What If... Eric Bischoff never became WCW President?

Does no Eric Bischoff still = success?

Eric Bischoff is in the WWE Hall of Fame, and for good reason.

Not having Eric Bischoff in charge of WCW means there's less of a chance of Jim Ross going to WWE - which means it's entirely possible we don't see guys like Mick Foley or Steve Austin in the company.

After all, it was Jim Ross who eventually found his way into the position of Head of Talent Relations after leaving WCW and joining WWE. It was also Jim Ross who championed performers like them, and they were instrumental in helping WWE take the lead in the ratings war with WCW.

You have to consider that a Jim Ross - or even Tony Schiavone for that matter - in charge of WCW overall wouldn't have had the bandwidth to focus on hiring talent - and we can't really predict who would have been in charge of that in this scenario.

In the end, Eric Bischoff's drive and ruthlessness (as well as Ted Turner's deep pockets) drove WCW to overtake WWE as the world's #1 promotion. At least for a good long while.

So what would have happened to WCW in this scenario? Chances are, and honestly, it probably would have closed down well before the AOL/Time Warner merger. Ted Turner often said that as long as he was in charge of his networks, wrestling would be on them - but let's be honest - if WCW kept losing money the way it was before Bischoff took over, it probably would have closed down a lot sooner than it did.

The verdict? We still wouldn't have a WCW today, even with someone other than Eric Bischoff in charge. Disagree? Let me know your own theories in the comments below. In the meantime, I'm out of here.