July 14, 2002 was a day that was every bit as big as the Monday Night Wars the WWE had recently won, and this day in wrestling history Vince McMahon pulled off one of the most shocking moves in wrestling history when he brought in Eric Bischoff to be Raw’s General Manager.
It was a surprise move for many considering the bitter rivalry between the WWE and WCW during the Monday Night Wars, and it showed that Vince McMahon truly is willing to forgive anyone if he can make money with them.
It started as a big announcement from Vince, but none of us knew how big it really was.
“You know you don’t realize this, but it takes a real son of a bitch to be successful in this business, so from one son of a bitch to another. Allow me to introduce you to the new General Manager of RAW. His name is Eric… Bischoff!” – Vince McMahon
Finding his niche
Bischoff came out to AC/DC’s “Back in Black” because Vince was a fan of theirs, and it worked out pretty well as Bischoff had a great run in WCW as a heel when he was outed as the man behind the nWo, and his return to WWE, a company he tried to destroy, saw him return to that role.
Of course, it took a minute for the fans in attendance to get over their shock, and when they did Bischoff was back.
“The crowd was in utter shock. I walked to the center of the stage and gave Vince a big hug. A very, very big hug. We milked it to the point where it was almost homoerotic. ‘That rumbling beneath your feet is a whole lot of people turning over in their graves.’, I said as we embraced.
“The audience was so surprised they didn’t know how to react. They were quiet until I started running off at the mouth. Within a few seconds, I started noticing the scowls, then the howls and the boos. It was the reaction I wanted. Once again, I’d found my inner heel.” – Eric Bischoff, Controversy Creates Cash.
While Bischoff’s run in WWE had so much potential, but it didn’t reach the lofty heights many expected, mainly because he wasn’t running the company and it was a different set of circumstances storyline wise.
What did you think about Eric Bischoff as Raw General Manager? Let us know in the comments below.
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