Controversy Creates Cash Blurbs – Part 2 - May 8th

To use a poker analogy—you just don`t commit to the pot with- out knowing that you have a good hand. I`ll never do that again. (Bischoff, 190)

Despite what the WWE would like people to think—and de spite what the dirtsheet writers loved to say—I didn`t steal these guys. Any time talent went from WCW to WWE, nobody said Vince McMahon stole them. Whether it was Kevin Nash or Scott Hall or Vader or Ric Flair, it wasn`t stealing if they left WCW. It was only grand larceny when someone left WWE for WCW—especially during this period. (Bischoff, 221)

The nWo storyline evolved over time, but looking back at things now, it`s a little easier to explain why it worked. It filled all of the important elements of storytelling—story, action, reality, surprise, controversy creates cash and anticipation. That`s the winning formula that we tried to follow on Nitro. We followed it unconsciously until I was able to articulate it for myself and then my staff, right around this time. (Bischoff, 232)

tried to split up the wrestlers and rotate the schedule, but the load remained much heavier than it had been. Wrestlers weren`t the only ones who were stretched either. The production people, the of fice staff, and the people in our support positions also had to do more. Some complained and were generally uncomfortable, even though they soldiered on. It was more a slow burn than an explosion. (Bischoff, 284)

Don`t get me wrong. Sean had talent, and was a great performer when he was sober. The problem was, those periods were few and far between. But even then, he wasn`t very articulate and didn`t have the ability to do a promo that well. His role in nWo was per fect for him. He didn`t have to say all that much. He relied on his looks and his work rate, which at the time ranged from good to amazing, depending on what his chemical balance was. (Bischoff, 288)

The Real Reason (Men Commit Crimes) Some personnel issues that year were pleasant to deal with. Sting`s movie was one of them.

Sting was taking acting classes and was very much interested in be coming an actor. I supported that. I think performers need to expand their horizons to become better performers. Sometimes it`s a lot of eas ier to develop your talent through other forms of entertainment. (Bischoff, 294)

The Pay-Per-View was my responsibility, and running over was my mistake. But did we do the best we could do under the circum stances? Absolutely.

The match had a 10.2 share during that quarter hour of Nitro,