Eric Bischoff Recalls Cutting Former WWE Star's Salary & Signing Him To WCW

Eric Bischoff, the creative producer behind WCW's rise during the Monday Night Wars, built his reputation by making bold decisions. From signing Hulk Hogan to launching the nWo, Bischoff took calculated risks that, at least in the mid-to-late '90s, often paid off. 

One such gamble was Lex Luger's shocking return to WCW, which Bischoff recently discussed on the "JAXXON" podcast. Bischoff revealed that he initially had no interest in bringing Luger back.

"Lex had been with WCW a long time and was very close with Sting," Bischoff said. "Sting came to me and said, 'Hey, Lex's WWE contract is up. Would you be interested?' I said flat out, no. I'd worked with him before, and he was arrogant. I didn't want to deal with him."

However, Sting was persistent, and Bischoff eventually agreed to meet with Luger under strict terms. 

"And then Steve worked on me for a couple weeks, really worked on me and I said, okay look I'll talk to him [but] no promises," Bischoff recalled. "I said here's how we're going to do it, Lex. I'm going to give you 150 grand a year, so I cut his pay by 600 grand. I said [I'll] give you 150 a year if it works out [and] at some point we'll sit down and talk about renegotiating your deal. Because I think I'm gonna test this guy to see if he really, really wants to be here and prove himself. He didn't miss a beat, 'okay let's do it' [and we] shook hands."

The move paid off. Luger's surprise return on the debut episode of "WCW Monday Nitro" not only shocked fans but also helped establish the monday program as a must-watch show. It was a pivotal moment in the Monday Night Wars.

Recently, Bischoff made headlines again with a surprise appearance on WWE's "NXT."

If you use any quotes from this article, please credit the "JAXXON" podcast and provide a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for transcription.