Former WWE Executive Director of SmackDown and WCW President Eric Bischoff recently discussed the idea of Sting being ‘the third man’ in the nWo faction.
This week’s episode of the 83 Weeks podcast was a Q&A themed episode, with fans asking the former WCW President questions on the show. One of the questions posed to Bischoff was about the aforementioned Sting and how he would’ve been portrayed in the nWo faction.
Eric Bischoff has made it clear in the past that Sting was lined up for the ‘third man’ role back in 1996, before finally going with Hulk Hogan and making a huge change to pro wrestling. The angle at Bash at The Beach 1996 where Hogan turned heel would completely change the trajectory of World Championship Wrestling, leading them to beat WWE on television 83 weeks in a row.
Eric Bischoff on Sting
“Here’s the honest answer, I don’t know!” Eric Bischoff would begin on the show. “Just because I hadn’t thought about it. Now, you know, a little bit of a defence for myself, once Sting agreed to be the third man? It was literally within days that I ended up getting a phone call from Hogan. I flew out to California, so I hadn’t spent a tonne of time thinking about or communicating with Sting about the best way to to present this new character.”
“I knew I would have had to think about it, but I honestly we hadn’t gotten to that point yet. So what I’m about to say? Is what I hope I would have done” Bischoff would continue. “In retrospect, I would not want to see him in the face paint, that I’m absolutely sure of. Because that was the idea behind the nWo, it was to make it more real and believable. And the face paint would have been so miscast within the nWo, it would not have fit at all.”
A Man Called Sting
“I probably still would have stuck with the name Sting” Eric Bischoff stated. “Just like we stuck with the name Hulk. We didn’t call him Terry you know! We stuck with Hulk Hogan, so probably it’s Sting without the paint more likely than not. He would have kept the Sting persona, but I think everything else about him would have changed. He would have gone from, you know, the glittery character to something a little darker and more real.”
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