8. Was Annoyed By How Dangerous Mick Foley Was Being
Leaving WCW in 1994, Mick Foley had earlier handed in his notice. The wrestler's main intention was to go and work for Paul Heyman in ECW, because he was tired of the way WCW was being run. According to Bischoff, the ill-feeling was entirely mutual. One of Eric's main tasks when he was put in charge was to diminish the number of lawsuits and legal troubles that WCW were hit with. The wild, dangerous and out on control nature of Mick Foley's work made that difficult. During the Kayfabe Commentaries shoot, Bischoff expressly states that he was angered when he heard Foley's ear had been ripped off during a match against Vader in Germany. That was exactly the kind of unnecessary violence that management were attempting to avoid. In Bischoff's words, Foley didn't see eye-to-eye with this mindset. He wanted to dive off of balconies and continually push the envelope. Conversely, those in charge at WCW (including Eric Bischoff) wanted a more clean and safe product. Foley didn't fit into that, and it was time for him to go.