1. What If Eric Bischoff Had Been Able To Buy Back WCW?
It's possible--not likely, mind you--but possible that WCW would still be up and running today if Vince McMahon hadn't bought it out. Obviously, for the last couple years of its life WCW was just asking to be put out of its misery. Bischoff's mishandling of talent and Vince Russo's run of insanity all but ensured its demise. And yet, isn't there a part of you that wonders what would have happened to the company if, instead of Vince buying out his competition and siphoning off the talent, Eric Bischoff had been able to retain it from Ted Turner and AOL? According to Bischoff, he and some of his investors were nearing a deal just before Vince snagged it out from underneath him. It was only once AOL Time Warner refused to sell him the TV time that the deal was stopped. Still...what if Bischoff had a couple months to persuade them into freeing up some time on a Turner network or had taken the product to another channel? It still probably would have sucked, honestly. Bischoff never seemed like one to really learn form his mistakes. But maybe since it was his checkbook instead of Ted Turner's, he would have been a little more careful and thorough in his decision-making. Maybe he would have realized he needed to grow talent from within to sustain the company. Maybe he would have dropped Hall and Nash and Hogan and all the other guys who were becoming more of a detriment to the company than they were worth. Maybe he would have finally brought some competition back to Vince McMahon. Maybe. But, ya know...probably not.
