10 Things WWE Wants You To Forget About WCW

7. Eric Bischoff Was Mr. McMahon Before Vince McMahon

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The emergence of Mr. McMahon in the Montreal Screwjob's aftermath and the character's growth through his hugely important Steve Austin feud was pivotal to WWE turning the corner in the Monday Night Wars and ultimately emerging victorious. It's a classic wrestling character, comfortably the most effective authority figure persona in wrestling history, and its significance can't be overstated.

So successful was Mr. McMahon that it doomed generations of wrestling fans into thinking that evil boss figures were an essential norm. Only through Constable Corbin's near-universal rejection 20 years later did the trope start unravelling for WWE's less-discerning viewers.

But the thing about Mr. McMahon is that WWE didn't do the heel authority figure first. Indeed, Eric Bischoff's run as a dastardly, power-mad preceded Vince's character's emergence by over a year, with Easy E revealed as the nWo's hidden hand in late 1996. It wasn't until the aftermath of Survivor Series 1997 that Vince began finding his footing in a similar role.

They were different characters, Vince and Eric, and McMahon became the more iconic of the two, though his reinvention was no innovation.

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Andy has been with WhatCulture for six years and is currently WhatCulture's Senior Wrestling Reporter. A writer, presenter, and editor with 10+ years of experience in online media, he has been a sponge for all wrestling knowledge since playing an old Royal Rumble 1992 VHS to ruin in his childhood. Having previously worked for Bleacher Report, Andy specialises in short and long-form writing, video presenting, voiceover acting, and editing, all characterised by expert wrestling knowledge and commentary. Andy is as much a fan of 1985 Jim Crockett Promotions as he is present-day AEW and WWE - just don't make him choose between the two.