Eric Bischoff Not A Fan Of Comparing AEW’s The Elite To NWO
Eric Bischoff believes The Elite do not deserve to be compared to the legendary NWO stable.
Former WCW President Bischoff was the creative mastermind behind the creation of the memorable New World Order faction that dominated World Championship Wrestling from 1996 to 2000.
The stable came to the fore when Hulk Hogan shocked the wrestling world by turning heel at the Bash Of The Beach 1996 pay per view, joining the villainous duo of Kevin Nash and Scott Hall before unveiling the trio were to be collectively known as the ‘New World Order’ as crestfallen fans hurled objects into the ring from the stands.
Their arrival had been set up in the weeks prior to the event with recent WWE headliners Hall and Nash making surprise appearances on WCW television to tease a war between the two companies. Unbeknownst to fans, the pair had signed lucrative deals with WCW behind the scenes.
Bischoff, who also served as a commentator for the company at the time, promised the new arrivals a match at Bash At The Beach but his refusal to name WCW’s participants in the bout saw him the subject of a vicious assault by the newly signed pair, with Kevin Nash dropping the WCW Executive with a vicious powerbomb off the stage at the Great American Bash on 16th June 1996.
Some observers have drawn comparisons between that memorable moment in wrestling history and the recent attack on AEW President Tony Khan by Jack Perry and The Elite during the 24th April 2024 edition of Dynamite.
Bischoff dismissed those comparisons on a recent edition of his podcast ‘83 Weeks‘, suggesting the incident wasn’t worthy of a serious comparison in any way:
“They say [imitation is a form of flattery], not so much in this case.
If they would have made it a parody of how the NWO started and my scene in Baltimore where I got jackknife powerbombed off the stage and all that, if they would have set this whole scene up as a parody last night I probably would have been all about it. I would have enjoyed it. At least it would have been entertaining.”
The WWE Hall Of Famer was not done there, hammering the quality of the production and labelling the segment as a ‘parody’:
“It was so f***ing bad, it was parody, it was comedy, and the really sad part is they’re taking this s*** seriously. They meant that to be a serious angle. It was so f***ing horrible from the beginning.
This was without a doubt the worst, most horribly produced professional wrestling show for prime time on a major cable outlet in the last, maybe forever years.”
Eric Bischoff Discusses Potential WWE Return
Eric Bischoff has refused to rule out a return to WWE in future, but insists he would need to be on his terms.
The 68 year-old most recently served as Executive Director of SmackDown in 2019 and relocated to Connecticut as part of that role, however he has since stated that any new role with WWE must see him able to base himself at his picturesque Montana home.
H/T: WrestlingInc for the above transcription.