EXCERPT - ERIC BISCHOFF'S GRATEFUL - RUSSO

The following is an excerpt from the new book GRATEFUL by Eric Bischoff and Guy Evans:

For all of the dysfunction, my role in TNA had continued to evolve over time – first from being strictly limited to Hulk’s creative, to eventually being appointed Executive Producer of Impact. I can reasonably surmise that some people – most notably, Vince Russo – probably felt more and more threatened as I was given more responsibility.

Curiously, Russo was now in the habit of calling me with complaints about Dixie – and he was often on the verge of tears. 

Bro, she’s driving me crazy.

Bro, she wants to be an on-screen character, bro.

Bro…

I had the feeling that Russo was playing both ends against the middle – i.e., that he was telling Dixie the exact opposite of what he was telling me. 

As time went on, I more frequently found myself calling ‘bullshit’ on some of Russo’s ‘creative’ ideas – and this made him uncomfortable. He was no longer in a position – as had been the case before Hulk and I got to TNA – where he could go through a creative meeting without being challenged. As far as I was concerned, he was clearly bad-mouthing me to Dixie; so much so, in fact, that Dixie felt compelled to call me on the subject.  

The call didn’t help matters much; what started out as a conversation ended up with Dixie in tears - and me yelling down the other end of the phone.  

I was pretty much done with it. 

Then I got a call from Guy Blake – a super guy and an attorney with TNA – while I was out in my truck one day, shortly before the next set of television tapings. 

You’re coming to TV, Guy asked. Right?

Nah, I replied. I’m not. 

It’s not gonna be productive – this craziness is gonna carry over to TV.

Not wanting to see me breach my contract, Guy talked me off that particular cliff. He suggested a sit-down meeting to hash everything out – relative to the issues between Dixie, Russo and myself - as by this point, Dixie was barely even speaking to me.

Once we got to TV, Guy led the meeting, and as planned, we all laid our cards on the table. Russo did his best to spin his usual bullshit, but before long, it became apparent what he had been up to all along. He had, in fact, been playing both ends against the middle – trashing me to Dixie while simultaneously complaining to me about her - as confirmed by an impartial member of the creative team.

Unfortunately for Russo, this person had seen and heard everything. 

Eric’s right, he simply said when asked.

With that, Russo was demoted (but not before breaking down in tears in front of the room), and soon after, he eventually quit TNA altogether.

The preceding excerpt was taken from Grateful, the new book by Eric Bischoff and Guy Evans and has been reprinted with the permission of the authors.

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