Russo says this happened again a little bit later with Tazz and other ECW talents, and this really soured him on Heyman back in those days. Heyman lied to protect his company and keep his talent from showing up on RAW in spite of his arrangement with McMahon, but in doing so he also held these talents back from taking strides in their careers and from gaining mainstream exposure on WWE programming.
Speaking about drug use in the late 90’s, Vito says that the wrestling business was in a different place at that time. While big companies like WWE and WCW had more resources to test their performers and to assist them in their time of need, ECW relied on the strong bond between performers to protect each other. He says you knew that some people were diving into drug use on occasion, and you did the best you could to help that person out and get them cleaned up.
Russo says that in 1996, WWE was the clear underdog in the Monday Night War. He says the locker room was like a family during this time and everyone worked together because they wanted to get back on top. A big part of this was the fact that the top guys like Austin, Rock and Undertaker didn’t have an ego, and they treated the undercard guys as equals.
