10 Crippling Times Wrestlers Worked Themselves Into A Shoot

6. Eric Bischoff

Given that an ageing martial arts mark of a non-wrestler is taking the road to WrestleMania 35 as SmackDown’s top heel, we are justified in classifying Eric Bischoff, another ageing martial arts mark of a non-wrestler, as a “wrestler” here.

In 1996, keen to experiment beyond the passé narrative confines of an industry on its a*se, Bischoff was encouraged by Brian Pillman to release him from his contract. Some context: Pillman had adopted the ‘Loose Cannon’ character, a wild-eyed, raspy-voiced act that existed within WCW’s worked universe on his own, demented terms. The act was a believable sensation: Pillman portrayed it with such an unsettling intensity that it was as if he’d spent his nights on the road not blinking once, crafting a masterplan to burn the world down.

To maintain the integrity of the angle, in the wake of the unprecedented finish to SuperBrawl VI’s ‘I Respect You’ Strap match, in which Pillman disrespected the script, Bischoff legitimately released Pillman from his deal. Bischoff had worked the boys—but Pillman worked Bischoff by sparking a bidding war between his WCW and the WWF, one that intensified following Pillman’s legendary and incendiary cameo at ECW CyberSlam.

Bischoff was too keen to experiment. It blew up in his face when Pillman, on a genius tear, recognised that the WWF, without a Hulk Hogan contractually free to dominate main events, represented the only avenue to superstardom.

The shoot didn’t work, ultimately; Pillman’s demise was tragic as it was inevitable.