83 Weeks with Eric Bischoff - Episode 320: WCW Hall Of Fame

Episode Date: April 29, 2024

On this episode of 83Weeks, Eric and Conrad play a fun game of "Who would you induct into the WCW hall of fame." The guys debate the value of some of their inductees and discuss viewer/listener's suggestions too. This is going to be a rare hypothetical episode of 83Weeks that we're sure will have people debating for years to come. Eric and Conrad also catch up on all the news and notes in the world of professional wrestling that you're not going to want to miss. AURA - Stop data brokers from exposing your personal information. Go to our sponsor https:/aura.com/83weeks to get a 14-day free trial and see how much of yours is being sold. https://buy.aura.com/yt-free-trial?irclickid=TGqUDyR%3AaxyPT79QyoThCyA5UkHWaayeUzlX3s0&iradname=YouTube%20Ad%20-%20Free%20Trial&iradid=1148850&irgwc=1&c1=314846&camp=12398&utm_source=influencelogic&utm_medium=influencer&mktp=influencer&sharedid=83weeks SIGNOS-Signos removes the guesswork out of weight loss and provides the tools to develop healthier habits. Go to https://www.signos.com/ and get 20% off select plans by using code 83WEEKS. MANSCAPED - April is National Testicular Cancer Awareness Month! We’ve partnered with @Manscaped to help spread the word 🔎🥜 Visit Manscaped.com/TCS to learn more about simple self-checks for cancer prevention & SHARE to help save a life. Get 20% OFF with code 83WEEKS at Manscaped.com and make a donation to the @tcsociety at checkout. #shavetosave BLUECHEW - Try BlueChew FREE when you use our promo code 83WEEKS at checkout--just pay $5 shipping. That’s https://bluechew.com/, promo code 83WEEKS to receive your first month FREE SAVE WITH CONRAD - Stop throwing your money on rent! Get into a house with NO MONEY DOWN and roughly the same monthly payment at https://www.savewithconrad.com/ ADVERTISE WITH ERIC - If your business targets 25-54 year old men, there's no better place to advertise than right here with us on 83 Weeks. You've heard us do ads for some of the same companies for years...why? Because it works! And with our super targeted audience, there's very little waste. Go to https://www.podcastheat.com/advertise now and find out more about advertising with 83 Weeks. Join this channel to get access to perks: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCqQc7Pa1u4plPXq-d1pHqQ/join BECOME A 83 WEEK MEMBER NOW: https://www.youtube.com/@83weeks/membership Get all of your 83 Weeks merchandise at https://boxofgimmicks.com/collections/83-weeks FOLLOW ALL OF OUR SOCIAL MEDIA at https://83weekslinks.com/ On AdFreeShows.com, you get early, ad-free access to more than a dozen of your favorite wrestling podcasts, starting at just $9! And now, you can enjoy the first week...completely FREE! Sign up for a free trial - and get a taste of what Ad Free Shows is all about. Start your free trial today at https://www.patreon.com/adfreeshows. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hey, hey, it's Conrad Thompson, and you're listening to 83 weeks with Eric Bischoff. Eric, what's going on, man? How are you? I'm grooving on a Sunday afternoon. Remember that song grooving? Oh, you were just playing it. Was it? What'd you just play?

Didn't you just say you were jukeboxing? Oh, yeah, yeah. Grooving in the background? No, I don't. I don't think you heard that. We were playing Red Ryder, Lunatic Fringe, just before you... I don't know how I got grooving out of that. Little Rascals.

No, it was just the Rascals. Little Rascals was a TV show. TV show, I actually like that. Rascals was a rock band back in the early mid-60s. Eric, what was black and white television like? I watched a black and white television until I was about 12 years old. my parents didn't break down and actually take the financial leap like everybody else in our neighborhood did and we lived in a lower lower middle income family neighborhood so it wasn't like

you know we were the only ones in the blog but at least all my friends parents finally broke down and bought a color television i would say four years before mine did so i grew up with it really Bonanza in black and white. I, shush, till today, stands up today. Aetography, even though it was in black and white, the photography was fantastic. Great. My dad watched his reruns of Bonanza every single morning before my mom wakes up. And we woke up from an AEW dream last week.

We saw an interesting angle on dynamite that you and I did a bonus episode about. You decided to name it. I don't know why you keep doing this. The Tony World Order. That's available before you now over at 83 weeks.com. And that was done just one day after you had Bully Ray on your new program, Wise Choices. So if you haven't already, go hit the subscribe button and turn on the notifications bell at 83 weeks.com. It's your home for all things.

Eric Bischoff. We're doing some really exciting things over there. We've got a new membership option you don't want to miss. So look into that. but certainly go hit the subscribe button. It's free and turn on that notifications bell so you know the next time we're live. You don't want to miss it.

I should also plug, we had a conversation that maybe is of interest to you about non-competes, the FTC banned non-compete agreements here in the United States last week. And so there was a lot of speculation about what that may or may not mean for the different companies,

whether it's WW or AW or TNA. So we thought, hey, who better to break it down than our own resident gimmick attorney, Mike Dawkins, to join me for an ad-free shows exclusive. You can catch our entire conversation right now at ad-freeshows.com. We are going to separate fact from fiction on non-competes, 90-day notices, independent contractor status, even slip in a little bit of Vince Legal Talk. And it's all available now at ad-freeshows.com.

We call it wrestling with non-competes. So check that out if you haven't already. All right, Eric, let's take a time, right now. I want to challenge you, if you're listening with us, as Eric would say, Google the internet. No, seriously, pull up your Google machine and just type in your name, type in your email address. You're going to be surprised at what all comes up. I know I was. I was uncomfortable with how much of my information was exposed and for sale like this. But data brokers are trying to sell your information to scammers and spammers or anybody else who might target you. They've got your

full name they've got your email they've got your address they've got your health records they know about your relatives it's all out there and that's why eric and i started using ora the sponsor of today's video aura shows us exactly which data brokers are selling our information and automatically submits opt out requests for me and the data brokers eric they've got information on you too this is some dangerous stuff is it not it's it's dangerous and it's a pain in the ass because there's so many people. I've noticed this especially over the last maybe 18 months where I'm getting emails from companies, from individuals that I've never heard of. I have no interest in. And unsubscribing to a lot of this stuff is becoming almost a

full-time job. Because if you don't unsubscribe, you continue to get just bombarded with this stuff. And again, it's from people and companies that I have absolutely no interest in it, that I've not previously contacted for information that just constantly barrage me with emails. And it gets to the point where I have to take too much time out of my day to clean this stuff up. And if I don't do that, then my email is flooded with a bunch of garbage. And sometimes it causes me to miss the important stuff. So it is a major, major problem. It's a very frustrating situation and dangerous too because God forbid you click on one

of these links and who knows what's going to happen to your privacy, your computer after opening up links that you shouldn't be opening up. Cleaning up my information not only helps reduce the amount of spam I get, but it also protects us from hackers who could use this information to help them access my social media accounts, my bank accounts, or any of the other sensitive information. And ORA does so much more to protect me and my family from online threats, things I can't see. You get other features too with ORA like antivirus and VPN and password management, parental

controls, even identity theft insurance, and so much more, all without having to download several different apps. It's really easy to set up, and best of all, you get everything at one affordable price. Now, you may already have one or two of these tools already, but not having ORA is like locking the front door and leaving the back door wide open. ORA is always on doing the hard work of keeping us safe so we can focus on other tasks and give ourselves really peace of mind. I value my privacy and I value yours too.

So go right now to ORA.com slash 83 weeks to start your free trial. That's ORA.com slash 83. weeks one more time that's a u r a dot com slash 83 weeks and while you're at 83 weeks com you might see that eric recently listed the top five members of the nw o and that got some good engagement and folks seemed to like that sort of fantasy booking so i said hey what if we revisited the hypothetical wcd wcd hall of fame now i recognize and realize that wcd did their own Hall of Fame before they collapsed way back when for the purposes of our discussion we're going to say what if you were to start a new one now with the benefit

of hindsight for WCW what do you think about that idea Eric a WCW Hall of Fame I think that could work I think it should work to to one degree or another somewhere because I mean there was a lot of seismically influential talent that were at one point in time, in an important point in time, really, that left a major impression not only in WCW, but on the business in general, maybe later on in their careers somewhere else, but WCW was at the epicenter for a while, relatively short while, when you look at the history of the industry and the business in general, but for a while, WCW, WCW, had a major, major impact on the industry as a whole.

It still does to this day, frankly. Yeah, it's such an important company and an important piece of business that's relative to just the history of professional wrestling. I do think it should be celebrated. It's crazy to think that next March will be 25 years. I guess it's two Marches right. Yeah, so we're about 23 months away now from the 25 year anniversary of WCW's last Nitro. Hey, now's just as good a time as any to debate.

Hypothetically, if they were to do a Hall of Fame for WCW, who would be worthy? We actually asked you guys opinion, who, what, where, and why over at our community page on our YouTube, that's 83 Weeks.com. And boy, did we get some reactions. Let's get into it. So let's also say our WCW Hall of Fame,

it's not going to have different wings. We're not going to have like a celebrity wing or a legacy wing. Yeah, but maybe not yet. Maybe we do this every. year and we gradually increase the size and scope of the Hall of Fame. Oh, there you go. I'm for it. An annual show.

I fucking love it. Yeah, let's do it. So every April, we'll revisit our WCW Hall of Fame. If we were going to sort of think about 10 potential acts, you got to think that Tony Chivani being the voice of WCW, especially during the Nitro years, he's got to be a shoe in for a WCW Hall of Fame. Does he know it? Maybe not first ballot.

I mean, I think Tony's Hall of Fame worthy as Tony was such a massive part, the audible part, visual part, in many cases, of WCW for a long time, especially during its initial phase as WCW coming out of Jim Crockett promotions, which Tony was also a part of. So much like someone who I would consider. are maybe on the first ballot. And it would be a toss-up for me. I'll think about it a little bit before the end of the show,

but I would say somewhere between Gordon Soli and Jim Ross. Because there's a credibility that played it, even early on when Tony was working with Jim, even though Tony was so recognizable to the WCW audience because he came from out of the procket territory, NWA, Um, Ross still had that, I don't know, he's had that credibility, made it feel like he was the senior partner at that table, even if it was nothing he said or what his real responsibilities were, just the way Jim came across and the way he carried himself, he was kind of like the

alpha announcer, uh, in that scenario. And I, it's why I'd probably be into Jim Ross's direction before Tony's. Well, I couldn't disagree with that more. I mean, Jim Ross was in WCW for a hiccup, you know, comparatively. I mean, Tony Chivani started before Starcate 83 way back in the Crockett days. And he's there until the very end, albeit he did have that one year stint with the WWF. But I think most, and I realize you were there and you were in it.

So maybe you are too close to it. But out here where the fans are, boy, Tony Chivani was like the voice of WCW for all of us. And I understand that. And it is a tough one. I just, you know, when I look at this, especially if we're going to look at this WCW Hall of Fame as an annual event, maybe create some of our own merchandise. We can we can figure out a way to work around all the legal nonsense, but famous last fucking words. But I tend to think more of it in a chronological type of order. And I do agree with you.

Tony was there first. Tony had been there longest, perhaps. Tony was the voice. but and again perhaps it's my perspective because I'm going back to when I showed up there in 1991 or whatever it was yeah okay when I got there Ross was the shit he had the credibility both perceived and reality in friendship because Jim Ross was Tony's boss and I worked underneath Tony so it wasn't just the structure internally but just the way the show was presented credibility that was involved in it I just think Jim Ross on the first ballot would get my vote because of his his gravity.

I mean, listen, there's no doubt Jim Ross is the voice of wrestling. I think if this is a WWE Hall of Fame, you got to put him in for sure. For a WCW side, I think I don't think Jim Ross deserves to be near the WCW Hall of Fame. I loved his work. Why do you get up by committee? I loved him way more in WCW than I did in the day. WWF. I prefer that men's warehouse version of Jim Ross. I really do. I think his style of calling the matches and things like that was tremendous. However, longevity there is what's

going to get me to vote for Shivani over J.R. We want to hear from you guys. Drop us in the comment below. Who do you think deserve to be in the Hall of Fame first? The WCW Hall of Fame, that is. Tony Shivani or Jim Ross. Interestingly enough, both of those guys are the T&T Hall of Fame or, well, Chivani will take his rightful place this July. Isn't it crazy to think that will be Tony Chivani's very first Hall of Fame induction? Like, that's wild to me that that'll be the first

wrestling Hall of Fame Chivani's ever been in. And kind of unfair, with respect to everything you just said about Tony, really, God, if you think about it, he should have been in, now he's been in AEW for five years now. So that kind of takes him out of play, really. But you would absolutely think that at some point, Tony will get that WWE Hall of Fame 9. I don't think it's going to be anytime soon, but we won't have any spoilers here on the program.

Another name that got mentioned a lot on our community page at 83 Weeks.com, and we brought up this hypothetical WCW Hall of Fame was Lex Lugar. And Lex Lugar really had sort of two runs, if you will. with WCW, that transitional period from Jim Crockett Promotions to WCW and then of course he left for the WWF. He comes back on the very first Nitro and it's actually Lex

who's the first top baby face to beat Hulk Hogan for the world title. Not Sting, it was Lex. It happened on the first three hour, Nitro, it was actually Nitro 100. I mean, just an incredible story, an incredible moment. And a pretty badass performer, it took the WWF a long time to put Lex Lugar in their

Hall of Fame. Actually, no, to this day, he's still not in it. So by God, if we're going to do a WCW Hall of Fame, all the more reason that Lex Lugar deserves a nod. What do you think about Lex? 100%. Absolutely. Absolutely. I, and I would like to induct it. I'm going to do it here right now in my own way. Not only did Lex Lugar play an important part of WCW early, early, early on

with Sting. Lex Lugar and Sting equally were in many respects the new blood, the next generation of WCW back when they were

just beginning their career. years. Lex was very, Sting gets a lot of the attention because of how Rick Flair put Sting on the map and in the history. And because of, really, what a phenomenal performer and professional and character, Steve Borden went on to become. Not only in WCW as the initial Surfer Sting and all that, we all know the rest of Sting story, but this is about Lex Lugar. Lex Lugar and Sting in my mind, again, having shown up in WCW in 1991, which was the very first, first time that I knew that this thing called WCW even fucking existed. I take that back.

I think I had heard about it. I think there was in events in Minneapolis and I had heard something about it. But in passing, in my mind, I knew nothing about WCW until the day I went to work there. And when I got there and I saw the talents around me, keep in mind, Rick Flair was gone. Rick Flair had already sailed away. I saw Rick probably the week before he actually left and went to WW. in my conversation with something like, hello, Rick Flair, Eric Bischoff,

pleased to meet you. Hello, young man, good to meet you. That was it, right? So I get there, and the stars really are sting and Lugar at that point. Lugar goes off to W.WF, does this thing. I didn't really have much of a positive connection with Lex. Let's put it that way.

That's being kind, because this is Lex Lugar's Hall of Fame speech, by the way. so when lex left to went to wwf i she i was just about as happy as an announcer could be to not have to announce someone that was typically not that much fun to work lex goes on he does his run my situation evolves i was blessed with some really really unique opportunities and some unique challenges and pressures And by way of coincidence, Lex Lugar is available at a time when I'm about ready to launch a brand new live show head to head that everybody in the industry thought was going to fail, including me. I thought the chances were odd, were good that it were.

And I also knew that if I was going to change that, I had to come up with something different. I had to shock the audience. And coincidentally, Lex Lugar was available. And you go back to the very first episode of Nitro in 1995, and it may not feel as significant to you as it did to me, but I bet my fucking horses. I bet my horses on the fact that I could come up with a show that would be, feel spontaneous, it'll have elements of surprise, it'll feel real, as opposed to what had been going on at that time. time previous. And I knew I had to have that one thing that I kept hearing from all of the research, all of the data, all of the metrics.

Yeah, that shit existed a long time ago, you dim wits. But everything that the audience and that research spoke to us about as a team was love surprises. And at that time, Lex Lugar became available. And in a very unique situation, right? WWE management didn't even know he was up for renewal. Everybody assumed he was under contract because they weren't paying attention because they didn't perceive WCW was a threat at the time.

So this kind of shit was easy back then. You couldn't pull it off now. And it's largely because of Lex Lugar. Because Lex and I met entered into an agreement. Tentatively on my part, a huge set of balls on Lexus. He entered into an agreement. And Lex Lugar was the first big surprise. It was a legit surprise.

It was a surprise that was felt around the world literally, even in places where Nitro wasn't airing. Because the word got out instantly across the ocean to WWE management who went, wait, wait, what? What? I thought he was under contract. I took a huge set of balls on a part of Lex Lugar. it absolutely set the tone immediately and defined the brand Nitro.

It's where you came to get the unexpected. For that reason alone, if really has nothing to do with anything else that Lex Lugar ever accomplished before or even during, the fact that Lex Lugar is such a great example, how to overcome, how to become a better person, how to get close to your faith, how to find happiness in an incredibly difficult personal situation

that a lot of people may not have been able to come out of. Lex Lugar has come out of all of his challenges, a much better human being that he went in. That's my half thing. Well, I'll tell you what, we know that Lex Lugar was a body guy and he knew a whole lot more about that sort of stuff than you and I did. But I'm learning thanks to our friends at Signos.

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man. We've got Lex Lugar getting a big nod from you. No argument for me. Certainly Hall of Fameworthy. And I think so is Randy Savage. After the WWF decided that maybe Randy was too old to wrestle, Randy disagreed. And he made the move to follow his old pal Hulk Hogan in the WCW. Chilled the world. He had a lot of gas left in the tank. The Savage Flair program really helped turn the WCW live event business around in 95. And he was Hulk Hogan's first title defense as the WCW champion while in the NWO. It was a big deal. I will never forget that unbelievable pay-per-view.

It's one of our favorites, mine and yours. Halloween Havoc, 1996. It was all about Savage and Hogan, but it wasn't 1989. It wasn't WrestleMania 5. It was Havoc 96. And Savage's star would rise even further. He didn't need the title to make a guy or to have a big time feud. Ask Diamond Dallas Page.

He had the feud of the year in 97 with DDP, who, let's be honest, had been struggling to sort of break through. Randy Savage helped make DDP. Don't take my word for it. Ask Dallas. And there's no slim gym in wrestling without Randy Savage maybe. I just think his, his value to WCW is immeasurable. I'm on team, Randy.

What do you think? Is he belong in the WCW Hall? Absolutely. And much like, you know, the WCW. Hall of Fame, who recognizes Hall of Fame talent and individuals that perhaps weren't really directly associated, or if it all, maybe for short periods of time with WWE. It's the impact on the business in general. And without question, everything you said about Randy's impact on WCW, clearly true and

accurate and probably understated in some respects, because Randy really did contribute more to WCW than is sometimes evident on the screen, including the. a Slim Jim deal, including changing the way Turner ad sales started looking at WCW because of the power of Slim Jim and the fact that a wrestling person could actually bring that in the door where Turner sales executives previously couldn't. So sometimes the impact of an individual on an organization isn't always who'd they beat or how many title runs did they have. It's sometimes more than that. And Randy defines that. Not only in WCW, but in WWE. To this day, I'm still seeing Slim Jim point of sale. Randy Savage stuff when I go in. If I'm on a road, I'm getting filling my truck up

with gas. I'm on my way to Minnesota to visit family or something. Got my dog. I get hungry. I'm going to go get a meat stick of some kind of. I love me some good meat stick as long as it's not filled with sugar and all kinds of other crap. But anyway, I'm looking for my meat sticks. And what Y-C-E brother over here. Who are you going, dude? Uh-huh. So yeah. Just fucking yeah.

Andy Savage. Looking for relevant CME-eligible content that fits your schedule, check out A-Cog's new podcast series. We cover the latest on early onset breast cancer and provide practical strategies for the prevention and early diagnosis of breast cancer and gynecological cancers. Stay on top of the info you need to better care for your patients. Search for women's cancer conversations wherever you listen to podcasts or visit

www.acog.org forward slash women's cancer pod to learn more. Another name that made the list, and I was really happy to see this one on the list. At number seven, we've got Kevin Sullivan. I would say he's a creative genius. I wouldn't argue with that. maybe his critics would say, well, he had some of the best talent in the world to work with, but you couldn't deny his success. Of course, he's on camera in WCW as the leader of the dungeon of doom against Hulk Hogan, maybe not the brightest spot in WCW, but

somebody had to get Hulk Hogan comfortable. And I'd say it worked out because by then he's behind the scenes and putting together some ideas for heat, brother. And you've often given him credit for booking for heat and I don't know that the NWO would have had the success they did if you didn't have a booker that leaned into heat Kevin Sullivan probably deserves some of that praise no no hell yeah and if you're what is this saying doctor don't heal thyself something I don't know that one you don't know that doctors are supposed to be their own doctors lawyers aren't supposed to be their own lawyers bookers should not book their own shit some of Kevin Sullivan's best work

lies so far outside of what he did for himself. Yeah, there you go. I mean, he booked himself with such ridiculous shit because that's kind of where he came from and it was fun for, and I love Kevin Sullivan. I can't wait to see him again, honestly. But the stuff he wrote for himself was like, that's pretty corny.

And then you go exactly 180. fucking degrees, and you get the heat that he brings to other people's stories. It's really fascinating. It's like there's two sides of Kevin. There's the fun side that he just likes to play. And there's just like this really dark side that he can access to find that heat. It's a really interesting contrast. Absolutely, Kevin Sullivan.

Not only for what he actually directly could, and very few ideas, actually hardly any Scorp, uh, scary sting being the exception that does come to mind immediately, but other than that, I'd have to think long and hard about any idea that any honest person could say, well, that was my idea. It just didn't happen that way, 90% of the time. But here's, even if Kevin doesn't have any of that, any of those 10% ideas that were originally point exactly to one person and be 100% right. Kevin as a part of the collaborative process,

not only with the NWO, but clearly outside of it, because I didn't book a lot of that stuff, any of it, really. That was all Kevin and his team. But even within the NWO, even though Kevin may not have been able to go, well, that's my idea.

Kevin had such a strong influence. He was like guiding the ship. And sometimes that ship, you'd have three or four captains on that ship, on that ship, sitting in the room, deciding which way you wanted to turn. and Kevin was the senior captain that knew how, given the strength of personalities in that room

and where they were all coming from. Isn't that who had the strongest personality? Sometimes the challenge was they all have the same goal, but they're coming at it from so many different angles. It takes somebody that's really freaking smart that can listen to all of it simultaneously, be able to pick out the best of the best of the collaborative ideas that you're hearing,

and meld them in such a way that everybody jumps up board because they're all getting a little bit what they're hoping to get out of that idea. That's talent. That's like, talk about human resources, the truest sense of the word, is you're sitting there at a table full of people or in a locker room for people or a car full of people

or at the end of a bar full of fucking people, sitting around in there just jamming ideas. and some of them are really good. Some of them are really bad. But to be able to sit back and pick out the good and get rid of the bad and then nurture it along the way so everybody buys in, that's magic. Brickin wizard in real life.

Does Dip Singh 2295 wrote on our YouTube community page. Kevin Sullivan has to be in the first batch of WCW Hall of Fame inductees. I definitely am all about people. getting their flowers. Do you think Kevin is a first ballot or maybe down the road for WCW? Well, I guess I didn't really understand how this whole ballot system worked. Oh, no, I don't know. I didn't even on everybody else's Hall of Fame inductions. Do I think he's first ballot? I mean, we haven't even mentioned Dusty Roads yet's name yet. I don't know where he's coming in on this. Rick Flair, come on.

We're still, so we got some other folks in here on list of 10. Definitely Kevin Sullivan, like I felt about Tony Shibani, definitely, Hall of Fame worthy. Yes, it will happen. First ballot. That's a different format, different answer. I would not put Kevin in on the first ballot until I start seeing some of the aforementioned names. Well, let's make our way down the list and see some other names. Number six on the list is Diamond Dallas Page. When you talk about homegrown talent, here's one. And I know WWE didn't do much with the character, but boy, he grew right before I starting as a manager and then an announcer and then a opening match guy and then a midcard guy sort of languishing.

Savage helps make him and he is off to the races a multiple time WCW world champion. Who would have ever imagined he'd win the big gold belt in a match that also had Sting and Randy Savage and Rick Flair and Hulk Hogan all in the ring together. Of course, Randy was the referee, but whatever. Such an incredible who's who with talent and DDP comes out the man. I know that you got a lot of black back in the day because you guys were neighbors, but goodness gracious, I don't think anybody can argue that DDP belongs in a WCWWHWFame, can they?

Not for me. They couldn't. again like I talked about with Randy you know and impact somebody has on the industry let's just set Diamond Dallas Page's career the arc of his career getting to end set the wrestler part of it aside

DDP first came in as an announcer he had that role one of the things it had an impact in that role. One of the things that when I think about GDP, both my friend and my

co-worker, is how hard he worked for everybody else. It's kind of who he still is today. It's just in a different world, right? Yoga and fitness or GDP yoga and fitness and helping people

to rehab and recovery and things like that. This is not a new Diamond Ellis page that we're aware of today. He's the same guy. Back then, it was trying to help other people get opportunities. Scott Levy, Raven, Chris Canyon, Sugar Shane Helms, too many other people to mention. But you get it. That was him.

That was GDP, trying to help other people reach their dreams and reach their goals. Much like Lex Lugar, who I think I would absolutely, I'd pick up a machete and defend the decision to put Lex in right away. Because not who Lex was, not what he accomplished, but who he has become because that's such a great representation on the industry as a whole and on WCW specific. Okay. Let's do another name that, well, you can't deny his importance to WCW. in 1998 for sure. Goldberg, probably the biggest star

that ever came out of the power plant. He had the biggest undefeated streak in the history of wrestling, at least that was discussed like this one was. Although his time on top was brief, the impact can't be debated.

I mean, to this day, people are still talking about what Goldberg accomplished. I mean, 1998 was special and the high watermark for WCW. So if you're going to celebrate all that World Championship Wrestling did, you have to take a look at who was on top when they were at their peak.

Goldberg's in that conversation no matter what anybody says, right? He's in that conversation. And, you know, to look at this baby from a little bit of a different perspective, and it's maybe not going to come off as complimentary as I hope it would. Because you have to think about it a lot. Most people don't think about shit. They just react emotionally because it's easier. and fucking lazy.

But you can argue, look, Bill's record was fiction. It wasn't real. Anybody should get a Hall of Fame induction for the idea. That would be Kevin Sullivan. Not likely it was Kevin. One of those 10% ideas I was. But that's not why I would consider Bill for the Hall of Fame. What I would consider Bill for the Hall of Fame or is it for is the impact on the industry once again,

but in a slightly different way than DDP or Lex Lugar. You know, you want people like that because the reflection of what's good about your industry and how good things in your industry can actually benefit other people. That's what gets me excited, right, more than somebody's record. but Bill's magnitude and impact on the industry can still be measured today in what makes it unique not because Bill was such a great character or excuse me not because he was such a great technical wrestler

nobody would argue that not even Bill but as you pointed out kindred he was here for a minute he showed up not knowing how to lace boots and within 18 months was one of the biggest things in the industry at a time when the industry was fucking hot. It's not like the industry was

languishing and barely hanging on for dear life and, you know, putting 300 people in a fucking arena for a TV taping. No, that's what it was. By the time Bill emerged, we were hot as hell and so was WWE. And despite the fact that both

companies were on frickin' fire, more than they've ever been and probably ever will be, Bill Goldberg was able to get to the top. And by the way, and still, to this day, or as recently as a couple years ago when he was still active, was playing at the highest level, not because he was the greatest performer, not because he was a great technical wrestler, quite the opposite. But he was one of the most powerful characters over the last 30 years, and evidence by the fact that he made that splash

and it only lasted for a couple of years and he's been able to ride that splash. If you think about it like a wave, he made a wave over the course of about two or two and a half years and he's been riding that mucker feather ever since. That's Hall of Fame Worthy. Well, somebody else's Hall of Fameworthy is our friends at Manscaped. This episode, well, all of our episodes are brought to you by Manscaped.

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and free shipping with our code 83 weeks at manscape.com because like a famous American philosopher once said take care of your mentals your balls and your chickens let's do another name we're talking about the potential WCW Hall of Fame and maybe this is the best timing ever for this one because he had a little phrase no hair no flare Rick Flair is coming in at number four it'd be criminal to have a WCW Hall of Fame and not at least have the nature boy in conversation you'll notice that the horseman you're seeing right now in 83 weeks.com they're running in Jim Crockett promotions and then later WCW well they had their ups and downs and really the overall run of the horseman in WCW, maybe it wasn't that impactful, but the foundation

was laid in Jim Crockett promotions, and Rick Flair himself, he was a big star for WCW. The whole Arne Anderson Sid Vicious issue led to him being one of the best backup plans in wrestling history when he toppled Vader at Starcade 93, and that incredible classic he had a spring stampede, 1994 against Ricky Steamboat. The big feud he had with you when he would combine the WCW title and the big gold belt with Sting. When there were a lot of really big moments for Rick Flair in WCW. And I'll probably most famously remember his crazy promos and stripping off all of his clothes

with mean jean. Such a big part of WCW. I mean, you can't have a Hall of Fame WCW conversation, not at least talk about Rick Flare. What do you think? Rick, it would have to be my number one. I mean, there's, I just, I couldn't even really honestly debate it with anybody because there is no debate in my mind. And I don't have that much patience to listen to nonsense. So, yeah, despite, you know, you could talk about everybody you want to talk about.

Some people I was so, you know, I will fight for like Lex and, and others, but I wouldn't even stick around to argue about this one. Rick is, again, about everything that you just said, all of which was 100% true, and in and of itself makes Rick Flair Hall of Fame worth it. Impact. Were there no Rick Flair, there would be no Hulk Hogan, there would be no NWO, there would be no Attitude Era, there would be no Mr. McMahon. There may not be the WWE that you know today, because without all of those things happening, you get on your. plane and you look down at 33,000 feet at the big picture, had Rick Flair not been in WCW or been inclined

to help get Hulk Hogan into WCW? And Hogan hadn't arrived. There would be no NWO. If you think that there would be an attitude era in a Mr. McMahon and Stone called Steve Austin, had there not been the 12 months of NWO that preceded Vince's decision, you're not paying attention,

attention. And had there not been the Mr. McMahon, so-called Steve Austin, Mike Tyson, that moment that launched that storyline and really reestablished, WWE is the number one company in this industry. Had it not been for all that, I don't know that what we're seeing today would exist in the same form. I really don't. And that all goes back to one guy. It never goes back to one guy. But there's one guy in that chain that if it were not for that one guy, none of it happens. And that's just real. Now, Rick doesn't care for me at all. It's unfortunate. And I feel, however I feel about Rick, it's weird. It's probably like everybody else. It's love, hate. It's just Rick. It is what it is. But my personal feelings, good or bad, have nothing to do

truth facts as I just reiterated them or pointed them out because it's all true and that's for that alone because all of those things in combined combination have had such an amazing

I mean I could go on and on we don't should be obvious Flair number one DMC-S-E-R-I-P-O I don't know how to pronounce that said so as well over on our YouTube community page. It's 83 weeks.com. He says, Rick Flair's got to be number one. WCW was built around him. Any other star was built around

Flair. Even when Hogan and Savage, et cetera, started making the jump, those guys were also validated to the WCW audiences through the Nature Boy. Sting number two and finish up the first class with the NWO. This is the direct line of inception to insolvency for the company. I don't know if I agree with all that, but it's hard to argue Rick Flair belongs in a WCW Hall of Fame. And I would argue so does Hulk Hogan. He comes in at number three on the list. We know how important he was to the growth of WWB.

But I think what doesn't get spoken about enough is how responsible he largely was for the success of WCW. I mean, really and truly, when people talk about the golden era of the 80s, people always talk about, oh, it was Hogan and Vince. Well, okay. But in WCW, it was Eric and Vince. The very biggest WCW pay-per-view they ever had

was Bash of the Beach 94. It was the long overdue Rick Flair Hulk Hogan match. It put WCW on the map, broke every record for WCW, and then, you know, 95 was what it was. But about two years later, Bash at the Beach 96, boy, we got a Hulk Hogan we never thought we would see again. A heel, Hulk Hogan, and the impact he had on WCW's bottom line, whether it's ticket sales,

merchandise, pay-per-views, licensing opportunities, and who would have predicted he would have been such a fabulous heel as Hollywood Hulk Hogan and the association with the mainstream, whether it's Dennis Rodman or Carl Malone. owner, Jay Leno, but of course, everybody looks to what we're watching right now on 83 weeks.com, StarCade 97, the biggest WCW pay-per-view in history. It broke every record. Again. And what did it?

A heel Hulk Hogan. Man, if we're doing a Hall of Fame for WCW, sign me up. Hulk Hogan's got to be in. Yeah, for if for the same reasons, really, I mean, you look at Hulk's impact. not only in WCW, but like the WWE Hall of Fame, who recognizes people outside of the WWE, if you look at Hall of Cogan, the WCW version, a Hall of Fame version of Hulk Cogan,

and his impact outside of WCW, then you have to take into consideration everything that he accomplished in WWE as well. And when you combine those two things, and with the fact that, much like Rick Flair, had it not been for Hall of Cohen joining, which would not have happened without Rick Flair, that's why it's great that they're, you know,

I'm so closely inducted here because were it not for one, there wouldn't have been so much of what we're watching today. With that we saw last week on AEW with the next variation of the New World Order storyline, all we're still living, the NWO merchandise, still a top seller in the WWE merchandise catalog. All of these things are because of Hulk Ogun. We're at not for Hulk joining WC.

and agreeing to turn heel, not only agreeing, it was his idea because he saw the writing on the wall. It's a smart dude. Nonetheless, we're not for that. So much of what we're seeing today, people, number one, a lot of people don't know because they weren't around. And of the people that were around, not really that many people pay that close of attention to kind of look at the connective tissue between some of these chains of events. it's really amazing that butterfly effect what would happen if what would what would what would what would the world look like if yeah he didn't join wcd what would it look like if rick flare would just stayed in w w flair never came back to

wcd i never had a chance to work with rick in order to meet hall cogan what if there was no w what if there was no n w w would night 12 even lasted more than a season or two would it force vizman to change gears would we have ever seen, again, Austin, McMahon, Tyson, would we have seen any of Mr. McMahon's character? Would we have seen the attitude era? Would we see a publicly held company called WWE? And would T.K.O. ever been interested in purchasing it, firing it?

I don't know the answer to any of those questions, but one answer I absolutely do fucking know is none of it would have happened without Hulk Hogan. David J. Saul over on YouTube says, Hulk Hogan. He spearheaded the company's resurgence and was the face of the hottest storyline the business has ever seen. No argument for me. Hulk Hogan certainly deserves to be in the WCW Hall of Fame, but I would also argue that so does sting. He was the franchise player for WCW when the WWF was trying to transition from Hulk Hogan to the Ultimate

Warrior to be their star of the 90s. The NWA was doing the exact same thing. I guess it was WCW by then, but they were transitioning from their star of the 80s, Rick Flair, to another crazy-haired, neon-colored baby face, Sting. He became a true icon of WCW, the surfer sting that we all love so much, and now the incredible Crow Sting. What a fantastic run that started in 96, and even all these years later in 2024, when he finally retires. He retires as Crow Sting, a creation from WCW. It really is remarkable because Sting is one of those guys who never left. He was in WCW from day one, never lured away for a better contract or more money or a different deal. From the day they'd open the doors until they

turned the lights out, Sting was there. And even when the W.W.E had the book on that very last nitro they knew what to do let's let sting and rick flair hook it up one more time just like they did on the very first nitro let them close it on the last nitro i don't think it can be debated man if it's a wcw hall of fame stings got to be in right oh yeah yep it again it's kind of like the rick flair there's really not a discussion to be had here no there's a lot to talk about a lot that he achieved and again, you know, the butterfly effect, what would happen if? Now, what would happen, for example, if Sting, instead of the Ultimate Warrior and his gimmick, let's face it, they both had basically the same gimmicks that came up together, they learned

a business together, they were a tag team together, basically the same gimmick, one ended up in WWE, his name was Ultimate Warrior, the other one ended up ended up in WCW, he was Sting. And if I bet if Vince McMahon were able to do it all over again and go back in time, he would have bet on this WCW version of that character, not on the ultimate warrior version, if you were able to see into the future. Because while one looked more impressive physically, I guess, depending on what your tastes were, one was actually able to work. Yes. And excite the crowds and get the crowds behind him and learn the industry and knew how to sell.

Yeah. Sting was the better version of that. idea. And he was WCW's version. And without Sting, who knows what would have happened? I don't even know that there's a what if there were no Sting story to be told, really. But there are so many great moments as a result of Sting that it doesn't freaking matter. Sting Vader to me is still some of the best stuff I've ever seen. It really had me on the edge of my seat. I was an executive of sitting there looking with my jaw hanging open. That was some great stuff at the peak of Steve Barton's career as Sting. A lot of it early in WCW.

His best work, his most memorable work, his most critically acclaimed work, will come much later in his career, right? I think Crow Sting is the same. When you see Sting and making appearances at conventions, he doesn't draw, he's Crow Sting. Yes. Much like Kevin Ash shows up in his end of. shirt, as does Sean Waltman, right? Because, you know, that's really what people know them for.

Yes, they did other stuff. Yes, they achieved other great successes. But what they're really known for in the case of Sean Waltman and late Scott Hall and Kevin now, certainly because I know when I see him out on the road, they're wearing NWO merchandise. Sting was a better version of that character. And I, so much good stuff. Yes, Sting.

Certainly belongs. jab blower over on YouTube. He agreed. He says, I feel like Sting should be the first inductee. He's the embodiment of WCW was the franchise player for its entire existence and never left. Others like Rick Flair and Hollywood Hogan and DDP should be inducted. But Sting needs to be first. Let's talk about who I think a lot of our folks over on 83 Weeks.com on the community

page thinks should be first. And that's a group known as the New World Order. the NWO how do you tell the story of WCW without talking about the NWO and the incredible streak they went on 83 weeks I think it was everything changed in professional wrestling when Scott Hall came down the stands there the middle of nothing happened in Georgia to let everybody know that a war was on a week later Kevin Nash is going to join him wouldn't be too long before you're flying through the air on a pay-per-view set

crashing through a table. And before we knew it, Hulk Hogan was dropping the leg to turn heel at Bash at the beach. And that was real wrestling history. Like real wrestling history, not hyperbole, not hype. It changed everything.

And we believe that so strongly. It's even a painting in your studio hanging behind your head. Like, and you mentioned, when these guys are running around making appearances, they're wearing the NWO stuff. Yes, they could wear DX stuff or diesel stuff or what. Yeah, but everybody loves the NWO.

I mean, the too sweet, the hand symbol, the for life. I mean, it's a part of pop culture to this day. I can't tell you how many people are going to buy a big gold belt this year from the WWE and they're going to spray paint it because that's what the NWO was all about. man, if you're going to put a group in, all due respect to the horseman, that was a JCP creation. If it's truly a WCW Hall of Fame, man, the NWO as a group, that's got to be the first group in no matter what, right? Yes. No question about it.

And again, forget about my association with it and that. Just measure impact. Take out your fucking wrestling Richter scale and go, okay, what's had the biggest impact? naming another faction in history that's had a bigger, longer, more sustained impact on the business. I'll wait. And I'll wait a long time because that's how long it'll take.

It'll take a long time. And look at all the incarnations. Look at everybody. I'm not saying trying to recreate because that sounds petty. But look at what we created and look at people continue to this day in all organizations trying to replicate

that business model. It's a compliment. It's a deserved compliment. Not to me to that collaborative effort that we recognize as the end of Dorks suck 2015 over on YouTube agreed with you said the NWO

because they're one of the many reasons WCW conquered the Monday Night Ratings War for 83 weeks. Their dominance was felt not only throughout the entire our locker room, but the wrestling industry. I mean, we would actually see Sean Michaels come into the ring at WrestleMania 13 to do commentary, opening his jacket to where Vince couldn't see

and throwing up the little hand sign to his buddies down in WCW. He did that at WrestleMania. It was a big deal. Such a big deal that the WWE, who had almost no interest in any of the gimmicks or presentations you saw in WCW, even they brought out their own version of the NWO. the importance of the NWO just can't be overstated.

And I know that people are tired of hearing about it. But if there was a WCW Hall of Fame, the NWO has got to be in. And Eric, there's a lot of other names that were suggested as possible entrance into the WCW Hall of Fame. And I want to rapid fire you some others here. How about Ray Mysterio? We got a comment from over on YouTube from Matthew Hutchinson. He says, Ray Mysterio,

the quality of matches he had in WCW were outstanding. You could make a strong argument. Ray was in his prime in WCW. His matches are timeless and he's still so exciting to watch today. But it's also the influence he had on the generations that follow and pro wrestling in general, which make him a walk-up for the WCW Hall of Fame. Yeah, I could see that. Like the Cruiserweight division, when you think about WCW at their peak,

you think about nitro and the cruiser weights and when you think of cruiser weights and WCW I think everybody goes to Ray first and that's a hard thing about having a Hall of Fame discussion is and it's the same thing that WWE obviously has run into over the years is there so many people that deserve it you can't put everybody in all at once or you have nothing to talk about

next year but let's talk about impacts and I agree I absolutely agree Matthew Again, I look at Hall of Fame, in anybody's Hall of Fame, I look at what was the impact? How do they actually change the business? Now, how did they benefit from the business? That's different just because you were good at your job and you were maybe even exceptional. That doesn't mean you have had an impact.

Impact is how has it changed? How is it morphed? How is it more importantly? How has it evolved the business? You cannot look. And look, I was the first. what person to put Ray Mysterio on television. That honor goes to Paul Heyman, ECW.

Did it before I did it. Bully Ray came on wise choices and tried to convince me that Paul Heyman was the first one to create a cruiserweight division because he had three Mexicans. I said, three people is not a division. We created that division. We created that cruiser way division because we wanted that fast-paced alternative style of presentation through the body of our own show. We brought a lot of great, great talent in from Mexico, from Japan, everywhere that we

could find them. Ray Mysterio stood out, stands out, and changed pop culture's perception and opened up the eyes of an entirely new audience, professional wrestling, because he brought that cultural influence. influence people were so fascinated by and the vast majority of the American audience hadn't been exposed to it outside of some small shows like ECW had to get my shot in. Ray Mysterio to this day has set the tone for generations of people that are going to follow them. We've already got the next generation.

There's going to be another generation of that because of one man, not because of one man, because one man stood out and had the impact of Raymond's get it another name on the list that was throwing around a lot booker t easily the most decorated performer in wcw if you're if we're going to suspend our disbelief for a moment and let's just for the sake of this discussion all the titles are a hundred percent real it's a traditional sports organization who's won the most hardware it's book or tea when you factor in all of his time with harlem heat and all the incredible tag team championships he and his brother one is Harlem Heat.

And then that incredible singles run starts with the TV title, before you know it, there's the U.S. title, and then the World Championship. And no, he wasn't the first African-American WCW world champion, but I would argue he had a bigger impression, longer lasting impression, because WCW is going to close down, and Booker T story continues.

And I think you could argue that of everyone who came from WCW to the WWB, Nobody had a run in WWE like Booker did. Another reason to think that Booker's got to be in the conversation for the WCW Hall of Fame. He's got to be, but so does, you know, it's interesting that that just came up.

Booker T was one of, he wasn't the first. Ron Simmons was the first. It definitely is in Hall of Fame conversation. You have to be, you talk about credibility. Talk about, you know,

Ron's background and the things that Jim Rock, was able to talk about that brought a reality, a sports reality to WCW early on, which differentiated it in many ways from WWE. You know, that might not have been his intent at the time, focus. But credibility is key. And I think Ron Simmons absolutely needs to be in this conversation early on, much like I feel so strongly about Rick Flair being one of the first. Because I look at the, if you don't have a strong foundation of Hall of Fame type of,

inductees. Diamond Dallas Page never gets that shot, right? You got to, a lot of the inductees that we have talked about have come along later in WCW's lifespan. But those first few years of trying to build a foundation or equally as important. So yes, Ron Simmons, yes, Booker T, because both men, I think were positioned in a positive light. And as recently as the 90s were, it really wasn't that long ago, folks, it feels like it may be to some, but not to those of us who, you know, live through it. It wasn't that long ago.

And I think the significance and importance of African Americans being positioned in a positive light is Hall of Fame worthy in and of itself. And those guys earn that right. They earn that position. They earn the position for WCW to want them to be in that position, all of the right reasons. Their skills, their personalities, the fact that they connected to the audience, those are all the right reasons. They happen to be African Americans and it just there you go. Speaking of important, I think it's important that we acknowledge Dusty Roads. Dusty Roads didn't spend a lot of time in front of the camera in WCW. He was there. You'd see him doing some color commentary with Tony Chivani, or he did have a few

matches, including a very memorable promo, his son Dustin, seal it with a kiss, really great stuff, even in the dying days of WCW. He's out there wrestling Jeff Jarrett, having a little fun with horses and flatter burritos. It was silly, but it was dusty having fun. But behind the scenes, boy, you want to talk about a power broker, not just for Jim Crockett, promoting, motions, but creatively, a real force in WCW, if you're going to include folks who were a big part of WCW's success behind the scenes, you got to include Dusty Roads, right? See, this is the same thing. And just talking about Ron Simmons and Booker T, I feel the same way here.

And this is why I think going forward, I love this idea, by the way. Shout out to Derek. I love this idea or whosoever idea it was. And I love the idea of doing it annually. but I have a suggestion, rather than just doing it annually as a suggestion, I posit, I'm using that word a lot lately because it's, well, it's fresh and new. I like it. But I suggest that we have some kind of maybe, we do it over the course of three weeks,

and we select every show's members as our board. Okay. And then we debate it, literally. Everybody puts up their candidate and the reasons we, why. And then eventually we'll figure out a way to resolve and finalize that year's inductees. Because again, much like I felt about Rick Flair and Brown Simmons and Burger T. And, you know, Kevin Sullivan and I wasn't sure about for this very reason, who gets in first? We need to have that debate. We do that over a couple of weeks and then we finally have a show that's about the results.

I like that idea. It would be more fair. And a guy like Dusty would, I mean, who at the table isn't going to say initially, well, that's going to be, that's going to be Rick Flair. You can fight over which one it comes first, but you're going to have to fight because it deserves a fight. Here's another name that I think we should at least submit for conversation. This was actually suggested by Jonathan Wagner, 82, 89. And he says, Ted Turner, would we even have a chance at a Monday Night War or in 83 weeks without

Ted Turner? I think we know the answer. That's a negative ghost writer. I know that, you know, Vince McMahon never had the chance to put himself in his own Hall of Fame, but if there was a WCW Hall of Fame, Ted Turner deserves to be in it. I don't know why he's not in the WWE Hall of Fame, Eric. Yeah, I really should be. And I'll I usually don't do this kind of thing, but I don't think it's harmful. So I will. I have been asked more than once to try to help facilitate that. Oh, wow.

At least that there was interest. Let me just say it. It wasn't there was in a statement. It wasn't, hey, we want to do. It was, hey, can you help us arrange a conversation? It was quite a while ago. It wasn't recently. But so it's not a thought that somebody didn't have at least at one point.

Yeah, but let's wait to, we get a wing? Because then we've got to talk about some other people. I would have never been hired job I was hired for if it wasn't for Bill Shaw. Shaw go in first, not over Ted Turner. But you know what I mean? So I think we save executives, anybody other than a wrestling talent or a referee, which I consider part of the wrestling talent.

Let's keep our Hall of Fame confined to that for now. And then maybe next year when we put on a wing in our virtual WCW Hall of Fame, which would be kind of fun to do with AI, by the way, we could use imagery and take people, but make you feel like you're actually walking through a whole fucking awesome. Where was I? Yeah, we'll see that for next year. There's another suggestion here from Grant Cameron 37.

What about referees? Got to give them some love as well. Charles Robinson, Randy Anderson, Nick Patrick, Brian Hildebrand, Mickey Henson. A lot of great referees. If we're going to do a WCW Hall of Fame one day, we do need some referees. Some other names that were suggested, Eric,

Zane Bresloff, David Crockett, Doug Dillinger. And then Alan 6137 says there's definitely a celebrity ring. You got to induct first and foremost, Dennis Rodman, because of his involvement with Hulk and the NWO. Carl Malone and Jay Leno, it's always awesome to listen to 83 weeks, as I've been a huge fan of Eric for many years, Back to his days as a sea level announcer in WCW91.

I agree with you. If there is a celebrity wing, maybe not year one. Tag teams are a big deal. We should at least consider the Steiner Brothers when that conversation happens. Obviously, the Harlem Heat. The nemesis over on YouTube left this on our community page. If we're doing this in the same vein, how WWE does this, meaning there's a main event, a mid-carder, a tag team slash faction,

and someone who's passed on, here's what he would do. Sting is the headliner, Steiner brothers for the first tag team, Ray Mysterio for the mid-card, Vader, as the person who unfortunately has passed away, and Dennis Rodman for celebrity. And when I saw that,

it sort of jumped off the list that, hey man, we've had this whole conversation and we haven't brought up Vader. But when you're talking about big, mean, nasty heel, He had an incredible feud with Mick Foley. You said how important you felt like the feud with Sting was. Don't even get me started. I love that Starcade match with Flair.

Goodness gracious. There were so many great Vader moments and matches in WCW. He's at least got to be in the conversation. What say you? No question. No question about it. Leon White, Van Vader, was arguably one of, if not the most talented big men in the last 30 or 40 years. What an incredible performer.

He was physically able to do things that looked so believable and dangerous. Talked recently about how important it is to feel dangerous as a character. I don't think anybody felt more dangerous as a character in Bader. Phenomenal. His credibility not only here in the U.S. because of what he could do, but internationally as well. Really, really, you know, gone too soon. Unfortunately, you know, circumstances may.

I don't think Vader really ever got an opportunity to hit his peak at the right time. He hit his peak, but he didn't get to hit his peak at the right time. When I say right time, I mean apex of the industry and interest in it. Early on, though, one of the best, absolutely. Jared Rogers says, hey, Rick Rood's got to be on the list. He had two pay-per-view matches with Flair in 93 that are somehow largely overlooked. They were great bouts. He had incredible programs with Dustin.

Sting and Steamboat. I could see wanting to honor and celebrate Rick Rood. I don't think I'd put him in on my first class. But here's what I do know. If Rick Rood were with us today, he'd love our sponsor, Blue Choo. Blue Choo is something that all guys love.

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the cops say this is a good deal. free just pay the five dollar shipping you're how do you beat that and to see if it's even possible for you to hit maximum performance we're not talking about having a problem like it's an issue it's a and sure if you do have issues this is a great solution you don't need to have issues to want to have top performance yeah right i may not be a professional car driver but when i hit the gas i want my shit to go don't want to sputter a long cough gag eventually get me where I want to be why jump in that car I get to that point where I'm ready to drive I want absolute moments because when I

eventually get to where I want to go I want to enjoy the ride it took to get me I mean I'm just saying like we've all heard the expression before you know um I'm sex is like pizza even when it's pretty bad it's still pretty good yeah well you can have school pizza today which don't get me wrong pretty good or you can have grimaldies from under the brooklyn bridge that's what blue chew is go hook it up right now use our promo code 83 weeks get yourself a slice uh let's talk about where we are you know i think we should at least we should at least acknowledge that we're going to involve our listeners here on this process. We're not just going to induct somebody into the WCW, this imaginary 83 Weeks, WCW

Hall of Fame. What we're going to do is we're going to do what the NFL does. They have a selection committee. I think our guy Dave Silva has something for us. There it is. Come check it out at 83 weeks.com. The selection committee meets annually shortly before the Super Bowl to elect new members, members of the Hall of Fame. There's no set number of new enshrinees, but the committee's

current ground rules do stipulate that between four and eight new members will be selected each year. Each candidate is thoroughly reviewed and must receive approval from at least 80% of the full committee to be elected. Well, guess what, boys and girls, you are a part of our selection committee. We're going to be running a series of polls, and we want to hear from you. Who deserves to be in the WCW Hall of Fame? And yes, we will be having some fun with our friends over at ad-freeshows.com as we cuss and discuss the merits of who belongs. If we were going to go with four inductees, we got to think about that, Eric, do we want to go the way of we're just going to do nonstop bangers, just headliners, just name the top guys ever put them in the first class, that's it. But then respectfully, each class that follows is maybe a little less important.

Or do we use that WWE model where we're not cramming all the headliners in in one year. We're just easing it in. Do you have a preference one way or another? I do not like to put them all up front. I like to recognize categories within each annual Hall of Fame. Maybe that's done during the selection committee process, just evaluating that talent from necessarily a different perspective other than just bangers. Yeah.

Talk about impact. Talk about influence. Sometimes influence is different than impact. Sometimes there's a lot of people that have tremendous amount of influence but don't necessarily have as much impact and vice versa. So yeah, that's why I'd like to rather than just front end loading, so to speak, all of your top headliner stars and then gradually acknowledging people who had maybe even more impact your influence. oh yeah so we're going to be doing all the voting and all that over at 83 weeks dot com look at our community page you'll see the polls and we want to hear from you if we were going to have a tag team division i can tell you right now i'm looking at

harlem heat number one if we're going to have a behind the scenes contributor or a non-rassler category well i'm going to get some heat for this but uh give me eric bischoff he was the uh stir that handled the straw that stirs the drink there as that expression goes if we're going to talk about people who really influenced generations that followed i could get behind ray mysterio if we're going to do a group or a faction not a tag team but a group or a faction well you got to put the nw oh and if there's a single star i think that's where it gets more challenging.

You put in Rick Flair, would you put in Hulk Hogan? Would you put in Sting? Those were probably my top three, and I think it becomes really, really tough about who you want in your inaugural class. But I think I might go with Flair,

simply because we, if the rumor and innuendo is true, it's been said for years that Turner wasn't even going to buy the thing from Jim Crockett promotions, unless he knew for sure that Flair was under contract, what do you think of my hypothetical picks Eric any feedback on those on flare being first or on or on harlem heat or or the NWO or ray mysterio or any of those oh okay and in terms of

order no as I think I said earlier you know definitely Rick Flair we're it not for him none of the other shit happens how do you not I didn't even know the story about Ted Turner not being interested in Jim Crockett if Rick wasn't under contract don't know that it's true but I believe it probably could be. So, yeah. Sting would not have happened. We're not for Rick Flair. Riffler put Sting on the map.

Sting made by Rick Flair. So, yeah, first. Absolutely. We want to hear from you guys. Hypothetically, who belongs in the WCW Hall of Fame? And discuss, discuss, vote, and all of that right now at 83 weeks. that's your home for all things Eric Bischoff.

Be sure to hit the subscribe button and turn on the notifications bell. You never know when Eric is going to go live. And speaking alive, I want to give a shout out to a handful of folks who were hanging out with us here today. We had a live studio audience from ad-free shows.com where you get all these shows early in ad-free. So I want to give a quick plug to Greg Jacobson and Eric Green and Joe Morris and so many other folks.

I know that we had Mr. Epic. stopped by mouthpiece murphy was here greatly appreciate all of you guys showing up and showing out for us on an afternoon here go vote though 83 weeks dot com let's keep this conversation going about the wcw hall of fame and in the meantime let's get you some new halls at saved with conrad dot com if you haven't checked it out what are you waiting for we're routinely helping our podcast listeners save a whole boatload of cash go read the latest review over at conrad reviews dot com. Jason E left us a five-star review and he says this is one of the best decisions I've made in a long time. Not only was I able to save around $1,500 a month, I got to experience

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free. 888425.0105. Or just get a quick quote, even talk to a live person right now at save with Conrad.com. NMLS number 32416. Eric, I never know what to expect when we have these fantasy booking conversations. But I do like the idea that we're going to be soliciting feedback. It's rare that we rely so heavily on polls and engagement, making the audience a part of our show. But that's what 83 Weeks.com is all about. So make your voice. voice heard who belongs in the wcw hall of fame and then stay tuned in the coming weeks we'll be discussing that and a whole lot more eric this has been uh one crazy story after another for us on 83 weeks i like that we're getting to just settle in and talk about some wcw for a bit i know right

it's like somebody just i was in between uh reeds here somebody sent me a thing on social because you ever talk about anything other than AEW it's like well like kind of making the news lately. I mean, you know, there's some vent stuff floating around out there, but that's legal shit. I can't really talk much about legal shit. I don't know what's real, what's not real. And other than how well they're doing, there's not a lot to talk about when it comes to WWE. And the EWN, the other hand, there's a lot going on there. And it just happens to be what we're talking about. But we'll cover all things, wrestling related, sometimes even not wrestling related. Over at 83 weeks.com next week, I think it's next week. I'm going to be talking to

to Chelsona. We're going to be talking about the significance of wrestling promos in the UFC. How about that? Yeah, we're going to be doing a lot of fun stuff. We'd love to be doing some fun stuff for you. If you're looking to get your message out in front of men that are 25 to 54, well, there's no better place to advertise than right here. Find out how affordable it is at advertise with eric.com. You can find Eric's new book, Grateful over at Bischoffbook.com or Amazon. And as always, we'd love to hear your feedback. We're on social at eB. Bischoff or at Hey Hey, Hey, it's Conrad. Our show is at 83 weeks on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.

Box of Gimmicks.com has all your 83 weeks merch and some recently added stuff like shot glasses and cutting boards and rally towels and, hey, whatever you're looking for, Eric Bischoff related, it's there at box of gimmicks.com. And we want your feedback. Who do you think belongs in the WCW Hall of Fame? Go vote in the polls and hit those comments up. Hit the like button. hit the subscribe button, turn on the notifications bell so you know we're live.

83 weeks.com is the home for all things Eric Bischoff. And we'll be back. Same bad time. Hey, it's Conran Thompson. Here to tell you a little more about what ad-free shows.com is all about. With Eric Bischoff. You're early, add-free access to more than a dozen of your favorite wrestling podcasts every single week, starting at just nine bucks.

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Thank you. Thank you.