Former WCW manager Sonny Onoo recalls suing WCW, provides examples of Vince Russo allegedly discriminating against minorities, reveals that he was approached about working for TNA

World Wrestling Insanity interview with Sonny Onoo
Host: James Guttman
Interview available at WorldWrestlingInsanity.com via ClubWWI.

From managing champions to kicking down challengers, there's no one with a story like Sonny Onoo. Now, he joins ClubWWI.com for an exclusive shoot interview that addresses it all. Sonny was a WCW mainstay for many of the company's best years. Alongside stars like Kaz Hayashi and Ernest Miller, the evil Mr. Onoo made headlines in the arena. After he left, he made headlines outside of it for his discrimination suit against WCW. You've heard about it. Now hear from the man himself. Onoo talks to James Guttman about a ton of topics including the unfinished WCW angle he wished could have been completed, when the idea of the NWO was first discussed, Hogan and Bischoff in TNA, and tons more.

Sonny Onoo's story in wrestling is a unique one. After his WCW release, Onoo sued the company, citing the shrinking opportunities for minorities to succeed. Sonny's claims weren't just based on rumor and innuendo. He points to a number of things that former ClubWWI.com guest and then-WCW head writer Vince Russo did publicly to make that point clear. James Guttman mentions that Russo had said something on WCW Live, WCW's old web show, to that effect. Sonny says it was just one of many examples.

"As far as Russo goes, he said what he said. It's a matter of public record and, you know, anybody in a position of authority - at the time he was working for one of the largest entertainment companies in the world - just can't make a statement like that. Then, the company allowed him to follow up. That was the issue and the product was kind of obvious. He took all the Mexicans and all the Japanese off the table. I mean, that's just a matter of record. When he came in, Mexican and Japanese just disappeared."

Sonny and James go on to talk about how the wrestling business has become more corporate through the years, yet many backstage still act like it's a closed-door society. Onoo looks at the situation from a number of angles including AOL/Time Warner's place in WCW, what really killed the company, WWE going public, and more.

Another subject that comes up is Sonny's long time friendship with another former ClubWWI.com guest, Eric Bischoff. He talks about traveling the karate circuit with a young Eric and some of the discussions they had in WCW. Now, with Bischoff joining forces with Hulk Hogan in TNA, many have to wonder if a return to the four-sided ring may be in the cards for Mr. Onoo. Sonny then reveals that the possibility was there many years ago…and almost happened.

"Jeff Jarrett, when TNA at its inception many years ago, I had a meeting with Jeff to go work with them. I had a meeting with them in Vegas actually. We discussed where they were going and the possibility of me coming in and working with the company. There was conflict of a couple of things and that never materialized."

Onoo says that a WWE or even TNA run might not be so far off for him now, despite Vince Russo's spot in the company. He has a great deal of respect for Dixie Carter and the new wars that have been declared in wrestling.

"I don't know. I would love to go back and do something different. You know, revise my character and do something fun. It would certainly be fun. My youngest (son), who just turned 13, he's never seen me in that character aside from some videos. So it would certainly be exciting for him."

Sonny talks about the possibilities of the future, but also about the great moments from his past including conversations with Ernest Miller, working with Big Show before he was even in WCW, Chris Benoit, Dean Malenko, Kaz Hayashi, and tons more.