Eric Bischoff's Unimaginative Booking

[The Brain]

When I was a kid I had my own imaginary wrestling organization that I played out with my action figures. We all did, right? I was not limited by any obstacles promoters had to face in real life. I could easily afford to have every single top name on my roster at the same time. I didn’t have to worry about age. I liked Captain Lou Albano so he was on my roster and was not affected by Father Time. There was no death in fantasy land. Adrian Adonis was on my roster well after 1988. I never had to book around injuries. In fact I had Magnum TA on my roster long after a car accident in real life ended his career. Imagination is a wonderful thing and it allowed me to do whatever I wanted.

This must have been how Eric Bischoff felt in 1995. He got Hulk Hogan mid way through 1994. He got Randy Savage at the end of that year. During this same time he signed Jim Duggan, Honky Tonk Man, Big Boss Man, Earthquake, Brutus Beefcake, Haku, Jimmy Hart, Bobby Heenan, and probably a few more I’m forgetting. He also still guys that had been in WCW such as Ric Flair, Sting, and Vader. It was as if WCW and the WWF had suddenly merged. I’m sure Bischoff was very pleased with his new roster but there were two big names he wanted that he couldn’t have. When you think of the WWF in the late 80s/early 90s the top names you think of are Hogan, Savage, Andre, and Warrior. He had Hogan and Savage, but Andre was dead and who knows what was going on with Warrior. So what was Bischoff to do? He would just bring in other people to play those roles. I always found this to be a pretty sad and pathetic move.

WCW was already looking like a 1987 version of the WWF. Did they really need to try to redo Hogan vs. Andre? Bringing in the Giant as Andre’s son just seemed so unimaginative. Bischoff may as well have come on tv and said “I already got Hogan and Savage but I can’t get Andre so just pretend this guy is Andre so I can try to recapture some old WWF magic.” I think it would have been better for everyone involved if the Giant was just brought in as a new guy with no connection to anyone else. A more creative name would have helped too.

Even though I did roll my eyes at the Andre’s son angle it wasn’t that bad. In fact it was a hell of a lot better than what Bischoff did when he couldn’t get Warrior. Going into Uncensored 1995 Hulk Hogan announced he would have a friend in his corner for his match against Vader. He referred to this person as his ultimate surprise with emphasis on ultimate. Obviously fans suspected the Ultimate Warrior. Even if the fans weren’t connecting the dots with Hogan’s not so subtle play on words WCW showed a graphic on television with a silhouette of this mystery person and I’ll be damned if that silhouette didn’t look just like the Ultimate Warrior, tassels and all. Everyone was expecting the Ultimate Warrior. Right before the main event we heard music similar to the Warrior’s. Someone with ring gear, hair, body type, and mannerisms very similar to Warrior sprinted to the ring but it was obviously not The Ultimate Warrior. The fans were none to happy with this imposter and the man known as The Renegade was a flop.

It would be nice if a promoter could sign who he wanted whenever he wanted like I could in my imaginary wrestling company. Unfortunately even with Billionaire Ted’s blank checks Bischoff couldn’t get everything he wanted. I think Bischoff would have been much better off just accepting he couldn’t have Andre and Warrior rather than giving those roles to substitute performers. I feel he came off as desperate, pathetic, and unimaginative. In the past Vince McMahon has been criticized for ignoring a wrestler’s past when he joined the WWF but I think that is better than simply trying to copy the past of another organization. Am I being too hard on Bischoff? What did you think about these angles?

 

[Makaveli31]

Bischoff wasn't exactly a "booker". He was "Executive Vice President." Basically a glorified wrestling announcer with a blank check to sign talent. He had no direction, he didn't plan things out like Vince and Pat Patterson. Vince and Pat would start at Mania and work their way back an entire year for storylines. I think it's pretty common knowledge the wrestlers pretty much "booked" WCW. When Hogan came in he basically booked himself. You just mentioned all the ex-WWF wrestlers that were brought in to job out to Hogan. I don't think anyone would put Eric Bischoff on the list of great bookers.

 

[The Butcher]

You're not being too hard on Bischoff. If you didn't like it then it's your right to criticize. I also thought the Renegade was terrible. Everyone did. It was a bait and switch, and the guy who performed it was a pale imitation, may he rest in peace. Personally, I enjoyed The Giant's debut as Andre's son though. My wrestling fandom was on the wane in 1994-95. I was still a dedicated watcher for the most part, but I knew it was lame and was at the age where I was cynical anyway. WCW Saturday Night was pretty much my favorite wrestling program during that period, and WCW putting on an angle that called back to a better time was something I could get behind. WWF and WCW were pretty crappy during that era, and I looked for bright spots wherever I could find them.

 

[Mr. Piledriver]

Easy E came into WCW via AWA where he got Verne's coffee and carried Nick Bockwinkle's briefcase how he landed the executive job at WCW is anyone's guess, but he was so NOT qualified for the job, just as Russo was not qualified for his spot being he use to be a WWF magazine columnist. Everybody seems to run down Bill Watt's but with what he had financially and being he was a wrestler he ran an promotion for quiet some time longer then WCW. Then there's Jerry Jarrett whom also with what he had ran a origination that lasted longer then WCW . It's what put ass's in the seat's that what count's and I feel it's true bookers that can do that not screen writers, not executives....

 

[FlairFan2003]

I dont think Bischoff was head booker, he oversaw TV producion more than anything, that was his biggest involvement, negotiated the talent exchange with New Japan, etc. You had a revolving door of wrestlers who were booking things, Kevin Sullivan &Terry Taylor were heavily involved at different times, as was Kevin Nash in late 98-mid 99. Hogan had creative control over his character and as such had significant impact on any other character on the show that would be booked with him such as Flair, Savage, Sting, etc. How much input into storylines Bischoff had was debatable. Even pre Hogan the whole Flair-Vader storyline was supposedly booked by Dusty Rhodes playing off the recent success in pro sport of older athletes like George Foremen & Joe Montana making big comebacks.

The NwO Angle and initial invasion was Bischoff's baby but that was based upon something he had seen in New Japan. Kind of like Vince based The Bobby Heenan Famly on The Four Horsemen and the AWA created The Rockers as their own version of The Rock & Roll Exrpress.

Certainly it seemed like most of what he did when Hogan first arrived was re do old WWE storylines. Bringing in guys like Earthquake to feud and lose to Hogan, re doing Flair-Hogan (Albeit for the 1st time on PPV), re doing Flair-Savage (only new twist here was Liz chosing Flair), etc. In the process talent like Vader & Steve Austin were let go. There was success with this however, not so much based on originality but more combination of how boring WWE was during this time (New Generation) and the fact guys like Hogan, Savage, & Flair were bigger names than just about anybody WWE had at that point. The ratings for Nitro & RAW circa 1995-early 96 are about equal, each show trading wins, with WWE usually doing stronger in the early portions of the show and WCW usually doing stronger towards the main events.

There is no doubt that Bischoff was the guy in charge when things started their upturn in the company circa late 1993-early 94 which obviously grew more post Hogan, despite complaints that Hogan didnt drive the numbers as much as expected and WCW fans showed less interest in him unless he was matched against Flair, the numbers still improved. There wasnt a great deal of originality however in the storytelling. Everyone involved made the original NwO Invasion truly special but that angle might have survived and maintained steam much longer had their been more direction and authority at the top, aka Bischoff, guiding the train so to speak.

 

[FlairFan2003]

Easy E came into WCW via AWA where he got Verne's coffee and carried Nick Bockwinkle's briefcase how he landed the executive job at WCW is anyone's guess, but he was so NOT qualified for the job, just as Russo was not qualified for his spot being he use to be a WWF magazine columnist. Everybody seems to run down Bill Watt's but with what he had financially and being he was a wrestler he ran an promotion for quiet some time longer then WCW. Then there's Jerry Jarrett whom also with what he had ran a origination that lasted longer then WCW . It's what put ass's in the seat's that what count's and I feel it's true bookers that can do that not screen writers, not executives....

Actually if you read Flair's book he says he had a lot of input into Bischoff's rise, he clearly had talent with regards to TV production and seemed to have an understanding of the industry that Turner Broadcasting Executives did not have, plus he was eager to work which Flair said impressed him. According to him both he & Arn Anderson supported TBS Execs when they questioned promoting Bischoff which carried some sway since Flair was their biggest star and had worked with Vince McMahon. Bischoff was already working more or less side by side with Dusty Rhodes when he was booking in 1993 so even then he had more involvement than just being a broadcaster.

This was what lead to Hogan signing, Bischoff asking Flair to recruit him after he found out the two were on friendly terms and still spoke outside WWE (the story was Flair mentioned in passing that Hogan called him after watching Starrcade 93 to talk about the his win which gave Bischoff the idea to see if Hogan would join. Both Flair and Hogan have told very similar versions of this over the years, especially regarding the phone call)

 

[George Steele's Barber]

Complain about the lack of imagination in booking Wight as Andre's son but it's what got me to tune in to WCW at a time when I barely cared about WWE let alone WCW. Not even Hogan himself could get me to watch WCW at the time. But I remember hearing about the guy and wanting to see if the rumor was true and what Hogan was going to do to make this imposter disappear forever. I found the Dungeon of Doom aspect intriguing for about a week but it was the Giant's size and story that brought me in and kept me around until Nash and Hall cemented that I was hooked on WCW.

I only remember Renegade's name, I can't even picture the guy or his deal.

 

[Pay Per Ghost]

But Giant won, didn't he? On his debut he beat probably the biggest star in the industry, for the title. That is a major difference. They used Hogan as a near stepping stone to get the Giant hot from the get go.


I want someone to dissect this.

 

[Mustang Sally]

This must have been how Eric Bischoff felt in 1995. He got Hulk Hogan mid way through 1994. He got Randy Savage at the end of that year. During this same time he signed Jim Duggan, Honky Tonk Man, Big Boss Man, Earthquake, Brutus Beefcake, Haku, Jimmy Hart, Bobby Heenan, and probably a few more I’m forgetting.

I don't know if Bischoff was the head booker, brains of the organization or a corporate headhunter, but for the sake of this post, I'll presume he was all of that. His problem was that he hired the above talents away from WWE and created a "war" between WCW and WWE (Scott Hall, still in his Razor Ramon mode, challenging: "Your three best guys against our three best guys") and was so impressed with his work that he stopped "creating".....apparently feeling he possessed the golden touch and no longer needed to. He had a blank check to bring aboard anyone he wanted......and then, seemingly saw himself as a visionary.

Of course, the problem with so-called visionaries is their supreme belief in their own flawlessness can lead them to think they can put anything on the fans....who will automatically buy it because, after all, it's what Eric Bischoff deigns to give them. If I'm wrong about this, then I'm wrong......or if I'm blaming the wrong person, then so be it. But Bischoff was much more than just an on-air character and surely had a lot to do with what went wrong.

This is what led to rip-offs like The Renegade and Paul Wight as the son of Andre the Giant. He also came up with one fine concept (NWO) and blew the thing out of proportion until it became the butt of it's own joke.

Again, I don't know how much of all this was Eric Bischoff....or how much he was simply the front man......but I would still consider him the most overrated person ever associated with pro wrestling.....and not nearly enough blame for the crashing of WCW was due to him. The Renegade and Andre the Giant Jr. are two glaring examples.

 

[Poop Master Flex]

Honestly The Giant thing never bothered me one bit, Renegade did but not The Giant and as a 9 year old it certainly got me interested in what was going on and I payed A LOT of attention to that storyline at a time I wasn't watching much wrestling (seriously how bad was 1995?) so it at least worked.

Renegade was one of the dumbest things I've ever seen in wrestling. Let's take a guy who looks like Warrior but has no charisma and is a MILLION times worse in every conceivable way, it was just bad. At least The Giant WAS a Giant and could actually put on a decent performance out there and considering Hogan vs. Monster heel was something he did well it worked in my opinion.

Don't get me wrong, I wasn't a fan of Bischoff constantly trying to go back to what WWF did back in the day, I thought he went way overboard with it but The Giant was one of the WWF-esque things WCW did that I didn't mind. Of course I was 9 at the time so it's much easier for a 9 year old to buy into that stuff but I didn't mind it at all.

 

[Wald]

I think Bischoff's main problem, and I'm a big fan of his, is that he looks for quick fixes through household names too often.

Can't say it hasn't worked in the past (bringing Hogan, Savage etc. into the company did give it it's footing for the 1996 explosion) and is still working today (Vince books Wrestlemania along the lines of an All Star line up with half retired superstars) so it seems reasonable enough.

That said he overcooks it way too much. Go back to the start of the Hogan era of TNA and watch that first Impact. They pulled a 1.45 rating despite being up against a loaded 3 hour WWE Raw special. It was a very good rating by anyone's standards.

Now imagine that instead of having Hogan, Flair, Hardy, RVD, Val Venis, X Pac, Hall, Bobby Lashley, Brooke Hogan, Bubba The Love Sponge, Bischoff, The Nasty Boys and Shannon Moore all debut on one night (I mean just look at that list) you have Hogan debut along with Jeff Hardy, you run an RVD vignette and have Hogan or Mick Foley make reference to Bischoff in the back. You also focus the entire show around Styles vs Angle in the main event and you put on the best of the best you got wrestling wise.

Straight away you've showcased just what TNA have that WWE don't you've hooked fans with Hogan, surprised them with Hardy and teased RVD & Bischoff for the future.

 

[ShinobiMusashi]

The NwO Angle and initial invasion was Bischoff's baby but that was based upon something he had seen in New Japan. Kind of like Vince based The Bobby Heenan Famly on The Four Horsemen and the AWA created The Rockers as their own version of The Rock & Roll Exrpress.

Something to add to how unimaginative Bischoff's booking was, in regards to the NWO angle in particular, the entire thing was massively inspired by ECW. If you watch through some 95-96 ECW you can see where so many elements of the angle came from. Without ECW the NWO angle probably would have been more like 2 Dudes With Attitudes, with just a realy corny layer of kayfabe over it that wouldn't have worked. I've heard Kevin Nash promos that were word for word copys of shit that Shane Douglas would say about Ric Flair back in 95. That whole "Revolution against the corporate machine" vibe that the NWO angle had was clearly inspired by ECW. Then you can get into the tapes and see shit like the way the Gangstas debuted in ECW as outsiders attacking Public Enemy in 95, with that violent grit, similar to the early days of the Outsiders. The whole way Scot Hall debuted in WCW was done just a few months earlier with Pillman in ECW telling Heyman that he didn't give a fuck about him or his smart marks. The idea may have come from Japan, but the grit and style of the NWO angle clearly came from ECW.