Former WCW President Eric Bischoff has spoken about a former ECW star he didn’t trust to have in WCW.
Eric Bischoff revealed during his 83 Weeks podcast that when he was building the mid-card for World Championship Wrestling, he didn’t trust a particular former ECW World Champion, namely Sabu. Bischoff said it wasn’t Sabu’s in-ring ability he questioned, but rather his off-ring reputation.
“I didn’t trust Sabu, simple as that,” Bischoff admitted. “It wasn’t about his work, it wasn’t about his character … he had a reputation.”
He explained that the decision to have Sabu compete on Nitro and at Halloween Havoc in 1995 wasn’t simply his own:
“Kevin Sullivan talked me into this one. This was not me going ‘Wow, I can’t wait to get my hands on Sabu,’ it was the complete opposite of that. I wasn’t dead set against it, but there was some selling going on, so it was definitely a Kevin call.”
Regarding why Sabu’s tenure in WCW was so brief, Bischoff believes it was tied to money, and that he thinks the rumours were true that Sabu was low-balled when it came to his initial offer and decided to take his talents elsewhere.
Which Match Does Eric Bischoff Believe Is The Best Gimmick Match In Wrestling?
Eric Bischoff named the Royal Rumble as “absolutely just the best format for a gimmick match ever,” saying it “served a purpose and it had drama. … It was built on anticipation.”
He explained that the match’s enduring appeal comes from its combination of structure, thematic stakes, surprise elements and wide-ranging involvement, factors he felt gave it a storytelling framework most gimmick matches lack.
