Eric Bischoff Credits Silver King And Luchadors For Success Of WCW Nitro

– Eric Bischoff spoke to TMZ about the passing of Silver King, who tragically died over the weekend in the middle of a match against Juventud Guerrera. Highlights are below.

On Silver King in WCW: I was talking to Stevie Ray about Silver King and two things came out of that conversation. From my perspective, the luchadors were such a vital part of WCW Nitro and they never really got the credit. Fans should know that Silver King and a lot of luchadors were way more responsible for the success of Nitro, and the ability to out-perform WWE, than they were given credit for, including by me.

On Silver King Always Smiling: What I hope is that Silver King and other luchadors are recognized for breaking through and being the catalyst for a pop culture kind of phenomenon in the United States that everybody is familiar with. 25 years ago, outside of California, nobody knew what lucha libre was. I’d like Silver King to be recognized for that. He was one of those people that, when you saw him backstage, he always had a smile on his face. He was always happy being right where he was, around his peers and in wrestling.