The latest episode of former WCW President Eric Bischoff’s podcast Bischoff on Wrestling was released earlier tonight and features former WCW & WWE Superstar Lex Luger return with an over two hour long interview.
You can find some of Lex and Eric’s comments transcribed below.
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LL: Originally they only wanted to call me The Narcissist and wanted to do away with Lex Luger. Basically put him to sleep. Put him to rest. With my confidence, as I like to call it, I said, “Wow, how can we not use that? The character has been established in WCW. How about we call me Lex Luger The Narcissist?” Meanwhile I was also thinking that I already had Lex Luger trademarked. I knew that once Vince owned your name like “The Narcissist” that if you left there that you couldn’t take that with you. I wanted to have Lex Luger on his TV because I had the trademark and I knew I could take that with me. So, I negotiated with Vince to have my character be Lex Luger The Narcissist and he agreed to that. Which I was surprised he did! Originally he was very, very passionate about me being The Narcissist only. As you know, in the business, he wanted to own my property while I was with the WWF completely. Not have to borrow Lex Luger at all which I had trademarked.
EB: So far that is one of the most amazing things that we have talked about. That is so different than the way WWE/WWF, Vince McMahon, operates. That was early on. Vince is an amazingly brilliant guy. There is a reason he didn’t acknowledge the competition. There is a reason why he doesn’t or didn’t, especially back then, want them to keep their own names.
LL: He’s so protective of his property. It’s done him well through the years.
EB: Oh, it’s what makes him what he is!
LL: He wants to own it lock, stock and 100%. For sure.
EB: You’re a hell of a negotiator.
LL: I think our personal relationship had gotten off so well that we would go to the gym together when I was in town. He had a gym at the house. We got along so well personally I think he made a business concession based on his personal liking of me at the time that went against his better business choices that other people were telling him to do. (Laughs) That’s my take on it! Only he can answer but that was my impression.
EB: I’m pretty sure he’s never going to be on this show to do that. So to fill in the blanks with the little I do know about him and having been in federal trademark court with him and Jerry McDevitt. I concur. (Laughs)
Please cite WZ as the source if you use any of the above transcriptions. Thanks!
This week’s episode of Bischoff on Wrestling starts with Eric talking about WWE’s recent decline in ratings and what he thinks may be attributing to it.
Eric then welcomes back his guest for the week former WWE & WCW Superstar Lex Luger! During his return appearance Lex and Eric speak candidly about:
- The amazingly close Super Bowl LI between the Patriots and the Falcons
- Lex originally joining the NWA/WCW and immediately working with The 4 Horseman
- Ted Turner’s enthusiasm for pro wrestling
- Dusty Rhodes as the first WCW booker Lex worked with
- Dusty’s booking style
- Whether or not there was backlash to Lex early on getting pushed to the top
- How their respective attitudes could have been mistaken for arrogance
- Their memories of WCW’s Jim Herd and Kip Fry
- Dirt sheets causing problems for Turner Broadcasting
- A failed meeting Turner tried to have with dirt sheet writers at the time
- Lex’s original departure from WCW for the WBF and eventually the WWF
- Lex managing to negotiate keeping the Lex Luger name with Vince McMahon
- Lex’s friendship with Sting
- Their familiarity with one another before meeting in WCW
- Sting as an advocate for the both of them
- The NWO and Wolfpack
- Lex beating Hulk Hogan for the WCW World Heavyweight Championship on Nitro
- How Lex’s affair with Miss Elizabeth started
- Lex’s relationship with Randy Savage
- How Lex was introduced to drugs
- Why he and Elizabeth did drugs together
- The drug epidemic in the USA
- The night Elizabeth passed away
- Lex contemplating suicide before he found religion
- WWE evolving their Wellness Policy
- How he has turned his life around
- More…
You can listen to the full archives from Bischoff on Wrestling in the embedded audio player below:
