Eric Bischoff Says WWE Wouldn’t Be A Public Company If Not For The nWo

In an interview with Wrestling Inc, Eric Bischoff spoke about the impact of the nWo and said that if not for that stable, WWE would not be a public company today. Here are highlights:

On the impact of the nWo: “I’m not objective, but I also think it’s fair for any reasonable person to say… the NWO angle changed the wrestling industry more than anything that’s happened since the first WrestleMania. To suggest otherwise I think is being foolish. Had their not been the NWO, there wouldn’t have been the Wars and there would have not been an Attitude Era. Had not any of the above happened, I doubt WWE would have been able to become a public company. Who knows where the wrestling business would be had there not been the NWO? Had it not been for the NWO, we wouldn’t be seeing the success that we’re seeing across the board today. It really comes down to the Monday Night Wars as they rose the genre to its peak in terms of mainstream awareness and buy-in. Had it not been for that period of time, we wouldn’t be watching what we’re watching today.”

On if he was contacted for the nWo’s Hall of Fame induction: “No. I was surprised they announced it this early as they usually announce it a little later in the year. But no, I haven’t spoken to anybody. I didn’t even know it until I read it online the next day.”