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Eric Bischoff Recalls Randy Savage’s 1999 Feud With Dennis Rodman, How Well The Two Got Along

August 21, 2019 | Posted by Jeremy Thomas
Randy Savage Dennis Rodman Road Wild 1999 Image Credit: WCW

– On the latest 83 Weeks, Eric Bischoff looked back on Road Wild 1999 and discussed the Randy Savage vs. Dennis Rodman match that took place there. The ten and a half minute match memorably involved Savage throwing Rodman into a port-a-potty and “knocking it over.” Rodman eventually lost after Gorgeous George came in to give him a low blow.

Highlights from the discussion, and the full podcast, are below:

On the port-a-potty spot: “No, no. They would have talked about it ahead of time. Dennis was really easy to work with in that regard. It was hard to get him real motivated, it was hard to get him to train and really prepare for a match. But in terms of what he was willing to do, he was very, very easy. And Randy, if you’ve ever heard any of the stories about Randy, he never improvised a match. Certainly while he worked with me. He was a very detail-oriented guy, wanted to lay every beat out. Wanted to make sure the guy he was working with understood all of those beats. So no, they definitely talked about that beforehand.”

On if Carmen Electra was ever discussed in regard to being brought in for the show: “It wasn’t discussed. There was a point in time where we were gonna do the February NBA replacement gig that we’ve talked about before, when NBC called me and said, ‘Hey, do you guys want two hours on a Monday night’ or wherever it was. Thursday night, can’t remember the night. And — no, it was a Tuesday night, I believe. And we were gonna put together a special, and there was some conversation about using Carmen Electra in that particular event. But there was never discussed to have her involved in Sturgis at all. Not even sure they [Electra and Rodman] were together at that point.”

On how Savage liked working with Rodman: “He loved it. He loved it. You know, Randy knew a good opportunity when he saw one. And working with Randy, despite the fact that admittedly he didn’t get near the amount of coverage and buzz in ’99 as he had in the previous two years, he was still a hot enough property to be a guest on The Tonight Show. He was so bookable, as they say in that business. So Randy saw that as an opportunity, and he liked working with Rodman. Rodman and Randy got along fine. So there was no issue there.”

On setting up the match on The Tonight Show: “As far as setting it up with NBC, again that goes back to the relationship I had with a guy by the name of Gary Considine, who was the executive producer of The Tonight Show at that time. And we were constantly talking about different things that we could do together throughout the year to give The Tonight Show a little bit of a wrestling buzz, and to give WCW an opportunity to reach an audience it otherwise might not reach. So it was just consistent with things we had been doing, and wanted to do more of.”

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit 83 Weeks with a h/t to 411mania.com for the transcription.