Eric Bischoff Keeps His Finger on the Pulse of Wrestling Two Decades After the Fall of WCW
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Eric Bischoff on Scott Hall’s debut on Nitro: “We couldn’t have him come through the entrance. How is that believable if he’s not supposed to be there?”
Eric Bischoff needs no reminder of May 27, 1996, the night Scott Hall made his Nitro debut.
“I remember it vividly,” says Bischoff, sitting on his son’s deck in Florida while visiting his grandson, the newest addition to the Bischoff family. “That was a collaborative effort, and while other people could have played that role that night, coming out of the crowd, no one could have had the lasting impact Scott had.”
Hall, who died last week at the age of 63, forever changed wrestling that spring night. He emerged from the crowd, climbed over a ringside barricade, then interrupted the Steve Doll–Mauler match to cut a promo that will remain timeless for as long as pro wrestling’s heart continues to beat.
“Scott’s performance distinguished him well above and beyond anyone else,” Bischoff says. “He understood the psychology of a story better than anyone I’ve ever spent time with creatively.
“Scott was capable of doing the smallest gesture and making it mean so much. Whether that was a hand gesture or a look or a pause, he mastered the art of nuanced storytelling.”
Earlier that day, Bischoff gave Hall a ride from the airport to the venue, which was the Macon Coliseum in Macon, Ga.
“We had about a 90-minute drive, and I wanted to get to know him,” Bischoff says. “At the time, I was driving a Porsche, so I picked him up at the airport Marriott in Atlanta in my wife’s car so Scott could be more comfortable. Our negotiations had gone smoothly, and we hadn’t spent a lot of time talking about our plans creatively. I’d kept the whole NWO plan discreet because I didn’t want it to leak.
“Up until that point, we’d only had brief interactions. Now I’d heard rumors about The Kliq and everything else. For us in WCW, we’d reached a point by ’96 that our morale was pretty good, which had been a big challenge. When Bill Watts left, it was at an all-time low, even for WCW standards. We’d turned that around, and I wanted to make it clear to Scott, in a positive way, that we’d built up the morale and that it was important to us. So we talked and we had this great conversation. In terms of creative, I knew what I wanted to do with the idea, but I took input and it was a collaborative process.”
In retrospect, the decision to have Hall come through the crowd seems obvious for someone seeking a hostile takeover. Yet 26 years ago, that was a creative detail that sparked genuine debate about whether Hall had truly arrived from Vince McMahon’s World Wrestling Federation to start an interpromotional battle against WCW.
“We couldn’t have him come through the entrance,” Bischoff says. “How is that believable if he’s not supposed to be there?
“In the big picture, that moment achieved what we were looking to do, which was to be different. That was my goal with Nitro—make it different than anyone had ever seen before from a creative perspective. I wanted to introduce stories and characters in a way that it felt cutting edge—like having someone come out of the crowd. And involving a performer like Scott made it turn out to be magic.”
Hall’s passing is a not-so-gentle reminder that no one is invincible, even those who are larger than life. Over the past week, Bischoff also mourned the loss of Mike Shields, who was best known in pro wrestling for his time as a producer and director with the AWA. In 1986, Shields hired a 31-year-old Eric Bischoff, forever rewriting the course of the industry.
“It’s changed my life, my wife’s life, my children’s lives,” Bischoff says. “And I’ll never forget how it all began. It started when Mike Shields, who worked for Jerry Jarrett for a long time, hired me in the AWA. I wouldn’t be in the business today if it weren’t for Mike. He was so smart, and had a real strong understanding of syndication. I’ll always be grateful to him for the lessons he shared with me.”
Now a wrestling free agent, Bischoff is busy hosting the wildly successful 83 Weeks podcast with Conrad Thompson. He is not signed to a contract with any major wrestling promotion, leaving him available for guest cameos with WWE and AEW. He last appeared in AEW in May of last year, but far more recently in WWE. Bischoff served as the wedding officiant on the Dec. 27 edition of Raw, helping renew the vows of The Miz and Maryse before Edge ultimately interrupted.
“Bruce Prichard called me on a Thursday to be there on a Monday, and all I knew was Bruce said, ‘There’s going to be a wedding. So be prepared,’ which is WWE-speak for shenanigans,” says Bischoff, who returned for a backstage appearance on SmackDown in January. “They laid it out to me when I got there, and I went with it.”
That wedding appearance was a reminder that Bischoff remains outstanding on camera, and he adds significant value to the plot and structure of a wrestling show.
“I’m very comfortable in the ring; I’m very comfortable on camera,” Bischoff says. “If I know the basis of a story, I can bring my character to the table and add to the moment.”
The wrestling industry has moved decidedly away from on-air authority figures, though if done correctly, the role still has its benefits. William Regal, for instance, excelled in that position in Triple H’s black-and-gold era of NXT, but neither WWE nor AEW has a true on-screen authority figure. Bischoff was asked whether he would consider playing that role on a weekly basis on Raw.
“Of course,” he says, referencing unfading memories of authority figures such as Jack Tunney in the WWF and Wally Karbo in the AWA. “That’s because I miss it. I miss performing. It’s something I really, really enjoy. When you learn to love to perform, it’s something you get addicted to, especially in front of a live crowd in wrestling. You can’t get that energy anywhere else. It is addicting, so of course, I’d consider it.
“Stories need structure and to be within the realm of possibility, so I would like to see that role come back in either WWE or AEW. Tony Khan likes to be in front of the camera, but he’s not controlling the show as an on-air authority figure. And I understand why WWE and AEW don’t want to over-rely on that character, but you still need some structure to make it believable. I thought Kurt Angle really shined in that commissioner role. The one thing I didn’t have was the ability to threaten anyone and go nose-to-nose with anyone. Kurt had that ability, and that made him very unique. He doesn’t get enough credit for what he did in that role.”
Bischoff’s ability to discuss the evolving nature of pro wrestling is unmatched. While Thompson was not part of the most recent show on 83 Weeks, an element that brings so much electricity to the podcast is the back-and-forth between Bischoff and Thompson, who highlight the best and worst of an unforgettable era in WCW.
“When I first started with Conrad, I was defensive,” Bischoff says. “Over time, I’ve grown so comfortable with it. The more comfortable I’ve got, the more fun it’s become. I’ll be 67 years old in two months, and wrestling has been such a big part of my life. Now I can keep my toes in the water and talk about wrestling in a really fun way.
“And I’m not saying that I am never wrong—it’s all just my opinion. Now that happens to be the opinion of someone who achieved something no one else in the past 40 years has achieved, yet that doesn’t mean I’m always right. I love making people think about this product. If you think about it differently, perhaps you’ll enjoy it more, which means you can expand your mind and do more than just rate a match. I try to encourage people to think about the more subtle elements of what makes wrestling so phenomenal to watch every week on television.”
In an appearance streaming exclusively on FITE, Bischoff will return to the stage during WrestleMania weekend for the Supershow Live! event at Gilley’s in Dallas. He will be joined by cohost Thompson, as well as Jeff Hardy, William Regal (who Bischoff still warmly refers to as Steven) and Jeff Jarrett.
“Moments like that give me a live rush,” Bischoff says. “It’s a fun experience, and I’m grateful that so many people are so excited about it. I can’t wait to put on a show in Dallas.”
The (online) week in wrestling
- Seth Rollins still doesn’t have a dance partner for WrestleMania 38, though that won’t be the case come Mania weekend.
- The build to WrestleMania has served as an opportunity for Kevin Owens to remind us of his brilliance.
- Thunder Rosa won the AEW women’s championship in an extremely exciting main event last week on Dynamite, ending the title reign of Dr. Britt Baker.
- AEW will partner with DDT Pro-Wrestling, opening up an exciting possibility for matches that likely never would have happened otherwise.
- Kazuyuki Fujita defeated Masato Tanaka in his first defense of the GHC heavyweight title.
- I get the feeling Matt Cardona isn’t likely to have many clean finishes in big matches as NWA champ, as was the case Sunday when guest referee Jeff Jarrett ruled Cardona the winner via disqualification—despite tapping out—against Nick Aldis at the Crockett Cup show.
- Congrats to Jonathan Gresham, who added the PROGRESS world title to his collection.
The Briscoes win the Crockett Cup, will defend their ROH tag titles against FTR on April 1 at ‘Supercard of Honor’
Jay and Mark Briscoe won the NWA’s Crockett Cup this weekend, becoming only the fifth team to win the tag tournament.
Originally created by Jim Crockett to honor his father, the Jim Crockett Sr. Memorial Cup Tag Team Tournament was a centerpiece of three Jim Crockett Promotions events. The legendary Road Warriors won the inaugural Crockett Cup in 1986, followed by the team of Dusty Rhodes and Nikita Koloff—who together formed The Super Powers—in ’87, and the final winners were Sting and Lex Luger, who always combined to make an outstanding team, in ’88.
Once Crockett sold to Ted Turner, the Crockett Cup never ran in WCW. But Billy Corgan and the NWA brought it back to life in 2019. The team of Brody King and PCO won that year’s tournament and, because the pandemic forced the tournament to be canceled in ’20 and ’21, remained the most recent winners until The Briscoes crowned themselves new champions in a two-day tournament that commenced Sunday at the Tennessee State Fairground Sports Arena.
“Legends have won the Crockett Cup,” Mark Briscoe says. “You win the Crockett Cup; it means something. It’s like a NASCAR driver winning Daytona. We are tag team wrestlers, and this is our life, so it means a lot to us.”
The Briscoes defeated Harry Smith and Doug Williams in the finals, adding another accolade to their vast collection.
“Look at who’s won in the past,” Jay Briscoe says. “Those are icons. So to have our names in the same group as those guys, that’s big.”
The victory places The Briscoes in the same group of Crockett Cup winners as the Road Warriors. Growing up as massive fans of Hawk and Animal made this past Sunday even more meaningful.
“We met Animal a few times and let him know how much he influenced us,” Mark says. “And he said he was a fan of us, which was pretty cool to hear.”
“When you saw the Road Warriors, you knew you were going to see an ass-kicking,” Jay adds. “They stood out; they were unique. Our goal is to bring that same type of uniqueness.”
The Crockett Cup victory means there will be more of The Briscoes in the NWA. As one of the most decorated teams to ever operate outside of WWE, their focus will be on the tag titles—and the team that holds them, La Rebelión’s Bestia 666 and Mecha Wolf 450.
“All we do is win titles,” Mark says. “Dem Boys are steamrolling, and we’re coming for those belts.”
The Briscoes are also the reigning Ring of Honor tag team champions, and they will defend the titles against FTR on April 1 in Texas at Supercard of Honor.
“FTR can expect a beating like they’ve never had before,” Jay says. “It doesn’t matter they’ve won in WWE or AEW. They’ve never been in the ring with a team like us.”
Tweet of the Week
Fortunate to be alive after landing on his head, Big E has been open about sharing his recovery from a broken neck.
Justin Barrasso can be reached at JBarrasso@gmail.com. Follow him on Twitter @JustinBarrasso.
