"He made a huge mistake" - Former WWE writer on Eric Bischoff's missed opportunity in WCW (Exclusive)
Vince Russo thinks Eric Bischoff should have allowed D-Generation X into the arena when the WWE faction tried to invade WCW Nitro in 1998.
On April 27, 1998, WWE RAW took place in Hampton, Virginia, while WCW Nitro emanated from a nearby arena in Norfolk, Virginia. Russo, who worked as WWE’s head writer in the late 1990s, came up with the idea for D-Generation X to drive a tank to Nitro.
Speaking to Sportskeeda Wrestling’s Dr. Chris Featherstone, Russo recalled how Bischoff did not let D-Generation X in the doors to the building. Looking back on the incident, he believes the former WCW President would have attracted more eyes to his own show if fans knew that WWE Superstars had invaded.
“That’s where I think he made a huge, huge mistake, bro,” Russo said. “I’m not knocking Eric or anything like that. I guarantee you what it came down to, bro, is him not knowing what to do. There were not going to be any fights between the [WWE and WCW] boys. I mean, bro, half the boys were cracking up over it."
“But I think in that moment, he just didn’t know what to do, but that was their [WCW's] footage. If they were shooting that and all of a sudden D-Generation X is on Nitro? Are they gonna be on Nitro next week? I gotta tune back in!”
Watch the video above to hear Vince Russo discuss D-Generation X's invasion in more detail. He also gave his thoughts on WWE President and Chief Revenue Officer Nick Khan describing RAW as a “great show.”
Vince Russo on WWE ignoring its competition
Nick Khan recently told BT Sport’s Ariel Helwani that WWE is thinking about its own future rather than its possible competitors, including AEW.
Russo reflected on the D-Generation X invasion and added that WWE’s mindset toward its rivals was vastly different during his time with the company.
“Me and Ed [Ferrara] wrote that segment,” Russo said. “This has always been my philosophy with competition. Chris, when you’re number one, then the competition don’t exist. You don’t mention them, you don’t put them over. They don’t exist. When you’re number two, bro, you throw the kitchen sink, and that’s what we did. We were clearly number two. We had to get their attention... and that’s what we accomplished."
In January 2018, WWE celebrated 25 years of RAW by creating a list of the 25 greatest moments in the show’s history. Fans voted D-Generation X’s WCW invasion in 12th place.
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Please credit Sportskeeda Wrestling if you use quotes from this article.