On a recent edition of his “83 Weeks” podcast, WWE Hall of Famer Eric Bischoff discussed a hypothetical WCW Hall of Fame class, noting that AEW broadcaster Tony Schiavone deserves to be in the WWE Hall of Fame.
You can check out some highlights from the podcast below:
On Tony Schavione’s impact in WCW: “Maybe not on the first ballot. I mean, I think Tony’s Hall of Fame-worthy, as Tony was such a massive part, the audible part, visual part in many cases of WCW for a long time. Especially during its initial phase as WCW coming out of Jim Crockett Promotions, which Tony was also a part of. So much like someone who I would consider maybe on the first ballot — and it would be a toss up for me, I’ll think about it a little bit before the end of the show.
“But I would say somewhere between Gordon Solie and Jim Ross. Because there’s a credibility that played in, even early on when Tony was working with Jim. Even though Tony was so recognizable to the WCW audience, because he came from out of the Crockett territory, the NWA. Ross still had that — I don’t know. Just had that credibility, made it feel like he was the senior partner at that table. Even if it was nothing he said or what his real responsibilities were, just the way Jim came across it and the way he carried himself, he was kind of like the Alpha announcer in that scenario. And that’s why I’d lean probably in Jim Ross’ direction before Tony’s.”
On Tony Schiavone not yet being in the WWE Hall of Fame: “And kind of unfair. With respect to everything you just said about Tony, really — God, if you think about it, he should have been in — now, he’s been in AEW for five years now. So that kind of takes him out of play. But he would absolutely think that at some point, Tony would get that WWE Hall of Fame now.”
On Lex Luger’s WCW impact: “Not only did Lex Luger play an important part in WCW early on with Sting. Luger and Sting about equally were, in many respects, the new blood, the next generation of WCW back when they were just beginning their careers. Lex was very — Sting gets a lot of attention because of how Ric Flair put Sting on the map, and the history. And because of — really, what a phenomenal performer, and professional and character Steve Borden went on to become. Not only in WCW as the initial Surfer Sting and all that; we all know the rest of Sting’s story. But this is about Lex Luger. Lex Luger and Sting in my mind — again, having shown up in WCW in 1991, which was the very first time that I knew that this thing called WCW even f**king existed. I take that back, I think I had heard about it, I think there was an event in Minneapolis, and I had heard something about it. But in passing. In my mind, I knew nothing about WCW till the day I went to work there. And when I got there and saw the talents around me — keep in mind that Ric Flair was gone. Ric Flair had already sailed away. I saw Ric probably the week before he actually left and went to WWE… So I get there and the stars really are Sting and Luger at that point.
“Lugar goes off to WWF and does this thing. I didn’t really have much of a positive connection with Lex. Let’s put it that way, that’s being kind. Because this is Lex Luger’s Hall of Fame speech, by the way. So when Lex left to what the WWF was, I was about as happy as it could be to not have to announce someone who was typically not that much fun to work with. Lex goes on, he does his run. My situation evolves, I was blessed with some really, really unique opportunities and some unique challenges and pressures. And by coincidence, Lex Luger is available at a time when I’m about ready to launch a brand new live show head-to-head that everybody in the industry thought was going to fail, including me. I thought the chances were good that it were [going to fail]. I also knew that if I was going to change, I had to come up with something different, and I had to shock the audience. And coincidentally, Lex Luger was available. And you go back to the very first episode of Nitro in 1995, and it may not feel as significant to you as it did to me. But I bet my f**king horses. I bet my horses on the fact that I could come up with a show that would feel spontaneous, it’ll have elements of surprise. It’ll feel real, as opposed to what had been going on at that time previous. And I knew I had to have that one thing that I kept hearing from all of the research, data, and metrics. Yeah, that s**t existed a long time ago, you did weights. But everything the audience in that research spoke to us about as a team was love surprises.
“And at that Lex Luger became available. And in a very unique situation, right? WWE management didn’t even know he was up for renewal; everybody assumed he was under contract because they weren’t paying attention. Because they didn’t perceive WCW as a threat at the time. So this kind of s**t was easy back then. You couldn’t pull it off now. And it’s largely because of Lex Luger. Because Lex and I met and entered into an agreement — tentatively, on my part. A huge set of balls on Lex’s. We entered into an agreement, and Lex Luger was the first big surprise and it was a legit surprise. It was a surprise that was felt around the world literally, even in places where Nitro wasn’t airing. Because the word got out instantly across the ocean to WWE management, who went, ‘Wait, what? I thought he was under contract.’ It took a huge set of balls on the part of Lex Luger. It absolutely set the tone immediately, and defined the brand Nitro. It’s where you came to get the unexpected. For that reason alone — it really has nothing to do with anything else that Lex Luger has ever accomplished before or even during. The fact that Lex Luger is such a great example of how to overcome, how to become a better person. How to get close to your faith, how to find happiness in an incredibly difficult personal situation that a lot of people may not have been able to come out of. Lex Luger has come out of all of his challenges a much better human being that he went in.”
On a recent edition of his “83 Weeks” podcast, WWE Hall of Famer Eric Bischoff discussed a hypothetical WCW Hall of Fame class, noting that AEW broadcaster Tony Schiavone deserves to be in the WWE Hall of Fame.
You can check out some highlights from the podcast below:
On Tony Schavione’s impact in WCW:“Maybe not on the first ballot. I mean, I think Tony’s Hall of Fame-worthy, as Tony was such a massive part, the audible part, visual part in many cases of WCW for a long time. Especially during its initial phase as WCW coming out of Jim Crockett Promotions, which Tony was also a part of. So much like someone who I would consider maybe on the first ballot — and it would be a toss up for me, I’ll think about it a little bit before the end of the show.
“But I would say somewhere between Gordon Solie and Jim Ross. Because there’s a credibility that played in, even early on when Tony was working with Jim. Even though Tony was so recognizable to the WCW audience, because he came from out of the Crockett territory, the NWA. Ross still had that — I don’t know. Just had that credibility, made it feel like he was the senior partner at that table. Even if it was nothing he said or what his real responsibilities were, just the way Jim came across it and the way he carried himself, he was kind of like the Alpha announcer in that scenario. And that’s why I’d lean probably in Jim Ross’ direction before Tony’s.”
On Tony Schiavone not yet being in the WWE Hall of Fame:“And kind of unfair. With respect to everything you just said about Tony, really — God, if you think about it, he should have been in — now, he’s been in AEW for five years now. So that kind of takes him out of play. But he would absolutely think that at some point, Tony would get that WWE Hall of Fame now.”
On Lex Luger’s WCW impact:“Not only did Lex Luger play an important part in WCW early on with Sting. Luger and Sting about equally were, in many respects, the new blood, the next generation of WCW back when they were just beginning their careers. Lex was very — Sting gets a lot of attention because of how Ric Flair put Sting on the map, and the history. And because of — really, what a phenomenal performer, and professional and character Steve Borden went on to become. Not only in WCW as the initial Surfer Sting and all that; we all know the rest of Sting’s story. But this is about Lex Luger. Lex Luger and Sting in my mind — again, having shown up in WCW in 1991, which was the very first time that I knew that this thing called WCW even f**king existed. I take that back, I think I had heard about it, I think there was an event in Minneapolis, and I had heard something about it. But in passing. In my mind, I knew nothing about WCW till the day I went to work there. And when I got there and saw the talents around me — keep in mind that Ric Flair was gone. Ric Flair had already sailed away. I saw Ric probably the week before he actually left and went to WWE… So I get there and the stars really are Sting and Luger at that point.
“Lugar goes off to WWF and does this thing. I didn’t really have much of a positive connection with Lex. Let’s put it that way, that’s being kind. Because this is Lex Luger’s Hall of Fame speech, by the way. So when Lex left to what the WWF was, I was about as happy as it could be to not have to announce someone who was typically not that much fun to work with. Lex goes on, he does his run. My situation evolves, I was blessed with some really, really unique opportunities and some unique challenges and pressures. And by coincidence, Lex Luger is available at a time when I’m about ready to launch a brand new live show head-to-head that everybody in the industry thought was going to fail, including me. I thought the chances were good that it were [going to fail]. I also knew that if I was going to change, I had to come up with something different, and I