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WU ONLINE: Mr. Bischoff it is an honor speaking to you today and I want to start off by thanking you for this opportunity.

ERIC BISCHOFF: Oh it’s my pleasure.

WU: In the dedication of your autobiography, you inform your readers that your mother was in her third day of battling cancer when you began writing. How is your mother doing now?

EB: She is in her second go around. She has good days and bad days. She’s doing well now.

WU: Are you concerned the contents of your book will burn bridges for you within the sports-entertainment community?

EB: Not really. You know, I’m sure there are things that I said in the book that people will remember differently. My book wasn’t attacking anyone or anything. I made the decision to make a different book than previous sports-entertainment books. My book is really about the business of the business and it’s from my point-of-view. My point-of-view is much different than that of someone who worked for me at the time. Don’t get me wrong, I did point out some issues that I’m sure rubbed a lot of people the wrong way.

WU: Have you received any backlash from anyone who has already read the book?

EB: No, not backlash. Most people who received the finished manuscripts were very complimentary. People who I thought would be the most sensitive were the most complimentary. Again, I’m not objective because it‘s my book and my stories. It’s my opinion and my opinions are my opinions. I tried to be really honest. Whether I was writing about a friend who I liked or someone I didn‘t necessarily like. The result is that people who are friends of mine will say, "WOW! He could‘ve said that nicer." In some cases, I was brutally honest. That’s the way it goes.

WU: What are your three proudest accomplishments?

EB: You know, that’s a really good question! And a hard one! On one level, launch of nitro and the brand. It was very successful. No one believed it would be possible. It actually changed the sports-entertainment industry as we know it. The product you watch on USA Network would not be the product it is, had it not been for Nitro. WCW Monday Nitro ultimately changed the industry. From a creative point-of-view, the nWo storyline is one of the most creative stories out there and was out there for a long time. Not many storylines change and the nWo did and I’m proud of it. Beyond that I’m proud of my ability to go and, in a ridiculous amount of time, turned the company around. It was a vibrant business.

WU: In your book you state that within a month of joining WWE, you and Ric Flair were kicking back beers; however, in his book he states that there was a point where he attacked you backstage and it took several road agents to pull him off. How is the relationship between you two now after everything that has happened?

EB: Ric’s an interesting guy and it’s true what he wrote in his book. It’s not a lie. The incident was shortly after I joined WWE. We went out numerous times and had a couple of beers. We were getting along. I remember being in my office and he came barging in. Flair is not that great at throwing real punches and I thought it was a joke. But then I realized he was really upset and he almost connected with one. It became clear that he wasn‘t joking around. To this day I still don’t know why it happened. I’m sure Ric had his reasons, whether they were real in his mind or not. They blew up that afternoon. About a month later, we shook hands. We’re not friends but we’re cordial with each other. We get along professional. I doubt I’ll ever be invited to the Flair house at Christmas and I don’t think Flair will ever be at the Bischoff house at Christmas.

WU: When I announced to my readers that I was going to interview you, several weeks ago, I held a contest where two lucky readers would have their questions asked. The first question is from a reader named Jay who lives in California. Jay asks, "What do you think is the most important quality or skill to have to get into WWE? And what is the best asset a wrestler can have?"

EB: WOW! (Laughs) What is the best asset? Well, there is no simple answer just like there isn‘t one best asset for actors. There’s no single asset for talent. You certainly have to be a good athlete. Wrestling is a very athletic art form. You have to be a gifted athlete. It’s not enough to be big and to look good. The athletic ability not underestimated, you have to have charisma. You can’t learn charisma and you can’t buy it. You can’t take a pill or eat a protein bar to get it. God either blessed you or he didn’t. Assuming they can get in, there‘s no simple answer on how to get in, they need to get their feet wet in the indies. First, find a school in the local area. There are not a lot of good ones, though. Go in and learn the very basics and then make the pilgrimage to OVW. Going through there is the quest way. Don’t take no for an answer. You should always be pursing the dream.

WU: The second question comes from Linda who hails from Indiana. She asks, "Even though Eric looks sexy as the silver fox, why did he elect to go silver and will he ever return to his sexy all black look?"

EB: (Laughs) I’m glad you said it was from Linda. (Laughs) Quiet honestly, I got tired of dying my hair. At my age I guess I shouldn’t complain. When you have platinum hair, like I do, the minute roots grow I look like Pepe Le Pew. And I can always tell if someone dyes their hair. If I’m out anywhere, I can spot a guy who dies his hair, a block away. Quite frankly, I just got tired of dying my hair and got tired of looking like a bad Elvis impersonator. We actually worked into a storyline. So it was for convenience and for the sake of the storyline.

WU: When you joined the WWE in 2002, it was as the RAW General Manager. In your autobiography, you reveal that you never had any real power and non was ever offered. What was it like to go from a very powerful man in WCW to a character in WWE?

EB: Kinda a relief to be honest. I never had any intention to be on camera but over the years, I really enjoyed being on camera. I enjoyed the success I had in WCW despite the negatives and believe me there was a lot of negatives. By the time I joined WWE, the part of me that I really missed was the on-air wrestling side and was not the business side. That part of me was already fulfilled and the part I missed was the part of me performing. WWE has been a great opportunity. I really enjoy what I’m doing. I no longer have the burden of running a company. I really missed performing and it’s been a great opportunity. I’ve had best of both worlds.

WU: When your purchase of World Championship Wrestling fell through, what prevented you from just starting a new company?

EB: A lot of things. To be honest, without a television partner or a broadcast partner, there is no way to be successful. At least at the level I’d want to be involved. Now things have certainly changed from 2000. Back then TV networks weren’t interested in having wrestling on their channels. Wrestling had ran its course. Because of the declining ratings of WCW, a lot of people thought there was only room for one - WWE. It would’ve been difficult if not impossible. Once the deal WCW-Time Warner ended and there was no other TV partnership on the horizon.

WU: Are there any plans of you starting your own company in the future?

EB: Absolutely not. I have no desire. I enjoy working with WWE. I’ve been to that mountain top. I’ve seen the good and the bad. I wouldn’t want to launch a company that no matter how much people would want it to be, might not be a competitor. There won’t be another competitor for WWE for a lot of reasons. I wouldn’t want to be involved with a company that would be insignificant or less than. If it were possible to be competitive it’d be interesting but I‘m not sure if I’d want to do it. It’s just not where my goals are at this point.

WU: One former WWE Champion who has been in the news a lot recently is Kurt Angle. Recently, Kurt was released by WWE and then made the shocking announcement that he has joined Total Nonstop Action. What is your opinion of this shocking story?

EB: I was surprised quiet honestly. For an athlete and performer of Kurt’s caliber to leave an opportunity like WWE to pursue a company like TNA, and that’s not an insult but reality is reality. The chances of TNA being viable during Kurt’s lifetime is slim. Look, for someone like Kurt who’s achieved so much in the biggest show in town to go to work somewhere that isn’t going to get very competitive I was a little shock. That said, Kurt likes to stay active. I don’t know Kurt very well but I have a lot of respect for Kurt. In Kurt’s mind, he made the right decision. He has less of a schedule to work. WWE is a tough, tough, TOUGH job. Not only do you have to have the athletic skill but you have to be mentally tough as well. The ring work is easy it‘s the travel that is the rough part.

WU: In your autobiography, you talked a lot about wrestlers and employees who leak information out to the wrestling internet community. Why do you think wrestlers and other wrestling employees will leak information out to websites?

EB: It’s not as bad as it used to be. It used to be much worse. Before I came on board and certainly through the 90s, the executives in Turner, one of the ways the executives got information, or at least they thought was information, was to subscribe to these dirt sheets. So they thought they were getting information about the inside of the business. In my book, I compared it to reading tabloids like The Enquirer and thinking you knew about current events. The wrestlers knew the executives read the dirt sheets so they would try to position themselves well and feed information to the editors. It became a quick pro quo. You could almost tell who leaked the information by the topic itself.

WU: Do you think anyone who is found leaking company information should be fired?

EB: It’s no different than giving out any other company and trade information. It’s theft. It’s wrong.

WU: It’s now time for word association. Please say the first thing that pops into your head when you hear the following names.

ERIC BISCHOFF - What do I think when I think of myself? Hungry. (Laughs) Next question.

VINCE MCMAHON - Intense

WCW - Tragic loss of opportunity.

WWE - A great company.

HULK HOGAN - Good friend.

STING - Great performer and a really great person.

TRIPLE H - Solid performer.

JEFF JARRETT - Highly, highly overrated.

PAUL HEYMAN - Devious.

LEX LUGER - No comment.

SHAWN MICHAELS - Gifted performer.

BRET HART - Kinda sad really.

TOTAL NONSTOP ACTION - Needs a lot of help.

SIX SIDED RING - Don’t like it.

nWo - Great moment in wrestling history.

WU: Mr. Bischoff, I would like to thank you again for this opportunity. Do you have any final comments for your fans and the readers?

EB: Buy the book!