Case 1:00-cv-00368-CC Document 116 Filed 01/16/03 Page 24 of 260

DBC I . ARAT I Q I I o r RAM OR=

STATE OF GEORG I A
COUNTY OF

Kazuo Onoo g i ves t he f o l l ow i ng dec l a r a t i on unde r pena l t y o f

pe r j u r y and s t a t es as f o l l ows :
1.
My name

i s Ka2uo Onoo ,

bu t

am known as Sonny Onoo .

2.
I am a Japanese c i t i zen .
A l t hough I have l ega l
t he Un i t ed S t a t es , I r ema i n a Japanese c i t i zen .

r es i dency

in

3.
A l t hough WCW d i d p r ov i de me w i t h t he oppo r t un i t y t o become
an on - a i r non - wr es t l i ng t a l en t ( even t hough I d i d wr es t l e on a
f ew occas i ons ) , I was sc r i p t ed on l y t o manage Japanese , H i span i c ,
oz A f r i can - Ame r i can wr es t l e r s I was t he on l y As i an t ha t eve r
wo r ked as an " agen t " f o r WCW .
9.
A l t hough I d i scussed manag i ng Buddy Lee Pa r ke r , who was ve r y
i n t e r es t ed i n hav i ng me manage h i m , I was den i ed t he oppo r t un i t y
t o manage h i m because he was Caucas i an .
5.
I n 1997 , N i ck Lamb r os o f f e r ed me a con t r ac t t o wo r k a t WCW .
The con t r ac t t ha t vas o f f e r ed t o me i n 1997 was no t o f f e r ed t o me
by E r i c H i scho f f .

6.
A l t hough I was ca l l ed an ' i n t e r na t i ona l consu l t an t , ' I had
t o r epo r t t o t he va r i ous o f f i ce r s o f WCW .
As t o me r chand i se , I
had t o r epo r t t o Ke l l y Komn i sk .
As t o l i cens i ng i ssues , I had t o
r epo r t t o Casey Co l l i ns .
Rega r d i ng t he t a l en t exchange , I had t o
r epo r t t o J . J . D i l l on o r any membe r s i n t he book i ng depa r t men t .
Wheneve r I had new i deas t o he l p gene r a t e r evenue , I r epo r t ed t o

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Case 1:00-cv-00368-CC Document 116 Filed 01/16/03 Page 25 of 260

Jay Hassman as we l l as H i l l Husch i n t he l a t t e r pa r t o f 1999 .

I
a l so r epo r t ed t o WCW execu t i ve M i ke Webbe r .
W i t h r espec t t o a l l
I n many
t hese i nd i v i dua l s I had t o d i r ec t l y r epo r t t o t hem .
i ns t ances , t hey d i r ec t ed and con t r o l l ed my e f f o r t s as I was
wo r k i ng on beha l f o f WCW i n r ep r esen t i ng WCW i n many d i f f e r en t
capac i t i es i n t he w r es t l i ng p r oduc t .
7.
The cha r ac t e r o f Sonny Onoo was deve l oped by t he book i ng
depa r t men t .
A l t hough a sc r i p t was no t p r ov i ded , an ou t l i ne o f
I was t o l d
t he ma t ch was a l ways p r ov i ded t o me by t he booke r s .
t
he
cha
r
ac
t
e
r
Onoo
was
an
"
ev
i
l
Japanese
bus
i
nessman
" and
t ha t
of
was i ns t r uc t ed t o wo r k w i t h i n t hose pa r ame t e r s .

8.
A l t hough T d i d no t r ece i ve many o f t he bene f i t s p r ov i ded t o
o t he r emp l oyees , I d i d ge t wo r ke r s compensa t i on cove r age .
I was
a l so p r ov i ded an o f f i ce , c r ed i t ca r d and compu t e r t o ca r r y ou t
WCW bus i ness a f f a i r s .
I r ece i ved many bene f i t s t ha t we r e
p r ov i ded t o emp l oyees .

9.
T r eca l l E r i c B i scho f f ge t t i ng f i r ed f r om wCW i n t he f a l l o f
1999 .
I r emembe r d i scuss i ng w i t h h i m va r i ous t h i ngs .
A t no t i me
d i d he t e l l me t ha t I was go i ng t o be f i r ed .
A t no t i me d i d he
t e l l me t ha t t he r e was any dec i s i ons t o t e r m i na t e con t r ac t s o
" non - essen t i a l " t a l en t .
I was on l y t a r ge t ed f o r t e r m i na t i on
a f t e r Russo s t a t ed t ha t he d i d no t wan t any As i an or H i span i c
t a l en t .
Be f o r e he l e f t , B i scho f f assu r ed me t ha t I wou l d be
a l r i gh t un t i l t he end o f my con t r ac t .

10 .
A l t hough I was g i ven my w r i t t en no t i ce o f t e r m i na t i on da t ed
Novembe r 1 , 1999 , I was i n f o r med t ha t I was t e r m i na t ed be f o r e
t ha t da t e , wh i ch I be l i eve was Oc t obe r 31 , 1999 .

11 .
A l t hough I was ve r y good f r i ends w i t h E r i c B i scho f f , I d i d
no t wan t M r . B i scho f f t o so l e l y make dec i s i ons as t o my
r e l a t i onsh i p w i t h WCW .
I n add i t i on , once I began wo r k i ng f o r
WCW , 2 wo r ked f o r t he Company , and no t spec i f i ca l l y f o r B i scho f .

Case 1:00-cv-00368-CC Document 116 Filed 01/16/03 Page 26 of 260

A l so , I r e t r a i ned f rom comp l a i n i ng d i r ec t l y t o B i scho f f because

o f ou r c l ose f r i endsh i p .
12 .
I am pe r sona l l y awa r e t ha t a f t e r Russo a r r i ved a t WCW , t ha t
t he As i an t a l en t su f f e r ed g r ea t l y I r emembe r As i an w r es t l e r
L i ge r comp l a i n i ng t o me o f t he t r ea t men t he r ece i ved unde r Russo .
13 .
S i m i l a r l y , even t hough I was no l onge r emp l oyed a t WCW , I
was awa r e o f wha t happened t o t he Japanese w r es t l e r s because 2
had wo r ked so c l ose l y w i t h t hem .

14 .
I r eca l l l ea r n i ng o f many d i scuss i ons be t ween WCw o f f i c i a l s
and V i nce Russo we l l be f o r e Russo was made t he o f f i c i a l " Cr ea t i ve
D i r ec t o r . "
I was awa r e t ha t Ausso was consu l t i ng w i t h WCW and
mak i ng dec i s i ons even be f o r e Oc t obe r 10 , 1999 .

15 .
S am awa r e t ha t Ka2 Hayash i was used a l i t t l e b i t when V i nce
Russo t empo r a r i l y l e f t wCW , bu t upon Russo ' s r e t u rn , Kaz Hayash i
was used on l y as a " j obbe r , " an i nd i v i dua l t ha t i s u t i l i zed t o
l oose ma t ches i n o rde r t o make o t he r wr es t l e r s l ook good .
16 .
H i scho f f was no t t he on l y pe r son who he l ped me become on - a i r
t a l en t .
A l so , WCW made me an on - a i r t a l en t because I con t r i bu t ed
t o t he en t e r t a i nmen t p roduc t .
Mr . B i seho f f o f f e r ed me t he
oppo r t un i t y t o become on- - a i r t a l en t t o p r ov i de wr es t l e r
en t e r t a i nmen t f o r WCW , t hus i nc r eas i ng WCW ' s popu l a r i t y .
The
oppo r t un i t y was no t l i m i t ed t o g i v i ng me " i n t e rna t i ona l exposu r e "
any mo r e t han o t he r wr es t l e r s or t a l en t .
17 .
I deny t ha t I was eve r r es t r i c t ed t o se r v i ng as " Er i c
H i scho f f ' s consu l t an t " as I a l ways wo r ked f o r WCW as an en t i r e
bus i ness en t i t y i n a l l o f my on - a i r wr es t l i ng t a l en t , and i n
connec t i on w i t h my i n t e rna t i ona l du t i es .
18 .

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Spec i f i ca l l y , my l ob du t i es a t WCW i nc l uded t he f o l l ow i ng :

t r ans l a t i ng f o r H i span i c and Japanese w r es t l e r s : nego t i a t i ng
bus i ness ag r eemen t s be t ween i n t e r na t i ona l w r es t l i ng o r gan i za t i ons
such as New Japan ; ass i s t i ng i n r ec r u i t i ng and deve l op i ng
w r es t l i ng t a l en t : se r v i ng as an on - a i r t a l en t pe r son , i nc l ud i ng
wo r k i ng as an on - a i r t a l en t " manage r " ; wo r k i ng as a w r es t l i ng
agen t as I he l ped w r es t l e r s execu t e and sc r i p t and f o l l ow t he
sc r i p t s and t he w r es t l i ng even t s ; make nume r ous t e l ephone ca l l s
a t t he r eques t o f WCW o f f i c i a l s such as D i ana Mye r s , N i ck
Lamb r os , and Casey Co l l i ns ; nego t i a t e va r i ous r eco r d i ng and
l i cens i ng dea l s i n wh i ch WCW cou l d have i t s w r es t l i ng p r oduc t s ;
ma r ke t ed i n va r i ous f o r ms o f en t e r t a i nmen t such as compac t d i scs
coo r d i na t i ng and a r r ang i ng f o r t r anspo r t a t i on o f t he w r es t l e r s .

1.
I n connec t i on w i t h t hese du t i es , I answe r ed t o :
B i l l Husch
( r evenue i ssues r ega r d i ng Japan ) ; Jay Hassman ( new i n t e r na t i ona l
bus i ness and pay - pe r - v i ew ) ; JJ D i l l on ( i n t e r na t i ona l t a l en t
book i ng ) ; D i ana Meye r s ( t a l en t v i sas and any t h i ng t ha t had t o do
w i t h l ega l dec i s i ons ) ; Casey Co l l i ngs ( domes t i c and
i n t e r na t i ona l l i cens i ng ) ; E r i c H i scho f f ( New Japan t a l en t i ssues
and o t he r i n t e r na t i ona l bus i ness ) ; Ke l l y Kom i nsk ( any
i n t e r na t i ona l me r chand i se sa l es o r w i t h any i deas w i t h r ega r d t o
me r chand i se ) ; Dav i d C=ocke t t ( p r oduc t i on l og i s t i cs ) ; and M i ke
Webe r ( o r i g i na l l y r epo r t ed t o h i m f o r l i cens i ng i ssues : a l so
o t he r TBS

i n t e r na t i ona l bus i ness ) .

2 .

I do no t d i spu t e t ha t I s i gned seve r a l ag r eemen t s w i t h WCW

I
t ha t i nd i ca t ed " i ndependen t con t r ac t o r " or s i m i l a r l anguage .
neve r i n t ended , howeve r , t o s i gn a con t r ac t t ha t wou l d p r even t me
f rom r ece i v i ng a l l o f t he p ro t ec t i on o f my c i v i l r i gh t s ,
espec i a l l y once I began p rov i d i ng emp l oymen t se r v i ces f o r WCW .
Towa r ds t he l as t seve r a l yea r s o f my emp l oymen t , i t became
appa r en t t o me t ha t I was wo r k i ng i n t he same manne r as o t he r
I ndeed , I am no t awa r e t ha t WCW
emp l oyees i nc l ud i ng J i mmy Ha r t .
Thus ,
eve r had an As i an execu t i ve manage r , or even an emp l oyee .
emp
l
oyee
I be l i eve I was den i ed my r i gh t t o become an ac t ua l
because o f my r ace and na t i ona l o r i g i n .
3.
I be l i eve I was
d i sc r i m i na t i on -

t e r m i na t ed based upon i l l ega l

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Case 1:00-cv-00368-CC Document 116 Filed 01/16/03 Page 28 of 260

9 .
Du r i ng t he en t i r e yea r o f 1999 , I was r egu l a r l y , and
o f t en t i mes cons t an t l y , appea r i ng on v i r t ua l l y a l l o f t he WCW ma i n
even t s .
I ndeed , t h r oughou t mos t o f 1999 , B i l l Husch was ve r y
much a s i gn i f i can t bus i ness o f f i c i a l a t WCW .
I am no t su r e how
f am i l i a r he was w i t h ou r shows . I was t o l d t ha t he d i d no t even
know wha t J i mmy Ha r t ' s r o l e was a t WCW . 1am awa r e t ha t he was no t
ve r y f am i l i a r w i t h t he i r day - t o - day bus i ness a f f a i r s , he was
gene r a l l y awa r e o f va r i ous t h i ngs .
A t no t i me , d i d he eve r
comp l a i n t o me t ha t he was conce r ned abou t my ab i l i t y t o gene r a t e
WCW ' s r a t i ngs .

5.
A l so , du r i ng t he mon t h o f Oc t obe r , i n o rde r t o boos t a r ena
me r chand i se sa l es , WCW deve l oped and app roved t he i dea o f i ssu i ng
a $5 . 00 coupon ca l l ed Sonny Money .
I t was a l so go i ng t o be
i nco r po r a t ed i n t o my on a i r cha r ac t e r ' s s t o r y l i ne .
The coupons
we r e p r i n t ed and we r e schedu l ed t o be i mp l emen t ed v i r t ua l l y a t
t he same t i me t ha t I was t e rm i na t ed .
The on l y change i n my
schedu l e was t ha t I was add i t i ona l l y o r de r ed by D i ana Meye r s t o
s t a r t appea r i ng on non - t e l ev i sed house shows .
Th i s came d i r ec t l y
f rom B i l l Susch and we d i scussed i t a t l eng t h .
Zane Sr ezno f f was
t he a r ena p romo t e r who r eques t ed t ha t I s t a r t appea r i ng on t hese
non - t e l ev i sed shows .
6.
I was appea r i ng f r equen t l y , i f no t a l l o f t he t i me , r i gh t up
un t i l t he t i me t ha t Russo began d i scuss i ons w i t h WCW_
When Russo
f i na l l y a r r i ved , I was no t used a t a l l .
I am awa r e t ha t Russo
was i nvo l ved a t WCW even be f o r e he was o f f i c i a l l y pa r t o f WCW .
7 .
Th r oughou t t he cou r se o f my emp l oymen t , I cons t an t l y asked
t o manage Caucas i an w r es t l e r s .
A l t hough I was den i ed t he
oppo r t un i t y t o manage Caucas i an wr es t l e r s , I was spec i f i ca l l y
den i ed t he oppo r t un i t y t o manage t he f o l l ow i ng Caucas i an
w r es t l e r s : Br i an Adams ; Shane He l ms ; H i l l Dumo t t ( Hugh Mo r r us ) ;
Je f f Fa r me r ; Devayne Br uce ( Sa rge ) ; Ron Re i s ; A t om Bomb : I an
Hodgk i nson ; and Dave Tay l o r .

8.

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I
I do r eca l l show i ng Mon i ca Jenn i ngs t he " Ch i nese menu . "
de f i n i t e l y f ound t he menu o f f ens i ve .
A l t hough she and I bo t h
gave a l augh i n d i sbe l i e f , i t was no t a l augh t ha t we f ound i t
humo rous .
The l augh was t o show t he hope l essness i n chang i ng t he
r ac i a l i nsens i t i v i t y a t WCW and how r ac i a l b i as was w i desp r ead .
9.
I n t he w r es t i ng p r o f ess i on , t he r e a r e t wo (2) t ypes o f
The bad guys
cha r ac t e r s .
The " baby f aces " a r e t he good guys .
a r e cons i de r ed t he " hee l s . "
I was asked t o wo r k as a ' hee l "
w r es t l i ng manage r .
I n t ha t r o l e , I was supposed t o gene r a t e
" hea t " wh i ch i s t he f r i c t i on aga i ns t t he " baby f aces " t o p r oduce
exc i t emen t f o r t he c r owds .
I was ve r y good i n my r o l e and I
a l ways po r t r ayed a nega t i ve " hee l . "
10 .
A l t hough J i mmy
I Was ve r y s i m i l a r l y s i t ua t ed t o J i mmy Ha r t .
p r ov i ded some wo r k f o r WCW t ha t I d i d no t spec i f i ca l l y do , and
a l t hough I d i d t h i ngs t ha t he cou l d no t do , such as t r ans l a t e , we
bo t h we r e ve r y s i m i l a r i n t ha t we bo t h p r ov i ded on - a i r t a l en t
se r v i ces as we l l as beh i nd t he scenes adm i n i s t r a t i ve wo r k i n
connec t i on w i t h t he w r es t l e r s f o r WCW shows We a l so gene r a t ed
bus i ness oppo r t un i t i es f o r WCW .

11 .
I wo r ked ve r y c l ose l y w i t h J i mmy Ha r t on a CD f o r t he New
Wo r l d O rde r compac t d i sc , wh i ch was so l d i n Japan .
I had a
con t r ac t r i gh t t o money f o r t h i s CD .
A l t hough I had asked
seve r a l t i mes f o r t he sa l es f i gu r es or documen t a t i on show i ng t he
p ro f i t s , 2 was a l ways den i ed my r eques t .
I do no t be l i eve t ha t
WCW has pa i d a l l o f t he money t ha t i s owed t o me f o r t h i s CD
dea l .
12 .
I n f ac t , i n my d i scuss i ons w i t h M r . Ha r t , I have been
p r ov i ded w i t h i n f o r ma t i on t ha t many cop i es o f t h i s CD have been
so l d , bu t t ha t WCW w i l l no t con f i r m ou r i n f o r ma t i on .

13 .
J i mmy Ha r t and I a l so wo r ked on t he songs i n connec t i on w i t h
t he songs t ha t we r e used on t he New Wo r l d O r de r CD .
I ndeed , some
o f t he songs even had by name assoc i a t ed w i t h t hem .
I am now

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Case 1:00-cv-00368-CC Document 116 Filed 01/16/03 Page 30 of 260

awa r e t ha t t wo o f t he exac t same songs , wh i ch appea r ed on t he New

Wo r l d Mayhem CD , a l so appea r ed on t he Tommy Boy Mayhem CD .
J i mmy
Ha r t , who i s as know l edgeab l e abou t t h i s i ssue as anybody , has
assu r ed me t ha t i ndeed t wo o f t he exac t same songs
- Bu f f Daddy
and Wo l f pack - t ha t we gene r a t ed i n connec t i on w i t h New Wo r l d
O r de r CD we r e a l so used on t he Tommy Boy Mayhem CD .
A l so , t hese
t wo songs we r e no t r e - cu t , r e - ed i t ed o r a l t e r ed i n any way .
19 .

A l t hough J i mmy Ha r t r ece i ved r evenue f o r va r i ous me r chan t

i t ems such as t - sh i r t s and do l l s assoc i a t ed w i t h h i s name , WCW
neve r had any me r chand i se f o r me .
15 .
I dec l a r e unde r pena l t y o f pe r j u r y t ha t t he f o r ego i ng i s
t rue and co r r ec t .

Ka2uo
/G -

Execu t ed on

- 7-

1 .e 3

(Da t e )