Ted Turner, media mogul and entrepreneur, died at the age of 87 on May 6, and the professional wrestling world lost one of the key figures of the Monday Night Wars, despite Turner never appearing on WCW television, even though he owned the company. One person who did appear on "WCW Monday Nitro" and its other programs, however, was former company executive Eric Bischoff, who worked for Turner for around ten years. Bischoff appeared on "The Ariel Helwani Show" to talk about his late boss, and said his "every man" lifestyle had an impact on him, even back then."I was one of the only executives... the president of a division of Turner Broadcasting, and I would show up wearing jeans, cowboy boots and ride my Harley to work and park six spaces down from Ted," he explained. "I had hair down to my shoulders and a beard, and I'd see Ted in the morning and he'd say, 'Hey, Eric,' and it was no big deal. I didn't have to wear a blue suit, a white shirt, and a red tie with wing tipped shoes. That's what everybody else had to do. Ted kind of, not gave me permission, but gave me the room to just be myself. I think I probably overdid that a little bit. I was immature in many respects, business wise, but I looked at Ted as someone who did it his own way."Bischoff said he hopes Turner is remembered as one of the great media moguls and entrepreneurs of our lifetime. Turner was remembered by WCW star Sting on "AEW Dynamite" after his passing, and WWE ran a remembrance graphic for him, as well.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.
