Controversy Creates Cash

by Eric Bischoff, Jeremy Roberts

The creator of World Championship Wrestling tells the story of the rise and fall of his organization in its head-to-head, no-holds-barred ratings war with WWE ("Nitro" vs. "Raw"), and how he helped shape the sports entertainment industry into the billion dollar business it is today.--From publisher description.A personal account by the former WCW president describes how he was hired by Ted Turner to directly compete with the WWF, an assignment through which he recruited top talent before financial difficulties led to the WCW's takeover by Vince McMahon.

Genres: Nonfiction, Biography, Sports, Autobiography, Memoir, Business

389 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2006

Reviews

[Tiara · Rating 3 out of 5]

I started really watching wrestling in late 2000 during the Attitude Era when I started dating my boyfriend (now husband) at the time. We were young college kids. Up to that point, I'd only glimpsed wrestling on television. I had a cousin who was big fan of wrestling when we were kids and was convinced that she was going to marry Shawn Michaels. She talked nonstop about him. I knew a little about NWO and Goldberg, but that was the extent of my knowledge. When I started watching wrestling, I was solely watching the WWE product. I was immediately taken by characters like Lita and The Rock. I didn't even give the WCW brand a glance. I was so invested in the stories the WWE was telling that it never even crossed my mind to give the other guys a chance.

On my birthday in 2001, Vince made the announcement on RAW that he'd acquired WCW. I still didn't really know who Eric Bischoff was at that point. However, I started going back, watching old matches and shows from both products. I wanted to know the history of wrestling and its players. I blame my love of history and needing to know the history of things for this. I've always thought that Eric Bischoff was a great heel character once I learned about him, and I never hated the guy. I understand why he is a polarizing character, but I never despised him or felt the same level of antipathy that many fans have for him.

I recently watched every episode of Monday Night Wars on the WWE Network, which was fascinating. A fellow wrestling friend gifted me with a few wrestling memoirs to check out after we had some long discussions about the rivalry between the WWE and WCW (Bischoff says it was less a rivalry and more a "rout" during the weeks they reigned supreme). Controversy Creates Cash was one of the books in this treasure trove. Eric Bischoff's book focuses more on the business side of wrestling rather than wrestling. Bischoff was a businessman, and it makes sense that his book focused on the backstage politics and troubles. He does talk about his younger years and other failed ventures that he tried in the beginning, and he jumps around quite a bit on various subjects. Some of these sections felt a bit like filler and unnecessary, especially since they lacked buildup, but perhaps there was a connection that I was missing between these scenes.

Bischoff gives entirely too much book time to his dislike of internet wrestling sites. Mentioning them once or twice would've sufficed. Often his thoughts are mentioned as asides when he discusses certain changes he made or ideas he incorporated and how wrestling sites misconstrued the intent behind these things. He even goes as far as to make disparaging remarks about how these people must be losers in real life. In a portion of his book he accuses Missy Hyatt of being catty, but his own remarks about "dirtsheets" and some of the talent/backstage employees show that he is equally as catty and political as they are. I found it particularly hilarious that he singled out Dave Meltzer who runs Wrestling Observer, accusing his paid newsletter of being unedited trash that seemed written by a 5th grader when this book was pretty terribly edited. Even in the lines about Meltzer, the word "wrestler" is spelled wrong. There's some irony there.

Eric Bischoff accuses other wrestling memoirs of being revisionist history meant to paint the author in a more favorable light. However, no matter how straightforward Bischoff believes his own narrative is, he falls into that category as well, seeming to bathe himself in a softer narrative as suits him. Anyone who's ever watched any documentary that Bischoff has been part of, especially the ones centered around the Monday Night Wars, is hardly fooled by this kinder, gentler Bischoff he tried to sell in this book. It's interesting to see how Bischoff's memories of events differ from how the other players view the events. Such as how he felt the WCW did great things with its cruiserweight division versus how people like Chris Jericho (who was part of this cruiserweight push) view those same events, which are often memories filled with frustration on their part.

However, despite the mixed feelings I had about Bischoff's account of things, I can't say that this book isn't compelling. Bischoff admits that during that time he lacked insight and didn't think about the bigger picture of some of his ideas and changes. Reading his version of some events prove there still is some lack of insight on his part. Eric talks about Paul Heyman and how he felt that Heyman was so full of shit that he believed his own delusions. That felt like the pot calling the kettle black. Bischoff seems locked in his own mind in portions of this story, choosing to believe his version of events. Do I think Eric Bischoff was the death of WCW? No, I don't. I think he got caught in the whirlwind that is business politics and was dragged along to an inevitable end. I think his assessment of the business side of wrestling as far as perceptions and the problems faced being part of a corporation like Turner/Time Warner are probably the most honest parts of this memoir.

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

       Here's the interesting thing about Bischoff's biography. It's not your typical bio, and for some it's exactly what you expect it to be. Not a story of a man's life, but a story about a company called WCW. That's why most of us picked up this book. Hell, it's why I paid 2.99 for it on Kindle. I'm sure Bischoff has lead an interesting life, but Eric himself knows why we're all gathered here to read his book. There are a few interesting notes about his personal life, but the focus here is on his career as the guy who killed WCW. He was the most hated man in professional wrestling and for good reason. I want some dirt, and I want to see pics of Eric hoisting that dirt onto the bodies of his enemies. 

       Anyway, Controversy is an inside look at what exactly happened with WCW, and how he became the man in charge. From the way he talks, everything just fell into his lap, he never pursued anything. He doesn't dish a lot of dirt which is surprising given how much people have talked about him over the years. His most hated enemies are the dirt sheets, and there's even a bit about Paul Heyman and the legendary ECW. For the most part he details his struggles with management, and how they squashed his vision. This is a guy who made a company great, and then watched it all fall apart before his eyes. If you believe Eric, none of this is his fault. His hands were tied. 

       If you're a wrestling fan, this is a must read because it gives you the story from Eric's point of view. There's not much here in the way of his life after he begins working for the AWA, but it's exactly what he set out to do and that was simply set the record straight once and for all. Unlike other biographies this isn't the story of a man, but a man and a company. A company he helped make great and then lost. It is a little dry in places, and the swipes you expect toward people he's worked with never happen. He keeps things as honest as he can, and keeps the story about his struggles with others, but never the wrestlers themselves. He's too smart for that and needs to keep that door to wrestling open. 

      If this wasn't a book sanctioned by the WWE I think it could have been a lot less friendly, and more honest, but as a fan of wrestling, I'll take what I can get. For what it is, it's a great book that focuses less on a man's life and more on a man's journey through a company that ultimately let him down. Finally, the truth about the rise and fall of WCW from the man himself. Interesting and hopefully now Eric can finally get some relief from the fans who thought he killed their favorite wrestling promotion. 

[Jay French · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am not a professional wrestling fan. Yet here I am reading and reviewing a book by a career wrestling businessman and occasional wrestling character. There were three reasons that I chose to read this book, all tied to a TEDx talk by the author. Bischoff spoke at the local TEDxNaperville conference I attended a few years ago. He began his talk by thoroughly belittling our community, ranting for a few minutes, the definition of pompous. The crowd was truly in shock, myself included. After a few minutes of this, he kind of laughed and said it was all just his way of explaining how to control an audience’s emotion. Knowing that you had been manipulated by a wrestling guy felt like a personal failure, and I wanted to learn more about this industry and the performance and influence aspects it traded in.

Continuing the TED talk, Bischoff then talked about some of the forward thinkers in the wrestling industry, especially Verne Gagne. So when I was in junior high, give or take a few years, I did watch professional wrestling, with matches purportedly in nearby Moline, Illinois. One of those wrestlers was Verne Gagne. I remember him as a kind of boring but good wrestler, bald on top, who looked like my uncle. I had no idea he ran the company. So I hoped to learn more about Gagne and the state of midwestern wrestling in the early 70s.

The focus of Bischoff’s talk was that professional wrestling taught the skills that really are valuable in today’s news and politics, including figuring out heroes and villains (called babyfaces and heels in the patois) and creating stories that people grew interested in. Most interesting were Bischoff’s points that Trump is in the professional wrestling hall of fame, and Lincoln had wrestled for money (not to mention former Governor, former wrestler Ventura). Wrestling is intertwined with politics and leadership. I found this talk contained a number of interesting thoughts.

The book was what I’d call a personal business autobiography. It is focused on Bischoff’s career, most all in wrestling. Bischoff worked for Gagne in the beginning of his career, culminating in running the leading wrestling company under Turner Networks and Time Warner and returning to ringside as a character in the subsequent market leader in wrestling with Vince McMahon. You get to know a lot about Bischoff. He is at heart the stereotypical salesman, quite full of himself. About half the content is about the wrestlers he worked with, interesting from a management point of view in dealing with talent, and, frankly, some good entertainment stories are told. Most of the rest of the book is about the business aspects of professional wrestling, where Bischoff worked for declining and rising companies. I enjoyed reading of his time in the Midwest with Gagne and some of the wrestlers I remember from my youth, like The Crusher and Nick Bockwinkel. The book didn’t exactly cover the same topics as the TED talk, but I found it interesting. I also found the editing was pretty bad, with missing words, repeated words, bad grammar, and more. I suspect proper grammar isn't a top goal of the World Wrestling Entertainment Books imprint, quite possibly by design. There were also pictures of many large men in tights and/or suits. You get a good review of pro wrestling from the 70s through the aughts, including the wrestlers and the back-office players.

Can you learn anything usable in other industries here? Certainly yes, given the many storytelling examples. Making cash from the controversy in these stories is left as an exercise for the reader.

[Gustavo Yepez · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a good book, and it’s not like other wrestling books. It’s actually a business book, which was a nice surprise. There is a chapter called “EBITDA”, for crying out loud, and another that talks about GAAP. It’s crazy how it has been out for so long and many of the misconceptions that are debunked in this book are still being touted as truth today.

Eric Bischoff is not a carny, so he brings a different perspective to the events we all know about from the points of view of carnies and marks. That being said, even though this book is supposed to be a shoot, I still believe that parts of it are a work. Eric was still active in the WWE when it was written, and it’s clear that in some parts he was working the gimmick to keep getting heat for his onscreen character. Just like in the TED talk he gave, where he began by cutting a heel promo in front of an audience that didn’t understand what was going on, this book is designed for unaware readers to work themselves into a shoot.

I wish he had talked more about the moment when they put the championship on David Arquette, but the book covers pre-WCW, rise and fall of WCW, and post-WCW. I understand he can’t devote the same amount of space to every single thing.

[Jonathan Thibodeau · Rating 2 out of 5]

If you're going to write a book, hire a proofreader and a fact checker. You can't just say "I don't remember exactly what happened" every few pages. Most of this stuff was on TV. Look it up!

[Artiom Karsiuk · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had my reservations about reading this book, because even though I admire Eric and wanted to get a breakdown of what went down behind the curtains in WCW, I knew that the publisher was "WWE Books", a subsidiary of his longtime arch-nemesis. I thought they would neuter his book faster than you can say "Brother", brother.
Yet, the book was fascinating. Sure, you have to take everything he's written with a grain of salt - not because he's a liar or this two-faced hypocrite of a man [even though many would argue], but because he's a salesman and a damn good one at that. So, he sells his goods that just happened to be "Eric Bischoff" and "Hulk Hogan". The two main commodities of this one particular salesman. Of course this book offers his personal perspective on everything that's happened and [no doubt] it is very subjective with a strong theme of self-vindication, but he makes some very good points. Many attribute WCW's success solely to Ted Turner's bottomless pockets and love to blame Eric for all of it's failures. Truth be told, I am more of a "Bischoff the TV character" than a "Bischoff the real life authority figure" fan, but I don't hold him responsible for the death of my beloved wrestling company. Not only this book, but also "The Death of WCW" by Bryan Alvarez (which compliments and should go hand-in-hand with this book) provide a detailed explanation of how corporate structure and politics killed WCW. The word "merger(s)" is key here. Turner Broadcasting merged with Time Warner and subsequently Time Warner merged with AOL. The emerging monster conglomerate known as AOL Time Warner is the true murderer, not Easy E or ATM Eric. OK, Bischoff was not the creative genius he makes himself out to be and sure many of his personal relationships with employees as well as wanting to be "one of the boys" hurt many of his decisions on both the creative and business ends of the spectrum, but they were not fatal. Eric simply became the convenient scapegoat for many fans who were bitter after Monday Nitro went off the air. And thanks to his carefully crafted obnoxious/arrogant heel persona, he fit the scapegoat part perfectly.
On a completely random note, I wanted to mention that Eric is a self-made millionaire - something I didn't know before reading this book and something I highly respect amongst performers and celebrities from the entertainment business (as opposed to Wall Street criminals).

[Richard Kelly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Here is a book about the wrestling industry that actually has very little to do with wrestling. It is a biography of Eric Bischoff who found himself as the president of WCW just as professional wrestling was moving into a hot streak.

If you like business books and learning about a niche industry this is a great read. There are lots of ideas and business principals that he comes up with that are not as common as those you would read in books like the Seven Habits of Highly Effective People.

And, since it has to do with the wrestling industry you learn a lot about handling talent, writing storylines, and even dealing with negativity towards the industry as a whole.

It is interesting to see his progression from young entrepreneur to media executive to his delusions of grandeur. He seems to give himself more credit than he deserves at times and when you get to the end it feels like he wrote the book to convince others of how great his legacy should be viewed.

But, the book was good. The writing is fairly bad. Lots of repetition, some painfully noticeable grammatical errors, and a lack of organization at times, but it doesn't hurt the content.

Decent book and a must read for anyone interested in the industry of professional wrestling. But should be avoided by those who just enjoy the wrestling products they see on television.

[Jay Rain · Rating 2 out of 5]

Rating - 5.2

What a dud as 50% of the book is in defense of some of the controversial decisions that he is credited for (yet was not involved in) & 50% is self-praise for making WCW a tour-de-force in the late 90's

Does not have any inside information & goes out of its way to keep names private; there is nothing new as the 'dirt' is public info to any wrestling fan - only interesting part was the impact of Time/AOL

[Solitairerose · Rating 3 out of 5]

Obviously ghost-written, and painfully self-serving, it's still nice to get the story of the man who jump-started the wrestling crazy of the 90's, and seems to have no idea why it all fell apart. Pair this with "Who Killed WCW" by the Wrestlecrap buys, and you'll put together the most fascinating story of the business.

[Luke Koran · Rating 5 out of 5]

From a small-time, non-wrestling job position in the famed AWA to an on-screen talent and behind-the-scenes face who made WCW into a national power as their executive producer and president, Eric Bischoff and this tell-all book is a fantastic adventure into the 1990s professional wrestling scene. Though published under the WWE label, I was surprisingly impressed by how straightforward and honest Bischoff was involving WCW's actions in regards to their impact on the WWE in the mid-to-late 1990s. Both this book and all of the WCW related interviews over the years clearly supports the conclusion that WCW was not poaching WWE wrestlers and eager to hurt / put WWE out of business at every turn, but simply that frustrated WWE wrestlers went to WCW in search of a fresh start, better pay, and the hope of being part of the new attitude era. Following reading this book, Bischoff is very convincing in his repeated conclusions in that many of the revolutionary things that made WWE and their own Attitude Era successful, well, they all began in WCW years earlier! If not for the CNN merger with AOL Time Warner and work politics, as well as the hiring of former WWE head writer Vince Russo, Bischoff is certain that WCW would continue to be a force to be reckoned with, if not the only wrestling promotion left standing. Businesses are always best run when there is competition - WCW proved that to be the case when they pushed WWE to the breaking point for 2 years straight, and WWE is proving it now as they really haven't had a ratings competitor to push them to try new things since WCW's demise in 2001.

This book is really the complete story. Bischoff details plenty of his early professional life while in Minnesota in Verne Gagne's AWA. His personal life regarding his deep devotion to his family, who he spent most of his time with following his ousting at WCW and before his welcome into the WWE as on-screen general manager, is well covered. As long as you are open minded, you can't help but come to highly respect Bischoff's work and accomplishments in this business, and realize he's not nearly as "bad" a person as WWE portrayed him out to be while WCW was beating them in the TV ratings 84 weeks in a row. It would be interesting to see a new book from Bischoff covering his last decade, as he has been involved in other wrestling promotions and activities since last appearing on WWE Raw on a regular basis in 2005. Hopefully, he would publish the book without the watchful eye of WWE, which might allow him to be a little more frank about a few aspects of his time in this profession. However, I still believe he said everything he ever wanted to say in his book, and none more than this: "Without Monday Nitro there would be no Monday Night Raw...without the nWo there would be no DX...and without Eric Aaron Bischoff there would be no Vincent Kennedy McMahon."

And for all those who say this book is "Old News" and that video documentaries are better ... this is ~400 pages of detailed stories regarding WCW President Eric Bischoff's personal life experience, and not just WCW (which is very well-covered, especially the behind the scenes environment at CNN). Show me a documentary that does Bischoff's book justice, or a single interview that does the same. YOU WON'T. And I love watching (and making!) documentaries, don't get me wrong. But every great movie has a great script / screenplay, which are often based from books. Read the book AND the movie!

[Boomer · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an interesting look at WCW in the 90's through the eyes of someone who was there for the vast majority of the good times and the bad. Eric Bischoff gets a lot of heat for the failures of WCW, and this was a refreshingly different perspective on most of the big events of the time. Like all wrestling autobiographies, everyone will agree or disagree on things. Overall Bischoff seems like a decent guy, and I especially enjoyed reading about the early parts of his career under Verne Gagne and how he began learning the business.

That said, this book doesn't cover all I'd hoped for. It touches on the big events: - bringing in Hulk Hogan, the nWo, the cruiserweights etc. There's still a lot left unsaid I'd have loved to get his opinion on: What was the reasoning for not resigning Jericho? Bloating the nWo with midcarders? Bringing in Ultimate Warrior? Ending Goldberg's streak? These are just a few of the things I was curious to hear his opinion on, even if he wasn't physically in those meetings. I know you can't go over a few years worth of content in a few chapters, but didn't get as much out of this as I hoped.

Still, I left this book with a new sense of respect for Bischoff and the amount of work he put into WCW. If you're a fan of pro wrestling during this period, this is an enjoyable read

[Daniel · Rating 4 out of 5]

I used to watch wrestling years ago and I remembered really disliking Bischoff a lot, but his character, not particularly the man himself. I knew he was a businessman and he created scenarios, drama and other storylines that kept wrestling going. This is his story and to to say the least, he is a deeply interesting guy. Lots to unpack in these pages, from being in several different wrestling federations, to personal losses and gains. What this book is pretty much is how to take the cards ou are given and pull others in to look at the hand you've been dealt. No money flows without interested parties, fans to propel it. The hows and whys are in here but the true treasure here is the way Bischoff writes it. It ain't fancy but its well written and in terms anyone can understand. I really enjoyed this book!

Danny

[Gavin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good but not required reading

I recently finished Nitro and then read Bret Hart’s autobiography. This was perhaps the worst of the three when it comes to writing style - the other two books were actually written and this came across as someone recorded a bunch of interviews with Bischoff and turned them into text with minimal processing.

It does give some good information on the rise of WCW, but falls down on events where Bischoff could shed some more light or look back and say where things went wrong. He does that with the corporate structure of Time Warner and later AOL Time Warner, but completely shrugs off how bad WCW was pre-nWo creatively and ignores anything negative around the storyline Hulk Hogan created for himself (Dungeon of Doom, Warrior).

Interesting book but a lot of missed opportunities.

[Jeff Lynsky · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm just about a third of the way through this book but am so engrossed want to encourage others to buy it before I finish! I've read mainly autobiographies of the wrestlers themselves, so knew this would be different. It is a great insight in the business and its personalities. Eric is honest about his feelings about people he has worked with, and is open about his own mistakes as well as those of others. He doesn't put the bad mouth on people without backing it up with a reason, and even then, you get the impression he is leaving you to make your own decision about that person. He sets rumours straight, even when the truth is less in his favour than the fiction (his academic qualifications for instance). Contrary to what many people think, he has a lot of respect for his peers, even if he doesn't agree with them. This book is a must read for old and new fans alike.

[Tyler · Rating 3 out of 5]

A compelling wrestling book told more from a business perspective, but don’t worry, Bishoff still provides plenty of dirt.

My main problem with the book is Bishoff takes no responsibility for WCW’s woes and instead points the finger at everyone else. He goes awfully easy on Hogan , making excuses for him, who’s refusal to put Sting over at Starcade was the beginning of the end for WCW. “Sting wasn’t hitting the tanning beds so I’m not putting him over.” Give me a break .

He also names names of people who were minutely involved at the end of WCW calling them losers, no brains, etc . No class and again, pointing the finger at everyone else except himself.

Bishoff remains a compelling character in the wrestling world and for that reason I would recommend this .

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

Surprisingly good book from a man who spent a good part of his life in wrestling. The most valuable insights come from gems like the quote below on what happens when noncreative people become involved in creative endeavors. Hint: they ruin them.

'Creativity, real creativity, depends on risk and chances. In entertainment, if you don’t take chances, if you don’t reach out for the most creative people in the marketplace and give them an opportunity to be unencumbered and as creative as they can be, you end up having a bunch of bankers and accountants and people who are anything but creative making the creative decisions. Nothing can be more devastating for entertainment.'

I argue that this is what has happened to the vast majority of the entertainment industry.

[Tmison89 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bischoff is a desicive character. Love him or hate him, you can't ignore the impact he had on the landscape of wrestling during the Monday night wars.

I found parts of this fascinating, especially the political issues that eventually led to the downfall of WCW.

You have to take some things with s pinch of salt, Bischoff is always working and I think it's apparent here.

Reading this 15 years after it was released, it's interesting to see that a lot of what he predicted, the negative impact of competition on the business for example, has come to reality.

The man's just appeared on AEW! Always working.

Wrestling fans need to read this one. Good stuff

[ARoQ · Rating 2 out of 5]

400 pages of Eric Bischoff insisting he had nothing at all to do with WCW’s historic collapse and that he just can’t stand backstage politics (and those darn dirt sheets!). Granted, he has a pretty strong alibi via the disastrous AOL Time Warner merger, but when one man’s view of this situation differs so wildly and hilariously (really, Hulk Hogan wasn’t a master of backstage maneuvering???) from every single other thing written about this moment in wrestling, one has to wonder. Bischoff generally comes off extremely well in more recent interviews, but this is the rare book where you finish it somehow feeling like you know *less* about the subject than before. Hey, there are at least some fun anecdotes.

[Tony Farinella · Rating 3 out of 5]

Eric Bischoff’s book is an entertaining and breezy read. I liked it, but I didn’t love it. He definitely has a very high opinion of himself and he doesn’t seem to think he did a lot wrong with WCW. It’s usually someone else’s fault when things went wrong in WCW. He repeatedly takes shots at the dirt sheet writers. He also seems to have a selective memory when it comes to certain facts or claims to “not remember the details.” If you are going to write a book, you can always research and fact check. If you have watched an interview with him or know his personality, you basically get what you expect from Bischoff.

[CHRISTOPHER · Rating 5 out of 5]

WOW

What I liked about this book, Eric went into great detail about his life how he got into this business, and whatever it took to be successful. He definitely made enemies along the way, even the downfall of his leadership in WCW. He created more PPV in the wrestling entertainment and almost ran WWF into the ground. He even gave away the RAW results (WWF was taped a week prior) when WCW went live. I will give him a lot of credit for making wrestling entertaining and what he has done in today's society Thank you, Eric you have entertained millions & millions of wrestling fans across the world.

[Matt B · Rating 4 out of 5]

There's actually quite a lot of spelling mistakes in this. Ric Flair is referred to as Rick 3 times for one! Other than than a good book, nothing anybody who knows anything about WCW 1993 - 2001 doesn't already know, but the book missies out some key parts of WCW, things like the finger poke of doom doesn't get mentioned once, Chris Jericho's run and feud with Goldberg is hardly touched on and most of Vince Russo's ideas hardly get mentioned either.

A good book, not the best wrestling book by any measure, but still a good read and brought back a lot of good memories.

[Taylor McCallister · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you're an English Nazi this book probably isn't for you. The editing wasn't done as well as it probably should have been. That is the only reason this isn't a give star review.

If you can get over that -which I did quite easily- and just appreciate the story, it's an excellent read. Of the WWE released books I've read, Bischoff's is amongst my favorites. If you were a wrestling fan during the 90s and the famed Monday Night Wars, it's definitely worth reading.

[Joe Kay · Rating 3 out of 5]

A frank and unapologetic look at what happened at WCW during the "Monday Night Wars" when Eric Bischoff ran the company. A great piece to debunk many of wrestling's myths spread by the dirtsheets. Also a fair amount of axe-grinding, as Eric does NOT forget the people he blames for WCW's collapse and he names the names, no matter how meaningless (to the public) some of them are. Despite that, this is a must-read for any old-school wrestling fan.

[Corey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Eric Bischoff is a smug bastard but tells an excellent story. This book was like the condensed version of The Rise and Fall of Nitro. Definitely worth reading again in the future knowing the author will take credit for everything good the WWE has done.

Short intro to his life and then the narrative moves right into his time in the AWA then WCW. A lot of business activities were discussed along with storylines which made it a quick read.

[Cameron Eittreim · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book does a good job of explaining how Eric Bischoff took a small Georgia wrestling promotion and turned it into one of the biggest entertainment companies of all time. World Championship Wrestling became a household name in the 90's and it was all thanks to Eric Bischoff and his out of the box thinking that made pro wrestling what it is today.

[Dan Verarde · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you enjoyed the Monday Night Wars in wrestling, this will interest you! I like reading about these very interesting and very creative people! This is actually a great read whether or not you like wrestling!

[Christopher Prew · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very interesting,but very "bitty". All stories feel very capped and micro-managed,as if,as it was published by WWE books,whim he was employed by at the time,he didn't want to say anything in too much detail so as not to upset them!

[Optimus · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really wanted to read this book for a while.And i really liked it. I loved that Eric talks about wrestling from a marketing perspective which relates to me cause i study marketing.Real fun and intelligent read.

[Rob Miglas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very insightful and a great look at the business side of wrestling. Only reason I didn’t give it 5 stars was because of the ridiculous amount of errors. He even wrote Rick Flair, Scott Nash and Kevin Hall.

[Hugo Salas Esquivel · Rating 3 out of 5]

A little unreliable at times and not just because of those evil whippersnappers of the dirtsheet writers. Although more believable than many others.
It is the Eric Bischoff story, not the WCW story as many expected.