While the ratings war between WCW and WWE helped push wrestling to new heights in the 1990s, there was a level of very real animosity between Eric Bischoff and Vince McMahon.
Bischoff was seen as the new kid on the block and was determined to knock McMahon and WWE off their perch by whatever means necessary. Both sides openly took shots at each other on television and aired angles and storylines to ridicule the opposition.
This arguably reached an infamous peak on January 4th, 1999. On that particular night, WCW Nitro was live, and Raw was taped. So Bischoff instructed announcer Tony Schiavone to give away the ending of Raw’s main event which saw Mick Foley win the World Title for the first time. The move famously had the opposite of the desired effect as fans switched over to Raw in their droves.
A year earlier, WCW also took another gamble in extending Nitro to three hours. While the decision might have helped financially, it didn’t go down well with many involved.
Speaking on his podcast, What Happened When, Tony Schiavone admitted that many felt the switch hurt Nitro instead of helping it.
“My view is tainted because I didn’t like three hours.
We always, we thought it was too much. So my feeling is ‘Yes,’ but I’m not an expert on this so I really don’t know.”
With regard to the ‘war’ between WCW and WWE, Schiavone recalled one incident backstage where WCW Senior Vice President Bischoff laid down a rallying cry to staff.
“I remember it like it was yesterday, Eric had a meeting in catering with everybody, and said these words: ‘I will not rest until I’ve driven a stake through the heart of Vince McMahon.’ I don’t know if he remembers that or even acknowledges that he said that, but there’s no doubt in my mind he said it.”
Vince McMahon Working Alongside Triple H
Despite ‘retiring’ in July 2022, Vince McMahon is now firmly back involved with WWE and reportedly ran the April 3rd episode of Raw from backstage. During a recent interview, Nick Khan discussed the working dynamic between McMahon and Chief Content Officer Triple H, Khan said that WWE was “lucky” to have McMahon onboard.
H/t to Wrestling Inc