Eric Bischoff on Real American Freestyle: Forging a New Path Between Wrestling and MMA

Eric Bischoff’s latest venture, Real American Freestyle (RAF) Wrestling, aims to fuse live television, combat sports, and professional showmanship. Bischoff openly draws on his extensive background, from leading WCW Monday Nitro to producing for WWE, to establish RAF as a freestyle wrestling league. While the sport itself remains unscripted and genuinely competitive, its presentation adopts a recognizable television "recipe" familiar to fans of both professional wrestling and mixed martial arts.

RAF has rapidly transitioned from concept to a consistent live product, successfully carving out a niche. It appeals to audiences seeking authentic competitive outcomes delivered with the grandeur of a major sports event. Bischoff notes significant interest from wrestling and MMA enthusiasts, a growing digital presence, and a diverse talent roster that includes accomplished freestyle wrestlers and emerging prospects. This indicates RAF is gaining considerable momentum as a successful experimental model.

Bischoff is widely recognized for challenging WWE Raw with WCW Monday Nitro in the 1990s, notably launching the New World Order (nWo) storyline and briefly positioning WCW as the industry leader. He later served in on-screen and backstage capacities for WWE, contributing to production and creative efforts. Subsequently, he transitioned into podcasting and media ventures, leveraging his extensive experience in televised wrestling. Throughout his career, he has acted as a promoter, producer, and on-air talent, providing him with a comprehensive understanding of business, creative development, and live event management.

He now applies this unique blend of experience to Real American Freestyle, viewing it as the next proving ground for the lessons learned during the Monday Night War era.

Eric Bischoff: Applying WCW Nitro's Principles to the Mat

When discussing how WCW elements influence Real American Freestyle, Bischoff emphasizes structure above all else. His focus isn't on star power or narrative, but on the meticulous assembly of the show itself.

“The most obvious thing is the format of the show itself. The format is like the recipe: what are all the ingredients that go into the show, when do you add them, how long do you stir them, how long do you cook them. It is a little bit like making a very complicated cake.”

Bischoff believes RAF extensively borrows from the live event templates perfected by WCW Nitro, WWE, and even UFC. He highlights the careful planning of timing, segment flow, and production cues designed to captivate casual viewers and satisfy dedicated fans. He observes that modern UFC broadcasts are increasingly adopting a professional wrestling-style layout, a trend RAF embraces.

“A lot of the elements of our format are elements that I used on Nitro, or that you see in WWE or UFC. We are taking a little bit of the best of those formats, really, most of it from WWE. If you look at the UFC, that format is very much like a WWE format. It is not as complicated, there are not as many moving parts, but it is pretty much the same format. You will see that same formula in RAF.”

Enhanced production is an integral part of this strategy. Bischoff confirms that classic Nitro elements, such as arena staging and elaborate entrances featuring fireworks, are being incorporated into RAF events.

“That is probably the most obvious thing. On this last show, we brought in pyro, and we are going to continue doing that in the future. Most everything you see is inspired by my own experience in sports entertainment.”

RAF: Charting Its Course Between WWE and UFC

Real American Freestyle launched in 2025 from Tampa, Florida, supported by venture capital. With Hulk Hogan as commissioner and Bischoff as chief media officer, RAF presents itself as an unscripted freestyle and folkstyle league where victories are genuinely earned, yet the presentation mimics sports entertainment. This timing is strategic: the sustained growth of UFC has normalized combat sports on mainstream television, while wrestling fans are receptive to innovative yet familiar formats.

“It really has. There are all kinds of metaphors people use—creating your own lane and so on—but we have certainly created our own lane here.”

He suggests that the UFC's evolution over the past three decades, transforming from a pay-per-view novelty into a major media property, has opened doors for ventures like RAF. For Bischoff, freestyle wrestling is fundamental to this rise.

“Combat sports in general have grown so fast over the last 30 years. UFC has been around a long time, and the sport itself has been exploding for a long time, but it is really emerging now. For us to see a pathway where we can introduce a combat sport like this is exciting, because freestyle wrestling is the oldest combat sport known to man, and it is a very important part of any MMA athlete’s arsenal.”

Freestyle and Greco-Roman wrestling are foundational for numerous MMA champions and contenders globally, from American collegiate athletes to stars from Russia and the Caucasus. Bischoff envisions RAF providing a dedicated television platform for these high-level wrestling skills. The key innovation is RAF's packaging of this sport with professional camera work, engaging commentary, and dynamic pacing specifically tailored for a live television audience.

“If you look at a lot of the big names and legends in MMA, they come from a wrestling background. Wrestling is very much a part of MMA. All we have done is put a spotlight on it, make it more popular, put it in a format that is appealing and entertaining to watch, and boom, you have a brand-new sport. It is not a new sport, but it is a new way to watch the sport.”

Wrestling as a Universal Language

Bischoff agrees that freestyle wrestling enjoys broader international appeal compared to American-style professional wrestling, which relies heavily on cultural context, character promotions, and long-term storylines. Olympic and world championship wrestling already attract large audiences in regions like Eastern Europe, the Caucasus, Iran, Japan, and Central Asia, where the sport boasts deep historical roots.

“That is true. Olympic-style wrestling, call it what you will, freestyle or Greco-Roman, is probably more popular around the world than it is in the United States.”

He highlights Dagestan, a Russian republic with a population of about 3.1 million, which has consistently produced numerous Olympic and world champions, and where freestyle wrestling is considered a national pastime. He also mentions the Middle East, Europe, and Japan as regions with long-standing wrestling traditions and robust talent pipelines.

“If you look at Russia, Dagestan in particular, you see how many phenomenal athletes are coming out of those wrestling clubs. Throughout the Middle East there have always been great wrestlers, and the same out of Europe and Japan as well. There are some great wrestlers in Japan. Freestyle wrestling is popular all over the world.”

In this global context, RAF's primary objective isn't to explain wrestling fundamentals like takedowns or tilts. Instead, it aims to offer wrestlers a professional platform where they can earn income, build a fan base, and compete under rules respected by serious enthusiasts. For Bischoff, this endeavor represents the convergence of decades of television production expertise with the world's most ancient combat sport.