10 Wrestling Stories That Blurred Reality

5. Ric Flair Hates Eric Bischoff (1998)

Ric Flair Eric Bischoff
WWE

Speaking of real-life animosity.

WCW royalty Ric Flair was taken to task by Eric Bischoff in April 1998 for ditching an episode of Thunder in favour of some family time. Lawsuits happened, and the bad blood between Ric and Eric bubbled over to the point that Flair genuinely hated Bischoff's guts.

The pair would mend fences enough to make a storyline out of it later that year. They worked at Starrcade (with Flair even putting Bischoff over in a short seven-minute brawl) and used their actual hostility as fuel for shoot-style promos on TV beforehand. The feud was WCW's bold attempt to piggy-back the WWF's wildly successful Austin vs. McMahon saga.

It worked too. Fans got a kick out of Ric's OTT antics, wanted to see Bischoff put in his place and could sense that both guys weren't exactly exchanging Christmas cards at the time. Today, Eric and Ric are great friends with mutual respect. That wasn't the case back in '98, but at least they made some cash out of it.

Advertisement
Contributor

Lifelong wrestling, video game, music and sports obsessive who has been writing about his passions since childhood. Jamie started writing for WhatCulture in 2013, and has contributed thousands of articles and YouTube videos since then. He cut his teeth penning published pieces for top UK and European wrestling read Fighting Spirit Magazine (FSM), and also has extensive experience working within the wrestling biz as a manager and commentator for promotions like ICW on WWE Network and WCPW/Defiant since 2010. Further, Jamie also hosted the old Ministry Of Slam podcast, and has interviewed everyone from Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels to Bret Hart and Trish Stratus.