Eric Bischoff considers his surprise WWE debut the most shocking moment of his wrestling career.
Speaking on 83 Weeks, Bischoff reflected on appearing alongside Vince McMahon on WWE television in July 2002.
“It’s number one, and there’s no number two.
“Working with Steve Austin was the most fun I’ve ever had. Being the fake minister, probably as a performer, was the most exciting performance I’ve ever been able to deliver. But in terms of a shocking moment and the crowd’s reaction to it, nothing comes close to this. Nothing.”
Bischoff said the agreement came together approximately 10 days before his television debut.
“Vince called me. We had a short conversation. I don’t think the conversation lasted more than five minutes.
“I knew halfway through the conversation that he was going to offer me a job, and I’d already made up my mind what I was going to do if he did. He gave me his idea, and I said, ‘Great. I’m in. Let’s do it.’”
Bischoff made his own travel arrangements to prevent his name from appearing in WWE’s system and ruining the surprise.
“I flew myself into New York. I didn’t go through WWE travel because I didn’t want my name showing up on anybody’s computer. It would have ruined the surprise.
“I booked my own flight. I booked my own hotel, and I sat in my room. I didn’t even leave my room. I got there about 9:00 the night before and sat in my room until the limo came to get me.”
Bischoff then received an extensive script only hours before the show.
“There was a knock on my door, and somebody slipped a big envelope underneath the door. It was basically my script for the night.
“I get the script, and it’s like 15 pages. I’m probably exaggerating, but it was a lot. I already knew the expectation was for me to deliver the script word for word. It wasn’t like I could take a look at the script, figure out what worked and put it into my own words. That wasn’t going to fly.
“I had to memorize that script. I didn’t have time to be nervous or excited because I had to really memorize it, and I didn’t have a lot of time.”
If you use any portion of the quotes from this article, please credit 83 Weeks, with a h/t to Wrestling Headlines for the transcription.
