The Wrestling Observer website first reported the story several weeks ago about the Wrestle-1 promotion refusing to work with TNA if Vince Russo was back with them. New Japan has said the same thing and that goes for any promotion that hires Vince Russo. Bryan Alvarez was able to obtain documents from the 2000 racial discrimination lawsuit against WCW that was led by Sonny Onoo.
Wrestler/referee Johnny Boone states:
When Terry Taylor stated that the African-American wrestlers were not as good workers as the White wrestlers, Vince Russo agreed and said ‘they’re not as good workers.
Production staffer Moses Williams had several things to say about Vince Russo:
Vince Russo indicated his racial bias by specifically referring to African-Americans as the ‘blacks’ or ‘the brothers.
He also said that Russo…
went out of his way not to do anything special for Black wrestlers or non-White wrestlers and focused his attention on Caucasians
and…
In one particular match, Vince Russo wanted Jeff Jarrett, a Caucasian wrestler, to hit African-American wrestler Booker T over the head, hit Booker T’s wife and then put a noose around Booker T, as if he were going to hang him.
The statements also quote Russo as saying that “whites rule wrestling” and “Black folks don’t buy wrestling tickets anyway, wrestling fans are White.”
It get worse. Here are more statements…
In response to questions about the future of Booker T, an African-American wrestler, Russo stated, ‘if I say we’re going to have a White champion, we’ll have a White champion and you will know we’ll have a Black champion when I say we’re going to have one and not before then.
Vince Russo demonstrated his favoritism for Caucasians by his body language and overall attitudes Russo would take the time to speak with Caucasian wrestlers, but would not similarly interact with wrestlers who were Spanish, Oriental, or Black.
Vince Russo also stated that wrestling was a ‘white man’s sport’ and that this was ‘why we don’t have many black wrestlers .
Vince Russo indicated that WCW was going to have a ‘white champion’ because ‘that’s the way I want it.’
Kevin Sullivan backed up the statements. In his statements he said…
Vince Russo used racial slurs, including the word ‘n—-r’ when referring to wrestlers.
Russo also called African-Americans ‘Moolions,’ which refers to a tribe from Africa that battled with Sicilians.
So, there you have it. I see why the Japanese promotions (and many people in the U.S.) don’t want anything to do with Vince Russo.
