(10th July) Love Or Hate?

[leonp1981]

Eric Bischoff

Was he the the man who single handedly dragged WCW into the ratings war, and was he therefore responsible for both companies having to raise their game to win the viewers?  Was he the most committed person in the WCW, willing to do anything, even buy the company himself, to keep it going?

OR

Was he just a cog in the WCW machine, someone who gladly accepted the credit where others played a major part?  Did he hire star power at any cost, which could have ultimately caused the collapse of the company?  Is he so self-centred that he quite happily accepted a job with the very people he was competing against for so long, as long as it was in his own interests?

[windsor88]

If he was the one to bring in Hitman and the Warrior then he shot himself in the foot with those deals.

[Montague]

When analyzing the downfall of WCW, a lot of people are quick to point the finger at Bischoff (and Russo), citing that it was their ideas and mismanagement that landed WCW in the gutter. And that much is true.

But when playing the blame game, I think it’s important to remember one point: it wasn’t Eric Bischoff’s company – or Vince Russo for that matter. If you want to blame somebody, you blame the guy who Okayed all that stuff.

Vince McMahon has a lot of people working for him in different roles, but no matter what, HE has the final say in whatever happens in his company…because it’s HIS company.

Ted Turner owned WCW. Granted, he appointed a lot of (the wrong) people to run things, but ultimately it was his company.
He had the power – anytime he wanted – to step in, put his foot down, and say the magic word, “No.”

The fact that he didn’t do that means that either he had no clue what was happening there, or he just didn’t care. Either way, that seems like an extremely poor way to conduct business.
I’ve heard that Turner knew who Flair was, and it pretty much ended there.

Eric had some good ideas that propelled WCW into the position of the first threatening competition that outdrew Vince in the ratings.
But he soon let friendships interfere with business, and he spun out of control with Turner’s checkbook.

Russo came up with horrible angles, put himself on TV, and seemed intent on proving that you can make anyone into a star – including David Arquette and Buff Bagwell’s mother.

Neither of these men, nor Turner came from a wrestling background, and I believe that is what helped and hurt them.

[windsor88]

Buff Bagwell’s mother.

lol. How did that spin go down.  I remember it was funny.  Did he beat the shit out of his own mom?

[Montague]

Russo put the tag belts on Buff and his mum.
Even though it's just in the context of a story line, don't you think that discredits/devalues the title(s)?

Vince could always make his belts mean something - that's why he almost had a stroke when Madussa showed up on TBS tossing the Fed's women's title in the trash.

[Montague]

I watched these a few months ago and found it interesting to compare what Bischoff claimed & predicted to what actually happened.

[Montague]

I can’t believe Eric attributed Austin’s success to the fact that he was the “only” star in WWF.

He said that if Austin was still in WCW (at that time), he’d still be a mid-card guy because he’d pale in comparison to the “real stars” like Savage, Hall, Nash, Hogan, etc.
Funny…
Austin was a mere WCW mid-carder BEFORE any of those guys ever showed up in the company. So how would Eric explain that?

[leonp1981]

What about his run in WWE?  Was that purely about the money, or do you think he was trying to recapture his former glory?

[Montague]

He was right about Austin. Austin only became a star because of a past prime HBK with a bust back. If it were'nt for the McMahon/Austin fued after that. He'd of never been put over as a star. If the same star line up was in the Federation. Hulk, Macho, Goldberg, Bret, Flair, and all the NWO guys. Austin wouldn't have amounted to jack shit. Undertaker could still headline and also The Heartbreak Kid. But not Austin, the Rock, or HHH.

Those guys would have been heftier competition for sure, but Austin was a mid-carder in WCW before all those names arrived.
That’s the flaw in Bischoff’s argument.

Steve maintains that WCW didn’t know how to use him.
Bischoff insists that if Austin was still with WCW, he’d be a mid-card guy due to the presence of Hogan, Savage, etc.
But that doesn’t explain why Austin was merely a mid-carder before WCW’s acquisition of all that talent.

As for Austin’s WWF success… yes, there were some good workers at the time, but nobody that was at, say, the “Hogan” level.
Taker and Shawn were headliners, but they didn’t have the notoriety of Hulkamania. They weren’t mainstream the way Hogan was, and the way Austin would become.

Shawn was popular within the confines of WWF, but most people who didn’t follow wrestling (and specifically the Fed) had no idea who he was.
But just about everybody on the planet knew Hulk Hogan, and that’s the position Austin stepped into.

Would Austin have been given the chance to do what he did with all those other guys around?
Probably not.
There would have been no need for it, and he would have gone undiscovered.
But once Austin 3:16 was fully established, I don’t care if Bischoff’s entire roster had (re)joined WWF. Austin was bigger than all of them.

Vince listened to the fans on this one.
The people wanted to see Austin go over HBK.
The fans wanted Austin on top.
That’s why he got the pops he did…
That's why WWF's numbers went up with him at the helm...
It’s why he got the cross industry fame he did…
And it’s why his merchandise outsold every other superstar’s in history.

[Montague]

What about his run in WWE?  Was that purely about the money, or do you think he was trying to recapture his former glory?

I honestly believe he did it for a paycheck.
What else was he going to do?

He obviously would never have been given anything like his previous role in WCW. That spot’s reserved for the old man.
But maybe he wanted to do something like Jim Ross or Pat Patterson.
Vince Russo was given a lot of credit for WWF’s success leading up to his departure – even though the amount he actually deserved is debatable.

If WWF experienced an incredible surge in popularity with Eric in an important executive position, he would certainly look good claiming at least partial responsibility.

[Playboy]

Bishoff is a jackass but he did take WCW and turn it around making it the number 1 wrestling show for 92 straight weeks. Regardless of what anyone says. But how he treated Austin & Flair especially? He needed to get his lights knocked out.