10 Most Outstanding Career Revivals In WWE

You can make a good case for arguing that, at one point, Eric Bischoff was the most powerful man in wrestling.

By 1997, Bischoff had presided over a renaissance at World Championship Wrestling that brought the former NWA flagship promotion out of its post-territorial ghetto and onto the national stage. In WCW Nitro, he’d created a two-hour live television show that had eclipsed the WWF’s lacklustre, complacent product. Nitro would go on to beat Monday Night RAW in the ratings for eighty-four consecutive weeks.

That was the high water mark of his career. Fast forward to 2001, and the WWF's competition had collapsed like wet cake. Almost completely identified with WCW – for good or bad – Bischoff was apparently finished in professional wrestling.

Then came July 15th 2002, and Bischoff’s shock debut as the new General Manager of Monday Night RAW. It was purely a television role, with little to no production or creative input; but nonetheless, for WWE fans who’d weathered the Monday Night Wars, this was like hiring Jack the Ripper to run a brothel.

And Bischoff was perfect, seeming to revel in playing the bad guy without worrying about the book. Now working for his former nemesis, Bischoff even cannily spun the heel character with a little extra insecurity, a little more cowardice, to highlight his lesser backstage role.

From summer 2002 to winter 2005, Eric Bischoff remains the longest running RAW GM in history. Never less than entertaining (and often brilliant), it’s some of the best work he’s ever done in the business.