The creator of World Championship Wrestling tells the story of the rise and fall of his organization in its head-to-head, no-holds-barred ratings war with WWE ("Nitro" vs. "Raw"), and how he helped shape the sports entertainment industry into the billion dollar business it is today.--From publisher description.

Biography & Autobiography. Business. Sports & Recreations. Nonfiction. HTML:Eric Bischoff has been called pro wrestling's most hated man. He's been booed, reviled, and burned in effigy. Fans have hurled everything from beer bottles to fists at him. Industry critics have spewed a tremendous amount of venom about his spectacular rise and stupendous crash at World Championship Wrestling. But even today, Eric Bischoff's revolutionary influence on the pro wrestling industry can be seen on every television show and at every live event.

Bischoff has kept quiet while industry "pundits" and other know-it-alls pontificated about what happened during the infamous Monday Night Wars. Basing their accounts on third- and fourth-hand rumors and innuendo, the so-called experts got many more things wrong than right. Now, in Controversy Creates Cash, Bischoff tells what really happened.

Beginning with his days as a salesman for Verne Gagne's American Wrestling Association, Bischoff takes readers behind the scenes of wrestling, writing about the inner workings of the business in a way never before revealed. He demonstrates how controversy helped both WCW and WWE. Eric gives the real numbers behind WCW's red ink — far lower than reported — and talks about how Turner Broadcasting's merger with Time Warner, and then Time Warner's merger with AOL, devastated not only WCW but many creative and entrepreneurial businesses within the conglomerate. Bischoff has surprisingly kind words for old rivals like Vince McMahon, but pulls no punches with friends and enemies alike.

Among his revelations: How teaming with Mickey Mouse turned WCW into a national brand. Why Hulk Hogan came to WCW. Why he fired Jesse Ventura for sleeping on the job. Why Steve Austin didn't deserve another contract at WCW, and how Bischoff's canning him was the best thing that ever happened to Austin. How Ted Turner decided WCW should go head-to-head against Raw on Monday nights. How Nitro revolutionized wrestling. Where the New World Order really began. How corporate politics killed WCW. And how he found his inner heel and learned to love being the guy everyone loves to despise.

Bischoff brings a surprisingly personal touch to the story, detailing his rough-and-tumble childhood in Detroit, talking about his family and the things he did to cope with the stress of the high-octane media business. Now a successful entertainment producer as well as a wrestling personality, Bischoff tells how he found contentment after being unceremoniously "sent home" from WCW.

Love him or hate him, readers will never look at a pro wrestling show quite the same way after reading Bischoff's story in Controversy Creates Cash.

Under Eric Bishoff's watch as president of WCW, the company went head to head with Vince McMahon's WWE and beat them at their own game before WCW itself spectacularly imploded. But by then, Bishoff had made an indelible mark on televised wrestling, producing shows that had appeared more dangerous, more sexy, and more edgy than anything that had come before. He did this to such an extent that in 2002, McMahon seized the chance to bring in his former nemesis as General Manager of RAW; since then, true to form, Bishoff regularly surprises fans with matches that would once have been unthinkable for television. In this revelatory look at his life and career, Bishoff frankly discusses the things he did, both right and wrong, as he helped shape the sports entertainment industry into today's billion dollar business.

The exciting no-holds-barred autobiography of former WCW president and current WWE Raw General Manager, Eric Bishoff--the only person who was able to beat Vince McMahon and the WWE at their own game. Eric Bischoff has been called pro wrestling's most hated man. Booed, reviled, and burned in effigy, he's been struck by everything from beer bottles to fists. Though industry critics have scorned his spectacular rise and fall at World Championship Wrestling, Bischoff's influence still resonates. For years, Bischoff kept quiet while industry "pundits" distorted the truth about the infamous Monday Night Wars, basing their accounts on rumors and innuendo. Finally, Bischoff tells what really happened. Beginning with his days as a salesman for the American Wrestling Association, Bischoff exposes the industry's inner workings, from the real numbers behind WCW's red ink to the devastating impact of the corporate mergers. Among his revelations: How WCW became a national brand and revolutionized the industry. How Hulk Hogan, Jesse Ventura, and Steve Austin shaped WCW, and how corporate politics killed it. And how he found his inner heel and learned to love being the guy everyone loves to despise. Reflecting on his childhood, his family, and the pressures of notoriety, Bischoff tells how he found contentment after being unceremoniously "sent home." Love him or hate him, readers will never look at pro wrestling the same way again after reading Eric Bischoff's story in Controversy Creates Cash.

A personal account by the former WCW president describes how he was hired by Ted Turner to directly compete with the WWF, an assignment through which he recruited top talent before financial difficulties led to the WCW's takeover by Vince McMahon.

Die Arbeit wurde als Dissertation mit dem Thema »Inwieweit ist der Cash flow und das Working capital ein Mittel zur Errichtung der optimalen Finanzstruktur der Unternehmung?" im Institut fur Treuhandwesen an der Hochschule fUr Welthandel, Wien, geschrieben und im Dezember 1969 abgeschlossen. AnlaBlich einer Besprechung im Verlag habe ich mich entschlossen, meine Ausflihrun­ gen einem groBeren Kreis zuganglich zu machen, da liber die Kennzahlen des Cash flow und Working capital wohl eine Hille von Einzeldarstellungen in den verschiedensten in-und auslandischen Zeitschriften zu find en ist, aber noch keine geschlossene Dar­ stellung, die insbesondere die Zusammenhange herausgearbeitet hatte. Besonderen Wert wurde bei dem Aufzeigen der Probleme darauf gelegt, dem Praktiker durch Beispiele Anleitungen zu geben, urn u. a. die Berichtserstattung der Jahres­ abschllisse aussagefahiger zu machen. Die Arbeit wurde noch um zwei Abschnitte erweitert, und zwar: Der Cash flow und die Mehrwertsteuer sowie die Ableitung des Cash flow aus der Gewinn-und Verlust­ rechnung. Besonders bedanken mochte ich mich an dieser Stelle bei meinem Doktorvater, Herrn Professor Dr. Erich Loitlsberger, der mich zu der vorliegenden Arbeit angeregt hatte und dem ich flir die zahlreichen Hinweise zu herzlichem Dank verpflichtet bin. Des weiteren danke ich auch dem Koreferenten, Herrn Privatdozent Dr. Hans Lexa, Wien, sowie Herrn Dipl.-Kfm. Dr. Helmut Hoskovec, Assistent am Institut flir indu­ strielle Betriebslehre an der Hochschule fUr Welthandel, Wien, flir die zahlreichen Hinweise und kritischen Bemerkungen. Mein Dank gilt auch den vielen Institutionen, die mir freundlicherweise Unterlagen zur Verfligung stellten.