Chicago Sun-Times: Impossible, but it actually happened

The one thing every wrestling fan said never would happen, happened Monday night. The two most hated rivals in wrestling buried the hatchet on national television as Eric Bischoff and Vince McMahon embraced in front of a stunned Continental Airlines Arena crowd.

Dressed all in black (not to mention his black hair, which was totally gray the last time we saw him), Bischoff made his WWE debut on the very show he tried to destroy just a few years ago.

Under the control of Bischoff, WCW's Monday "Nitro" defeated "Raw" 86 weeks in a row in the Nielsen ratings. Noting that fact, Bischoff promised sweeping changes in the WWE. Following the lead of McMahon-- who earlier told the fans there needed to be a major shakeup in the company--Bischoff certainly will take "Raw" in a different direction in the coming weeks.

As expected, there were quite a few wrestlers who became more than a little worried when they heard "Easy E" was taking over, as he has been blamed by many for the demise of WCW. But it has been made clear by those in control of the WWE that Bischoff would only be a member of the WWE talent roster and would not have any say in the booking of shows.

One potentially interesting development is that McMahon has cleared the way for trades between Bischoff and new "SmackDown" general manager Stephanie McMahon.

AROUND THE RING: HHH will decide which side he will join at this weekend's "Vengeance" PPV. Also on tonight's show will be a three- way dance for the WWE championship between the Rock, Kurt Angle and WWE champion the Undertaker. ... Many say Brock Lesner will face the Rock for the WWE world title at "SummerSlam" in August, so don't be surprised to see the Rock leave Detroit with the strap. ... Goldberg said recently he would be back in the ring before the end of 2002. ... Rumor has it Chris Benoit was scheduled to feud with Steve Austin all summer--but now that Austin is gone, Benoit is searching for a feud and could be dropped to mid-card status.

HOTLINE: Sabu makes his return to PPV, NWA TNA heating up, and the latest on the future of Shawn Michaels--all on the hotline: (900) 990- SLAM ($2 per minute).