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To the naked eye, it looks like the superstars who perform inside the squared circle hold all the aces in the wrestling industry. They have the physique, the money and the fanbase that makes them overnight sensations. But little do we know that their careers are made or broken by those who weild power in the backroom.
It is in fact the creative team that sets the superstar in the right direction to stardom and they are instead controlled by the Authorities who have the ability to change the fate of the industry altogether. Vince McMahon, Vince Russo, Dixie Carter, Paul Heyman and Jeff Jarrett are some of the names of authority figures who have shaped the industry over the years. But there is one individual that stands out. One person that has revolutinalized the wrestling setup altogether and he goes by the name Eric Bischoff.
After several years of being a commentator for WCW, Eric Bischoff became the Executive Vice President of WCW. During this time, Bischoff came up with the revolutionary idea that he, the known real life authority figure, should bring that into his television persona.
Eric Bischoff did such a fantastic job in his heel 'company owner' role in WCW over the years that WWE decided to bring him into the company in 2002. Vince McMahon had brought his real-life authority figure to WWE TV in 1998, but four years later, was taking a step back from this role on TV.
The best possible replacement for him on TV was brought in, as Eric Bischoff was made the general manager of WWE RAW in 2002.
Bischoff would rule over RAW from July 2002 until December 2005, and during his time as general manager, he gave us some very entertaining and memorable moments and feuds.
With his 2021 WWE Hall of Fame induction just being completed, here are what I believe are his top three best feuds he had in WWE.
#3 Eric Bischoff vs. John Cena
In the summer of 2005, WWE Champion John Cena made his long awaited transfer over to WWE RAW in the draft lottery. Cena would be approached by RAW General Manager Eric Bischoff to participate in his army of invading RAW superstars at the ECW One Night Stand event. Cena would decline, which would lead to Bischoff declaring war on him.
The feud between the two would last over four months. During this period, Bischoff would enlist several top heels to try and take out Cena, with WWE Championship matches against him being their reward.
This would see Cena go to battle with Chris Jericho, Christian, and Kurt Angle on pay-per-view, as well as other heel stars such as Chris Masters, Snitsky, Tyson Tomko, and Carlito, on episodes of RAW.
The two had many entertaining segments with each other, and played off well too each other also. This would all lead up to the USA Network Homecoming episode of RAW, which saw Cena squash Bischoff in a WWE Championship main event.
Despite interference from Kurt Angle, Cena was able to overcome the odds and do the job.
#2 Eric Bischoff vs. Stephanie McMahon
At the same time that Eric Bischoff was appointed General Manager of WWE RAW, Vince McMahon announced his daughter Stephanie would be handling things on SmackDown.
At the time, SmackDown star Triple H had a clause in his contract that could see him potentially leave the brand and go to RAW, which kick-started the rivalry between Bischoff and Stephanie.
With help of Shawn Michaels, Bischoff would ultimately sign Triple H, but it wouldn't end here. Over the next four months, the two would be in several bidding wars over the contracts of talents, convincing several to switch sides.
Other than Triple H, Bischoff also managed to steal Chris Jericho, Stacy Keibler, The Un-Americans and others, while Stephanie took Brock Lesnar, The Undertaker, Chris Benoit, Eddie Guerrero and others, from RAW.
This all led to a tag team match at Unforgiven 2002, pitting 3-Minute Warning of RAW vs. Billy & Chuck from SmackDown, which Stephanie's team lost. The angle also featured an excellent moment of Bischoff beng disguised as an 80-year old priest, who launched an attack on Stephanie after invading SmackDown.
On the Halloween episode of SmackDown in 2002, Bischoff showed up in disguise and planted a kiss on Stephanie, which she enjoyed. This was supposed to lead to something, but plans quickly dropped. The two closed their feud by fighting over the contract of Scott Steiner, who eventually sided with Bischoff.
The GM wars was a major thing back in the day and the WWE has unfortunately failed to replicate the same over the years. Raw has emerged the dominant brand for quite a while now and the blue brand has failed to keep up.
#1 Eric Bischoff vs. Stone Cold Steve Austin
Stone Cold Steve Austin had only actually left WWE just a few weeks before Eric Bischoff made his debut. When Austin returned to WWE in February 2003, he returned to RAW. in storyline, Vince McMahon had threatened to fire Bischoff if he didn't shake RAW to it's very core, and his 'response' was to ask Austin to return to RAW.
Bischoff had famously fired Steve Austin from WCW in the 90's, so there was no real life love lost. This played into the storyline and Bischoff's hardship in signing Austin. It was eventually announced that The Rattlesnake would return, and he was placed in a match with Bischoff at No Way Out, which Austin won. He was then 'fired' after WrestleMania, for medical reasons. Austin returned the following month, being revealed as Bischoff's new co-General Manager of RAW.
The two had a very humorous relationship, which caused for some very funny segments throughout 2003. This most notably included a triathlon of contests at Bad Blood, which Austin won.
The two would argue over just about everything, which would often result in Austin stunning Bischoff and his cronies. This eventually boiled over to Survivor Series that November, where team Austin lost to Team Bischoff, forcing Austin to resign his position.
Austin returned the following month as the new sheriff of RAW, and the two briefly feuded again, until the Rattlesnake's departure in April 2004.
