Only one man can say hes ever defeated Vince McMahon at his own game. That man is Eric Bischoff, former figurehead of World Championship Wrestling. After having started his career as an advertising salesman for the AWA, Bischoff accidentally fell into a job as a commentator. That job eventually turned into a spot as a broadcaster and executive producer with WCW. Based on his resume and business acumen, Eric Bischoff was appointed executive vice president of World Championship Wrestling in 1994. Now in charge, Bischoff went all out, signing Hulk Hogan and Macho Man Randy Savage away from the WWF and convincing Ted Turner to finance a live television show on Monday nights to compete with McMahons Monday Night Raw. WCW had several advantages in the beginning of the famous Monday Night Wars such as a bigger budget, going live, and bigger names. The tipping point came in 1995 when Bischoff recruited Scott Hall and Kevin Nash, two more McMahon stars, to kick off the biggest storyline of all time: the New World Order. Booked as what appeared to be a WWF invasion, the NWO was a brilliant concept that delivered a major blow to the competition. Bischoff even convinced longtime good guy Hulk Hogan to become a villain and centerpiece of the stable. What followed was an 82-week undefeated streak in the Monday night ratings battle. Coincidentally (or not), it wasnt until Bischoff left his position of power in WCW that things genuinely started to fall apart.
Eric Delgado has been writing about professional wrestling for five years and has been involved in the professional wrestling business as a performer for ten. He is also the former host of Steel Cage Radio and has an irrational love for The Ryback.
