Wrestling

Eric Bischoff Explains Why He Joined The NWO Back In 1996, Calls His Addition An Evolution To The Story, How People Reacted Backstage

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WWE Hall of Famer and former WCW President Eric Bischoff explained his decision to join the New World Order (NWO) back in 1996 on the latest edition of his 83 Weeks podcast, which included Bischoff revealing what the reaction was like backstage after he joined WCW’s top faction. Highlights from the episode can be found below.

Explains why he decided to join the N.W.O. back in 1996:

“I think my role in the nWo, at least on paper and I think trying to be as objective as I can, I think I did a pretty decent job. It was a necessary role. The nWo needed their version of Gene Okerlund, which was really all I was. But I was the president of the company, and the underlying storyline of the Outsiders was the nWo coming in to take over WCW. What better way to take over WCW than to have the president of the company betray the very company he’s president of and side with the nWo? So, I think from a storytelling point of view, it made sense. From a functional point of view, the nWo needed their Gene Okerlund, and that’s really what my role was. I think moving me away from commentary, the only way that role would’ve been effective would be for me to leave commentary. And to be honest, doing commentary – it was tough because there were a lot of other things that needed my attention. So, it was kind of a necessary move in some respects.”

Says the idea for him to join was sort of an evolution to their story:

“I think it just evolved. A lightbulb didn’t go off in anybody’s head, including mine. I think it was just an evolution of the story, and the need I felt to get away from the broadcast booth, as well as just recognizing that this thing is taking on a life of its own and much bigger and more significant than we ever thought it would be. If we are going to take it to the next step, how do we do that? Again, going back to what I said, taking the president of the company and having him betray the very company that’s paying him, that’s pretty cool. Somebody had to help tell that story.”

What the backstage reaction was to him joining:

“It did create some – I don’t wanna say chaos – but there were different opinions of it. Internally, it was like, ‘Eric, are you going a little too far with this? You are the president of the company. Do you think it makes sense for you to take on this particular role? It might be a little too much.’ There was a lot of that. Harvey Schiller was a little concerned about that because I was literally the guy who, when we weren’t doing Nitro or at a pay-per-view, I was the guy on an airplane meeting with advertising executives or meeting with potential sponsors – taking a meeting with the head of EA Sports, for example. It’s a little challenging to play a character like I was playing and then put on a different hat and go out and conduct business in the real world without creating a little bit of confusion. So, there was some concern, but it was worth the risk to me.”

(H/T and transcribed by 411 Mania)

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