave him the Jushin Liger shoda (palm thrust) to the chair to the face. Benoit came off the top with a diving head-butt but Steiner got the chair and Benoit crashed into it. Malenko then ran in and grabbed the chair, teased as if he was going to hit Steiner, but instead hit Benoit and Steiner got the pin. Malenko then hugged Saturn in the aisle after the match. *¾”

You gotta lose to move up is the old saying - but this wasn’t both guys best work was it?

While the next match begins - let’s talk business. The epic 1998 Halloween Havoc with Goldberg vs. DDP on top and the infamous Warrior vs. Hogan match drew 310,000 buys. The month before this show - Fall Brawl - featuring Sting vs. Hogan for the WCW Title and Sting’s heel turn, also another Goldberg vs. DDP match - only sold 130,000 pay-per-views. This show would draw 230,000 purchases. The appeal of it being a new creative era and a chance to see a fresh product - that appeals to wrestling fans - especially those that were on the internet right?

But to see that comparison is a staggering number is it not?

From the Observer

“6. The Total Package beat Bret Hart in 7:46. Nothing much to this match. Hart came out selling a bad ankle from Monday, but he pounded on Luger the entire match until the ankle went out and Luger used a half crab for the submission. Nobody believed that as a finish. *

Madusa came out in a bikini. Her body looks great for her age but you don't see a lot of 37-year-old strippers and there's a reason why. The implants look ridiculous but this is a business of excess. She came out with Nitro cologne. It was the weirdest thing as Heenan was getting over just how horrible smelling the cologne is. It's a WCW product and they were pushing how bad it smelled (apparently it was a Bischoff idea and they decided to "bury it" in the angle). Madusa started screaming it was bullshit (parading around as a T&A showpiece) and threw the cologne on Heenan who reacted like it smelled like cow manure. In fact, they actually used the word manure to describe the smell of the cologne. This was weird to say the least.”

I mean - my goodness - the burial of this is quite heavy…but WCW cologne…got anymore?

Meltzer would add his commentary to the show…

“The new WCW direction became even more apparent with the Halloween Havoc PPV

show on 10/24 from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.

The direction is throwing a lot of angles and surprises at the fans with a lot of last minute card changes, and concentrating a lot less on bell-to-bell or natural logical progression. For example, on the finishes, it seems more important to surprise fans with the results (Brad Armstrong over Berlyn as the best example but also Lex Luger over Bret Hart although there was at least an argument about logic to that one) even if the reason fans would expect the loser to win was because it would make more logical progression based on who is getting the immediate push.

The pushing of Vince Russo and Ed Ferrara, although to their credit, they push the idea of themselves (the new hotshot writers who came from the WWF seems to be the going phrase) more than their names, was evident throughout the show. The argument that WCW is swimming in negative momentum and needs a face-lift is strong, but even on WWF, you wouldn't get hit with the idea constantly during the shows regularly about the hot writers that were just hired.

In many ways, from the formatting and pacing, this seemed more like a WWF PPV show with the crowd being dead for most of the show unlike WCW, which often has hotter PPV crowds, except with far lower production values and lack of a strong 20:00 main event to generally make up for weak undercards.”

This isn’t the reset show they probably wanted or expected - but the pushing of Russo & Ferrara on TV in that role - probably wasn’t what they were going for right?

From the Observer

“They did the Hogan-Sting angle next so fans would boo it heavily but still have three more matches left in the show to forget about it. Hogan at first didn't come out even though his music played. Finally he came out, in street clothes, whispered something to Sting and laid down and Sting covered him and the ref counted three. No bell sounded to start the match. They immediately cut to a clip of Goldberg with the abrupt cut designed to make people think what happened wasn't supposed to. The idea as this was designed would be Sting's later agreeing to wrestle after this fiasco showed he was a babyface all along and a fighting champion. It wasn't made as clear to the fans what this was all about (ie writers ordering Hogan to do a job) as it needed to be and with no follow up on television the next day, came off like a silly exercise in masturbation. The feeling from those in the building live is that nobody understood what this was all about, and because it was never referred to on television the next night (that was a Russo call because if it was referred to, it was his belief that people would think it was an angle, forgetting that it is an angle and the Hart-McMahon thing that every angle is now based on got over so well because WWF spent one straight month of television after the fact getting it over at first to justify its position, and later, when McMahon couldn't turn the crowd with him through television, kept on it to go with the flow to create the heel character) so by now, nobody understands and few probably remember it amid the morass of angles they have to digest every week.”

Alright Eric - this will be the prelude to Bash at the Beach 2000. What do you think of this and how does the story look to begin?

Was this something you would ever air on a pro wrestling show let alone a pay-per-view?

“7. Bill Goldberg beat Sid Vicious to win the U.S. title, also a one-night title reign, in 7:11.

Vicious came out all bloody. Scott Hall and Kevin Nash jumped Goldberg before the match. Match had a ton of heat, the only match that could make that distinction. Sid bled heavily, and mainly took punishment, but would never quit. The announcers really played up Sid's guts and toughness until finally Mickey Jay stopped the match. They gave Goldberg the belt. Who knows what the rules are regarding matches stopped on blood and titles changing hands nowadays since rules change as they go along. Goldberg also acted like he didn't want the belt, but eventually took it. Rick Steiner helped Sid to the back, but he turned around and wanted more. The announcers did a great job with this match. **½”

I mean this is Goldberg right? Beating up motherfuckers and making them bleed and Sid putting Bill over here is pretty strong…what say you?

Now here comes the drama - from the Observer

“The plan is also to temporarily finish up Ric Flair on the PPV, a role Flair isn't happy about at all. At press time they were going to change Flair vs. Page to a strap match which would end with Flair taking such a beating he'll be stretchered out and hospitalized and said to be injured to the extent he'll never wrestle again. The idea Flair was told was that they would bring him back in a few months in the figurehead President role, presumably as a heel (that worked so well the first time, right?) and would probably wrestle occasional matches in that role. So Flair's career in WCW is scripted to basically end with him getting rolled and humiliated on Nitro, and coming back and getting stretchered out by Page, one of two people in the company (the other being Shane Douglas) that for personal reasons he was against putting over.”

Ric has had to deal with this so much in his career - why do you think this is?

“8. Diamond Dallas Page beat Ric Flair in 12:49 of a strap match.

This turned out to be a lot more heated outside the ring. Flair was really upset all week with the plan to retire him and end his career (although he was told there would be another comeback early next year) with this match, and against Page of all people. This also blows the Flair-Benoit planned program. Anyway, the company had to make a deal with standards and practices over the Sid match because of showing the blood so graphically on the show, since it needed to be seen to justify the stoppage. That was supposed to be the only blood on the show. Flair bladed, and wound up bleeding far more than Sid, making the Sid stoppage make no sense since there was no stoppage here, not to mention freaking out the guy from standards and practices. To the fans, this was a strap match with very disappointing heat. It wasn't any good although they did whip each other hard with the straps. The only real pops were the crotch shots and the figure four. The finish saw Page choke Flair out with the strap and give him the diamond cutter. Ref Charles Robinson held up his count at two. The bell rang anyway and it was announced as a pinfall, please don't ask me why. Page then laid out Robinson with a diamond cutter and continued to choke Flair with the belt. David Flair showed up with a crowbar to make the save, but he was beaten up by Kimberly (remember what that did for Marc Mero's wrestling career). Page got the crowbar and destroyed Flair even more, finishing with a low blow with the crowbar. Flair was carried out on a stretcher. Backstage, the Filthy Animals all jumped a helpless Flair and a hopeless David, threw him in the back of an ambulance and drove away in the ambulance. It was funny seeing Konnan, arm in a sling, attacking Flair with the arm in the sling. *”

Were you talking with DDP at this point? Did you know of the issues?

The Flair blood is comical considering the story they were trying to tell early on wasn’t it?

“9. In the height of what appeared to be disorganization, Goldberg pinned Sting and was given the WCW heavyweight title in 3:08. No ref showed up and Sting seemed visibly upset by the lack of organization backstage. Finally Robinson, who was beaten up the previous match by Page, came out showing no signs of battle weariness nor even with a hair out of place. Tony Schiavone then announced this as a non-title match.

The show was already running long by this point so they had to rush and didn't have time

to do much. Sting hit three Stinger splashes, but Goldberg did a leap frog into a spear, which looked good and then pinned him after a jackhammer. Goldberg was then given the belt and announced as the new world champion. Go figure. Sting ended the show dropping poor Robinson with a scorpion death drop. 1/2*

To make up for the fact they weren't going to deliver the advertised main event, they added a Goldberg vs. Sting match at the end, partially to begin a Sting babyface turn, and did the old Verne Gagne trick of sending fans home thinking they had seen the world title change only to watch TV to find out it wasn't the case. In looking at Gagne's business, and admittedly how fans reacted to the same angles two decades ago is not for the most part relevant to how they would act today because it's neither the same world or the same business, it was okay in the short run but eventually grew tiresome and hurt at the end.

The Hogan angle, of which part two went down exactly as it was scripted weeks ago (to their credit, a lot of people who should know better also thought this was unscripted) is at this point supposed to lead to a Hogan hiatus with the idea that he's not getting along with management, and come back as an anti-management Steve Austin figure, probably early next year, with the talk being he'll come back as a real person--ring name Terry Bollea--as opposed to the caricature of Hulk Hogan he's become, and return to do shoot style promos. The negative of that is that to make this work, it has to be made clear on television that Russo and Ferrara ordered him to do the job and he refused since he had creative control and this was the end result. At least it gives him time to rest his knee.”

Alright Eric - you sat through it all - we discussed a lot - what did you think?

Would you had been a viewer after this?