10 shocking moments from WWE 2002

#5 Eric Bishoff debuts on WWE TV

Better the devil you know.

Despite the Monday Night Wars technically being between Vince McMahon and Ted Turner as owners of their respective companies, Eric Bishoff was always seen as Vince's true rival. The two were highly involved in the onscreen action of WCW and WWF over the years, challenging each other to be as crazy and psychotic as humanly possible.

With WWF's purchase of WCW in 2001, Bishoff would eventually become another employee of Vince McMahon. Despite the embarrassment this must have caused the former NWO boss, Vince recognised that it wouldn't have been wise to keep Bishoff's talents down.

On the July 15th episode of Monday Night RAW 2002, Bishoff was announced as the new RAW General Manager. This would prove to be a fairly successful position for Bishoff, who became one of the longest reigning General Managers in WWE history.

In his first promo segment on WWE TV, Bishoff reminded fans that due to his influence on the wrestling business, Vince and the WWF had been forced to change the way they did business, effectively changing the landscape for good.

Few can argue against this summation. Bishoff deserves his recognition despite losing the Monday Night Wars and condemning the rest of us to a WWE-dominated wrestling landscape for so many years. In all fairness, the problems within WCW went far beyond Bishoff's control and it is only right that we remember the good times just as much as the bad.