Eric Bischoff SHOOTS On UNTOLD Reason He Fired Steve Austin! 

Are there any Bischoff firings you would reverse? Let us know in the comments below!

Imagine knowing you fired three guys who were all instrumental in eventually taking down your company.

I gotta agree with Eric, HHH at the start was never "The Game." Even when I started watching Hunter during the ORIGINAL run of DX, I couldn't have imagined what he would end up becoming.

With all due respect, HHH may have never been The Rock or Austin but he was the guy that had some of the best feuds with Rock, Austin and Cena. HHH could work a program with anybody and make it good he may not be on Mount Rushmore but he is one of the giants of WWE.

He's spot on about HHH. Hunter's role is being "the guy who works with THE guy". A role he's phenomenal at, too. But when compared to the all time greats who are in consideration for the proverbial Mt Rushmore of wrestling he falls woefully short

Eric took WCW to another level. He also sent the talent to WWF to take them to the next level.

This is the first time I’ve ever heard any “real” person say what everyone has always know about HHH. Well done sir.

Eric is one of the best shoot interviews in all of wrestling. He's a great story teller with great stories.

I'm glad he did and I'm glad Triple H didn't get pushed after the curtain call otherwise we wouldn't have got one of the biggest wrestling stars in history... "And that's the bottom line"...

lol I can't believe how honest he was here about HHH

if Bischoff didnt fire them they would have never gone to wwe and we wouldnt have had the content we have so thank you eric for the attitude era !

I wish these full interviews were available for streaming.

Where tf do you find the entire interviews at? All I can find on their channel are clips

I disagree, Triple H was an all-time great heel. It might not scratch a particular Itch for a particular person, different strokes for different folks after all, but his heel work underneath McMahon was frankly vital to the attitude Era.

Ahh so he fire Foley for being Foley. Same dude late 90s was having his guys jump off balconies with their fake hardcore matches

Eric with yet another version of events after overtly stating he didn’t think Austin was star material. He just can’t accept that he shit the bed by firing him

His theme song should be Sniskys. It wasn't my fault

Very informative! The lawyer thing is something we should pay close attention to especially as Americans.

I heard something from I think it was Piper or Jake who said HHH was the guy who worked with THE GUY; in other words, he was not THE STAR, but he worked THE STAR, which means you had to be a good hand. Eric was just behind the times with Mick and Steve was injury prone at the time, Steve had held every title in WCW at the time EXCEPT the HW Title, and he had no direction so yes he was frustrated, but this is one of those times I actually somewhat agree with Bitchoff

It’s a blessing he let Them all go..They would NEVER have Developed into the characters they became without him letting them go..I’m sure ALL of them are greatful for Bischoff letting them go..

Hunter was the top heel forever, I miss his work

Eric’s %100 right about Triple H.

"Bischoff was big on firing people over the phone" - Jim Cornette

They say Steve Austin saved the WWE however it was actually this guy as he fired most of the talent that saved that company!

HHH always wanted to go to WWE. As for Eric Bischoff being friends with Mick Foley , Eric was the one who told Tony Schiavone to bury Foley on Nitro the night that he won his first world title. I guess that's business, though.

He fired Steve austin because he wouldn’t know talent if it was staring him right in face. I’ll quote Bret Hart, Bischoff knows nothing about the wrestling business.

He let Owen hart go He let Adam Copeland go He let xpac go He let Paul white go He let Marc Mero go when he was hot for wcw He didn't develop guys other than Goldberg He let so many go that could have been good for the company

This is crazy seeing as Austin is the main and #1 reason why WWF beat WCW in the ratings and never looked back!🖕💀 🖕 🍺 🍻

When bischoff told steve Austin your fired boy oh boy did that bite him in the azs Steve Austin became the saviour of the wwf/wwe

Top shelf 👌

If all he said especially about Mick and Austin, I couldn’t disagree with I’m. He is 100% about Triple H at that time. Now, he did develop into a great talent later on.

Eric Bischoff didn't want to make Hogan share the spotlight with other wrestlers while they were in WCW. Austin, Foley, Helmsley, and Callaway would go on to become megastars in the WWE.

It’s amazing how many stars had to align for the attitude era to flourish.

Great interview, though I feel like there is more context behind Stone Cold story; the reason why we love him as a fan is the reason he got fired.

Never been a big HHH fan myself, but saying that he’s never been a superstar or been great is WILD. Incredibly memorable music + entrance, crazy physique at his peak, superb promo skills and top notch in ring ability. Not to mention totally believable as a despicable heel. He will no doubt go down as one of the greatest to ever do it. I like Bischoff but that take is totally incorrect.

“HHH was the guy who worked with the guy who drew the money” -Jim Cornette

If you watch any Austin promos from even WCW you could see the huge potential even then. Austin, minimally, had top-mid to low-main heel potential as a floor. He just happened to be so over as an anti-hero that translated to the peak popularity a wrestler can achieve. Ultimately, I think firing Austin was a blunder even if it went the way Bischoff said, but also most anyone (other than superstars) would get fired immediately. As for Foley, that makes sense. It's a creative difference that was about safety if true. Plus, Foley is realistically a top mid-card, low main-eventer at peak. Terra Ryzing... nough said. Hindsight is 20/20, but Austin still had massive potential even as a big-time heel. His promos were great even in WCW. Anyone could see Austin had that high floor.

As a fan of wrestling since the NWA days, I have to disagree about HHH. He was a huge star no doubt about it. He made his bones as a personality with DX but always was a solid in ring performer and could work the mic when the opportunity presented itself. When Shawn Michaels left WWF due to injury, he became the defacto leader and focal point of DX and landed in the the top 4-5 rung of performers long before he started dating Stephanie McMahon. And he only added to his legend from there. Who can forget his feud with the Rock, those brutal matches with Mick Foley, his matches with Shawn Michaels. And he continued well into the modern era until he was forced to retire. A phenomenal career no matter how you cut it.

and X-Pac?

I would have had a ton more respect if he just said “I fucked up”..they let Austin leave and Undertaker leave because of Ole…basically the point it….Heyman instantly saw star talent in Austin and Undertaker..and that’s why his IQ is next level..HHH played the long game as a survivor .

No lie regarding HHH, besides the guy didn't trash him. Its just honest opinion 😂

What Eric said about HHH, that is true with most wrestlers. When it was 'Stunning' Steve Austin, or when he first started out as the Ringmaster, few people envisioned he was end up as the megastar he became. Same with HBK, Bret Hart, and the Rock. On the other hand, guys like Hogan, Warrior, and Goldberg were pushed early on to become big stars; no surprises there.

If Steve, Mick and HHH had never been let go they would not have been what they became. Steve I was just tired of weekly seeing Stunning Steve Austin. Had it not have been getting let go and then getting the final chance to reinvent himself in the WWE he would have never moved past midcard.

This isn't gonna do me any good ...go on... That's what makes a good interviewer right there. 😅😅😅

They hadn't found their characters yet so I understand. Wrestling business isn't a nurse and nature business they need big stars for the fans on the spot. Erik did us all a favor.

All the attitude era fanboys are already foaming at the mouth.. Steve DID say exactly that. I had a friend working in production for WCW. Confirmed that statement. He was severely frustrated with the story arc. Leaving WCW was the best thing for him. As we found out. Arguably the greatest WWE superstar of the last 30 years

HHH is a goat period. I grew up thru the 90s hating him as heel of course But when I got smart to it all I realized the true greatness of The Game, he for sure should be HOF headliner when he goes in as a single n Ya can’t really say he’s not right there with Austin, Rock and Taker…I mean if I walk in a random bar n throw my arms up n spit water in the air most all of em will know who I’m copying jus like if I go in beer bathin myself

Triple H won his first WWF World Title before he hooked up with Stephanie. I think he had a couple title runs before they officially dated.

I can agree to a point about HHH but then I'd say after 99 I definitely consider him one of the all time greats.

7:58 to be fair, Triple H left. He wasn’t fired. Triple H himself, in his documentary, said he’s the one who wanted a one-year contract with WCW, and left because he got an offer from Vince and didn’t want to be a tag team guy

Eric wanted Austin to do promos while injured, but always had Foghorn Leghorn doing promos for Austin while Steve was healthy. They was no storyline going for Steve even before he got injured, unless you count jobbing for Jim Duggan in US title squash match...

HHH was a Superstar Eric!

Pretty sure the undertaker as well

One could argue that Bischoff created the Attitude Era. Because of his choices it created all the late 90s greats.

I can somewhat understand letting Mick and Hunter go, but there's no plausible reason to let Austin go. I still remember very distinctly his feud with Ricky Steamboat over the TV title and how he had all the makings of a future world champion!

8:22 What...? He was the top heel for... close to a decade. I always find the "well he's not Rock or Austin" critque to be so bizarre. By that logic you've had 4 superstars ever in wrestling, lol.

So he fires Austin based on hearsay? Based on Schiavone's word alone he fires Austin? Any good boss that works for a large company that has a legal department would either contact the employee himself or have someone else contact him and confirm the refusal. (Human Resources would be my guess.) Anything less could be a legal nightmare. I don't believe Tony Schiavone was management or an official. lead announcer yes but not management.

I agree with the HHH comment. He started out as HBK's luggage boy, and moved up the latter year after year. Obviously peaking after HBK, the Rock, and Stone Cold left. Marrying Stephanie proved be all part of "The Game", which summed up his personality.

Triple H wipes the floor with Cena. Stone Cold and The Rock I agree, but Triple H was amazing and strangely enough will probably be only second to Vince McMahon for impact on the business. I think he's unfairly labelled for marrying Stephanie. He was a main eventer and a World Champion before they got together.

Imagine if He didn't fire Austin and Foley and the WWE never had the rattlesnake or any hell in the cell spots. WWE probably would've gone out of business because only so far could taker and dx could carry the company

WCW didn't know how to make homegrown Superstars back then. WWE has always had homegrown Superstars. That's the main difference between WWE and WCW.

HHH was already given the strap before marrying steph he was on his way and he wasn't a rock or an austin because he chose to be a lifetime heel when he returned in 02 the fans loved him that ovation is all you need to know about HHHs career yea he wasn't austin or rock but his presence was certainly missed and the company didn't know how to book him as a face thats how good of a heel he was another thing hogan came back and just derailed his post 02 run and another thing whats the attitude era without dx..........put some respect on my guys name it wasn't all because of steph

Triple h was arguably better than the rock. Check out him v taker

Hhh was great for sure, DX was hilarious

He didn’t let Steve Austin go, he let Stunning Steve go. That’s a big difference

Did steve ever do the stun gunn as a move in a wwf/wwe ring?

Sometimes getting let go is the kick in the pants that you need. Those guys probably never would have risen like they did if they hadn't been let go.

I think Eric is just being salty because he fired people who turned out to be gems in the wrestling industry, while Vince McMahon made them real stars + millions of dollars, which Eric failed to do, and in the end, he had nothing but memories. Like they say in my country - "You lost the rope and the goat."

Vince is the reason this wrestlers are who they where his story line was amazing

HHH was also a really good worker, top talent has gone on record saying this over the years. So I think that ability and the fact he put some pretty good talent over and most of all he worked light and kept those guys pretty safe. I would disagree that HHH was merely a utility guy. Was he Rock or Stone Cold level big? Nope. But he was upper tier on the card for a number of years and put lots of talent over and likely was responsible for some of JR's all time greatest calls.

He fired Mick Foley, Austin, etc. It's not like WWE hasn't fired future main eventers before. Let's cut the crap. This happens in wrestling all the time. People just hate on Bischoff because they are jealous of his success.

I strongly disagree that triple H wasn’t a great wrestler. He was a HUGE part of wrestling in the late 90’s and 2000’s

I'm sure Bret would agree with Bischoff's view on Triple H not ever really being a elite superstar.

The only two that I can say that were mid carders at the time Steve Austin and Mick Foley both were working their ways up the card and it's just Bischoff was up Hogan's hind end

Ill tell you what, Bischoff is very entertaining and is an amazing salesman. I can see how he rose up the ranks and ended up running WCW. His downfall is not having enough wrestling people helping him book and letting the inmates run the asylum, especially Hogan.

Hunter was a main eventer before he got with Steph. The attitude era wouldn’t have been what it was without him. He was a top draw.

Without Bischoff, I declare that we wouldn't have Goldust. Had eric not fired Dustin, Vince wouldn't have used Dustin to portray Goldust.

Tony Schiavone is such a company man stooge, for snitching on Steve Austin for cussing in the background. Eric is still an idiot for firing Steve Austin because he could not see what kind of talent that he had. But then Steve Austin's firing was a blessing in disguise in that he would go on to do greater things. I'm glad they reconciliated and they are able to reminisce about the old days now. Eric wasn't a fan of Mick Foley's extreme hardcore style and he feared for his safety, so I can understand his point of view here. But firing Triple H? He was a nobody back in WCW and there is no controversy in terms of Eric letting him go back then, even in retrospect.

Eric bischoff is right triple h is a legend but is extremely overrated and could never reach the rock or stone cold Steve Austin's level and only got ahead because he married Stephanie McMahon period end of discussion facts 💯✌️.

I don’t stone cold could’ve been stone cold without being fired from WCW

To say Triple H was never great is laughable.. One of the best heels the industry has ever seen. Austin and The Rock didn't get themselves over.

It was a totally different time. These things happen. WWE has let go a lot of guys that became huge afterwards at WCW.

Bischoff speaking the gospel. HHH was made into a Main Eventer. Austin, Rock, and I'll go farther back to Hogan, became Main Eventers. Their rise was organic. Hunter was put there. Bret and Shawn were also put there but they held their own and you could say belonged there, they did have "it". Triple H didn't have it.

Eric already stated in interview that he never considered Steve Austin to be "big player". No matter what Eric says Just remember this guy fired/let go of austin , jericho , eddie , benoit , malenko . Didn't even care about edge despite his debut match was with wcw . So spare me eric excuses . Stone cold , rock , edge , Eddie , Benoit , Jericho and many others are proof that Eric was way into hogan and nwo nonsense to care about the gold he was sitting on

I like how the interviewer starts off by saying "wwe revisionist thing" and then the comments on the video prove how much the wwe swayed there thoughts on what really happened.

Bisch describing Steven P New to a T.

I'm the biggest Austin fan but he hit his peak in WCW. He wasn't going to be main event with the stunning gimmick. He needed to go elsewhere to find those missing pieces and did he ever.

Bishoff’s bullshit here is legendary, even for him. Except for Paul. His assessment of Paul is correct. Only reason that guy got above mid-card is bc he married the daughter of the boss.

I agree with Eric on why would anyone see Triple h becoming anything when im WCW, however his comments after that do Triple h a great disservice. He was already a top heel and over with DX before marrying Stephanie and had amazing matches with the top baby faces helping put them over. He WAS great, one of the best heels to do it for me.

bro the attitude era isnt complete without The GAME. PERIOD

The fact that the wrestlers Eric fired would all become huge stars shows how much he knew about wrestling. Bischoff was one of those conmen who slipped into the wrestling business. Here he is making excuses trying to justify his huge mistakes instead of admitting he got it wrong.SMH😅!

You can tell when he is lying or fabricating, he goes on long winded expositions to try and justify his answer. Great story teller, terrible liar.

Eric, the UK has no win no fee trials as well

I fully agree with Bischoff about HHH. I always felt like he would have been the Hulk Hogan of his time, if not for the fact that Rock, Steve Austin, and Undertaker were all in the same place at the same time. One could argue that HHH was only HHH BECAUSE of those guys, but still.

He’s right about HHH , good not great and never on the level of Austin , Rock or Hogan , despite what WWE tries to tell us

The stench of bullshit and revisionist history exudes through this interview. Time heals all wounds with wrestlers who hated each other during their prime generally burying the hatchet as older and wiser men. Bischoff quotes Stone Cold on the podcast accurately but his story about Foley is almost certainly bullshit constructed over several decades to sound plausible same as with Triple H who was a great worker, never top tier but a great No2 guy. Bischoff let all that talent slip through his fingers when Heyman or Vince never would have. Or maybe he’s telling the truth about it all and I can no longer smell BS.

I can fully go with the notion that HHH didn't really stand out back in the day but no one will convice me he wasn't a superstar as a heel by 2000. He just got better with every year he was in the WWF, yes he got a leg up marrying Steph but he was top tier as a heel, just about anyone who wasn't a HHH fan hated him, myself included.

I get what Bischoff is trying to say here because Trips never was the main star of the company. but if not for sheer longevity there are things that make him one of the goats...maybe not a mount Rushmore goat like Hogan or Austin but still one regardless e.g. the amazing in ring work and psychology, the creation of and run with DX, the foresight to see the talent in Chyna and bring her in when many would have said no way, the formation of Evolution and the creation of two of the biggest stars in the industry. Not too mention the 12 world title runs...And I get the fact people say he married the boss's daughter and that made him reliable star to push as he was never going to leave the company. However he won his first WWE championship before he was with Stephanie and even if he didn't marry her I'm sure he would still have made it to 6-8 title reigns. So yeah he's not in the conversation for being THE GOAT but he is in the conversation for being A GOAT. (If you know what I mean) This is all coming from a guy who's childhood was ruined when Triple h beat his favourite Wrestler The rock. But for his longevity as the THE best heel in WWE for so long he definitely deserves major recognition. Have a good one.

What a hater 😂, HHH was the goat

Tripleh never been a superstar??? Are you high bischoff? Tripleh is one of the GOATS! everyone says he is a ring general and not to mention he still to this day is the greatest heel wwf/wwe has ever had! Multi time champion molded other superstars I mean come on give the man his much deserved respect and recognition!