Love him or hate him, the history of professional wrestling cannot be written without Eric Bischoff.

Bischoff, 69, was the creative force behind one of the most significant and beloved eras in the industry, spearheading World Championship Wrestling during the mid-to-late-1990s — a time more affectionately known as the “Monday Night Wars.”

Despite WCW ultimately losing and being absorbed by World Wrestling Entertainment, Bischoff remained intricately tied to professional wrestling, working with WWE and Total Nonstop Action over the 20-plus years that followed.

Now in 2024, it appears the Bischoff chapter in that grand book has a few more twists and turns. In other words, he’s back.

“I don’t get the itch to get back into it on a regular basis, but I very much appreciate and am grateful for the opportunity to put my toe in the water every once in a while,” Bischoff told Uncrowned earlier this week.

Even for someone who helped orchestrate arguably the greatest heel turn in professional wrestling history, this week has been a whirlwind. Bischoff, who resides in Wyoming, did the media rounds Monday — including a visit to "The Ariel Helwani Show" — appeared on WWE NXT in Florida on Tuesday, was set to film for an undisclosed WWE project Wednesday and then will be the centerpiece of Major League Wrestling’s “Eric Bischoff’s One Shot” in New York on Thursday.

Although he has appeared sporadically on WWE programming over the past two decades, Bischoff admits he’s walking into something just as fresh with his role on NXT as he is when he makes his MLW debut as a special guest executive producer.

“I’ve been told by a number of people that I’m still close to [in WWE] that the vibe is completely different and it’s a lot more relaxed, there’s a lot more opportunity for talent to have input, less structured in terms of script and things like that,” Bischoff said. “In terms of MLW, obviously it’s a lot more collaborative because it can be. There’s less at risk. That’s why I am so excited about both. I am looking forward to performing because I love to perform. The MLW opportunity is a whole different kind of vibe and I am really, really anxious for it.”

For a generation of wrestling fans, Bischoff is one of, if not the primary, architect of their fandom. In addition to being responsible for the New World Order faction that helped give WCW an 83-week winning streak in the television ratings (also the naming inspiration for his “83 Weeks” podcast with Conrad Thompson), the WWE Hall of Famer also helped push professional wrestling as a viable weekly live television offering and introduced a more high-flying wrestling style to the mainstream.

“The quality of the [NWO] story was great for its time, but it was the timing of everything — Nitro going head-to-head, Nitro going live every week, Nitro giving what would have been considered pay-per-view quality matches on free TV — we did so many things that changed the industry in a powerful way,” Bischoff said. “And then the cherry on top, of course, was the NWO storyline. Nobody can ever get their first again. Once somebody gets to the top of the mountain and plants the flag, nobody else can do that.”

In a world borderline obsessed with nostalgia and remakes — "Gladiator II" has made more than $320 million at the global box office — we haven’t seen a direct attempt to recreate the NWO.

That doesn’t mean Bischoff’s creation hasn’t reverberated through professional wrestling. In fact, it’s not hard to see a direct line from the NWO and its various iterations — particularly the Wolfpac — to the defining saga of this generation of pro wrestling, The Bloodline. We are even seeing some loose ties to the NWO presentation in AEW's dominant storyline — Jon Moxley's Death Riders and their hostile takeover of Tony Khan's company.

“I think the fact that factions are such a viable and consistent part of the presentation [is a testament to the impact we had],” Bischoff said. “Everybody is still trying to become the next NWO. Flattery is a wonderful thing, I appreciate it. I think the Bloodline has surpassed the NWO in terms of the storytelling, but I don’t think any faction — Bloodline or otherwise — will ever have the impact that the NWO storyline had on professional wrestling as a whole.”

There’s a palpable buzz that Bischoff brings — his autobiography was titled "Controversy Creates Cash," after all — which is part of the allure of bringing him in into the fold. As tribalism runs rampant through professional wrestling fandom, Bischoff isn’t shy with his opinions and can still poke the bear like few in the business.

“Obviously the internet has put it in everybody’s face and people love arguing with each other,” Bischoff said. “It’s like listening to sports talk shows on Monday morning after an NFL Sunday, everybody’s got an opinion. The internet has increased the volume of that kind of thing, but when WCW decided to go head-to-head with WWE, there was still that tribal mentality. It existed, just not to the extent we see it today.”

Criticism, controversy and commentary aside, Bischoff is bringing more than just shock value to MLW in particular. Working alongside MLW CEO Court Bauer, Bischoff will add a perspective that differs from how the average viewer or fan consumes the product.

“I never watch wrestling as a fan, I always watch wrestling as a producer,” Bischoff said. "I enjoy the product from my perspective as a former producer much differently than a wrestling fan does. Wrestling fans enjoy the characters, the storylines, the action, and don’t get me wrong, it’s not that I don’t enjoy that, it’s just not my primary pleasure. My primary pleasure is to try and analyze what people are doing, see the detail in stories, the nuance or a storyline and trying to anticipate where it is going.

“I love seeing the sophistication of creative coming to pass in this genre we call professional wrestling. It makes it bigger and it makes it better. From a production point of view, I am always fascinated with new developments in presentation. We see a lot of that in WWE and we see a certain amount of it in AEW as well. I spend more time thinking about the business of the wrestling business than I do the matches of the wrestling business.”

While Bischoff will undoubtedly bring more eyeballs to the MLW product, the quality of wrestling is nothing to scoff at. With former WWE stars Matt Riddle and Donovan Dijak in the fold, as well as NJPW stalwart Minoru Suzuki, there's high-level talent at the top of the card. MLW also brings crossover appeal with former UFC fighter Tom Lawlor and Emmy/Golden Globe winning actor-turned-wrestler Paul Walter Hauser — who helped orchestrate Bischoff's appearance.

It remains to be seen just how involved Bischoff will be with MLW beyond Thursday — his NXT segment didn’t offer much beyond being an on-screen mediator — but even though the event is being billed as “One Shot,” he doesn’t rule anything out.

“I am really grateful for the opportunity,” Bischoff said. “I am almost 70 years old and have been out of the business for quite a while. Obviously, there’s some interest to still get the opportunity to go in front of a live crowd or be on television. I am just grateful for that, it’s a good feeling, it puts a smile on my face. I am very fortunate and I know.”