Eric Bischoff explains how he got into the wrestling business (Exclusive)
Eric Bischoff was one of the most influential figures in the wrestling industry when WCW and WWE battled for television ratings supremacy in the 1990s. The 69-year-old recently discussed his early days as a wrestling fan before breaking into the business.
Bischoff worked for the American Wrestling Association (AWA) between 1986 and 1991 as a sales team member and on-screen personality. In the 1990s, he made his name as a WCW executive when the company's flagship show Nitro regularly drew more viewers than WWE RAW.
On Sportskeeda's The Wrestling Time Machine, Bischoff recalled watching Bobo Brazil, Bruno Sammartino, and Verne Gagne as a young fan:
"I grew up as a wrestling fan in Detroit. I mean, young, eight years old, nine years old, my brother and I used to watch every Saturday morning, then we moved to Pittsburgh and I immediately became a wrestling fan of Big Time Wrestling in Pittsburgh. 'Who is this Bruno Sammartino cat? I never heard of him in Detroit.' In Detroit it was The Sheik or Bobo Brazil. 'Who the hell is this Sammartino cat?' Right? But I figured it out and then moved to Minneapolis and it was Verne Gagne." [3:38 – 4:05]
While many wrestlers and behind-the-scenes personnel dream of working in the business, Eric Bischoff initially had no plans to become a wrestling executive:
"Even through my late teens, early 20s, mid-to-late 20s, I was still a wrestling fan. I was a sales manager for a food processor. I had a bunch of other s**t going on. Nothing to do with wrestling. I never thought for a moment, it never even crossed my mind, to try to get into the wrestling business." [4:05 – 4:24]
Watch the video above to hear Bischoff's take on what the future might hold for Cody Rhodes and The Rock following their interaction on RAW. Host Mac Davis and WWE Hall of Famer Teddy Long also gave their thoughts on fans' reaction to The Rock seemingly turning babyface.
Eric Bischoff on Verne Gagne's role in his AWA hiring
An unexpected meeting with Verne Gagne resulted in Eric Bischoff leaving his sales manager job to join the AWA.
Bischoff added that a job offer quickly materialized after he met with Gagne and former AWA director and producer Mike Shields:
"I happened, sheer coincidence and too long of a story here, ended up taking a meeting with Verne Gagne and he was impressed, and a guy by the name of Mike Shields, who really was calling a lot of the shots behind the scenes, I ended up meeting with both of them, and two days later I got a job offer. I went, 'What?! You want me to come to work in wrestling?' They said, 'Yeah, we'd like to talk to you about a sales position.'" [4:25 – 4:51]
Bischoff agreed to work on the AWA's syndicated shows despite having no idea what the role entailed. The WWE Hall of Famer also became an interviewer for the promotion.
What is your favorite Eric Bischoff moment? Hit the discuss button and let us know.
You can listen to Eric Bischoff's wrestling views every week on his 83 Weeks podcast.
Please credit Sportskeeda's The Wrestling Time Machine and embed the video if you use quotes from this article.
