Throughout the whole 'Monday Night War' scenario, Eric Bischoff had been pretty brash. Before the Slamboree 1998 Pay-Per-View, he even challenged Vince McMahon to show up and fight him. During the mid-to-late-90's, Bischoff was one of the most powerful men in the entire North American pro wrestling industry. Before Vince McMahon swooped in, Bischoff scrambled to try and put together a deal to buy WCW. Obviously, that didn't happen, and he later showed up in WWE in 2002. By then, it was far too late, he should have been in the door immediately. One problem fans had with the Invasion angle was that the likes of Shane and Stephanie McMahon were opposing their father's WWF. Shane was installed as the 'owner' of World Championship Wrestling. After the initial shock of that wore off, it failed mightily to truly connect with fans. Eric Bischoff would have been a crucial part of the storyline had he been portrayed as still being the WCW owner. It was men like Bischoff that fans wanted to see on the opposite side, not the McMahon family.