What’s been your experience with Eric Bischoff and Vince Russo so far?
I worked for Bischoff for three years. Mike Awesome I don’t think is the career killer. I think it’s Bischoff. Quite honestly, what did he do for my career? He obviously liked me enough to put me on all the Nitros when I wasn’t making any money, working every Monday. They didn’t want to give me a contract the first year. I was under a verbal, yet they wanted to have me on Monday, making their stars look good. And then, all of a sudden, they throw this gay gimmick on me and then, for no apparent reason, I sit at home without a phone call being returned. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve called Bischoff’s and Russo’s own personal lines and they don’t ever get back to me. I’m not getting any younger. They’re not helping my career out. I can’t help that I went along with what they said – playing this gay character – I think they did it thinking it wasn’t going to get over or something, but it was the hottest thing we had.
What’s your contract status and where are you in respect to talking to other promotions right now?
I gave my 90 day notice at the beginning of May. August 2nd is my last day. I’m talking to all three promotions right now. I’m keeping my options open right now.
Right now, how is WCW management treating you during this window?
They won’t give me a release. I tell them, we don’t have to wait 90 days, let’s go now. I can’t get an answer out of them. The times I have talked to someone, it’s been a couple of minutes. You’re trying to tell me that if someone is employed by you, wouldn’t you give them the respect to call them back?
When Russo first came in, wasn’t he talking about bringing you and Lodi back after all the controversy?
That’s all he said. Lenny, we like you a lot. We’re gonna bring you back. Don’t worry. I’m fighting to get you back on TV. Yet, I call him week to week and he never returns my calls. He brought us back, made me dye my hair, made me wear a suit, and do the Standard and Practices thing. About a month later, whatever happened with Sullivan and all them guys, they didn’t have any plans for us. I don’t know if that was done to appease me or what.
What happened when you lost the cruiserweight title in that infamous “phantom switch?”
That all went down in Kansas. I was flown into Kansas by myself. Nobody said anything all day. Kevin Nash approached me and said, “You can’t wear your pigtails tonight, no fingernail polish, no body glitter. Just be normal Lenny Lane. You’re going to wrestle the Disco Inferno.” Some of the main suits at Time Warner and I had a meeting with them and J.J. Dillon, Kevin Sullivan, and Kevin Nash. They told me, “GLAAD is in the arena tonight and if you go out there tonight and if there are any ‘homo’ or ‘faggot’ chants in that audience, they are going to shut our TV down. They have people in Atlanta ready to shut our TV down. We can’t have you on TV.”
Do you think that controversy has scared them off from using you?
Oh yes. They’re afraid, I think. I’m not sure though, they don’t call me back. Again, they’re not helping my career. Maybe if I was on TV in another gimmick, I could have shirts for sale right now and everything else. I could be making a ton of money. And yet I sit at home, and maybe I think that I’m happy or should be happy that I’m getting paid to sit at home, but I’m not.
If somebody in WCW reads this interview, what would you want to say to them right now?
I would say to them, I have sixty days left in my contract and, after those sixty days, I’m going to be the happiest man around.
On a scale of one to ten, what are your chances of staying in WCW?
I would say three.
What’s your relationship with Lodi right now and how do you react to comments made publicly on his web site.
We haven’t talked a whole lot because when I was going to put my ninety days in, it was a big decision for me to do. And it wasn’t about him. He’s got a year in his contract left and mine was up this year, so it wasn’t about us. So he called me after I put in my notice and he was short on the phone with me and maybe he was mad at me because I hadn’t talked to him or whatever. I came into WCW as a singles wrestler and we got put together and it worked. But, hey, life goes on. Not all tag teams stay together. So he can say what he wants. I’m not going to say bad things about him. Like he said about me how I lied to him. I don’t know how I lied to him. I put my ninety day notice in and that was it.
