Professional wrestling legend and WWE Hall of Famer Eric Bischoff who had been the first ever General Manager of Monday Night RAW recently talked about Dean Malenko who is the former WCW United States Heavyweight champion and admitted that he was underrated in WCW.
Dean Malenko is the son of the legendary professional wrestler Boris Malenko. Dean had been an extremely talented wrestler who was vastly addressed by the world of professional wrestling as The Man with the Thousand Holds. He has worked in all major promotions such as WWE, WCW and ECW.
Eric Bischoff Admits Dean Malenko Was Underrated In WCW
After spending 15 years on the independent circuit he joined ECW for the first time in his career in 1994. He joined WCW after only one year time and this was the first time when he got his ultimate recognition from the world of professional wrestling. In WCW he mostly worked on the cruiserweight division of the promotion as he won the WCW Cruiserweight Championship four times.
In 2000 he made his WWE debut along with Chris Benoit, Eddie Guerrero and Perry Saturn. Together they were known as the Radicalz. But his career was cut short in 2001 as he decided to take retirement from evening action. After that he started working as a producer and trainer. Right now he is working in the AEW as a senior producer.
Eric Bischoff who had been the first ever General Manager of Monday Night RAW recently spoke to his 83 Weeks Podcast where he talked about Dean Malenko who is the former WCW United States Heavyweight champion and admitted that he was underrated in WCW. He said;
“I just loved Dean’s character. I disagree with anybody that would’ve dismissed him because of his lack of character. I mean, “The Iceman” Dean Malenko? I believed in him. When he walked through that curtain, he made be believe he was there and he was deadly serious about what he was about to do. If the goal in producing a great wrestling match – or great wrestling show for that matter – is to suck people in and allow them to believe in this fantasy they’re experiencing.
“You really want them to feel it. The only way they can feel it is if they believe it, even momentarily. Dean made me believe the minute he walked through the curtain. I think that was his character to me. I loved watching Dean Malenko matches. He was amazing to watch in the ring, but I loved watching the way he carried himself to the ring and around the ring and in his promos. I believed every syllable he would say in a promo because he made me believe when he walked through the curtain.”
“I think Dean, in many respects, is underrated. But I think a lot of fans recognize – especially now looking back – just how great he was. I do think he is perhaps one of the more underrated [wrestlers], and I feel that way again because of the respect I have for him professionally and the way that he conducted himself. That puts him on a whole other level in my opinion. Fans may not see that, they didn’t experience that part of it.”
H/T to 411 Mania for the transcription