As WWE transitioned from a family friendly product to the Attitude Era in the late 1990s, one of the names that was front and center in bringing about that change was Terri Runnels.
During her time managing her then-husband Goldust (as Marlena), Runnels was part of some of the most risque segments WWE had produced to that point in time. So it made sense that as WWE celebrated the 25th anniversary of RAW last week, they brought back Runnels for a special appearance.
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Listening to her Cigars, Scars, and Superstars podcast, it sounds like the experience was a mixed bag for the former WWE star. Though it’s evident that she was honored to be part of the event, she also talks about some of the disappointment that she and others felt with the broadcast. So if you were watching at home and feeling the same emotions, some of the stars of the broadcast were right there with you.
“I was very disappointed. I really was. First of all, I was proud to be there and proud to be with my WWE family again; that was wonderful, but pretty much after that, it was kind of like, ‘Wow, really?’ I thought that [two locations] was a great idea because there’s no way that you can fit capacity crowd that would want to see it in that tiny Manhattan Center location. In order to have it at the Manhattan Center you would have to have it at some other place. I heard from friends that were at the Manhattan Center felt that they got jipped because they only had a few matches and it was dead in between,” Runnels said.
If you watched the show and missed Runnels’ appearance, that would be understandable given she and the other women of the past were brought out for a very brief segment. Runnels clearly was unhappy about that method of presentation.
“I think I am disappointed. I don’t feel like I was disrespected, but I just think that they had; this is my guess, but I believe they had a monster of a show to try to do and figure out. This many talents coming into Raw that is normally not there like past legends, and I just think it ended up being a time thing; ‘We don’t know what else to do, let’s just have them come out and wave.’ I don’t know, it was just disappointing because I loved my WWE family and all of that and it was just disappointing. It was a let down,” she said.
She went on to also discuss the conditions of the dressing area, noting that many of the performers were forced to dress in a curtained off area of a basketball court with bad lighting.
WWE definitely had many wheels in motion and more superstars than usual to please during last Monday’s broadcast. Though the show will go down as one of the biggest in WWE history, it’s clear that some errors were made along the way.
[H/T to Wrestling Inc.]
