CONTROVERSY KING
Who is WWE executive producer Eric Bischoff in Who Killed WCW wrestling documentary?
Plus a look at his career highlights
ERIC Bischoff is best known for being a television producer and professional wrestling booker.
A new documentary explores the timeline of WCW including Bischoff's influence.
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Who is Eric Bischoff?
Eric Bischoff found fame serving as the executive producer and on-screen roles in WCW.
He took on WWE and it's CEO Vince McMahon in the infamous Monday Night Wars, a ratings competition taking place in the late 1990s.
He was born Eric Aaron Bischoff on May 27, 1955, in Detroit, Michigan.
Before getting into professional wrestling in the late 1980s, he had a variety of occupations including: actor, owning a landscaping company, veterinary assistant, and selling meat from a truck.
Mike Johnson of Pro Wrestling Insider wrote: "His place in history is this and it will always be this - he's the only person to come along and kick Vince McMahon hard enough that he forced WWF's product to evolve and get better.
"No matter whether he won the ratings for 83 weeks or one week, his legacy is that he made pro wrestling change for the better in the mid-1990s."
He started his wrestling career in 1987 under Verne Gagne's AWA, he would later join WCW after a failed WWE (then WWF) try out.
In 1991, WCW hired Bischoff as an announcer, but would soon be promoted to Executive Producer and then to Senior Vice President.
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What was Eric Bischoff's role in WWE and WCW's 'Monday Night Wars'?
The Monday Night Wars was a ratings competition between WWF and WCW between 1995-2001.
Bischoff helped develop the vision for WCW flagship show Nitro airing the same time as long-running WWE flagship Monday Night RAW.
WWE Superstars dish the dirt on their locker room mates in fun Sun Sport feature ft Damian Priest, Piper Niven, Finn Balor and Jey Uso
He also was the brains behind iconic faction New World Order (NWO), the original members being ex-WWF stars Scott Hall, Kevin Nash, and Hulk Hogan.
NWO helped Nitro beat RAW in the ratings for 83 weeks consecutively.
During this time he used tactics like spoiling WWE's match results because their show didn't air live.
He also persuaded WWE Hall of Famer Alundra Blayze, (known as Medusa in WCW) to show up on Nitro and throw her championship belt in the trash live on TV.
This caused McMahon and WWF to strategize on how to beat their competition and the Attitude Era was born.
Soon after, RAW's ratings began to rise and at the same time internal problems began to plague Bischoff's WCW.
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In 1999 the Detroit native was replaced by former WWF writer Vince Russo who claimed to be the brains behind WWF's Attitude Era.
This did not help the decline in viewership and Bischoff was brought back into WCW until the company closed in 2001.
When was Eric Bischoff in WWE?
After McMahon bought WCW for a reportedly low price, Bischoff shocked fans when he made a surprise entrance on RAW in 2002.
He was hired as the RAW General Manager, where he had feuds against Stone Cold Steve Austin, John Cena, Stephanie McMahon and Paul Heyman.
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He worked with the company up until 2005, making appearances over the following two years.
Bischoff would later return to WWE in June 2019 as the Executive Director of SmackDown.
In October of that same year it was announced that he was leaving the company and was replaced by Heyman.
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What was Eric Bischoff's role in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA)?
After his stint in WWE, Bischoff moved on to new company, Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA), and made his premiere in 2010.
He served as onscreen talent, and the Executive Producer of Impact Wrestling.
In 2013, Bischoff was sent home to sit out the remainder of his contract after a dispute and he would even sue TNA for unpaid salary.
"For the most part, it is very regrettable" and "looking back, I wished I wouldn't have done it, with one or two exceptions." he said about his TNA run.
What is Eric Bischoff doing now?
When the 'Controversy King' was not working in wrestling, he was developing reality shows with his production company Bischoff-Hervey Entertainment.
In 2011 he developed a brewing company in Cody, Wyoming called Buffalo Bill Cody Beer.
After quitting his MLW podcast show Bischoff on Wrestling due to being shortchanged, he started working on 83 Weeks with Eric Bischoff with Conrad Thompson.
A new documentary has been released which tells the story of WCW and has been produced by Dwayne Johnson.
The iconic rise and fall of WCW is one of professional wrestling’s most captivating stories – full of big dreams, massive successes, painful failures, and the harsh realities of the pro wrestling business.
Dwayne Johnson
The synopsis of Who Killed WCW? reads: "The series, which premieres on June 4, will explore the complex factors that led to the promotion’s downfall, including management challenges, creative decisions, and the intense competition during the infamous Monday Night Wars.
"It will feature exclusive, in-depth interviews with wrestlers, executives, and insiders and will shed light never seen before on the personal stories and struggles of those who lived through the rise and fall of WCW."
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Speaking to Deadline Dwayne Johnson said that the organization inspired his own wrestling career.
He said: "The iconic rise and fall of WCW is one of professional wrestling’s most captivating stories – full of big dreams, massive successes, painful failures, and the harsh realities of the pro wrestling business."
Eric Bischoff career highlights
Here's a look at Eric Bischoff's career highlights:
- Wrestling career began in the late 1980s for the American Wrestling Association
- Joined World Championship Wrestling (WCW) as an announcer in 1991
- Bischoff became a Vice President in 1994
- Bischoff designed and produced new show WCW Monday Nitro in 1996
- In 2002, Bischoff was hired by World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) to be the general manager of RAW
- In June 2019, WWE announced that Bischoff would be the new executive director of SmackDown