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 four of the exclusive five-hour "Torch Talk" with former WCW President Eric Bischoff. This fourth part of the series picks up in the midst of a discussion about Bischoff's oft-criticized decision to put the first-ever Hulk Hogan vs. Goldberg match on free Nitro with just four day's notice. Part 4(a) of our daily Q&As will 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 latest question and answer from Part 4(a). Tune in tomorrow for the next series of Q&A's from part 4.

Wade Keller: Kevin Nash and Scott Hall had said outright in the "Torch Talks" I did with them that his firing (Sean Waltman) was what caused them to "check out" at that point of basically being team players. They decided basically to look out for themselves and stick it to WCW. Do you look at that as something maybe you knew was happening at that point or does it surprise you that they would say that?

Eric Bischoff: It disappoints me. It doesn't surprise me or disappoint me that Scott Hall would say that because I don't think Scott was thinking clearly at the time and probably still isn't based on what I've read. It disappoints me that Kevin would take that position because I've always thought of Kevin as more of a professional and Kevin and I have enjoyed a pretty relationship over the years. There have been a lot of things that Kevin and I have disagreed over and argued over and fought over. But at the end of the day, you do what you need to do because you're not hurting WCW at that time, he was hurting himself. That lack of professionalism, I guess, was disappointing. I don't sweat it now, but at that time I was disappointed that was his rationale for checking out, if you will, and only looking out for himself.

I will argue that Kevin and Scott did a pretty good job of only looking out for themselves from the day they showed up. Nothing really changed other than perhaps outwardly the amount of real effort and commitment they put into their work. But, you know, here's the situation. I see Sean [Waltman] from time to time now and at events or a convention or something. We're friendly and we get along; I think there's a fair amount of respect there at this point. Sean got caught up in the gamesmanship of Hall and Nash and to a degree a parasite by the name of Barry Bloom, who was representing all of this talent at that time. I had to make a stand with Sean because Sean and I had an agreement, we reached an agreement, we had papered that agreement, we had been operating under that agreement for a substantial period of time where we were waiting to execute it; it's a normal process, or it was at that time. And then Barry Bloom decided at the last minute to try to up the ante and threatened to walk out and have Sean walk out. I just don't respond to threats. I do respond to them, but I don't respond the way that people expect. I've never responded well to threats, I still don't to this day, and certainly didn't then. So when I got that ultimatum of either pay Sean more money or he's gonna walk, after we had reached an agreement, I didn't have a choice. I had to make an example out of him - good, bad, change the company in the future or not - you can't operate a business that way. I've made a lot of mistakes, and I'm not going to shy away from the mistakes I've made. I'm not. However, one mistake I've never made is having somebody negotiate a deal with me, shake my hands, paper that deal, have everybody acknowledge that deal, and then hold me up for money. You might as well break into my house and try to steal sh-- out of my safe. It's not gonna happen.

MORE TO COME TOMORROW...

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