Without Eric Bischoff, World Championship Wrestling would not have survived the 1990s. A young announcer whose roots were in Minnesota with Verne Gagne's American Wrestling Association, Bischoff took the same role with World Championship Wrestling until an opportunity opened up and Bischoff was hired as president of the company. A brash, young and oftentimes arrogant executive, Bischoff took over a company in disarray. It was bleeding money and had never really shaken its old school mentality. Bischoff understood that to make WCW financially successful, he would have to enact some cost-cutting measures and introduce it to mainstream pop culture. While he accomplished the first part by implementing major television taping cycles at MGM Studios, it would take a few years and the creation of WCW Nitro to do the rest. With Nitro, Bischoff created a show that became must-see television thanks to matches that featured stars competing against one another. It was broadcast live every week and thus, fans never knew what they could expect from the show. When Bischoff introduced the NWO, decided to push Diamond Dallas Page and changed Sting's appearance and attitude, the show thrived. Ratings skyrocketed and the confident, cocky and arrogant Bischoff reaped the rewards. "Easy E" most certainly made decisions that contributed to the downfall of the company, thanks largely to hubris. But it was his vision, his leadership and his ability to manage the egos of his talent to the extent that he did that made the rise of WCW possible. He came far closer to putting Vince McMahon and the World Wrestling Federation out of business than WWE history dictates and for that, he deserves to be commended. He did what some of the most brilliant minds in the business could never do and that was provide McMahon with legitimate competition. He gave the WWF a fight unlike any it had ever experienced before. Bischoff lost, as did many before him. But for a two-year stretch, he was the leader of the number one organization in professional wrestling and the guiding force behind WCW's dominance of the WWF.
Erik Beaston is a freelance pro wrestling writer who likes long walks in the park, dandelions and has not quite figured out that this introduction is not for Match.com. He resides in Parts Unknown, where he hosts weekly cookouts with Kane, The Ultimate Warrior, Papa Shango and The Boogeyman. Be jealous.
