10 Wrestlers Who Saved Promotions From Ruin

7. Eric Bischoff

Cody Rhodes
WWE
"He took a company that was literally on the verge of folding, and turned it into around completely."

Those were the words of Dave Meltzer, writing about Eric Bischoff's secret firing in the September 20, 1999 Wrestling Observer Newsletter. He did wrestle, qualifying him for this list, and the man actually holds recorded victories over Ric Flair and Terry Funk because the pro wrestling boom was always destined to burst as a result of pathetic, fragile ego. To compound this, Bischoff also holds a win over the Young Bucks.

But prior to his descent into smug megalomania, Bischoff was - and this is a compliment - an expert plagiarist. He converged virtually everything that was cool about '90s wrestling - the technical range, inter-promotional warfare, the darker aesthetic and themes - and monetised it via the irresistible, lively energy of WCW Monday Nitro.

Nitro was a magic potion of a pro wrestling TV show at its autumn '96 peak: electrifying in-ring, heavy heat angles, engrossing mystery, and the incandescent heat of weekly, transformative unpredictability: Eric Bischoff, a sensation, entirely reversed the fortunes of a company that was haemorrhaging money as a result of its cartoon f*ckery.

And he did it alongside...

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Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!