iMPACT Wrestling’s Eric Bischoff was one of the featured guests on this week’s live edition of the award-winning Monday Night Mayhem.
Eric Bischoff Discusses Why He Does Not Feel Uneasy About The Future Of iMPACT Wrestling On Spike TV Amidst Reports Of The Network Looking To Rebrand, The Latest On The TNA Returns Of “The Nature Boy” Ric Flair, Jeff Hardy, & Matt Hardy, Sting’s New Persona/Character And The Fan Split About Its Current Direction, If He Believes An Effective Relationship Between TNA & The World Of MMA Should Develop In The Near Future For The Benefit Of Both Entities, Whether TNA Plans On Adding An Additional Featured TV Program, A Possible Return To Commentating, Triple H Taking Over Vince McMahon’s Spot On WWE Television, The Strategy Of Wrestlers Being Moved From Heels To Faces Too Quickly & Its Impact On Storyline Continuity, How MTV Has Influenced The Worlds Of Professional Wrestling & Sports-Entertainment, The Evolution Of His Friendship & Business Relationship With Jason Hervey Through The Years, Plus Much More.
You can listen to an MP3 of the entire interview by visiting MondayNightMayhem.com.
Here are some highlights of what Eric Bischoff said about:
Why he does not feel uneasy about the future of iMPACT Wrestling on Spike TV, amidst reports of the network looking to rebrand:
“Once again the Internet Wrestling Community has taken ahold of a story that came out a month or two ago about rebranding, and a couple of quotes that were made, and noticed that TNA wasn’t prominently featured in that story, and jumped to conclusions. The truth is iMPACT (Wrestling) is the highest-rated show on Spike TV. iMPACT has been, over the past year, averaging the largest audience that it ever has in the history of the company. The audience is growing unlike other networks & television shows that have very short life cycles and that peak & valley very quickly. 2011 looks like it’s going to be the best year ever for iMPACT. I think the folks at Spike TV are pretty excited about it quite frankly, and I haven’t or heard anything that makes me nervous.”
If he believes an effective relationship between TNA & the world of MMA should develop in the near future for the benefit of both entities:
“Could it happen? Maybe. Should it happen? I don’t think so. MMA is a sport. It’s a legitimate sport. Professional wrestling is an entertainment property, and the similarities kind of end once you get past that they operate in a Pay-Per-View environment and in an arena environment. Anybody that operates under the assumption that there’s some really cool synergy between MMA & professional wrestling, it’s their opinion, but I don’t share it.
Whether or not he has given any thought on returning to commentating:
“Actually I have. Not on a regular basis, Mike Tenay is doing a wonderful job. I enjoy commentating. Play-by-play is one of the toughest jobs in the industry. The list of things for you to accomplish & maintain during the course of a broadcast, all while you are creating a story, and calling action, and making things seem larger than life; it’s very difficult job. I miss getting immersed in the story, and the energy, and getting caught up in the moment. It’s at those moments you forget what you’re doing, and you get caught up in the excitement & energy of that, and you do your best work. I miss that
