Former WWE writer Vince Russo has shed light on the last time he communicated with Vince McMahon, offering a candid look back during a recent conversation with Ariel Helwani. Russo reflected on how that final exchange unfolded, revealing that things deteriorated quickly once the subject of a possible return to WWE resurfaced.

“Oh man, the last time we had an email exchange… God, it was probably, I don’t know, maybe eight years ago. And it didn’t go too well.”

When Helwani pressed him on what the discussion involved, Russo explained that McMahon had reached out at a time when the company’s numbers were dipping, sparking the idea of bringing him back into the fold.

“It was about, he was entertaining the idea of bringing me back because the numbers were going down again. So he was considering bringing me back, and he kind of wanted me to audition for the job. And I’m like, ‘Nah, Vince, I think you kind of know what I can do. I think you’ve seen what I can do. I’m not jumping through hoops. You can continue going down the road you’re going down.’”

Helwani suggested this may have been around 2017, and Russo agreed it was in that general timeframe.

“Yeah. Yeah. Before all the stuff went down. I think probably about eight years ago or so.”

As the conversation continued, Russo clarified that he had actually initiated the contact after becoming frustrated watching the product decline.

“He actually, I think I reached out. I gotta tell you, Ariel, this is what happens with me and wrestling all the time: I watch it, and for me it gets so bad that I feel like I have to do something about it. Like, I cannot stand here and watch this anymore. And that’s what, on several occasions, caused me to reach out. So I actually reached out, but he did get back to me immediately.”

Helwani then asked whether Russo would have genuinely considered returning. Russo revealed that McMahon had requested a month of feedback from him, but the exchange fell apart over compensation.

“He wanted me to watch the shows for a month and give him my feedback. So I came back with, ‘Okay, no problem, and what are you paying me for that month?’ And he hit me with, ‘Hey, you should be thrilled to have this kind of opportunity.’ And I’m like, ‘Vince, I’m not a kid just out of college. I’m not working for free. I’m not watching the shows for free. If you want to compensate me, no problem. But the days of me doing anything for free are long gone.’ And I’ll be honest, Ariel, he got pretty nasty with me. And the last email was really nasty. He was hitting me below the belt. And I didn’t even answer it. I was like, ‘Okay.’ And I didn’t even respond.”

Helwani asked whether those messages included personal insults, and Russo didn’t hesitate.

“Yeah. Personal insults. Yeah.”

The conversation painted a vivid picture of how a potential reunion between Russo and McMahon ultimately collapsed before it ever really began.