"Vince was having secret meetings with me" – Vince Russo says he told WWE to hire a legendary name (Exclusive)
Eric Bischoff's WWE debut in 2002 was one of the most iconic moments in wrestling history as he went on to have a memorable stint as an on-air authority figure.
Vince Russo revealed on Sportskeeda Wrestling's The Bro Show that he initially floated the idea of Eric Bischoff's WWE signing to Vince McMahon.
WWE briefly re-signed Russo in 2002, and he recalled having secret meetings with the chairman. Despite his differences with Eric Bischoff, Russo considered the former WCW boss to be a great performer, and he urged WWE to get him on TV:
"I'm going to tell you the good honest truth behind that. Bro, remember I was hired in 2002, okay? The way I was hired, Vince was having secret meetings with me that nobody knew about, okay? This is pre-Eric Bischoff ever working for the WWE. When I met with Vince, I told Vince, 'Bro, you've got to have Bischoff on your show.' What I said, now bro, listen, a lot of people know Eric and I don't get along too well, but Eric's a great performer, bro. I will never take that away, and I said that because Vince didn't know Eric."
While McMahon and Bischoff hadn't worked together, they were connected due to their rivalry from the Monday Night Wars, and Vince Russo saw tremendous potential in Eric's arrival:
"They had never worked together, and I said, 'Vince, he's one of the best performers in the business.' You have so much story-telling, so much meat on the bone, you've got to bring him in."
Vince Russo revealed details of a WWE storyline he pitched for Eric Bischoff
Vince Russo didn't spend a lot of time after returning to WWE in 2002, but he did pitch an exciting storyline involving Eric Bischoff and the McMahon family.
The former WWE writer came up with an angle where Shane McMahon accused Eric Bischoff of being a snitch. The idea was for Vince McMahon to question his son's claims before Eric Bischoff himself turned on the WWE head honcho:
"I pitched a story, bro, where it would kind of be a triangle between Vince and Eric and Shane. Like, Shane was the one that was smelling a rat, and Vince was accusing Shane of being jealous. You've always been jealous, blah, blah, blah, and finally Eric was going to drop the bomb on Vince just like Shane said so. I pitched an entire story. Quite frankly, when I saw him appear on WWE, I was very, very, very happy to see that."
Wrestling: Multiverse of Bischoff
Forget Spider-Man, this man is the master of the multiverse 😂 #WWERaw #AEWDynamite https://t.co/iKQfI1Wl8K
Eric Bischoff made a surprise appearance in the main event of the latest episode of RAW. The segment involved The Miz and Maryse renewing their wedding vows and Bischoff officiating the ceremony.
Vince Russo also revealed the person responsible for WWE getting Bischoff back, and you can read more about the backstage reason here.
If you use any of the above quotes, give a H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling's The Bro Show.