'You f**king clown': Eric Bishoff Shares First Conversation With Vince McMahon Before Joining WWE
Former WWE manager, Eric Bishoff has shared his first conversation with Vince McMahon before joining WWE as manager. Read on.
One of the biggest shockers from Vince McMahon was bringing his WCW nemesis Eric Bishoff as a manager on WWE Monday Night RAW. Eric Bishoff was a rival of Vince McMahon, who gave him fierce competition and even outsmarted him when WCW got past the ratings of WWE.
As the Senior Vice President of WCW, in 1996, Bishoff steered Ted Turner’s promotion to great heights, and even Vince McMahon was left gobsmacked. However, by 2000, the tables turned and the WCW started losing ratings to WWE. By 2001, the company shut down, and Bishoff was out of work.
Vince McMahon did the unthinkable here when he offered an opportunity to Eric Bishoff at WWE. It started with a phone call. In a recent episode of his podcast, 83 Weeks, Bishoff revealed that McMahon’s elegance and tone exclaimed him in that call.
“But when Vince was so gracious and I use the word elegance because that’s really what it was, I knew as soon as he finished, okay f**k it, I’m going to work for this guy,” Bishoff stated.
He said that the conversation wasn’t centered on business deals and ideals, but Vince McMahon threw him one question, which gave Bishoff a hint about where the conversation was going. "We didn’t even talk about ideas or money or anything. I knew right then I was going to go to work for him and we talked a little bit more. The one thing he did ask me. He said ‘Is there anything you won’t do?” Inside the Ropes quoted Bishoff," he added.
To which Bishoff gave him a very candid reply saying that he doesn’t want to get into the relationship kind of holding back important things. “So I said ‘Well Vince, to tell you the truth, the only thing I won’t do is move to Connecticut."
Bishoff then speculated on McMahon’s unspoken reaction, which must be going in his mind. “He was probably thinking to himself ‘You f**king clown, I wouldn’t ask you to move to Stamford anyway, I only want to see you at TV and then I’m done with you,” Bishoff said.
However, Vince was rather amused by Bishoff’s statement, and his response was rather smooth. “He just kind of chuckled and said ‘Great, well let’s put the wheels in motion,” he said.
Eric Bishoff was subsequently brought in as manager on Monday Night RAW and he had a glorious run in WWE from 2002-2007. Post that, he left to work for TNA Impact Wrestling.