The WCW tenure of Eric Bischoff featured him having the highest highs and lowest lows one can accomplish in wrestling. Bischoff’s decisions and talent hires made WCW a force to pass WWE as the top wrestling promotion for almost two years. The decline unfortunately followed when his decisions started to have the opposite effect of things falling apart.Quite a few wrestlers witnessed just how quickly Bischoff could turn on them when it came to the WCW product. Bischoff had high hopes for many names joining WCW roster, but that wouldn’t last in the bigger picture. Each wrestler in question saw Bischoff giving up on them to harm their overall contributions for WCW.
10 Bret Hart
The initial signing of Bret Hart by WCW featured Eric Bischoff having high hopes. Hart was recruited by Bischoff multiple times in the past, since the WCW boss was looking to stack his roster to completely destroy WWE.
The WCW run of Bret turned out to be a massive failure due to poor booking failing him. Bischoff seemed to give up on Hart after a few months of lackluster storylines against Ric Flair and others. Bret still buries Bischoff to this day, as being unfit to run a wrestling promotion and as the reason WCW failed.
9 Ernest Miller
WCW started to introduce wrestlers with kickboxing or karate backgrounds when Eric Bischoff channeled his passion. Bischoff loved those athletic art forms outside of wrestling, and hired the likes of Ernest Miler.
The first role of Miller in WCW featured him uniting with Glacier in a feud against Wrath and Mortis. WCW sold the severity of Miller’s kicks, but his time on television would become limited. Miller witnessed his biggest push when Vince Russo and others took over with a more colorful character.
8 Curt Hennig
The WWE run of Curt Hennig as Mr. Perfect is still celebrated today, but WCW actually pushed him harder when first signing him. Eric Bischoff wasted no time putting Hennig in major storylines involving Diamond Dallas Page, the Four Horsemen and the New World Order.
Hennig was pushed against top names like Ric Flair, Bret Hart and Goldberg for about a year until moving down the card. The nWo splitting into different versions saw Hennig eventually getting kicked out and becoming a forgotten man.
7 Saturn
Eric Bischoff revealed his enjoyment of Perry Saturn on his 83 Weeks podcast looking back at WCW. Raven was the bigger name when Saturn joined him, but Bischoff saw more potential in Saturn as an all-around performer.
WCW even pushed Saturn to score wins over Raven when he separated from The Flock faction. Saturn had some noteworthy mid-card programs, but the momentum stalled when Bischoff no longer pushed him with the same importance as his first few months.
6 Konnan
WCW signing Konnan from Mexico saw Eric Bischoff looked to expand their international reach. Konnan was a massive star in AAA in the early ‘90s and it showed a shift in wrestling when he joined WCW with a noteworthy push.
Bischoff saw more potential in Konnan than the masked luchadors, from his United States Championship win to the heel turn joining the New World Order. Konnan’s push ended in 1999 when the nWo ended and Bischoff no longer cared for him. There were negative stories shared by Konnan about Bischoff after WCW went out of business, but the two have since made peace.
5 Glacier
One of the most noteworthy stories of Eric Bischoff giving up on someone featured the character of Glacier having a strange WCW tenure. Bischoff loved the idea of a character coming like a Mortal Kombat fighter, from the mask to the entrance to the karate kicks.
Glacier received hype videos for months until his big debut, which felt like a letdown. Fans were confused at the presentation of the artificial snow and lack of importance. Glacier quickly moved into the lower mid-card picture where his relevance ended after a feud with Mortis.
4 William Regal
Eric Bischoff had a somewhat surprising revelation on his podcast about loving the style of William Regal. WCW’s biggest strength for the roster was the deep list of names who competed all over the world and had their own style.
Regal was unlike any other WCW talent with his European style, slowing things down and offering new submission holds. WCW pushed Regal against top names like Ric Flair and Sting, before Bischoff slotted him in the lower mid-card picture for most of his run.
3 Chris Jericho
The signing of Chris Jericho by WCW saw Eric Bischoff having a lot invested in the young star. Jericho’s generic face character flopped, but Bischoff genuinely believed it could have made him a top face for the company at the time.
WCW did give Jericho a great position in the cruiserweight division as a heel. Unfortunately, Bischoff gave up on his former hope of Jericho moving into a bigger role. The end of the Goldberg feud not having a payoff saw Jericho having feuds with lower card names like Bobby Duncum Jr. before he left for WWE.
2 Alex Wright
Many fans forget the hype WCW placed on Alex Wright in the era before Hulk Hogan and other major names joined. WCW was trying to go with a youth movement of new names like Alex Wright to build their future.
Eric Bischoff, Ric Flair and a few other names believed that Wright could become a main eventer based on his look and athleticism. Wright had solid matches, but he couldn’t get over as quickly as expected. Bischoff going all in on bigger names from the free agent market made Wright a lower card act with a dancing gimmick for most of his WCW career.
1 Scott Hall
The New World Order would not have been as successful of a storyline without Scott Hall making it important from day one. Eric Bischoff’s greatest WCW success was slowly introducing the nWo with Hall as the anchor for a company-changing concept.
Hall received a huge push for about two years until his personal issues and unprofessional actions upset Bischoff. WCW even punished Hall on air by giving him a drunk gimmick to mirror his outside struggles. Bischoff and Hall ended up having a negative relationship as Hall lost all his standing as a protected star, towards the end of his Eric’s time running WCW.