Bruce Prichard Talks Vince McMahon Refusing To Respond To Eric Bischoff’s Fight Challenge
During the height of the Monday Night Wars, Eric Bischoff pushed things a little too personal when he challenged Vince McMahon to a fight. Bischoff called out McMahon on national television during the final episode of “WCW Monday Nitro” before Slamboree 1998.
Bischoff forced the referee to start the match and count to 10, crowning himself the winner by count out. In retrospect, Bruce Prichard, a member of McMahon’s inner circle at the time, believes the WCW leader went too far with his bold tactics.
“[He was] jumping the shark,” Prichard said on his “Something To Wrestling With…” podcast. “It was silly. He knew Vince wouldn’t come. It’s like me challenging P Diddy. He ain’t gonna come. If he did, he’d win, but he ain’t gonna come.”
Bruce Prichard Via Something To Wrestle
Prichard was then asked to talk about McMahon’s reaction to Bischoff’s challenge.
“When’s their pay-per-view? He’s like, ‘I’ll meet him at a parking lot.’ That’s about it.”
Bruce Prichard Via Something To Wrestle
Prichard emphasized that Bischoff’s actions were viewed as a success for WWE, implying that WCW was desperate to recapture victory in the ratings war. Because WWE had turned the corner and were pushing Bischoff and company to regain lost ground, he thinks WCW “were now chasing” them.
So, was McMahon ever tempted to confront Bischoff? “I think Vince thought about it for a moment, without a doubt, and probably wanted to do it,” Bischoff responded. “But he was well aware that he couldn’t, shouldn’t, and wouldn’t.”
Years later, after Bischoff joined WWE and became General Manager of the “Raw” brand, McMahon and Bischoff did wrestle.
Follow Mark T Cyrus at @_MarkCyrus on Twitter
If you enjoy Bodyslam’s content, you can help donate to the site here. You can also visit our PWTees store and buy Bodyslam official merchandise here.
You can listen to all of Bodyslam’s podcasts by following us on Spotify and subscribing to our YouTube Channel, or any of your favorite podcast platforms.
