When you talk to a legend in your industry, you ask them how they want to be referred to – and that’s how Grant & Danny found out Tuesday that the iconic Christopher “Mad Dog” Russo prefers to just go by good old Chris.
“There’s nothing I can do about Dog; I mean, I’ve had that nickname since 1987, but I won’t get rid of it because I need it,” Russo told the guys. “The nickname for me is significant. I think it is sort of established, everybody knows me as Mad Dog or Doggy – my wife and kids don’t call me that, and I always say Christopher Russo when I’m on the air. If you’re a radio personality, it goes a long way and establishes you, but there are a lot of Mad Dogs in sports.”
And now we’re gonna let you inside the radio biz for a second: you of course know our beloved Rooster, Chris Russell, but what you may not know about him is Russell is a stage name – his actual name is shared with one Mad Dog, and that got REAL weird when he was an intern for the established Russo up at WFAN when he was just starting his career!
“You made him change his name!” Grant laughed.
“Wow, my goodness gracious, which I did not want to have to do,” Dog said. “He was an intern at WFAN, I do remember that, but I didn’t know he changed his name! Bob Raissman gave me the nickname in 1987, and when I got to WFAN, that’s when the nickname took off.”
Raissman gave him the nickname, as the story goes, because Russo’s style reminded him of the wrestling style of Maurice “Mad Dog” Vachon, who OUR Chris Russo/Russell would tell you was the gentleman whose prosthetic leg was used by Diesel as a weapon against Shawn Michaels in a match in April 1996 (which our web guy/ex-WWE employee can confirm).
However, the Dog ate the Rooster in one regard: Chris Russo from Long Island confirmed to Danny that he did not MAKE Chris Russo from Long Island change his name.
“So Chris, there's no truth to the rumor that our friend says ‘Mad Dog told me change it or else?’” Danny asked.
“No, definitely not!” Russo blurted. “And I have trademarked the nickname, so nobody could specifically use it just arbitrarily and make profit off it. It’s part of the whole deal.”