Eric Bischoff Talks TNA, CM Punk – WWE, More – On the latest “83 Weeks” podcast, WWE Hall of Famer Eric Bischoff covered WCW Halloween Havoc 1999. He also gave his thoughts on some of the big wrestling stories of the week.
Eric Bischoff on IMPACT changing its name back to TNA:
“Time will tell whether it really makes any difference or not. I suspect it won’t. It’s not like the TNA brand had a substantial following and a loyal fan base and you know, it was an emerging company from the get go, but we’ll see. You know, I hated the TNA thing because it was a Vince Russo play on t*ts and a** and it just started out tacky. Although they tried to cover their ass by calling it Total Nonstop Action, the idea of it being TNA was pretty well cemented when you had the girls dancing in cages at ringside and all that kind of crazy sh*t. I don’t know that it was that strong of a brand ever to begin with and therefore I don’t think it retained much equity, if any. So I think there’ll be some interest in it. It’s already created a buzz. People are already talking about it and we’ll see if it has any impact overall on the growth or the future of the company. I don’t think it will, but I could be wrong.”
Eric Bischoff’s thoughts on putting MJF vs Kenny Omega on free TV:
“With no advance promotion, with no story, just announce it and do it. I’m not going to be critical of putting it on live TV for obvious reasons because AEW, Tony Khan, has to serve as their client. Their client, in addition to the audience, their client is the network, but here’s where I just have questions. I’m not being critical. I promised myself a couple of weeks ago I was going to refrain from being critical as much as I could, but if you’re going to put MJF and Omega on free TV, to do it, number one on a Saturday night when you’re up against game two of the World Series and college football, you know you’re going to get your a** handed to you, and to make that match on a Saturday night against that kind of competition when you know no matter what you do, you’re going to get your a** handed to you, that makes me question it even more. I mean, it’s bad enough to put that match on television without any build up. No storyline. Nobody in the world could answer the question, legitimately answer the question, ‘Why is this match happening’, other than making up some, you know, indierific bullsh*t, it just makes no sense. If you’re going to do it on free TV, and you’re going to do it without a story, and you’re going to do it without any buildup, why do it on a Saturday night against game two? It’s not like that was a surprise. That was scheduled. You know you’re up against college football.”
If he feels CM Punk will go to WWE:
“I’m not 100% convinced (he won’t go to WWE) because it is all about business and WWE historically is able and willing to get beyond issues, personal or otherwise. Warrior comes to mind. A cat named Eric Bischoff comes to mind. There’s been a whole bunch of us where nobody would have ever imagined that certain people would get back or get into a WWE ring ever again only to be surprised. I’m not saying I’m 100% sure, but my gut tells me no, mostly because they just don’t need him. There’s no holes. Where’s the holes in the WWE roster right now? Where’s the holes in the product? We’re getting ready to step into the hottest time of the year. This is wrestling’s version of the Super Bowl coming up here over the next month or two leading up to it. I just don’t feel the need for it right now. Their live event business is off the charts. They’re selling out 10, 11, 12,000 seat arenas for SmackDown and for RAW. Merchandise is flying off the shelf so there’s just no holes in their game right now. It’s not going to be that way forever. You know, everything ebbs and flows. Maybe somewhere down the road I see it, but I certainly don’t see it coming up anytime soon.”
Eric Bischoff Talks TNA, CM Punk – WWE, More
