Eric Bischoff says Hall of Famer wanted to join WCW after quitting WWE
Eric Bischoff revealed on his “83 Weeks” podcast that WWE Hall of Famer Jerry Lawler contacted him about jumping to WCW following his WWE exit in early 2001.
WCW was mere weeks away from being bought out by WWE, and Eric Bischoff had major plans to relaunch the company at that time. Nothing came of it, though, and Vince McMahon eventually bought his competition.
Eric Bischoff revealed that Jerry Lawler reached out to him after quitting WWE and was interested in coming to WCW. Bischoff explained how he had never interacted with Lawler before the latter's phone call. He further stated that he responded positively to Lawler's call but nothing ever came of it.
"Jerry called me. I remember because I had never had a conversation with Jerry. I mean, I certainly knew of Jerry and held him in high regard, but I had never even said hello to him. We hadn’t crossed paths. We hadn’t talked on the phone. Nothing. I was in Los Angeles. I’m driving and I get a phone call from Jerry Lawler. Obviously, I recognized his voice instantly. We chatted for a few minutes and he let me know he was free. He heard that I had something going and wanted to know if I was interested. I said, ‘Absolutely Jerry. Let’s follow this up.’ Nothing ever came of it. I don’t know what I would have done with him, but we would have done something with him for sure.”
Eric Bischoff was actively trying to buy WCW
Eric Bischoff attempted to purchase WCW during its final days and came very close to buying the company. Turner Broadcasting suddenly canceled all WCW programming from its TV networks. Bischoff later said that it didn't make any sense for him to make a deal under those circumstances.
Jerry Lawler's wife Stacy "The Kat" Carter was let go by WWE following the 2001 No Way Out event. An unhappy Lawler quit the company in protest soon after. Lawler seemingly contacted Bischoff around this time and he would have likely made a jump to a relaunched WCW if he had succeeded in buying it.