Eric Bischoff disliked Ric Flair, and actively marginalised him in the mid to late nineties. But WCW numbers didn't lie, Flair was a ratings, pay per view, and attendance draw. Fans wanted to see him, but WCW would only give him mere scraps to feed upon. Sometimes he wasn't even booked at all. It ate Flair up and the tension with Bischoff stewed for years. Eric's problem was that he couldn't grasp that WCW was still very much a southern based audience. He felt like Flair was old news, when in fact he was pro wrestling's Michael Jordan. Can you imagine Jordan being left on the bench? WCW would have made far more money if they had pushed Flair big for an extended period in the mid to late nineties. A lengthy Flair World Title run would have restored prestige and done numbers with the loyal southern fanbase.
