10 First Years In WWE That Went From Amazing To Awful
4. Eric Bischoff
His handshake-and-hug introduction from Vince McMahon may not have been the tension-ravaged first meeting between the two many longtime fans has wished for, but Eric Bischoff's mere presence as an authority figure in the employ of his former rival was, from both a real life and storyline perspective, a red hot proposition.
Bischoff's intentionally smarmy introductory promo as Raw General Manager in July 2002 appeared to lay the table for a cynical turf war against SmackDown, and early weeks in conflict with Stephanie McMahon helped curate some of the more memorable moments of the original brand split.
It was a crying shame then, when in 2003 his character's independence and autonomy was hurled into the bin in order to make way for the return of Stone Cold Steve Austin.
An angle in which Vince was deeply unhappy with Eric (thus forcing the former WCW chief to seek Austin's return to save his employment) began a campaign of embarrassment for the previously slick persona. Austin's comeback actually made things worse when his real retirement resulted in an unwanted warring GM's storyline that dominated Monday Night Raw for the majority of the year.