Eric Bischoff Nearly Faked His Own Death, Roman Reigns Says Talent Need To Stop B*tching About Things That Aren’t In Their Contracts, & More

Long before Vince McMahon’s infamous limo explosion storyline in 2007, Eric Bischoff had seriously considered faking his own death on WCW television.

Bischoff, who led WCW during its mid-90s peak with the rise of the nWo and the launch of WCW Monday Nitro, revealed on his “83 Weeks” podcast that he once devised a storyline where he would disappear under mysterious — and deadly — circumstances. At a time when “shock TV” dominated the wrestling landscape, Bischoff believed the stunt would generate major buzz and ratings. He said,

“I really wanted to fake my own death. I had my own plane back then. It wasn’t unusual for me to fly out to Vegas for a weekend just for the hell of it. So my idea was to make it known that I’d be flying around the Grand Canyon or maybe southern Arizona — somewhere near the Mexican border. Then I’d vanish from FAA tracking. The idea was to create enough plausible speculation that I might’ve flown into Mexican airspace and crashed. Nothing confirmed, just enough to fuel the rumor mill.”

He continued, “It would’ve been easy. Drop the right hints to the right people and let the speculation spread. I could’ve made people believe Eric Bischoff died in a plane crash. I pitched it to Harvey, and he immediately said no. He explained the risks — mainly that I was an officer in Turner Broadcasting, a publicly traded company. Faking my death could be seen as manipulating public perception and, potentially, stock prices. That kind of exposure could lead to lawsuits. I understood the legal and ethical reasons, but I still hated it. If Harvey had green-lit it, I would’ve done it.”

Nearly a decade later, Vince McMahon did go through with a fake death angle on WWE TV, ending an episode of RAW with his limousine exploding. That storyline was abruptly scrapped following the real-life tragedy involving Chris Benoit. Interestingly, the stunt was convincing enough to prompt a call from Donald Trump, who thought the explosion was real and wanted to check on McMahon.

Reaching a certain level in pro wrestling often comes with perks — if they’re written into your contract.

Reflecting on his early days in The Bullet Club while appearing on the “Stories with Brisco and Bradshaw” podcast, Karl Anderson noted that the group wasn’t making much money from merchandise at first because their contracts didn’t include a cut. He said,

“I’ve heard people complain about contracts, merch, flights, money — you name it. But as I’ve gotten older, I’ve learned that if you want something, you’ve got to get it in writing. Otherwise, stop complaining. I remember once we were on a flight with Roman [Reigns], and someone was griping about a flight situation. At baggage claim, Roman just said, ‘Either get it in your contract or quit b*tching.’ Damn. Good point, Roman.”

D-Von Dudley says taking John Cena’s Attitude Adjustment was “smooth as butter.”

In a recent YouTube video, D-Von ranked several iconic wrestling finishers based on how much pain he felt taking them. One of the least painful, he noted, was John Cena’s signature move — the Attitude Adjustment, Cena’s variation of the Death Valley Driver.

Even with Cena currently on his farewell tour, D-Von emphasized that his praise is genuine. He said,

“I’ve been in the ring with John Cena many times. And I’ll tell you — that Attitude Adjustment was as smooth as smooth can be. I’m not just saying that because of what John’s doing now. I’ve always said it — that move was smooth as pie.”

(h/t – Fightful)