8 Times WWE Thought They'd Be Invaded FOR REAL

3. Just How Far Would Eric Bischoff Go?

Scott Steiner Banned
WWE

A large part of the reason why WCW became the industry leader for a spell in the '90s, is down to the aggressive, arrogant stance of one Eric Bischoff.

Both behind the camera and in front of it, Eazy E was brash, bold and didn't give a single shiny sh*t about who he offended. As part of Bischoff's M.O. back then, he was more than happy to constantly call out the then-WWF and poke the proverbial bear known as Vince McMahon.

It was this approach that worked wonders for WCW, with Bisch's adage of 'controversy creates cash' proving completely true. While some people turned into WCW programming for the wrestling action, there were a good number of fans watching solely to see what shots Bischoff would next take at McMahon and WWF.

The pinnacle of Bischoff's digs at McMahon came ahead of 1998's Slamboree. There, on an episode of Nitro, Eazy E challenged Vinny Mac to a fight at that May PPV. Of course, McMahon didn't show up at Slamboree - but make no mistake, the offer of a fight on PPV was very much a real thing.

While WCW never attempted to invade WWF at any point - in fact, it would be D-Generation X attempting to invade WCW - one has to imagine that McMahon and his inner circle at times feared whether Bischoff would instigate a full-on, in-person assault on the World Wrestling Federation.

Senior Writer
Senior Writer

Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main dayjob, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks, Jamie Hayer, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg.