Anger management: look for things to heat up on "Raw," now that sworn enemies Eric Bischoff and Steve Austin are in charge

Wrestling Digest, August, 2003 by Steve Anderson

WHO WAS IT THAT SAID SOMETHING about being nice to people on the way up because you'll meet them on your way down?

"Stone Cold" Steve Austin and Eric Bischoff have very little in common. Their paths first crossed in the early '90s, and now, through a series of unprecedented circumstances, they find themselves together again.

Bischoff was just an announcer when the blonde-tressed "Stunning" Steve Austin joined WCW in June of 1991. It would be fair to say that both men had aspirations of moving up in the industry. And both succeeded in that goal--because of and in spite of the other.

When Bischoff assumed a position of power in WCW in 1993, Austin simply did not fit the bill for his roster. Bischoff wanted the Hulk Hogans and Randy Savages of the wrestling world. He wanted name recognition, with a little flash mixed in. Add to that Austin's frequent injuries and it made Bischoffs decision easy. Instead of rewarding Austin with a world title run, as had been rumored, Bischoff notified the former television, world tag-team, and U.S. champion that his services would no longer be needed. To add insult to injury, Bischoff sent the termination letter via FedEx rather than confronting Austin face to face.

Bischoff later said that it was Austin's injuries that led to his decision, but regardless of the reason, their relationship was seemingly severed forever. A bridge was burned.

That summer, Austin shed the "Stunning" moniker and temporarily joined ECW as "Superstar" Steve Austin. He gained acclaim not for his in-ring work, which was limited to a few title matches, but for his ability with the microphone. He used the ECW airwaves as a bully pulpit, doing dead-on imitations of Hogan and railing on his former boss in WCW.

Months later, Austin made the logical career step and moved to WWE. There was very little fanfare or vignettes touting his arrival. Dubbed the "Ringmaster," he defended Ted DiBiase's Million Dollar Championship against all comers. DiBiase was his mouthpiece, as Austin, now dressed in basic black, chose to let his ring work do all the talking. The gimmick was going nowhere, so Austin lost DiBiase, shaved his head, and became the more verbose "Stone Cold" Steve Austin.

June 23, 1996, was a watershed moment both for Austin and the wrestling industry. "Stone Cold" had just won the King of the Ring and cut an interview where he first invoked "Austin 3:16." Sports entertainment was changing.

During that time, Bischoff was making his own history by securing the services of Kevin "Diesel" Nash and Scott "Razor Ramon" Hall. With Hulk Hogan, the trio formed the New World Order and WCW would finally pass WWE in the all-important ratings department.

As Austin's stature rose in the WWE all the Way to the title, Bischoff rose to the position of president of WCW. Both men held positions of great power and influence.

Ironically, it was Bischoff's release of Austin that spawned the phenomenon of "Stone Cold," but Bischoff had also proven he didn't need Austin to succeed.

Their mutual success, however, did not escape the attention of each man, as they constantly traded verbal jabs in the wrestling press.

Fast forward to the fall of 1999. Bischoff was ousted from WCW in September, and Austin was forced to have surgery in November for a badly injured neck, which would keep him out for a year. Bischoff returned briefly in the spring of 2000, as did Austin, but both men were saving their bigger splashes for later. For Austin, it would be when he officially came back to WWE in September of that year. For Bischoff, his comeback would be much, much later.

On June 10, 2002, Austin's second WWE tenure came to a sudden end when he bolted from the promotion over frustration with the direction of his character and the overall creative direction of the company. Legal problems over a domestic assault and a marital rift with his wife, Debra, added to Austin's problems, and the likelihood of him returning to WWE soon became more and more unlikely.

Austin was out. Enter Eric Bischoff.

The July 15, 2002, episode of "Raw" became a piece of wrestling history. The sight of Eric Bischoff cavorting backstage with WWE wrestlers, walking out into the arena underneath the WWE banner, and embracing Vince McMahon were moments no wrestling fan could have ever imagined. He was the new, storylined GM of "Raw."

As the storyline evolved, Bischoff put his personal stamp on "Raw," but soon his job was in jeopardy following Vince McMahon's edict in January of 2003 that Bischoff shake things up or be fired. Eventually, that demand was modified to hiring Austin back or losing his coveted GM designation. On February 10, Bischoff saved his "job" by securing the services of Austin for No Way Out in a match that Bischoff soon discovered was to involve him.

The broadcast ended there, but Austin was waiting in the wings to make his unofficial return to confront and "stun" Bisehoff. Finally, the two were together for the first time in eight years. Stories of their acrimonious split back in 1995 resurfaced. Could the two peacefully co-exist in the same company?