@@Gamblesteinthat’s a good point. Before it sounded like he was doing the best he could and he was just bad at running a business. But sending someone to a fake doctor?!!
Imagine the process. You can't just google (or look up in the phonebook) a fake doctor, that will help you screw your employees. This had to be well planned, an ongoing system.
@marcusrichardson1460 another thing to think about, he owes alot of ecw guys thousands of dollars. I think it was shane Douglas who said Paul owes him about 100k but since Paul's contracts were absolute jokes he doesn't have to pay anyone since his contracts weren't legally binding
The story of you holding your brother while when he died, hit me in the feels really hard. Sorry to hear about your brother, and it says a lot about your character that you were there to hold him as he passed away.
Courageous of Stevie to share his brother's story. Can't be easy for him to remember or impart, that kind of trauma stays with us. Being present for a death is really harrowing. Stevie has handled it all with such grace, and he's honouring his brother with all the work he's doing now.
Ehh, im not much of a fan of Maven's Show. I like his appearances on Cafe De Renée and the Six feet under Podcast but as far as his show it just sounds like he's a fan talking out the side of his neck just talking about a make a wish experience he had as a young man just trying to hold on to those memories.
Don't see the talent and the money if "slaps" them in the face. And it's incredible that they did not go out of business if you think how many times that happened, even with Vince directly involved. And the last times that happened it's not even that long ago. Storylines that lead nowhere, characters that got buried. Meaningles matches that happened over and over again. Not to mention the scripted promos because he had 0 trust in the workers mic skills. I said it and I say it again. To me Vince seems more and more less that "wrestling genius" you often heard he was. He did well as a business man, but a lot of the great stuff that happened was not even his idea. I mean you even hear from guys like Steve Austin that they cut a promo they didn't tell Vince about, because they feard he wouldn't allow it. And then it turned out it was one of the best they did!
Hey man, I'm a father of two boys, and I didn't know that about Stevie's brother. I'm sorry, Stevie. It makes me hope to G-d that my boys never find themselves in a similar situation. That's a terrible place to be, and yet you used it to better yourself. Maybe Vince didn't see it, but you are a success, brother. You are loved. You ARE important enough. Thank you for your stories. Thank you for your passion. You need to be a mentor at WWE or AEW or somewhere. You're a real star.
When Stevie said his brother had A.L.L leukemia my heart went out because I'm a AML survivor and was diagnosed when I was 13 back in 1998. My dream was always to be a professional wrestler since I was 3 years old. This just made me a even bigger fan of Steveie
I get so damned angry when I think about they way they treated you post-Kronik. I never understood how they could look at you and not see the archetypical pro wrestler; the fitness, the height, the comic book hero jaw. You legit LOOK like an action figure. And the more I learn about how they kicked you in the nuts, as you put it...Man, I really don't know how you let all that go. Just another amazing quality, I guess.
The problem is he never had the bulk necessary for the time he wrestled. Had he been only five years younger probably ten, he’d have made it bigger. He’s still awesome though Stevie night heat 4Lyfe
The thing Stevie said about everyone being a talent and everyone having a story really hits home, and I had no idea he was going through such a loss. That story would have made anyone a fan, because it's relatable and real. The irony is that a lot of the attitude era focused on "breaking kayfabe" anyway, but the ethos behind the time was to be as base as possible. Thanks for sharing, Stevie.
I remember in that sit down interview on WWECW, Stevie said something like "That's where 'I'll show you, you'll see' comes from. It means I'm never going to give up, it means I'm going to defy the odds and prove myself" and I thought oh wow, that's good. Everytime people hear that now, they're going to be reminded of what this guy is all about. Anyway, so of course the following week they removed the "I'll show you, you'll see" from his intro.
Bro its always a surgery, a procedure is just a routine surgery, but hey when they looked at my arteries last year and I saw my doctor's name was Steve Williams I was pretty scared....
@@elvalvinoskyo3307 It's messed up no doubt but let's not pretend she's some innocent victim either. Typical girl boss just revealing her secrets to climbing the ladder.
@@darthbigred22 Her being "innocent" is irrelevant to the discussion. The point is that it shows what type of person Vince McMahon is. He gets off on exerting control and humiliating others. That fact is still true regardless of whether the woman consented or not.
You need to trust someone to hold the spotlight. If they pull a Chris Benoit, sold drugs poorly to get by or hopped on a porno and successfully one upped 2 girl 1 cup. Wrestling on the whole would lose face. Wrestling sucks nowadays it's all talking with no scriptwriters and the matches are missing the fun the 90s had. If the Undertaker came on stage with a whipped cream pie and yeeted it into Steve Austins face. I'd believe it anything could happen back then.
CM Punk said it best "Vince is a millionaire who should be a billionaire." At that time, WWE creative dropped the ball on so many guys who had potential and were either not allowed to get over or just given rotten stupid gimmicks with no legs. Zack Ryder, the entire Spirit Squad, Chavo Guerrero and on and all weren't the guys they wanted to push, so they'd never get a push.
yup... Zack Ryder (Matt Cardona) got himself over on TH-cam (Internet Champion; similar to TNA's "Digital Media" and Womens' "Internet Champion" belts); then, the WWE wanted to capitalize on it, unfortunately, Ryder said okay; in the end, the company had ruined the product. Chelsea Green should help bring back Zack into the company. Francine in WWECW wasn't used properly; she had a stint with Balls Mahoney vs. Ariel (Salinas in TNA; as a part of the LAX) and Kevin Thorn (Mordecai). The Hurt Business (Bobby Lashley & Cedric Alexander, Shelton Benjamin); MVP, Ricochet, Keith Lee, Mercedes Martinez; 80's-90's: "The Red Rooster" Terry Taylor (was never the same) vs. a WWF jobber legend, The Brooklyn Brawler (Steve Lombardi); "Dirty White Boy" was a plumber (T.L. Hopper); Terry Gordy played an "Executioner," Konnan was "Max Moon," Bastion Booger (Friar Ferguson), Man Mountain Rock, Skinner (Steve Keirn), "Dangerous" Dan Spivey was Waylon Mercy (a pre-Bray Wyatt "Cape Fear" southern gentleman/psychopathic character); Damian Demento, Duke "The Dumpster" Droese, Thurman "Sparky" Plugg (Hardcore Holly; a "Ricky Bobby"-type), 2 Cold Scorpio became a pimp "Flash Funk," (ala The Godfather, Papa Shango, or Kama); Mick Foley was "Mankind," (3 Faces of Foley: Mankind, Cactus Jack & Dude Love); Al Snow was "Kwang" or "Shinobi." Hector Guerrero was a "Survivor Series 1990 PPV" mascot, The Gobbledy Gooker," like the San Diego Chicken (Ted Giannoulas; for MLB baseball). The San Diego Chicken got kissed by Morganna, the Kissing Bandit. The closest equivalent, that pro wrestling had to Morganna was Sable or Missy Hyatt. "Sabull" was the ex-GF of "Wildman" Marc Mero; current wife of Brock Lesnar.) The office, at Titan Towers, could either be like a Las Vegas or Atlantic City casino; the house (HR, or booking department) always wins.
@@kshinokevin All great examples, except for Terry Gordy. He was a shadow of himself after his stroke, and him having a job at all at that point was just a favor to Michael Hayes.
That was always my dislike of the WWF/e going back to the 80's. It just felt so cringe and cartoony. Other than the small window of the attitude era, I would rather watch anything else other than the goofy stuff Vince was trying to sell us.,
@@Doug_M - Now, I can see the appeal of the NWA (before "Billionaire" Ted Turner bought it and transformed it into WCW); when it was on the WTBS (Superstation); because TNT Network wasn't developed yet; the only other channel would be CNN (for a different audience & age demographic).
That cut promo story is absolutely ridiculous, the business should be about getting as many wrestlers as far over as possible, not "Well you can't have those resilient scenarios because you're not John Cena or Randy Orton."
100% true. Vince HATED not getting credit for talent getting over. There are COUNTLESS examples: Zack, Rusev, Damien Sandow (as Mizdow), Bad News Barrett, Daniel Bryan (fans wouldnt forgive that one of course), just to name a few.
Damien Sandow period. That guy is simply gold. Especially Mongrovian Karatay comedy gold. The Intellectual Savior of the Unwashed Masses was a great gimmick too. Interesting how he chose the name of the IFBB bodybuilding championship trophy for a brain based gimmick.
@@Robert-zv4qu Years before, when Shaun was on hiatus.I believe Vince created the yes chant to troll the crowd and turn Bryan heel but the crowd loved it. So Vince tried to kill it, cause he's that type of guy.
That was such an honest and beautiful story Stevie. You will always be part of my original idea of WWE’s main roster because of the 2000-2009 period. You are all legends.
Damn Stevie, I didn't know you had been through all of that. I didn't know about your brother or the surgeries. That was a lot to take in for one video. I'm sorry you had to go through all of that. I've been through very similar situations, and it is amazing how it changes your perspective about life. I was once pronounced dead before something that only be described as a miracle happened. Your entire future can be taken away in a second. When you see the end up close and personal, it makes you look at life in a completely different way. It makes you appreciate your failures as much as your success. It makes you appreciate every second that you have.
After Rusev left WWE, he said when he (Rusev Day) was getting over naturally, McMahon killed it because he wasn't supposed to get that popular. Same with Cesaro. The spin was making him too over with the crowd. On the other hand, we know how hard McMahon was pushing Roman as a top guy back then even though he was being booed. Seems like whatever you were in McMahon's eyes was what you were always going to be despite what the crowd wanted.
Vinnie Mac (Jr.) is definitely a control freak, who: hates sleep, loves the gym (in order to train like a WBF bodybuilder, while taking ICO-Pro), but hates to sneeze.
@@EmpoweredTravels wwe was notorious for that kind of stuff. like putting someone over, letting the crowd get with them, riding that wave to a title or main event spot.... then snatching it away from them "we just wanna see how you react, if you can take a punch". no, that's actively trying to drive someone to a nervous breakdown for the funsies.
@@EmpoweredTravels Trust me we know, we fought Cena red tooth and nail to this very day and they still ram him down our throats. Only face to truly be booed, the Hogan ones are always some internet dork claiming he's booed as a face or some bitter rival. Cena legit was hated by adult fans and while it all comes back to VKM, Cena is the figure head of the decline.
what more would you expect from WWE? this is the same company who told JOE HENNIG, SON OF CURT HENNIG..... "when we feel you're worthy of being the son of curt hennig, we'll allow you to claim it".
I was going to say Zach Ryder was a prime example of WWE killing a gimmick because Vince didn't come up with it. Vince hates anything that isn't his idea. That's why so many WCW/ECW guys got shafted. Look at Sting. WWE had a gold mine when he finally came in and what did the do with him? Made him the equivalent of a jobber. Sting didn't win a match in WWE that I can remember. Maybe now that Vince is out, WWE will get to bigger and better heights.
Vince has always been a rotten piece of garbage! Him burying WCW like he did was a stupid thing to do. All the dream matches that could have happened destroyed by one man's petty need for revenge!
I never rated you as a youngster at all. As an adult with a full view of the business, it’s amazing to see how wrong I was! New listener here, keep rocking it mate!
I was watching during the Attitude Era. The RTC was one of my personal favorites from that era. You guys played it perfectly. Ivory cracked me up every time I saw her. I don't know how she was able to wrestle in an ankle length skirt. It shows how good she was. It was a short term gimmick, but it could have lasted longer than it did. It was entertaining as hell. All of you guys were perfect in this type of role.
Shane hurt you?! Man... I hope you sued the F outta them Steve. Sorry to hear about your brother. That's rough man. You have such an incredible wealth of knowledge, I appreciate you bro.
Wrestling pre 2000s was so much better. A booker would tell the talent roughly what to cover on their promos, but would generally let them then do what they want as long as they cover some key points. No scripts or BS coming from a writer who has never laced up a pair of boots in their life.
I remember RTC and how hated they were. You loved to hate them! I remember on some UK show, I think it was Rebellion but I'm not sure, Stevie was cutting a heel promo and went in on page 3! The boo from the crowd was so loud haha.
IDK how it is now, but during Vince's time it seems it was always like that: If things go as He/WWE wants it he/they talk about WWE as a family. If not, the workers get treated like a tool, like a thing.
I have to wonder now what the conflict level between the talent and the office is now with Triple H heading up creative, surely it can't be that bad still with how morale is reported to be so high and you see newer guys and gals being featured who wouldn't have stood a chance with Vince at the helm.
Several of Vince’s office guys are gone and the rest are slowly phasing out due to age. I’m glad Ace and Dunn are gone. Those two were wrestling’s Laryngitis and Anal Polyps. Bruce is still there for advice. I think H knows to keep him, the written for Vince poop jokes, and his day job gimmicks out of creative.
Stevie's tenacity is amazing. No way I would have kept wrestling after all those neck surgeries. I'm glad he is able to have a good life. I appreciate the show. Thanks guys!
I'm so sorry to hear about what happened with your brother Stevie, Can I just say you come across as a really good and genuine guy, It's a real shame how you were treated in the wrestling business
My sis died of AML when she was 16 so I feel you brother! Go out each day and kick ass succeed or fail each day is a gift! The fact that the ones we love couldn't experience life and have us walk alone through our time on earth is wild. They are looking down and cheering and guiding us I do believe that! Keep doing the great work that you do!
The stories we hear now, that we weren't aware of back then. Vince was sculpting our opinions of everyone so he could manipulate their card position and career path. Bad really.
"Not important enough" - Thats awful that they didn't let you say what you wanted to say about your brother or your injuries. I'm sorry that happened to you.
So, true about Jobbers! Look at Brian Cage, AEW uses him as a Jobber...when in fact he's more skilled than most of their roster. They push too many of the sub 200lb guys. P.S. WWE ruined ECW. They should of left it more or less separate with it's hardcore fans.
So glad that my own road to being a wrestler didn't pan out. Only in pro wrestling can you get in trouble for doing too good of a job (Paul London), but they just seem to treat people who aren't a top guy like shit.
Thank you for sharing, Stevie. My brother and I both went through cancer and survived. I’ve got the hyper-clarity to make the most of life while I can, just like you mentioned. Appreciate your words!
Stevie being as emotionally open as he has been since the channel started has been refreshing. Found a whole new respect for him ,along with Maven and his videos, these guys worked their asses off and got treated in such a flippant way by Vince. Makes you wonder what stories aren't being told.
Cody got him self over outside WWE his gimmick is his own WWE gave him Stardust and let him go when really they should've let go of the terrible creative team that pushed him to do that. Funny that nowadays WWE is willing to buy talent that is already over. So in some cases they have changed
Yea I lost a brother. It’s horrible, sorry u lost ya brother. Theys nothing like losing ya brother, ya best friend. , The 1st friend you ever had. Dang. I had no idea Stevie
The more I listen to Stevie talk the *less* a fan of pro wrestling I become. I'm not blaming him, it's just that the wrestling business seems like the shittiest job to have.
The best promos are those that contain real stories, with real emotions. Coule be the best promo Stevie Richards ever cut. The fact that they didn't see that and even think Vince wouldn't like it tells me that Vince is not the genius you always hear. I never worked in the pro wrestling business, but if I get it and they didn't tells me a lot! In fact you get more and more stories of peopel saying what else wasn't Vince's idea what he still gets credit for.
This is why thank god for HHH/Levesque, because the major differences with those two is Vince was a MAJOR control freak, Levesque isn't. Sure, Levesque's booking structures may be questionable, but it's all about the story-telling whether in matches, angles or feuds, Vince didn't allow people to go over without his permission, Levesque allows other to go over the way THEY can.
HHH has always been an insecure jealous clown. While what he's doing with talent is great, he's constantly trying to convince younger fans that He and the cliq were the 2nd coming of wrestling when they were jabroni's kissing up to Shawn.
Honestly, this story about censoring the promos doesn't crack the top ten reasons to hate Vince McMahon, but that's only because of other abhorrent behavior. My opinion of Vince is meaningless, but it just got a little worse. I had thought it had hit rock bottom, but I suppose not.
Wow Stevie I had no idea of that promo or that you lost your brother that way. That’s awful that you couldn’t say what you wanted because of your “spot” on the card. It shouldn’t have mattered at all whether you’re at the top or bottom of the card. I’ve lost a brother too, only over a year ago now and it’s truly awful and I feel for you. I actually found the promo while watching this video and what you did get to say was really compelling and real feeling. It’s really interesting that that huge loss gave you a big change in perspective and says a lot about you as a person.
12:30 What they did to Christian Cage in 2005 was a disgrace! It was like Vince being offended because Christian got himself over and proved that he's much better than Edge and what Vince thought he was.
Sorry for your loss Stevie. You have a hell of an outlook on life and it’s inspiring. Really thought you deserved an IC or US title type reign back in the day… you are talented!
It's incredible how much effort went into managing Vince. I wonder if he knew. There's knowing what his reactions would be and giving him options -- take 4 or 5 takes, cutting things down or making things less big or sympathetic -- and letting him choose the story in the edit, and then there's just going "no, Vince doesn't even get to see this". It's wild how overly-controlling megalomaniacs disempower themselves by surrounding themselves with people who do nothing but tip-toe around eggshells.
I never put it together about the “WWF creations” surviving, and the others disappearing. That sucks. All what Vince thinks. Very rare, and as Stevie put it, if it’s not Vince’s vision, it’s forgiveness before permission. And that’s very unfortunate. Let’s compare WWE to the Edmonton Oilers (little Canada in there for ya) not everyone is Connor McDavid on that team, but the “lesser” teammates all still have potential. The team wins. If the Mid Carder “doesn’t matter enough” then why have them? Give them shots, opportunities, they can do great things too, don’t leave them on the bench so they can watch the big stars put the show together.
I've had 65_surgeries myself; if they cut you and it hurts, it's a surgery. I'm with you on this. I had a cannula inserted into a salivary duct in my mouth. Yeah, I count that as a surgery. I am deeply sorry for the loss of your brother.
Ask Stevie if wrestling is fake and he will tell you it's as real as in utero child deletion. I should be offended but I'm not. It just adds to the legend of Mr Stevie Richards. Much respect my man.
The bounced checks is bad enough , but sending someone to a fake doctor while injured is beyond forgiveness.
Kind of odd how Heyman gets the sacred cow treatment given all the stories there are about screwing over his own employees.
@Gamblestein especially when he's always admitted to being a pos too lol
@@Gamblesteinthat’s a good point. Before it sounded like he was doing the best he could and he was just bad at running a business. But sending someone to a fake doctor?!!
Imagine the process. You can't just google (or look up in the phonebook) a fake doctor, that will help you screw your employees. This had to be well planned, an ongoing system.
@marcusrichardson1460 another thing to think about, he owes alot of ecw guys thousands of dollars. I think it was shane Douglas who said Paul owes him about 100k but since Paul's contracts were absolute jokes he doesn't have to pay anyone since his contracts weren't legally binding
The story of you holding your brother while when he died, hit me in the feels really hard. Sorry to hear about your brother, and it says a lot about your character that you were there to hold him as he passed away.
Courageous of Stevie to share his brother's story. Can't be easy for him to remember or impart, that kind of trauma stays with us. Being present for a death is really harrowing. Stevie has handled it all with such grace, and he's honouring his brother with all the work he's doing now.
The checks are checking there selves- Paul Haymon
We need the Maven and Stevie collab!
Keep the goober far away from Stevie
@@fredcasdensworldfacts
Ehh, im not much of a fan of Maven's Show.
I like his appearances on Cafe De Renée and the Six feet under Podcast but as far as his show it just sounds like he's a fan talking out the side of his neck just talking about a make a wish experience he had as a young man just trying to hold on to those memories.
I would love to see him and Maven together. I like Maven, he comes off as super honest and humble about things.
@@KimoTheHated1sure beats being a f@gg0t mark grasping on to wrestling content like the next attitude era is around the corner. Goof.
WWE acts like RTC wasn't a top heel faction lol. Crazy.
The irony of it was later that Stevie Richards himself was getting censored.
RTC would have been so much better now amidst all the censoring and lies going on in the world 🙈
Don't see the talent and the money if "slaps" them in the face. And it's incredible that they did not go out of business if you think how many times that happened, even with Vince directly involved. And the last times that happened it's not even that long ago. Storylines that lead nowhere, characters that got buried. Meaningles matches that happened over and over again.
Not to mention the scripted promos because he had 0 trust in the workers mic skills.
I said it and I say it again. To me Vince seems more and more less that "wrestling genius" you often heard he was. He did well as a business man, but a lot of the great stuff that happened was not even his idea. I mean you even hear from guys like Steve Austin that they cut a promo they didn't tell Vince about, because they feard he wouldn't allow it. And then it turned out it was one of the best they did!
Yet only paid him $75k for it. He was all over the TV at that time!
Right to censor still came off as jobber status, and I was just 12 and I knew this
Hey man, I'm a father of two boys, and I didn't know that about Stevie's brother. I'm sorry, Stevie. It makes me hope to G-d that my boys never find themselves in a similar situation. That's a terrible place to be, and yet you used it to better yourself. Maybe Vince didn't see it, but you are a success, brother. You are loved. You ARE important enough. Thank you for your stories. Thank you for your passion. You need to be a mentor at WWE or AEW or somewhere. You're a real star.
When Stevie said his brother had A.L.L leukemia my heart went out because I'm a AML survivor and was diagnosed when I was 13 back in 1998.
My dream was always to be a professional wrestler since I was 3 years old.
This just made me a even bigger fan of Steveie
I get so damned angry when I think about they way they treated you post-Kronik. I never understood how they could look at you and not see the archetypical pro wrestler; the fitness, the height, the comic book hero jaw. You legit LOOK like an action figure.
And the more I learn about how they kicked you in the nuts, as you put it...Man, I really don't know how you let all that go. Just another amazing quality, I guess.
The problem is he never had the bulk necessary for the time he wrestled. Had he been only five years younger probably ten, he’d have made it bigger. He’s still awesome though Stevie night heat 4Lyfe
Stevie's humility, forgiveness and grace is superhuman. Most people can't seem to get to that level.
Breathe. You'll be ok
The thing Stevie said about everyone being a talent and everyone having a story really hits home, and I had no idea he was going through such a loss. That story would have made anyone a fan, because it's relatable and real. The irony is that a lot of the attitude era focused on "breaking kayfabe" anyway, but the ethos behind the time was to be as base as possible. Thanks for sharing, Stevie.
Stevie comes off like a legit good human being.
Because he is, I met him back when he was in RTC, he's an incredibly good guy.
I remember in that sit down interview on WWECW, Stevie said something like "That's where 'I'll show you, you'll see' comes from. It means I'm never going to give up, it means I'm going to defy the odds and prove myself" and I thought oh wow, that's good. Everytime people hear that now, they're going to be reminded of what this guy is all about. Anyway, so of course the following week they removed the "I'll show you, you'll see" from his intro.
Bro its always a surgery, a procedure is just a routine surgery, but hey when they looked at my arteries last year and I saw my doctor's name was Steve Williams I was pretty scared....
I never understood why WWE goes out of their way to keep their talent down
It was Vince, the maniacal control freak
@@scottdecowski4913you mean the dude that sheets on women😂
@@elvalvinoskyo3307 It's messed up no doubt but let's not pretend she's some innocent victim either. Typical girl boss just revealing her secrets to climbing the ladder.
@@darthbigred22 Her being "innocent" is irrelevant to the discussion. The point is that it shows what type of person Vince McMahon is. He gets off on exerting control and humiliating others. That fact is still true regardless of whether the woman consented or not.
You need to trust someone to hold the spotlight. If they pull a Chris Benoit, sold drugs poorly to get by or hopped on a porno and successfully one upped 2 girl 1 cup.
Wrestling on the whole would lose face. Wrestling sucks nowadays it's all talking with no scriptwriters and the matches are missing the fun the 90s had.
If the Undertaker came on stage with a whipped cream pie and yeeted it into Steve Austins face. I'd believe it anything could happen back then.
Thanks for the very personal story Stevie. Extremely heartwarming and I respect you sir.
There are lot of reasons to be glad Vince is gone and this is one of them. Thank you for sharing with us Stevie, you deserved better.
Really sorry about your brother Stevie. You're a wonderful person.
CM Punk said it best "Vince is a millionaire who should be a billionaire." At that time, WWE creative dropped the ball on so many guys who had potential and were either not allowed to get over or just given rotten stupid gimmicks with no legs. Zack Ryder, the entire Spirit Squad, Chavo Guerrero and on and all weren't the guys they wanted to push, so they'd never get a push.
"Stepping over a dollar to pick up a dime"....
yup... Zack Ryder (Matt Cardona) got himself over on TH-cam (Internet Champion; similar to TNA's "Digital Media" and Womens' "Internet Champion" belts); then, the WWE wanted to capitalize on it, unfortunately, Ryder said okay; in the end, the company had ruined the product. Chelsea Green should help bring back Zack into the company. Francine in WWECW wasn't used properly; she had a stint with Balls Mahoney vs. Ariel (Salinas in TNA; as a part of the LAX) and Kevin Thorn (Mordecai). The Hurt Business (Bobby Lashley & Cedric Alexander, Shelton Benjamin); MVP, Ricochet, Keith Lee, Mercedes Martinez; 80's-90's: "The Red Rooster" Terry Taylor (was never the same) vs. a WWF jobber legend, The Brooklyn Brawler (Steve Lombardi); "Dirty White Boy" was a plumber (T.L. Hopper); Terry Gordy played an "Executioner," Konnan was "Max Moon," Bastion Booger (Friar Ferguson), Man Mountain Rock, Skinner (Steve Keirn), "Dangerous" Dan Spivey was Waylon Mercy (a pre-Bray Wyatt "Cape Fear" southern gentleman/psychopathic character); Damian Demento, Duke "The Dumpster" Droese, Thurman "Sparky" Plugg (Hardcore Holly; a "Ricky Bobby"-type), 2 Cold Scorpio became a pimp "Flash Funk," (ala The Godfather, Papa Shango, or Kama); Mick Foley was "Mankind," (3 Faces of Foley: Mankind, Cactus Jack & Dude Love); Al Snow was "Kwang" or "Shinobi." Hector Guerrero was a "Survivor Series 1990 PPV" mascot, The Gobbledy Gooker," like the San Diego Chicken (Ted Giannoulas; for MLB baseball). The San Diego Chicken got kissed by Morganna, the Kissing Bandit. The closest equivalent, that pro wrestling had to Morganna was Sable or Missy Hyatt. "Sabull" was the ex-GF of "Wildman" Marc Mero; current wife of Brock Lesnar.) The office, at Titan Towers, could either be like a Las Vegas or Atlantic City casino; the house (HR, or booking department) always wins.
@@kshinokevin All great examples, except for Terry Gordy. He was a shadow of himself after his stroke, and him having a job at all at that point was just a favor to Michael Hayes.
That was always my dislike of the WWF/e going back to the 80's. It just felt so cringe and cartoony. Other than the small window of the attitude era, I would rather watch anything else other than the goofy stuff Vince was trying to sell us.,
@@Doug_M - Now, I can see the appeal of the NWA (before "Billionaire" Ted Turner bought it and transformed it into WCW); when it was on the WTBS (Superstation); because TNT Network wasn't developed yet; the only other channel would be CNN (for a different audience & age demographic).
That cut promo story is absolutely ridiculous, the business should be about getting as many wrestlers as far over as possible, not "Well you can't have those resilient scenarios because you're not John Cena or Randy Orton."
100% true. Vince HATED not getting credit for talent getting over. There are COUNTLESS examples: Zack, Rusev, Damien Sandow (as Mizdow), Bad News Barrett, Daniel Bryan (fans wouldnt forgive that one of course), just to name a few.
Damien Sandow period.
That guy is simply gold. Especially Mongrovian Karatay comedy gold.
The Intellectual Savior of the Unwashed Masses was a great gimmick too. Interesting how he chose the name of the IFBB bodybuilding championship trophy for a brain based gimmick.
Isn't Daniel Bryan a Shawn Michaels creation? HBK did train him
@@Robert-zv4qu Years before, when Shaun was on hiatus.I believe Vince created the yes chant to troll the crowd and turn Bryan heel but the crowd loved it. So Vince tried to kill it, cause he's that type of guy.
That was such an honest and beautiful story Stevie. You will always be part of my original idea of WWE’s main roster because of the 2000-2009 period. You are all legends.
That promo stevie just cut in this video would make people feel something more than 99% of whats out there today. Sure got me. Respect man
Paul tried to send Stevie to the doctor that fixed Jack Napier's face.
Damn Stevie, I didn't know you had been through all of that. I didn't know about your brother or the surgeries. That was a lot to take in for one video. I'm sorry you had to go through all of that. I've been through very similar situations, and it is amazing how it changes your perspective about life. I was once pronounced dead before something that only be described as a miracle happened. Your entire future can be taken away in a second. When you see the end up close and personal, it makes you look at life in a completely different way. It makes you appreciate your failures as much as your success. It makes you appreciate every second that you have.
Damn McMahon holding Stevie back. If Stevie gets over he gets over. McMahon needs to control everything.
After Rusev left WWE, he said when he (Rusev Day) was getting over naturally, McMahon killed it because he wasn't supposed to get that popular. Same with Cesaro. The spin was making him too over with the crowd. On the other hand, we know how hard McMahon was pushing Roman as a top guy back then even though he was being booed. Seems like whatever you were in McMahon's eyes was what you were always going to be despite what the crowd wanted.
He was totally over at least with my buddies. Stevie night heat was awesome
Vinnie Mac (Jr.) is definitely a control freak, who: hates sleep, loves the gym (in order to train like a WBF bodybuilder, while taking ICO-Pro), but hates to sneeze.
@@EmpoweredTravels wwe was notorious for that kind of stuff. like putting someone over, letting the crowd get with them, riding that wave to a title or main event spot.... then snatching it away from them "we just wanna see how you react, if you can take a punch". no, that's actively trying to drive someone to a nervous breakdown for the funsies.
@@EmpoweredTravels Trust me we know, we fought Cena red tooth and nail to this very day and they still ram him down our throats.
Only face to truly be booed, the Hogan ones are always some internet dork claiming he's booed as a face or some bitter rival. Cena legit was hated by adult fans and while it all comes back to VKM, Cena is the figure head of the decline.
what more would you expect from WWE? this is the same company who told JOE HENNIG, SON OF CURT HENNIG..... "when we feel you're worthy of being the son of curt hennig, we'll allow you to claim it".
Steve, you are a legend mate! This world needs more people like you, and i know im not alone in thinking that.
Sending love to you, brother x
Stevie you're doing your brother proud and you've made me a fan for life sir .
Stevie is a real one.
I met Stevie in 2012 he was very nice to me and I will never forget he went out of his way to say hello to me👊🏽💯
I was going to say Zach Ryder was a prime example of WWE killing a gimmick because Vince didn't come up with it. Vince hates anything that isn't his idea. That's why so many WCW/ECW guys got shafted. Look at Sting. WWE had a gold mine when he finally came in and what did the do with him? Made him the equivalent of a jobber. Sting didn't win a match in WWE that I can remember. Maybe now that Vince is out, WWE will get to bigger and better heights.
Vince has always been a rotten piece of garbage! Him burying WCW like he did was a stupid thing to do. All the dream matches that could have happened destroyed by one man's petty need for revenge!
I never rated you as a youngster at all. As an adult with a full view of the business, it’s amazing to see how wrong I was! New listener here, keep rocking it mate!
My Condolences to You and Your Family 🙏
I was watching during the Attitude Era. The RTC was one of my personal favorites from that era. You guys played it perfectly. Ivory cracked me up every time I saw her. I don't know how she was able to wrestle in an ankle length skirt. It shows how good she was. It was a short term gimmick, but it could have lasted longer than it did. It was entertaining as hell. All of you guys were perfect in this type of role.
Shane hurt you?! Man... I hope you sued the F outta them Steve.
Sorry to hear about your brother. That's rough man.
You have such an incredible wealth of knowledge, I appreciate you bro.
Wrestling pre 2000s was so much better. A booker would tell the talent roughly what to cover on their promos, but would generally let them then do what they want as long as they cover some key points. No scripts or BS coming from a writer who has never laced up a pair of boots in their life.
You´re such an interesting Person Mr. Richards! ... thank you for shearing all these stories with us. U are amazing! Thank you! Regards from Germany!
I remember RTC and how hated they were. You loved to hate them! I remember on some UK show, I think it was Rebellion but I'm not sure, Stevie was cutting a heel promo and went in on page 3! The boo from the crowd was so loud haha.
IDK how it is now, but during Vince's time it seems it was always like that: If things go as He/WWE wants it he/they talk about WWE as a family. If not, the workers get treated like a tool, like a thing.
EXCELLENT message. Well done Stevie
Stevie has been through a lot 😔
Im so glad Vince is gone.
We ALL are, except Tony Khan.
I have to wonder now what the conflict level between the talent and the office is now with Triple H heading up creative, surely it can't be that bad still with how morale is reported to be so high and you see newer guys and gals being featured who wouldn't have stood a chance with Vince at the helm.
Several of Vince’s office guys are gone and the rest are slowly phasing out due to age.
I’m glad Ace and Dunn are gone. Those two were wrestling’s Laryngitis and Anal Polyps.
Bruce is still there for advice. I think H knows to keep him, the written for Vince poop jokes, and his day job gimmicks out of creative.
Stevie's tenacity is amazing. No way I would have kept wrestling after all those neck surgeries. I'm glad he is able to have a good life. I appreciate the show. Thanks guys!
I'm so sorry to hear about what happened with your brother Stevie,
Can I just say you come across as a really good and genuine guy,
It's a real shame how you were treated in the wrestling business
Damn Steve I'm sorry for your loss man, I'm in tears
Perspective is truly one of the most maturing things to gain. It's just a shame that it so often takes such pain to gain it.
My sis died of AML when she was 16 so I feel you brother! Go out each day and kick ass succeed or fail each day is a gift! The fact that the ones we love couldn't experience life and have us walk alone through our time on earth is wild. They are looking down and cheering and guiding us I do believe that! Keep doing the great work that you do!
The stories we hear now, that we weren't aware of back then. Vince was sculpting our opinions of everyone so he could manipulate their card position and career path. Bad really.
I could listen to Stevie and , Sabu and Perry Saturn all day long. So damned entertaining and informative for us “not” in the biz.
"Not important enough" - Thats awful that they didn't let you say what you wanted to say about your brother or your injuries. I'm sorry that happened to you.
You’re over with us, Stevie. Thank you 🙏
So, true about Jobbers! Look at Brian Cage, AEW uses him as a Jobber...when in fact he's more skilled than most of their roster. They push too many of the sub 200lb guys. P.S. WWE ruined ECW. They should of left it more or less separate with it's hardcore fans.
This story is insane!
So glad that my own road to being a wrestler didn't pan out. Only in pro wrestling can you get in trouble for doing too good of a job (Paul London), but they just seem to treat people who aren't a top guy like shit.
Thank you for sharing, Stevie. My brother and I both went through cancer and survived. I’ve got the hyper-clarity to make the most of life while I can, just like you mentioned. Appreciate your words!
i was very touched hearing the story about your brother. I lost my father last year to cancer, and it was the worst feeling ever.
I love you're able to do this channel, you're one of the realest people in wrestling.
Stevie being as emotionally open as he has been since the channel started has been refreshing. Found a whole new respect for him ,along with Maven and his videos, these guys worked their asses off and got treated in such a flippant way by Vince. Makes you wonder what stories aren't being told.
It's nice to hear a wrestling podcast/show that isn't based on juvenile humor and dick jokes. Stevie and Maven are the best
Cody got him self over outside WWE his gimmick is his own WWE gave him Stardust and let him go when really they should've let go of the terrible creative team that pushed him to do that. Funny that nowadays WWE is willing to buy talent that is already over. So in some cases they have changed
Cody has a family name too though
Seems like WWE under HHH's control is trying to right a few wrongs from Vince's time.
The promo that Stevie Richards is talking about was the ECW 2008 interview with Joey Styles. It's still on TH-cam
What is a mid card number of surgeries
Always been a big fan of Stevie Richards. Should have been a bigger star than he was.
This man has accountability! I dig the shit outta that! You ROCK, STEVIE! YOU ROCK, BRO!
Yea I lost a brother. It’s horrible, sorry u lost ya brother. Theys nothing like losing ya brother, ya best friend. , The 1st friend you ever had. Dang. I had no idea Stevie
The more I listen to Stevie talk the *less* a fan of pro wrestling I become. I'm not blaming him, it's just that the wrestling business seems like the shittiest job to have.
Jesus Christ was Stevie proven right against McMahon or what?
Fkn YUP
The best promos are those that contain real stories, with real emotions. Coule be the best promo Stevie Richards ever cut. The fact that they didn't see that and even think Vince wouldn't like it tells me that Vince is not the genius you always hear. I never worked in the pro wrestling business, but if I get it and they didn't tells me a lot!
In fact you get more and more stories of peopel saying what else wasn't Vince's idea what he still gets credit for.
This is why thank god for HHH/Levesque, because the major differences with those two is Vince was a MAJOR control freak, Levesque isn't. Sure, Levesque's booking structures may be questionable, but it's all about the story-telling whether in matches, angles or feuds, Vince didn't allow people to go over without his permission, Levesque allows other to go over the way THEY can.
HHH has always been an insecure jealous clown. While what he's doing with talent is great, he's constantly trying to convince younger fans that He and the cliq were the 2nd coming of wrestling when they were jabroni's kissing up to Shawn.
Best stevie podcast ever.
Steve deserves hall of fame 3x over.
What a brilliant guy. Love from uk dude.
That writer he is talking about is Jacob Israel.
Honestly, this story about censoring the promos doesn't crack the top ten reasons to hate Vince McMahon, but that's only because of other abhorrent behavior. My opinion of Vince is meaningless, but it just got a little worse. I had thought it had hit rock bottom, but I suppose not.
Rusev day was another example
I always enjoyed Stevie , him and RVD was my favorites from Ecw
Thank you Stevie for sharing your truth with us all. Those are motivating words.
Wow Stevie I had no idea of that promo or that you lost your brother that way. That’s awful that you couldn’t say what you wanted because of your “spot” on the card. It shouldn’t have mattered at all whether you’re at the top or bottom of the card. I’ve lost a brother too, only over a year ago now and it’s truly awful and I feel for you.
I actually found the promo while watching this video and what you did get to say was really compelling and real feeling. It’s really interesting that that huge loss gave you a big change in perspective and says a lot about you as a person.
Bless Stevie Richards! & RIP to his younger brother🙏🏾 I never knew that! IDacW anyone says, Stevie is a fuckin Real G! 🤘🏾🫡
12:30 What they did to Christian Cage in 2005 was a disgrace! It was like Vince being offended because Christian got himself over and proved that he's much better than Edge and what Vince thought he was.
15:02
Sorry for your loss Stevie. You have a hell of an outlook on life and it’s inspiring.
Really thought you deserved an IC or US title type reign back in the day… you are talented!
This format works really well.
It's incredible how much effort went into managing Vince. I wonder if he knew.
There's knowing what his reactions would be and giving him options -- take 4 or 5 takes, cutting things down or making things less big or sympathetic -- and letting him choose the story in the edit, and then there's just going "no, Vince doesn't even get to see this".
It's wild how overly-controlling megalomaniacs disempower themselves by surrounding themselves with people who do nothing but tip-toe around eggshells.
B.W.O. 4 LIFE!!!!
I reference may 19th all the time too haha
Stevie. Your brother 💔😢 thank you for sharing that moment. Love you man
Heyman sent him to see Dr. Nick, but Dr. Nick turned into Deli Nick!
Stevie just seems like the best guy. I know there are probably 100 comments saying that but I love listening to him.
Stevie was one of my favourites as a kid I remember being 10 and thinking it was BS they never let him win or show what he could do!
Smackdown vs Raw 2006! I loved playing as Stevie and Jericho for some reason lol
Sounds like too much ego and pride to go through.
Wow man what an interview. Amazing
I never put it together about the “WWF creations” surviving, and the others disappearing. That sucks. All what Vince thinks. Very rare, and as Stevie put it, if it’s not Vince’s vision, it’s forgiveness before permission. And that’s very unfortunate.
Let’s compare WWE to the Edmonton Oilers (little Canada in there for ya) not everyone is Connor McDavid on that team, but the “lesser” teammates all still have potential. The team wins.
If the Mid Carder “doesn’t matter enough” then why have them? Give them shots, opportunities, they can do great things too, don’t leave them on the bench so they can watch the big stars put the show together.
They censored the leader of Right To Censor -- WTF!
It's never too late to right a wrong, Paul
I've had 65_surgeries myself; if they cut you and it hurts, it's a surgery. I'm with you on this. I had a cannula inserted into a salivary duct in my mouth. Yeah, I count that as a surgery. I am deeply sorry for the loss of your brother.
Excellent Thumbnail
I get some folks don't like the term jobber but what other verbiage would they replace it with?
enhancement talent
Bum
Career Dive-Taker
team players
Ham and egger.
Thank you for telling these stories stevie. Conspiracy horsemen need a comeback btw. Or that big sal show you did. Bring sal on. Much ❤
SR is giving us all a Morality Check. Keep it up!
2:24 or maybe Dr Mario
Ask Stevie if wrestling is fake and he will tell you it's as real as in utero child deletion.
I should be offended but I'm not. It just adds to the legend of Mr Stevie Richards.
Much respect my man.
Sad, if it sounds like a main event storyline, make it a main event storyline. Or at least an Intercontinental Title thing.