Speaking about Austin Aries’ time in WWE, Russo says that Aries was stuck in the Cruiserweight division at it was clear that he had no interest in being there. Russo admits to having issues with Aries in the past, but he doesn’t understand how WWE can lock Aries into Cruiserweight mode, while treating Finn Balor like a main-eventer who’s a credible threat to Brock Lesnar.
Lane mentions that Jack Swagger did an interview recently where he talked about the financial challenges of working for WWE. He said that some months his salary would be $2,000 or less, and it’s hard to budget your life around that. Gilbertti doesn’t doubt that $2000/month figure, because he heard that the two main event talents at a recent WWE house show made just $500 each.
Russo enjoyed the A.J. Styles/Brock Lesnar match at Survivor Series, but he thinks Lesnar should have shook Styles’ hand at the end since they’re both fan favourites who had no heat with each other leading into this bout. Gilbertti points out that McMahon still considers Reigns the top babyface and Lesnar the top heel as they head towards their WrestleMania match.
Gilbertti informs that the rumoured backstage heat on Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens is definitely accurate. He heard that after Owens and Zayn were sent home from the overseas tour by WWE, the rest of the crew on that tour went to a bar that night and actually toasted to them being sent home.
That sums up today’s episode of Vince Russo’s The Brand. You can listen to the show yourself anytime here, and I’ll catch ya next week for another recap!
