AEW's Tony Schiavone Recalls 'Huge' Things Eric Bischoff Did In WCW

Wrestling fans who were around to see WCW at it's peak often praise the many memorable segments the promotion had, while both they and the critics similarly point out the shortcomings – especially in the Creative department post 1999 – with Eric Bischoff often being the one to blame for WCW's fall. However, Tony Schiavone believes that Bischoff should be praised for the many strides he made with WCW, and listed some of his biggest achievements during an episode of "What Happened When?"

"A number of things that Eric Bischoff did, to me, were amazing. One of them was Dennis Rodman, but the other thing is – and I'll go back to say this: when I think about big things happening to WCW, you're not going to get any bigger, I don't give a s**t what you say, than Eric Bischoff taking over Jay Leno's show," Schiavone recalled.

"You're not going to get any bigger than the f**king Tonight Show!" The veteran also added that before Bischoff's appearance on "The Tonight Show," it was difficult to get celebrities to involve themselves with pro wrestling, and praised the WWE Hall of Famer for being the one to further open the door to pop culture crossovers with wrestling and make it easier going forward.

Following the "takeover" of "The Tonight Show," Jay Leno naturally had to appear on television and even got in the ring during WCW Road Wild '98 in a tag team match alongside Diamond Dallas Page against Hollywood Hogan and Bischoff.

If you use any quotes from this article, please credit "What Happened When?" and provide a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.