Eric Bischoff Talks Sid Vicious - Arn Anderson Scissor Fight, Re-Hiring Sid While Arn Was There

In 1993, Sid Vicious and Arn Anderson were involved in a hotel room fight in the United Kingdom that resulted in Arn Anderson getting stabbed over 20 times while Sid was stabbed around four times with a pair of scissors. Sid was released by WCW, but he would make his return to the company at The Great American Bash in 1999. On an episode of his 83 Weeks podcast, Eric Bischoff criticized a report during that time that Bischoff had not made Anderson aware that Sid would return to WCW.

"First of all, I don't agree with the premise that we didn't give everybody a heads up," Bischoff said. "Do I remember sitting down and talking with everybody specifically about it? Not necessarily. Do I believe I did? Absolutely, so I'm gonna reject the premise."

Bischoff talked about how Sid and Arn were equally guilty for their involvement in the hotel incident. He talks about how he didn't feel that he had to give one of the parties a heads up about the other.

"Let's go back. I wasn't there when that incident went down in the hotel. I got a phone call at 3:00 or 4:00 in the morning after it happened from Doug Dellinger. First reports were Arn was just as responsible for that as Sid was. He was stirring the pot. There was nobody in this equation that was guilt free," Bischoff said. "Now, granted, it got way out of hand, clearly beyond just a fist fight, but neither one of them were guilt free. So the thought that I needed to make sure one of the two parties was OK with it, not sure I agree with that. It doesn't mean I wouldn't have had a conversation with him, but when I let Sid go, we knew that was a temporary situation."

Bischoff continued talking about Arn's placement in the company after the incident. He even talked about the reaction Turner broadcasting had as well.

"Arn knew he was walking on thin ice because he was partially responsible for what went down. Not totally. I'm not saying he started it, but he certainly facilitated it based on all the reports I had from everyone who was objective, who did see it happen," Bischoff said. "Nobody in the equation was guilt free, and I think if anybody accepts that premise or position that I took at that time, that nobody was guilt free, yeah, you had to fine him. You had to hurt him financially. You had to make an example out of him, but it wasn't a death sentence.

"So I would've have a conversation, but believe me, I had a conversation with Arn long before that. Arn knew he was on thin ice as a result of that event. He knew there were a lot of people at Turner broadcasting that wanted them both fired permanently, and I had to manage that in both of their cases, not just for Sid's, for Arn too. So just put the whole situation in context not just the part of it certain writers feel the need to jump all over to further their agenda."

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit 83 Weeks with Eric Bischoff with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.