Samoa Joe defended Vince Russo during an interview with the Poughkeepsie Journal. "I think he gets honestly, in my opinion, an unfair bum rap," Joe said of Russo. "I think some of the segments that the fans have problems with, maybe Vince was not even necessarily involved with. There's been a few times that's happened... He's kind like the human shield and I think it's pretty unfortunate. I can guarantee about 70 percent of the stuff that fans think is Vince Russo, he really had nothing to do with."

Joe also commented on how his role has changed as TNA Champion. "I think the biggest change has probably been scheduling," he said. "It's kind of doubled up since I won the belt. A lot of media appearances, a lot of autograph signings like this. It comes with the territory, but that's been the biggest change I think." To read the full interview, visit Phil Strum's Pojoslam.blogspot.com blog.

Powell's POV: I've always felt like the fans chanting "Fire Russo" should be taken as a sign that they are upset with the overall creative team. TNA officials shouldn't just dismiss that as a sign that the fans are ragging on Russo, Rather, they should recognize that the fans disapprove of the company's overall creative direction.

If Joe didn't know before, he's finding out quickly that Kurt Angle worked his ass off as the TNA Champion. Kurt didn't get a lot of press for all the things he did and does off-camera for TNA, but I've heard from several people within the company who rave about his work ethic. The interview is a good read and I highly recommend it.

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