Eric Bischoff Reflects On Tumultuous WCW Power Struggle With Former WWE Writer Vince Russo
Former WCW President Eric Bischoff opened up about his power struggle with former WWE writer Vince Russo.
At 69, Bischoff remains a significant figure in wrestling history, particularly for his role in WCW’s challenge to WWE during the Monday Night Wars. In 1999, Bischoff was relieved of his duties but was later brought back alongside Vince Russo, not only as an on-screen villain but also as a creative consultant. Bischoff stated during an interview with Inside the Ropes:
I wasn’t fired, but I couldn’t go work for anybody else either so they kind of put me in wrestling prison, but it was kind of nice because they were paying me a lot of money and I had two and a half years left of my contract. I was making almost $750,000 a year so, I’m going to go fishing. I didn’t stress over it but when they called me to come back and here’s another legal thing, in US law, once a company exercises that pay or play provision they can’t force you to come back to work.
After Bischoff’s initial departure, Russo was hired to lead WCW’s creative direction. Bischoff was later invited back as a consultant, tasked with overseeing Russo’s work.
So when I came back to WCW I came back not as an employee I wasn’t overseeing WCW, my job was to be a consultant for creative. I was to oversee Vince Russo but I reported as a consultant, not an employee.
Initially, the partnership appeared promising. Bischoff found Russo to be a charismatic individual, making the collaboration seem viable.
I thought he’s [Vince Russo] a charming guy. Vince Russo is a very charming guy. Like if he was up here, you guys would all think he’s the greatest guy in the world. If you had to do business with him, you’d want to slit his throat. But he’s a very charming dude and I got, he sucked me in. [I thought] I can work with this guy. It wasn’t until months later that I went, nope.
Who Did Eric Bischoff Label A “Con Man And A Fraud”?
Eric Bischoff labelled wrestling journalist Dave Meltzer a “con man and a fraud” during an episode of his podcast. Bischoff was speaking about Meltzer’s criticisms of WCW’s TV product in the late ‘90s and said that he loved to expose people like Meltzer for their hypocritical comments.
H/t to ITRWrestling.com