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Bischoff return doesn't mean instant success
Vince McMahon, fearing for his company's future, hired former adversary Eric Bischoff to act as an on-air general manager for "Raw." Bischoff swaggered out to address the New Jersey crowd at the Continental Airlines Arena.
Bischoff proceeded to stroke his enormous ego with a sporadically accurate speech. He told everyone who might not have known that he trumped McMahon, the sports entertainment kingpin, for 84 weeks in the ratings war.
The former WCW boss showed McMahon how primetime wrestling was supposed to look. The glitz, glamour and shock value associated with "Nitro" paved the way for what we now know as "Raw."
While McMahon was taping three weeks of television at the Wheeling Civic Center, Bischoff was showcasing both old and new talent at the Mall of America in Minnesota or in front of a group of college kids at Spring Break in Florida.
But those days are gone: Bischoff now works for McMahon.
Bischoff can add some star power to "Raw." He can add a name that most wrestling fans are familiar with, dating back to his dubious WCW days. He can create a buzz around WWE that hasn't been there since the names Scott Hall, Kevin Nash and Hulk Hogan were thrown around in February.
What Bischoff can't do is write sound, compelling television. Despite how his on-air character is portrayed, he has little to do with the overall product other than perception. Fans perceive him to be in charge of "Raw," when actually he is just another promising character that has fallen into the incompetent laps of WWE's creative staff.
He can't give proper attention to mid-card wrestlers. Actually, he never could. He can't tell head writer Stephanie McMahon that she doesn't have a clue what she's doing with daddy's company, including making herself head of "Smackdown." He can't tell Triple H that he isn't in a position to give pep talks to the locker room when he's dating the boss' daughter and is the heir apparent to the WWE throne.
Bischoff is a self-professed visionary who concocted the New World Order angle and rode it into the ground by diluting the original, masterful idea with no-name journeyman such as Vincent, Scott Norton and Ed Leslie. He didn't plan for the future, which is why WCW doesn't have one.
But this isn't about Bischoff's run as WCW president. This is about WWE's inability to cash in on a built-in, by-the-book angle —- a storyline so simple that it almost writes itself.
He miserably failed to resurrect WCW and produce a convincing invasion storyline. His lack of faith in the WCW name bled through into how the now-defunct company was portrayed. McMahon tried to use ECW's name and hardcore history to save the fledgling angle but couldn't make fans believe what they were seeing was legitimate.
McMahon goofed when it came to pushing and promoting such WCW names as Booker T, Mike Awesome, Lance Storm and Diamond Dallas Page. Instead, Vinnie Mac watered down the invasion with his own, homegrown talent like Steve Austin, Kurt Angle and his overbearing, annoying son, Shane McMahon.
Strike one for McMahon and his writing staff.
The tattered McMahon lured a sober Scott Hall, a broken down Kevin Nash and a tired Hulk Hogan back to professional wrestling for one last run in the black-and- white garb associated with the nWo
The group, beginning with its first night in the company at "No Way Out," was portrayed as nothing more than a tired rerun of the original. McMahon treated the nWo like a throw-away gimmick - the kind of idea that he comes up with on an off-night.
Hall quickly was dismissed because Austin didn't like him, WWE rushed into a Hogan babyface run, and Nash has spent more time on the operating table than in the wrestling ring.
McMahon pieced what was left of the group together, adding underachievers X-Pac and Big Show. He also secured the services of a surprisingly upbeat Shawn Michaels. But the fearsome faction's candor and sense of synergy quickly dissipated. The storyline with Triple H joining the nWo was abandoned along with the group itself.
Strike two for McMahon and his writing staff.
Bischoff's return to professional wrestling seemingly is another fail-proof storyline, a golden opportunity given to a writing staff that seems unsure as to what it wants to do with WWE.
The backstory between McMahon and Bischoff should be enough of a head start to guide the creative staff. That was the same thinking regarding WCW vs. WWF and the return of the nWo
Bischoff apparently has his eyes on several "Smackdown" wrestlers, most notably Triple H and The Rock. Perhaps McMahon finally understands that an intrapromotional feud has to involve luring talent from one side to another.
The only downside to this new general manager idea is Stephanie's involvement. She again has made herself the center of a storyline, and she will no doubt get the better of Bischoff simply because she's a McMahon and he's not. Her track record as an on-air performer suggests that she's only concerned with how she is portrayed, putting her writing duties on the backburner along with the careers of superstars who deserve the TV time ahead of her. No one was anticipating her return.
Bischoff's comeback, however, is exciting. Fans want to rally behind this angle, despite Stephanie's involvement. But the WWE creative team needs to give them a reason to do so. Bischoff is a tremendous TV performer, but he needs strong material to work with: If the drama and intrigue are missing, Bischoff won't succeed — no one could.
One more strike, and McMahon is out. He will be out of options, out of excuses and perhaps out of diehard fans who are tired of waiting for him to turn his company around.
