In an interview with TMZ Sports, former WCW President Eric Bischoff revealed that Dennis Rodman intentionally went after Karl Malone during the 1998 NBA Playoffs to help promote a WCW appearance that involved both men.

“Now, what I said to Dennis, not to Karl was, hey Dennis, if anything were to happen off-court while there’s a timeout, while there’s no gameplay so that the feud between Karl Malone and Dennis Rodman is real, on a kind of a 360-degree basis, not just what happens on our TV show, that wouldn’t p*** me off at all.

I chuckled like a little kid, because it accomplished so much. As a wrestling producer, to be able to create a moment that played out on a platform so huge as the NBA Playoffs was really satisfying.”

The interview is available in full at this link.