Controversy Creates Cash
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Authors: Eric Bischoff
JEREMY ROBERTS
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World Wrestling Entertainment Presents
JEREMY ROBERTS
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NEW YORK LONDON TORONTO SYDNEY
O POCKET BOOKS, a division of Simon & Schuster, Inc.
1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020
Copyright © 2006 by World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
World Wrestling Entertainment, the names of all World Wrestling Entertainment televised and live programming, talent names, images, likenesses, slogans and wrestling moves, and all World Wrestling Entertainment logos and trademarks are the exclusive property of World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. Nothing in this book may be reproduced in any manner without the express written consent of World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc.
This book is a publication of Pocket Books, a division of Simon & Schuster, Inc., under exclusive license from World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc.
All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form whatsoever. For information address Pocket Books, 1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020
Photos on pages 8, 12, 15, 124, 133, 182, 328 Courtesy of Eric Bischoff.
All other photos Copyright © 2006 World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc.
All Rights Reserved.
ISBN-13: 978-1-4165-6180-4
ISBN-10: 1-4165-6180-3
Designed by Jan Pisciotta
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DEDICATION
Writing this book was an interesting challenge. I rejected the idea of writing a book about my experiences in professional wrestling for a long time for a variety of reasons, including the fact that I just didn’t think my story was all that interesting. But as time has passed, and as I’ve watched the evolution of the sports entertainment industry, I have begun to appreciate just how much the business has changed as a result of many of the things I was so closely associated with.
One of the biggest challenges for me was going back and remembering the key moments—the pivot points as I like to refer to them—that shaped the thoughts, strategies, and decisions that led to the explosive growth of WCW from the time I took over the company until the time I left in 1999. So many things happened in such a relatively short period of time that, for a guy who tends not to dwell on the past, it was like visiting an old friend I hadn’t seen in years and reliving experiences I had long since forgotten about.
People warned me that writing this book would be difficult. The truth is that it wasn’t. That’s in large part because of Jeremy Roberts. Jeremy is the writer that spent untold hours with me, helping me to remember, organize, and structure my story in a way that would have otherwise been a vertigo-inducing literary train wreck.
Writing the book was relatively easy. The hard part was writing this dedication.
It is hard because there is more than one person to whom I want to dedicate this book. There is my wife, Loree, who has believed in, supported, motivated, and tolerated more of me than I ever thought possible. There are others, some of whom I credit in the following pages that gave me the opportunities to achieve what most people thought was impossible.
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DEDICATION
In the end though, the person I want to dedicate this book to is my mother. As I write this, she is in the third day of her second battle with cancer. The first go-round was about two years ago. My mother accepted the fight—took everything the bastard had to give—and walked out of the hospital a champion. In the process of watching her win this fight, I realized just how tough a woman could be. I learned what a positive attitude and a strong will truly is.
Three days ago she called and told us the news. She is in for a rematch. Characteristically, she has accepted the fight with dignity, strength, and a will to win.
So Mom, this book is dedicated to you.
Kick the bastard’s ass.
CONTENTS
The Revolution Takes Hold . . .207
The Art of the Non-Deal . . .351
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PROLOGUE
“Give Me a Big Hug”
E
ast Rutherford, N.J., July 15, 2002:
I’m sitting in the back of a stretch limo in the parking lot of Continental Airlines Arena, waiting to make my appearance on a televised wrestling show. I’ve been on television hundreds of times before, on hundreds of wrestling shows, but tonight is going to be different—very different.
Tonight I’m appearing on the show I almost put out of business.
And the person pulling open the car door to welcome me is the guy I almost forced into bankruptcy: Vince McMahon.
Could anyone have predicted this day would come?
Never!
But that’s the thing about wrestling. There’s a saying in our business: Never say never.
“How are you feeling?” Vince asks.
“Great.”
“Nervous?”
“Not at all. Excited.”
Vince looks at me for a second, like he’s not quite sure he be -
lieves me. We go over what we’re going to do onstage.
This is only the second time in my life that I’ve met Vince McMahon face to face. The first was more than a decade before, 2
CONTROVERSY CREATES CASH
when he said hello to me after a job interview in Stamford. I didn’t get the job. I didn’t deserve it.
The history of pro wrestling might have been very different if I had.
The funny thing is, I feel as if I really know Vince well. We’re like two soldiers back from a war; we’ve been through the same battles, albeit on different sides.
“Here’s what I’d like you to do,” Vince tells me. “When you hear me announce the new general manager of
Raw,
and you hear your music start to play—come out, acknowledge the crowd, shake my hand, and give me a big bear hug! And milk it for all it’s worth. . . .” He gets out of the car. Inside the arena, the crowd is hopping.
They’ve been told
Raw
is getting a new general manager, one guaranteed to shake things up.
There’s an understatement for you.
If you’re a wrestling fan, you probably know that
Raw
is World Wrestling Entertainment’s flagship Monday-night television show.