Eric Bischoff: Stephanie McMahon Asked Me To Dye My Hair For WWE Debut In 2002

Eric Bischoff has revealed how Stephanie McMahon told him WWE wanted him to go back to having black hair when he debuted as Raw General Manager in 2002. 

Bischoff had embraced his grey hairs by the early 200s, having shaved his head in a hair match with Ric Flair during his WCW days, after growing frustrated with having to dye it black every few days. 

The WWE Hall Of Famer hoped that he would be permitted to remain grey on WWE television, only to be told by then head of creative Stephanie that they wanted the black hair.

Speaking on his 83 Weeks Podcast, Bischoff explained: "Back in ‘96, my hair would grow about a quarter of an inch every two days.  It was really thick and heavy and I had to dye my hair.  I would dye my hair, and two or three days later, because my hair was so heavy and thick, it would start to part on it’s own. There would be this white streak up the middle of my head. I would look like Pepe Le Pew, the cartoon skunk.

"I hated it because I would always have to fix it. Then I’m on television. I would push my hair back and it was like a white wine two days after I just had it dyed. It drove me crazy which is why I did the hair match with Ric Flair. I wanted to shave my head. I wanted to just get it over with and I’ve never looked back.

"When I went to WWE, I’ll never forget it as a talent back in 2001 or 2002 whatever it was, I don’t even remember. I remember after I made the deal and everything was signed, sealed, and delivered, we knew where we were going creatively. I understood what the plan was.

"I put a call in to Stephanie, who was head of creative at the time. I said, ‘Do you guys want me to come back with black hair, or is it cool if I come back with my natural color?’ 

"I was so hoping she was going to say, ‘Don’t worry about dyeing your hair. That’s so phony. Everybody knows it’s phony. If your hair’s gray, your hair’s gray. Come back as you. Don’t come back as you used to be.’  That’s what I was hoping for, but that’s not the answer I got. Stephanie without missing a beat said, ‘Oh no.  Dye your hair black’, and I was back at it again.

"I was so glad when we eventually weaved our way into a story where I was going to get my head shaved again, so I had to quit dying my hair. It was a happy day for me.”

H/T WrestlingNews.co