On a recent edition of Eric Bischoff's podcast, "Bischoff on Wrestling," the former head of WCW spoke about the misconception (as he sees it) that Ted Turner was some kind of villain who victimized poor, sweet, innocent Vince McMahon during the Monday Night Wars.
"There is the bullshit narrative out there (that) the evil Eric Bischoff and big, bad, billionaire Ted Turner beat up on poor little Vince McMahon and his family business. There’s so much bullshit there.
"Ted Turner didn’t do anything, that was me. I didn’t sit down with Ted Turner and say, “Hey, do you think we should give away his finishes?” Or, “Hey Ted, should we bring in Lex Luger when we think he’s under contract?” None of that ever happened. All of that crap was on me. They won’t admit that Eric Bischoff got the upper hand. They’ll say Ted Turner got the upper hand because he engaged in all this underhanded stuff that was just beneath everybody. It was disgusting.
"Vince McMahon did the same damn thing. He raided territories and offered boatloads of money to guys who they wanted who were committed to smaller territories. He bought out markets and blackballed people. He did all the same stuff that I did. No, he did more than I did. It’s just the narrative. When Vince needed to be the underdog he needed his loyalist fan base.
"Remember, WWF is three generations old, Vince didn’t start the WWF, it wasn’t a start-up. He acquired it from his father who acquired it through his father. Vince McMahon didn’t start it. WWF was not a start-up company and Vince was doing everything he could to protect it. That’s something I admire and respect, by the way, I am not diminishing it or being negative about it at all.
"That narrative was a false narrative. Vince McMahon did everything I’ve done and then some and would have done everything I did--if he had been able to think of it first.”
You can listen to the entire podcast or download it at this link.
