10 Times Wrestling Feuds Crossed Over Promotions
6. Steve Austin Vs. Eric Bischoff
Technically, in offscreen, indirect and canonical terms respectively, the feud between Steve Austin and Eric Bischoff spanned three promotions.
The tension rose in WCW, where Steve Austin was fired by Eric Bischoff, who was unable or unwilling to see top star potential in him. A furious Austin used ECW as an outlet to bury the decision and his former employer with, and he surely noted the irony, a prescient blast of the transgressive tone that later elevated Nitro's fortunes.
Austin arrived in the WWF and channelled that spirit into a legendary, business-erupting run. That was the end of the feud. The babyface went over. He lived well.
With Austin and Bischoff both under WWE's auspices in 2003, the old drama was absorbed into onscreen canon. Beyond some sterling stuff in the build to Survivor Series, the warring authority figures storyline was mostly heatless fare that dragged and incorporated dire comedy where there were no real stakes, no convincing animosity, no possibility of or need to settle it in the ring after No Way Out's one-note joke match.
Jim Ross tried very hard to whip up the old fever pitch - he wasn't gonna shag you, mate - but there was no juice to squeeze.