Eric Bischoff Defends Hulk Hogan, Denies TNA Operational Control

Eric Bischoff is pushing back hard against renewed criticism of his and Hulk Hogan’s TNA tenure, dismissing both Dark Side of the Ring’s three-part TNA documentary and Vince Russo’s new book Total Nonstop Agony as revisionist history he has no interest in engaging with.

Speaking on his 83 Weeks podcast, Bischoff admitted he hasn’t watched the documentary or read Russo’s book and doesn’t plan to. “I don’t know what revisionist story people are out there peddling right now, but have at it, have fun with it,” he said, adding that he simply doesn’t have the bandwidth to care about the chatter.

The bigger issue for Bischoff is a persistent claim he says mischaracterizes his actual role in TNA. He insisted he never had operational control of the company — no ability to hire, fire, give raises or issue fines — and said that was by design. “I wanted nothing to do with the operation of TNA,” he said, noting his agreement limited him strictly to the creative side, an arrangement he says both Dixie Carter and then-CFO Dean Broadhead were fine with.

On the narrative that TNA’s finances collapsed after he and Hogan arrived, Bischoff placed responsibility on the company’s business leadership rather than the creative team, arguing neither he nor Hogan had visibility into those financial decisions. He also took issue with critics piling on Hogan now that he isn’t alive to respond, calling it “chicken shit” and rejecting the idea that either of them could have singlehandedly sunk the company.

Bischoff reserved his sharpest words for Russo, questioning his credibility outright and accusing him of recycling old grievances. He also addressed friction with Karen Jarrett over comments he made about Dixie Carter in the documentary, standing by his belief that Carter had a good heart despite the difficult position she was in, while making clear he has no interest in using the retrospective to settle old scores.

Elsewhere, Bischoff revisited his long-held belief that TNA needed to leave the Impact Zone soundstage to build a genuinely invested audience, and pointed to Spike TV’s financial limits as a structural obstacle that made growing the company difficult regardless of creative direction. Despite everything, he said he’d make the same choice again, largely because the run gave his son a meaningful opportunity in the business.