About this episode
The On this episode of Baschamania , I’m joined by the one and only Eric Bischoff — the mastermind who helped reinvent professional wrestling with Nitro and the NWO. Today, Eric brings that same vision and passion to a new frontier: Real American Freestyle. We dive into the excitement of turning freestyle wrestling into a professional product, the lessons learned from the first RAF event, and the parallels between revolutionizing pro wrestling in the ’90s and reimagining amateur wrestling today. Eric shares his thoughts on storytelling, creating larger-than-life identities, and building moments that fans actually feel . We also reflect on the loss of Hulk Hogan — co-founder of Real American Freestyle — and what it means for Bischoff to help carry that legacy forward. From emotion to identity to building a true movement, this conversation is packed with insight on where freestyle wrestling can go next and how it can finally capture the mainstream spotlight. 00:00 - Eric Getting Involved with RAF 03:45 - Excitement for the Stories in Freestyle Wrestling 08:45 - Borrowing from Sports Entertainment 14:00 - Developing Characters 18:30 - Turning a Charity-Driven Sport into a Revenue-Generating Sport 22:25 - Takeaways from RAF 01 26:15 - Hulk’s Legacy Moving Forward 33:15 - Pro Wrestling Unscripted 44:01 - Building and Shaping The Identity of RAF 46:30 - RAF 02 Expectations 48:45 - What's Next for Real American Freestyle Be sure to SUBSCRIBE to the podcast. NEW EPISODES WEEKLY/BIWEEKLY!Support the show & leave a 5-star rating and review on Apple Podcasts, and shop some apparel on BASCHAMANIA.com! For all partnership and sponsorship inquiries, email info@baschamania.com. BASCHAMANIA is a Basch Solutions Production. Learn more about Basch Solutions, a digital marketing agency specializing in custom websites, content creation, and digital strategy, at BaschSolutions.com.