"It was gonna be like Royal Rumble" - Former WWE writer Vince Russo recalls veteran UFC fighter he picked to be major champion (Exclusive)

Former WWE head writer Vince Russo recently spoke about one star he would have crowned champion back in WCW. The veteran joined the now-defunct promotion as part of the creative team in the late 1990s.

Russo is often credited as the man who killed WCW. His differences with Hulk Hogan and Eric Bischoff seemingly led to the eventual downfall of the product. WCW closed its doors in 2001 and was purchased by Vince McMahon.

This week on Legion of RAW, Russo mentioned that back in 1999, the entire WCW roster was riddled with injuries. He recalled they had to take the title off Bret Hart, and the plan was to hold a Battle Royal (similar to the Royal Rumble) to crown a new champion. The former WWE writer mentioned that Sycho Sid was planned to enter at number one and last the entire match, only to be eliminated by former UFC fighter Tank Abbott, who would have entered the match at number 30.

"We had so many injuries. We had to take the title off Bret. And I was gonna have a Battle Royal to determine a new champion, and Sid was gonna be number one. It was gonna be like Royal Rumble. By the time we got to number 30, Sid was gonna be the only one left standing in the ring. And here comes a fresh UFC fighter in Tank Abbott, and Tank Abbott would have dumped Sid," he revealed. [From 52:55 onwards]

The 63-year-old also mentioned that he had a lot of opposition from WCW management. Hence, they did not go through with the plan. The veteran writer pointed out that he left the company soon afterward but regretted not working more with Tank Abbott.

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