Eric Bischoff
An article by Mike Mooneyham
Published Oct. 17, 1997
Reports out of Atlanta indicate that the relationship between WCW executive vice president Eric Bischoff and NWO “Wolfpac” members Kevin Nash, Scott Hall and Sean Waltman has begun to sour.
Bischoff has fired Waltman (Syxx) twice in recent months, only to reinstate him after pressure from Hall and Nash. Hall and Nash also have fallen out of favor with WCW brass to the point where some of their considerable office influence has been diminished.
Hall (back problems) has worked sparingly in recent weeks, while Nash has been out of action with torn knee ligaments. Bischoff reprimanded Waltman when he balked at working recent house show dates for his sidelined partners.
Hall, in particular, has been criticized for being hard to get along with in the locker room. There also has been some suspicion that Hall’s back problems weren’t as serious as he led the company to believe. Hall taped his ribs and used crutches for the consumption of the audience, although he didn’t use the props outside the view of the camera.
WCW officials had hoped that Nash, on the sidelines for two months, would put off knee surgery until after some important upcoming matches.
Jeff Jarrett, who joined WCW last year after walking out on the WWF over a dispute with Vince McMahon, has left WCW. Jarrett’s one-year contract with WCW recently expired, and no agreement was reached on a new deal. Jarrett turned down a $300,000 offer from WCW that was later taken off the table. Bischoff blamed Jerry Jarrett, who was acting as his son’s agent in the talks, on the breakdown in negotiations and for disclosing the contract figure.
[ad#MikeMooneyham-336×280]Jarrett last worked in the WWF as country singer “Double J” Jeff Jarrett and was “exposed” as lip-synching on his country music video “With My Baby Tonight” after he walked out on the promotion over creative differences with McMahon. It was later revealed that Jarrett’s bodyguard, The Roadie (Brian Armstrong), did the actual singing, although making him the new “Double J” (Jesse James Armstrong) met with little success. Jarrett could resurface on WWF television as early as this week’s live Raw.
Alex Wright is expected to replace Jarrett against Steve McMichael at Halloween Havoc. There also has been some speculation that Sid Eudy (Sycho Sid) could be brought in to fill the spot, although he is still recovering from neck surgery.
A leading neck specialist has told Steve Austin, arguably the WWF’s hottest star, that he risks a 60 percent chance of temporary – or permanent – paralysis if he suffers another injury similar to the one he absorbed at the hands of Owen Hart at the Summer Slam pay-per-view. Austin has said privately that he is not willing to take that risk without financial assurances that he would be taken care of in the event of a debilitating injury. Austin also has said that he will not return if he can’t compete at an acceptable level.
Austin, who has been on the road as timekeeper for Hart’s matches, is not expected to be ready for his November pay-per-view match. The angle on Raw in which McMahon asked Austin to sign a release in exchange for a title match with Hart at Survivors Series was taped a day prior to Austin’s doctor issuing his sobering prognosis.
Ric Flair, among the 55,000 on hand for the Rolling Stones’ recent concert at Ericsson Stadium, told The Charlotte Observer:
“I don’t know that I’m a big Stones fan, but this is the place to be tonight. I hope that when I’m their age I’m enjoying the same kind of success on my comeback tour.”
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Jim Cornette turned his weekly tirade from the NWO to New York Post and TV Guide columnist Phil Mushnick last week on Monday Night Raw.
Cornette blasted Mushnick, a frequent critic of pro wrestling (and Vince McMahon in particular), for his assault on the wrestling business and for linking Brian Pillman’s death to the WWF.
“I think Phil Mushnick is a miserable SOB,” McMahon said bluntly after Cornette’s rant.
Eric Bischoff, a target of Cornette the previous week, took his own verbal jabs at Cornette on a recent Prodigy chat.
“The fact Jim Cornette would talk for four or five minutes about the evils of the NWO and about how great Ric and Arn are, I want to thank him for the free promotion of out product,” said Bischoff. “I’m sure he still wishes he worked for WCW, but someone should remind him he doesn’t. It only creates more interest in our product.
“As far as what he said, it’s laughable. I don’t hang around with Scott Hall or Kevin Nash. I think he said something about them riding motorcycles. Neither of them rides motorcycles or would get near one. I think the comment about Syxx was totally out of line. Syxx was a guy who went through treatment and has been clean for a long time. He should be looked up to for what he has accomplished instead of being characterized that way by Jim Cornette.
“Jim is a funny guy. It’s just unfortunate he’s been such a failure. When he was in a management position in WCW he was involved at a time WCW had huge losses. His tenure here was nothing more than a failure. Then he moved on to Smoky Mountain – another failure. He continues to have the same effect on the WWF. I, for one, am glad he’s there. The best thing to happen to WCW was guys like Jim Cornette and Jim Ross going to the WWF.”
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