3. Work or Shoot?
WWE.comBy early 2000, WCW was unquestionably in the midst of hard times. On April 10th of that year, after a three month absence, Vince Russo was reinstated as head booker. Together with Eric Bischoff, he attempted to reboot World Championship Wrestlings programming and storylines. It didnt work to the extent he had hoped. When July 9th rolled around, at the annual Bash at the Beach pay-per-view, Russo would be faced with even more trouble. At the event, World Heavyweight Champion Jeff Jarrett was slated to defend his title against the immortal Hulk Hogan. That was where things got complicated, and devolved into an embroiled battle of he said, she said. According to Russo, he and the rest of WCWs upper echelon had decided that Booker T was to be their new man and carry the proverbial ten pounds of gold. However, in a 2013 interview with Kayfabe Commentaries -- for their Timeline: History of WCW series -- Vinny Ru stated: I knew in my mind, Hogan was going to want to win the belt. And I knew in my mind, everybody in that room agreed that Bookers going to be the champion And my philosophy was, I dont care if Hulk Hogan looks like King Kong Hes not leaving with the belt. Russo goes on to claim that after initially turning down his proposed plan, Hogan agreed to the submitted script after some slight revisions. However, a few days later, at the arena, the Hulkster voiced his displeasure with the idea and insisted it be changed. Russo presented a concept to the Immortal One, wherein Jarrett would lay down in the middle of the ring and essentially forfeit the title. Hogan would win, and proceed to lay into Russo backstage before leaving the arena with Bischoff, thus allowing the former Vic Venom to return to the ring and cut a scathing promo on the Hulkster and his constant politicking. And that is exactly what went down, live on pay-per-view. Russo had returned to the ring and begun deriding the beloved Hogan, claiming that he had been arguing with Hulk all day about what to do on the show, and guaranteed the fans that the last time you will ever see that piece of in a WCW ring! He then set up a new main event for the WCW title between Jarrett and Booker T. http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x7apq6_vince-russo-fires-hulk-hogan-bash-a_sport Hulk, shortly thereafter, filed a defamation of character lawsuit against Vince Russo, alleging that while the controversial match was worked, Russos comments afterward were an unplanned shoot. To this day, Vince argues otherwise -- saying that the Hulkster was aware of the promo and its nature, and had agreed to it. The lawsuit was ultimately dismissed in 2002. Whether the angle was planned or a bit of unhinged reality is an argument that will presumably continue with no definitive answer. However, what is inarguable is that it was an extremely embarrassing moment for all involved, especially Hulk Hogan.
Douglas Scarpa
Douglas Scarpa is a freelance writer, independent filmmaker, art school graduate, and pro wrestling aficionado -- all of which mean he is in financial ruin. He has no backup plan to speak of, yet maintains his abnormally high spirits. If he had only listened to the scorn of his childhood teachers, he wouldn't be in this situation.
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