Eric Bischoff is the second inductee announced for WWE's 2021 Hall of Fame class.
WWE revealed recently that its Hall of Fame will return this year after the pandemic forced the ceremony to be canceled last year. The first inductee announced for its 2021 class was Molly Holly. The second inductee was revealed on this week's After The Bell, and it will be none other than Eric Bischoff.
WWE has also broken the news on social media. A shocking induction for so many reasons. Mostly due to the fact that for the better part of a decade, Bischoff actively tried to run WWE out of business. As the head of WCW, Bischoff went to war with WWE every single Monday, even beating the pro wrestling juggernaut for 83 straight weeks at WCW's peak.
The induction might also come as a surprise to some due to Bischoff's affiliation with AEW. The podcast host appeared on Dynamite as recently as last week, asking a question during an The Inner Circle's war table. Perhaps WWE isn't as bothered about personalities working with AEW as it appears on the surface, or maybe it's okay with Bischoff because he isn't under contract with the company.
Nevertheless, Bischoff's imminent induction means there's hope for other HOF-worthy talent that has done or is working with AEW. Paul Wight, Christian Cage, maybe even Chris Jericho. It will also be interesting to see whether Bischoff appears on AEW TV again between now and his induction on April 6, 2021. WWE has confirmed that fans will not be in attendance for the ceremony and it will air live from the ThunderDome.
This will also bring to an end any questions surrounding why Bischoff isn't ben inducted alongside the nWo. The WCW group he helped create is a part of the 2020 class which will also be inducted on April 6. Either this was the plan all along and that's why WWE didn't include Bischoff as part of the nWo induction announcement, or this is a reaction to the backlash surrounding his omission. Either way, both Bischoff and the group will be inducted on the same night.