10 Things We Learned From Eric Bischoff's Starrcade 1997 Podcast

7. Eric Fractured His Right Knee Cap During Training

Watch the Bischoff vs. Zbyszko match on the WWE Network and you'll see Eric leave the ring around halfway through and grab his knees. That wasn't a spot cunningly-designed to show Bischoff as a coward or prolong the match without action, it was because his right knee cap was giving him hell.

During training for Starrcade, Bischoff had fractured the thing at the Power Plant, and it was excruciatingly painful.

That's why there was so much stalling mid-way through, and it's why Zbyszko was forced to jaw off with special referee Bret Hart for so long. On the outside of the ring, Bischoff was trying to work out if he could put weight on his leg at all, and he was also weighing up what to do next if he couldn't.

In fairness, Bischoff agrees the match wouldn't have been much better had his knee been 100%. He wasn't a wrestler and hadn't taken any bumps at all before working out with Larry for a month before the show, so he couldn't have been expected to work a great wrestling match.