"We put a lot of emphasis on luchadores" - Eric Bischoff on how WCW introduced Lucha Libre to American viewers
Eric Bischoff is well known for his time in WCW as one of their Executive Producers and later as President of the company. During his time in WCW, Bischoff was credited for revolutionizing the wrestling business. Among other things, WCW was known for the spotlight it shined on the Lucha Libre style of wrestling.
Eric Bischoff is a former professional wrestling booker and entrepreneur well known for his time with a number of top wrestling promotions in the business. Bischoff has had a storied career in wrestling, having been involved in the business for over 31 years. He has worked with companies such as WCW, WWE, TNA, and AEW.
Speaking to Michael Morales Torres from Lucha Libre Online, Eric Bischoff opened up about his time in WCW, and spoke about some of the revolutionary things the company did, including the spotlight it shined on luchadores and Lucha Libre style of wrestling. He said that WCW and Nitro were the first to introduce the Mexican style of wrestling to American viewers.
"I can tell you that I think one of the things that Nitro was known for, WCW and myself was the fact that we put a lot of emphasis on luchadores and talent from Mexico. We brought them in and allowed them to wrestle their styles and not ask them to wrestle in the American Style. We let them bring a lot of the culture from Lucha Libre into the American product and put it on national television on prime time. Nobody had ever seen that before."
Lucha Libre is one of the most entertaining styles of wrestling to watch. Featuring a lot of high-flying maneuvers, it continues to captivate audiences even today. WCW can be credited for introducing the likes of Eddie Guerrero and Rey Mysterio to American television.
Eric Bischoff's WCW career
Eric Bischoff rose to fame in the wrestling business during his time with WCW. Bischoff served the company for 10 years from 1991 to 2001. During his time with the company, Eric Bischoff worked both as an Executive Producer and President for WCW. One of Bischoff's greatest creations was that of WCW's Monday Nitro which challenged WWE's Monday Night RAW.
Bischoff created a lot of history with WCW, introducing much more than Monday Nitro. He was the creator of WCW's greatest and most well know faction, nWo. He even gave rise to one of the most beloved wrestling gimmicks, The Vigilante, Sting.
Unfortunately, Eric Bischoff's time in WCW ended on a sour note, with the company losing out to WWE, who were entering the infamous Attitude Era. Bischoff tried to purchase the company, but his efforts did not bear fruit, as the show could not find a network to air its episodes.