"You could see it through his Oscar acceptance speech" - Vince Russo reveals if Will Smith-Chris Rock incident was a work (Exclusive)

Vince Russo gave his take on Will Smith slapping Chris Rock.
Vince Russo gave his take on Will Smith slapping Chris Rock.

Will Smith and Chris Rock's Oscars controversy has overshadowed every news story in the world, and professional wrestling fans have also been debating whether the incident was a work.

Vince Russo weighed in on the topic during this week's Legion of RAW and stated that the altercation was real and not a scripted publicity stunt.

The former WWE writer is well-versed with worked angles and was surprised by people doubting the authenticity of what happened at the 94th Academy Awards. Vince Russo noted that Smith came out and apologized to Chris Rock and seemed deeply remorseful about the forgetful episode.

Here's what Vince Russo had to say on Sportskeeda Wrestling's Legion of RAW:

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"You know what cracks me up? For all the hours and hours people spent watching wrestling, they still can't determine a work from a shoot, including our boy Riju," said Vince Russo. "Bro, people that think the Will Smith/Chris Rock gimmick was a work, bro, what is wrong with you? Let me just put it to you in simple terms. How does that benefit Will Smith being a work? Can somebody explain that to me? The guy went out there today, had to apologize, apologized to Chris Rock, felt really badly, was shedding tears, was totally embarrassed. You could see it through his Oscar Acceptance speech. How could anybody think that was a work? What was there to gain?" [3:00 - 4:09]

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Vince Russo says Will Smith and Chris Rock had nothing to gain from a worked altercation

Vince Russo helped develop several storylines back in the day that blurred the lines between reality and kayfabe.

The former WWE head writer explained that both Smith and Rock didn't need any extra exposure from an orchestrated argument as they were already mainstream personalities.

"Guys, when you start talking work, shoot, you have to ask yourself - if it was a work, what is there to gain? What was there to gain for either one of these parties if this were a work. What? People are going to be talking about them? Chris Rock and Will Smith need people talking about them, bro? It blows my mind, Chris, that people don't know what's real and what's fake. It's unbelievable to me," added Russo. [4:10 - 4:42]

Almost everyone has an opinion on the slap heard around the world, but what's yours? Let us know in the comments section below.


If you use any quotes from this article, please credit Sportskeeda Wrestling's Legion of RAW and provide a H/T to Sportskeeda.

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Edited by Lennard Surrao
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