Eric Bischoff may not love Roman Reigns’ current creative direction, but he made it clear he still sees Reigns as the biggest star in wrestling. During a recent discussion, Bischoff explained why Roman’s presence stands out in a way that nobody in WWE or AEW can match, even while he continues to push for more character evolution.
On his 83 Weeks Podcast, Bischoff spent part of the conversation talking about how Roman’s presentation has stayed mostly the same in recent years. He said he wants to see more growth and new layers added to the character. But after making that point, he shifted the conversation and focused on what makes Reigns different from everyone else. Bischoff said Roman has a natural presence that doesn’t come from booking or production tricks. It comes from how he carries himself the moment he appears in front of a crowd.
“Let’s give a little credit to Roman as to why perhaps Vince stuck with him as long as he did. When you look at Roman Reigns from across an arena, you’re looking at a star. You could be dropped out of a freaking spaceship, find yourself planted firmly inside of an arena or a stadium, and when Roman Reigns walks through that curtain, you don’t need to know his backstory. You don’t need to know how many matches he’s had this year. You don’t need to know any of that shit. When he walks through the curtain, you know you’re looking at a star.”
Bischoff said Roman’s limited schedule may actually help him. By not appearing every week, Reigns avoids being overexposed. Bischoff also pointed out that Roman has a level of charisma that doesn’t require long promos or dramatic moments to work. He said Reigns can make an impression with something as small as a look.
“Perhaps some of that is because he wasn’t overexposed. There’s different ways of getting people over. And when you have someone like Roman who drips charisma, he doesn’t even have to talk. He just has to look over his shoulder at you, and it makes an impression.”
That led Bischoff to a blunt comparison. He said nobody in WWE or AEW has the same natural aura as Roman Reigns. In his view, Reigns stands alone when it comes to pure star presence.
“Who else has that? Who has that in AEW? Like, nobody. Who else in WWE has that? Nobody. That is special. That is a unique characteristic.”
Bischoff continued by saying Roman can walk into a stadium full of fans and instantly command the room without Paul Heyman speaking for him and without Reigns saying a word.
“When you have that much charisma that you can walk into a 50,000-seat arena and control everybody’s attention without Paul Heyman and without saying a word because of the aura. And I think that’s the best way to describe Roman’s success and why he’s able to go out there and have the kind of matches he does.”
He also dismissed the idea that Roman’s limited number of matches should count against him. Bischoff said the important thing is how Reigns makes people feel when he does wrestle.
“And to only wrestle 10 times a year, whatever the number is, I don’t even think about that shit. I think about how does he make me feel when he does wrestle? Can I bank on that? And the reason you can bank on that is because Roman Reigns has an aura that nobody else has or has had in quite some time.”
Even after criticizing Roman’s creative direction, Bischoff ended the conversation by making it clear that Reigns is still one of wrestling’s biggest stars. He may want Roman to evolve, but he doesn’t question his ability to control an arena in a way nobody else can.
RELATED: Eric Bischoff Clarifies His Roman Reigns Criticism While Praising His Star Power
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