Eric Bischoff returned to WWE TV on the last Monday Night RAW of 2021, officiating The Miz and Maryse’s renewal of their vows. Speaking on the 83 Weeks podcast, Bischoff detailed how the appearance came to be.
“Mrs. Bischoff and I drove down to Florida because we have our dog with us, and I don’t like to board my dog for that long of a period of time,” Bischoff said. “It’s a 33-hour drive to Tampa by the way, about 2500 miles or so. We drove down there and we were so excited, very looking forward to it. It’s Christmas and Christmas with a new grandson. We finally get in and get settled, and I get a call from Bruce [Prichard].
“Bruce and I don’t talk much because I know how busy he is. I told Bruce not to be offended because I don’t spend a lot of time talking to people on the phone anyway because I just don’t like talking on the phone. I said, ‘Bruce, I’m not going to call you a lot. Don’t think it’s because I don’t love you. I do. I just don’t call people in general. I especially don’t call someone like you, because I know the kind of hours you work and the stress you’re under.’ I remember because when I was there last, for four months or so.
“When that phone rings, it’s like, ‘Oh f–k. Now what. Oh, God. Is it Vince?’ You got to sleep with the phone by the bed because Vince might call you at 3 o’clock in the morning with an obscure question and you have to have the answer to it. I told Bruce that for that reason I’ll leave him alone and whenever he’s in the mood to talk he can give me a call.
“So anyway he called me, and I’m thinking it’s a couple of days before Christmas and he’s just calling me to wish me a Merry Christmas. He goes, ‘Hey Eric! So.’ And I knew as soon as he said ‘so.’ I could tell by the tone of it that something was coming,” Bischoff said. “‘So, think you could make TV Monday?’ And this was on Thursday afternoon. I said, ‘Well, first of all, where is it?’ because if it was a west coast trip I couldn’t make it. ‘No, it’s in Detroit! Your hometown!’ I say I can make it, and I ask, ‘what is it?’ ‘Well, why don’t you get a really light-colored pastel suit and expect it to get trashed. There’s going to be a wedding.’ That’s all he told me. No details. Not who, not nothing.”
This particular RAW had numerous high-ranking backstage talents absent, including WWE Chairman Vince McMahon, Executive Producer Kevin Dunn, and Prichard himself.
“I got to Detroit that morning [of RAW]. I left early in Tampa. I didn’t know Bruce wasn’t even going to be at TV until 4 in the afternoon,” Eric Bischoff said. “I know what it’s like enough over the past 30 years. When it’s TV day, it’s busy as f–k. It’s just stressful, it’s busy, and I’m not the guy that wants to go around and say hi to everyone and make sure everybody knows I’m here. I went right from the car that dropped me off into my dressing room and I stayed there. I figured when Bruce is done or Vince is done with whatever they have to do they’ll come and get me.
“It was about 4:30 and I hadn’t heard from Bruce yet. I figured he was busy. Finally, Ryan Ward, one of the writers, came in. Ryan’s a good dude. He says, ‘Hey, just so you know Bruce isn’t here tonight. He’s not feeling well.’ I go, ‘Okay, well where’s Vince?’ ‘He’s not here either.’ I said I was going to go to the truck and say hi to Kevin [Dunn]. ‘Kevin’s not here either.’ Well, okay! Let’s do this thing!”
Regardless of the short staff, Eric Bischoff emphasized he enjoyed being back in a WWE locker room.
“I had fun. I got to hang out with Edge a little bit, and we have a great conversation,” Bischoff said. “Kevin Owens, I dig Kevin. We stay in touch through social media. I had a blast doing it.”
Speaking specifically on the segment, Eric Bischoff praised The Miz and Maryse for being “absolutely at the top of their game” on the microphone.
“I have to say, I’ve never really done anything with Miz before. Never had worked with him in any shape or form. I worked with him and Maryse on this, and they’re really, really good,” Bischoff said. “When you get a chance to work with somebody on the mic as good as Miz is, and Maryse is really good too, it’s so much fun. It’s so noticeable. There’s such a difference between somebody who is absolutely at the top of their game when it comes to dialogue and performing in that type of scenario versus someone who is not that familiar with it. There’s a reason why Miz has been there as long as he has at the level he’s at. He’s really, really good as a performer.”
