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On Monday, September 14, PWTorch editor Wade Keller interviewed former WCW President Eric Bischoff an exclusive multi-hour "Torch Talk" interview covering a variety of controversial subjects from the Monday Night War period, his days on WWE TV, his 2006 autobiography, and the "Rise & Fall of WCW" DVD.
The following is the latest installment of Part 3 of our daily Q&As to be published here at PWTorch.com, which is unprecedented with our VIP-exclusive "Torch Talk" series.
To both READ and LISTEN to the entire interview, you'll want to become a VIP member, which also includes instant access to our newsmaking multi-hour in-depth hard-hitting "Torch Talks" with other top WCW players such as Scott Hall, Kevin Nash, X-Pac, Vince Russo, Ed Ferrara, Hulk Hogan, Goldberg, Chris Benoit, Eddie Guerrero, and others (ALL AVAILABLE AT THIS LINK FOR VIP MEMBERS). To subscribe right now and be the first to read the entire Bischoff "Torch Talk" and have VIP-only access to the audio, click here. The first audio segment and transcript installment is now available for VIP members.
We present today's second question and answer from Part 3. Tune in Saturday for the next series of questions from Part 3.
Wade Keller Regarding the handling of the WCW acquisition, you probably have more to say about it than you have. Vince McMahon acquired the brand and acquired some of the wrestlers, but not a lot of key names. Did you look at how he handled that as smart business and smart creatively, or did he fall on one or both accounts?
Eric Bischoff: Now, look, was it smart? Of course it was smart because he acquired all of that content. Although he bought his competition for pennies on the dollar, he acquired a pretty vast library which was the only real value in the WCW transaction at the time. The way the contacts were written, he couldn't and probably wouldn't have forced the talent to come and work for him. Nobody wants high-priced talent that doesn't want to be there. So I think the acquisition in the way he did and the reason he did it was smart. It was simply a business transaction and, just based on the value of the library alone, I think it was a brilliant transaction.
From a creative point of view, I don't think he really could have done anything any differently just the way things were set up because he didn't have Hulk Hogan at the time, he didn't have Eric Bischoff, he didn't have at least instantly Kevin Nash, he didn't have Bill Goldberg. Not putting myself over or putting myself in their category, for better or worse I was the face of that company. I was the guy that was kicking his ass. It wasn't Ted Turner. And I was surrounded by some very high-profile talent. So for him to try to creatively do anything without having what represented the face of the company to come up with it would have been exactly what it was. It would have fallen flat, and it did.
Keller: Do you think it would have been worth the price - I've argued it wouldn't have been worth the price to go to the wrestlers who were not part of the WCW acquisition by WWE, who were still under contract and being paid by Time-Warner - that their contracts were such that their buyout plus what it would take to pay them to go on the road full time and work the WWE schedule would have thrown Vince's equilibrium with his own talent way off...
[Eric Bischoff photo credit Wade Keller (c) PWTorch] Send feedback on this article to pwtorch@gmail.com and we'll regularly publish reader feedback in the "Torch Feedback" category on the Main Listing.
