On a recent edition of Something To Wrestling, Bruce Prichard discussed the closing months of 2002 in WWE. Here are some of the highlights:
The product becoming “too inside”:
“They will never forget Katie Vick. I wish they would. Go back in time and erase that one, folks. Lost your smile was part of Shawn’s legacy and that was something used a lot during the time Shawn competed after he said it that was fodder. The Katie Vick stuff and the show its self, I’m just not a big fan of saying ‘yeah this really sucks’ or ‘this isn’t what it use to be.’.. When you tell me that, why would I want to stick around? Maybe I’m feeling that way, but I don’t know how to express it but then my favorite star expresses it then I go ‘hmm, maybe he’s right.’ That gives me ammunition to not watch again. Not good in my mind.”
If 2002 was a struggle:
“The answer is yes. I think it was a time where we had a lot of talent. I don’t know if the talent was in the right places. There was a sense of trying new. How do you present the talent? They all aren’t going to be hits.. It was a time of experimentation. Lets see if the crowd wants this and then give it to them.. It was a challenging time trying new things. We didn’t have Austin, we didn’t have Rock. It was challenging.”
Quotes via 411 Mania