Vince Russo recently talked about an ambitious storyline involving Hulk Hogan in WCW, which was ultimately scrapped due to politics.
Russo’s tenure in WWE as its head writer during the Attitude Era was successful, with his time in WCW being the best. The wrestling legend joined the company when it was struggling with ratings and when most of its creative choices were backfiring. On top of that, it was also rumored that many of the top talent in WCW took control of their bookings, which further complicated things.
Meanwhile, Vince Russo wanted to plot an Avengers-like storyline, details of which he shared on Sportskeeda Wrestling’s Writing with Russo. He revealed plans to have heavyweights like Hulk Hogan, Roddy Piper, and more lose to their rivals before they gathered together to reclaim their spot.
“Brother, I swear to God, we did this thing in WCW. We never got a chance to tell the whole story because of politics. But that’s what I tried to do the first time when I went to WCW – we were a – were eliminating giants one by one.” All of them with a different story. Because Endgame was going to happen these guys were going to be back together, almost like the Avengers before they were the Avengers,” Vince Russo said.
The former WWE writer said that despite being in the middle of the storyline, it ultimately failed due to behind-the-scenes politics. He also revealed how the seasoned talents, who had never got along well on screen before, had to iron out their differences as part of the grand story.
“So we eliminated Hulk [Hogan], we eliminated Savage [Randy], we were trying to eliminate Hennig [Curt]. We eliminated Piper [Roddy]. These guys are part of the Avengers. Were going to get back together because it’s an interesting dynamic these guys’ didn’t get along throughout their careers, they’re going to get along now? That was the beauty, there was a lot of that story,” Vince Russo said. (2:00 –
Vince Russo on the Curt Hennig storyline in WCW
Furthermore, Russo recalled how he booked Curt Hennig to put his career on the line for each of his matches. Vince Russo explained that the stakes were so high that even one loss could potentially cost Hennig his job with WCW.
“So I was trying to get rid of Hennig, ‘Brother, the next match you lose is your last. It’s that simple; it’s over. I’m gonna book you every week. You lose, It is over.’ Man, I think it’s an easier story to do with a veteran,” Russo said.
Hennig eventually lost in the second round to current AEW star Jeff Jarrett to crown the new WCW World Champion. However, just over a month later, Curt Hennig was reinstated in the promotion.
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