Eric Bischoff Says He Had A 'Complicated Relationship' With This WWE HOFer In WCW

As the president of WCW, Eric Bischoff had to get very hands-on with the wrestlers in the promotion at the time, likely butting heads with some of the biggest names in the industry while forging life-long friendships with others. During his appearance on "The Ariel Helwani Show," Bischoff looked back at the relationships he had with some in WCW, particularly Lex Luger.

"I had a very complicated relationship with Lex; I didn't think much of Lex," Bischoff admitted, adding that he disliked Luger from the get-go because of his arrogance at the time. The veteran then claimed that he only brought Luger into WCW because Sting convinced him. "Lex had gone on to WWE, did the Lex Express thing, and I was glad to see him go because he was... he was kind of an arrogant guy; he wasn't the most pleasant person to be around."

Despite having 'zero interest' in Luger returning, Bischoff eventually agreed to meet up with him at Sting's house — "We didn't want anybody seeing us in public" — owing to Sting's persistence. Bischoff said Luger started to win him over but he wasn't convinced, though he once again conceded due to his relationship with Sting. "I'm going to offer Lex 150 grand a year. When he left, he was making 750. And if he takes 150, we'll see where he goes from there."

"Lex took the 150. He was a pro to work with. He was a joy to work with. Completely different approach to the business, three months later he was back to 750," Bischoff claimed, explaining that this was all simply to test Luger before fully letting him back into the fold. He was then asked what he think went wrong with Luger and WWE, and had the following to say: "I can't speak for him, but he just came back with a more positive attitude, he was friendlier." Bischoff further claimed that Luger then seemed excited to work in WCW. "Ironically, you know, we're very good friends to this day. We just exchanged texts this morning."

If you use any quotes from this article, please credit "The Ariel Helwani Show" and provide a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.