"Just be quiet" – Ex-WWE star claims Bruce Prichard told her to never speak

Bruce Prichard has delivered instructions to hundreds of superstars during his combined 25 years working for WWE. In a recent interview, former WWE star Terri Runnels recalled how the creative team member once gave her a command that she strongly disagreed with.

Runnels worked for WWE between 1996 and 2004. The 56-year-old debuted as Marlena, the on-screen valet of her then-husband Dustin Rhodes, aka Goldust. She used to watch his matches from a director's chair at ringside while seductively smoking a cigar.

In an interview with Monte & The Pharaoh, Runnels said Prichard told her not to speak on television:

"I remember so vividly Prichard saying to me backstage, 'Listen, we like you as a part of him [Goldust], but we don't want to hear from you, so just be quiet.' Exactly like that. In my mind, I'm thinking, 'Well, my husband is not a great talker like his daddy,' so in my heritage of this business, I am the mic." [1:39:26 – 1:39:59]

The Goldust-Marlena act was widely viewed as a success. The duo won the prize for WWE's Best Couple at the 1997 Slammy Awards, beating Marc Mero & Sable and Chyna & Triple H.

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Terri Runnels disputes Bruce Prichard's Marlena story

Bruce Prichard once claimed on his Something To Wrestle With podcast that Vince McMahon came up with Terri Runnels' Marlena character.

However, according to Runnels, she was responsible for the creation of the persona without any input from McMahon.

"As much as I love Prichard, I swear to God I heard one of his like seven-hour podcasts on Dustin. He's like, 'Vince created Marlena.' Vince didn't create f**k all of Marlena!" [1:22:25 – 1:22:40]

In the same interview, Runnels gave her thoughts on the way Triple H handled his break-up with Chyna in the early 2000s.

Do you think Bruce Prichard was right to tell Terri Runnels not to cut promos? Let us know in the comments section below.

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Please credit Monte & The Pharaoh and give an H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription if you use quotes from this article.