Before we begin, it’s important to note that this is probably some sort angle that will lead to either a match or, at the very least, a podcast debate.

That being said…the relationship between Eric Bischoff and Ric Flair is the stuff of legend. Their on-again, off-again friendship/business partnership has led to fist fights, lawsuits, and, this being 2022, mean tweets.

Such was the case recently when The Nature Boy took to Twitter to start the latest chapter in his decades-long beef with Easy E.

On December 8, Flair posted a video from one of the most memorable WCW Nitro moments of all time; that being when Flair returned to the company after the lawsuit with Bischoff, to reform the Four Horseman and tell Eric that he couldn’t fire Flair, Flair was already fired.

Of course, Eric being Eric, he couldn’t just let that Tweet stand, now could he? Instead, he Quote Tweeted Flair’s post and said that it was some of Flair’s best work ever. That would have been nice enough. But, you know…Controversy Creates Cash. So he also said ‘You’re welcome. I made you.’

Naturally, fans rushed to Flair’s aide, laughing at the fact that Bischoff said he ‘made’ the 16x World Champion.

Needless to say, Bischoff’s podcast partner (and Flair’s son in law) just couldn’t let those comments slide without discussing them, and Conrad Thompson didn’t waste any time on this week’s 83 Weeks podcast on confronting Bischoff and the ludicrous idea (to everybody but Eric) that he ‘made’ Ric Flair.

Eric Bischoff Made Ric Flair?

“If you’re in such a good mood, why are you popping off with my father-in-law Ric Flair on social media?” Thompson asked his friend and confidante.

“He started it!” Bischoff responded indignantly. “I was perfectly content to sit back and just run my own business and stay quiet. But then he just started blabbing about a bunch of stuff that he was pissed off at me about. I was just defending myself.”

It’s hard to defend those comments, Thompson argued. But Bischoff didn’t just defend them; he doubled down on them.

“Ric posts a video of cutting a promo on me back in 1998, and I pointed out that this was some of Ric’s best work and he should thank me for that,” Bischoff scoffed. “I brought that out in him. I brought that level of emotion and I brought out what became, really, the best Ric Flair. He should be thanking me for helping him to get over, instead of just being a whiny baby about this whole thing.”

Bischoff then tripled down on his comments.

“The truth is, WCW couldn’t make any money with Ric Flair,” Bischoff said. “So what did Ric Flair do? He went to WWE and guess what? They couldn’t make any money with Ric Flair. So guess what? Ric comes back to WCW and WCW still couldn’t make any money with him in ’93, and ’94, which is why he had to go get Hulk Hogan.”

Of course, Bischoff said, none of this was personal; it was just business.

“Ric’s a great performer, don’t get me wrong,” Bischoff yielded. “He’s a legend. But when it comes to business, I had to do what I had to do with him and that just rubs Ric the wrong way and he can’t let it go.”

Naturally, Conrad Thompson was in a bit of an awkward position. He pointed out that there seem to be two different versions of Eric Bischoff; almost as if Bischoff is acting. He said that the former President of WCW was a good man, helping to raise money for Barry Windham after a heart attack, but then he goes around criticizing Ric Flair and the Four Horsemen.

“I’m not critical; I’m just pointing out facts,” Bischoff asserted. “Why is it that people that are fans of Ric and fans of the Four Horsemen get all bent outta shape when you present facts? I wasn’t being critical of the Four Horsemen; I put them over! They were very, very popular amongst a small regional group of fans. In the business of entertaining the entire country, that small pocket of fans in North Carolina and the Southeast in particular, dug the Four Horsemen.”

Bischoff continued, stating that “The Four Horsemen were great during their era, but they certainly weren’t a national act.”

Thompson and Bischoff then got into one of their trademark arguments about how and why WCW was sold to the WWF, similarities to Jim Crockett Promotions, and more. You can hear the whole debate by downloading the 83 Weeks with Eric Bischoff podcast or by visiting adfreeshows.com.

• Eric Bischoff on Rumors About CM Punk Returning to WWE: ‘I Wouldn’t Touch him With a 10-Foot Pole’

Incidentally, in news that has absolutely nothing to do with this whole situation, Thompson and Bischoff are selling tickets now for a live podcast recording in ‘the heart of WCW country,’ on January 14.

We wouldn’t be surprised if a certain 16x World Champion found himself in the same area on that day. Because, it’s like we always say…

Controversy Creates Cash.

And for that, we are Grateful.

CM Punk’s future in wrestling remains unclear as he could stay with AEW, return to WWE or never wrestle again following his backstage fight with Kenny Omega and The Young Bucks after AEW’s All Out pay-per-view.

As a result of his involvement in the fight, he was stripped of the World Title and suspended. Punk is reportedly in talks with AEW about a contract buyout. 

Eric Bischoff shared his opinion on CM Punk while speaking with Wrestling Inc. According to Bischoff, he doesn’t think Triple H should bring him back. 

Eric Bischoff on CM Punk

“I don’t know what Paul Levesque is thinking, I don’t know what their plans are, their strategies are, so I have no idea. I can tell you from my perspective, I wouldn’t touch him with a 10-foot pole. I think CM Punk had a mystique because of WWE, and because of the pipe bomb interview, and because he walked out, that created this aura and mystique that [AEW CEO] Tony [Khan] brought to AEW and took advantage of for a minute. And once that mystique was gone, once you kind of let that air out of the balloon, and now you’re just performing every week, I didn’t see it in Punk. I just didn’t see it in him as a character, I didn’t see it in him in the ring –- he was good, but he wasn’t phenomenal.”

Bischoff also shared a handful of reasons he doesn’t think Punk would find success in returning to the company ranging from his age, lack of being in great shape, and WWE being more intense and physical than AEW with its style. 

Bischoff also thinks the fans turned on Punk and left a bad taste in their mouth, and they realize that that mystique is no longer there as he’s just another guy. Bischoff doesn’t see value in Punk anymore. 

Frustrated wrestlers, tired of not receiving adaqueate TV time and prominent booking, shouldn’t bother turning to Eric Bischoff for a shoulder to cry on.

In recent months, there have been reports of talent being unhappy in AEW, with meetings beind held backstage to address concerns.

Last year, Brian Cage’s wife Melissa commented publicly about her husband’s lack of booking in AEW, and her criticism of the company drew him significant heat backstage.

Be Ready

With limited hours, it is impossible for everyone to be featured on AEW programming each week.

Tony Khan has amassed an impressively large roster, which he divides among Dynamite, Rampage, Dark and Dark: Elevation.

Speaking on his 83 Weeks Podcast, Bischoff advised those in AEW to be ready, even when they’re not being used.

“Be ready for your opportunity. Because let’s face it, injuries are a thing. Contract issues are a thing. HR issues are a thing. Just because you’re at the bottom of the card or you’re not getting as much Television time as you think you deserve, keep your nose to the grindstone.

“If you’re getting paid and you’re healthy and you get to spend time with your family, and you have more time to work out, maybe you have some time [to improve.] God forbid, take some classes. Take some improv classes. Learn how to be better as a character on Television. You’re getting paid good money and you’re not on the road 300 days a year.”

Be Grateful

While many wrestlers do try and improve, there is no shortage of talent who have been unhappy with the lack of focus they receive.

AEW’s Miro has liked tweets suggesting he would do better in WWE, while Andrade El Idolo retweeted a recent fan post, complaining that Andrade wasn’t used more when multiple talent missed Dynamite due to Hurricane Ian.

Speaking about those who insist on being negative online, Bischoff had two simple words of advice: be grateful.

“Focus on yourself. I don’t have sympathy for talent who are frustrated. First of all, you made the decision. You made the choice to go work there. And because things aren’t going exactly the way you want them to go, exactly when you want them to go, I don’t think it gives you the right [to complain.] It certainly is not a good look to make as much noise and be as negative an influence as some people are. Man, be grateful! God almighty be grateful.

“I don’t have sympathy for talent who are frustrated.”

Eric Bischoff

“How many people in the world, or this country, would do anything to change places with you? And guess what? They wouldn’t be b*tching about how much TV time they’re not getting. Come on man, be grateful.”

Bischoff added that several wrestlers fall into the trap of an echo-chamber on social media, reading comments from their fans that they should receive better booking.

For use of these quotes please give a h/t to SEScoops.

All Elite Wrestling has recently seen an explosive number of altercations behind the curtain. From CM Punk’s comments at the AEW All Out Media scrum to Andrade El Idolo and Sammy Guevara’s confronation. AEW which is led by Tony Khan, has been in a bit of disarray.

Eric Bischoff is also no stranger to seeing backstage antics in a wrestling company.

He was up close and personal to a lot of politics and drama when he was senior president of WCW from 1994 to September of 1999. On the most recent episode of Bischoff’s 83 Weeks podcast, he was asked if there were any parallels to the backstage drama between AEW and WCW when he was running the company?

“In some ways, of course. You’ve got talent who can be emotional at times. That’s across the board. Some of the biggest names in the industry have been difficult to work with from time to time.”

“Sometimes the emotions can be heightened to the point where they become problematic. It’s happened in WWE, we saw Stone Cold Steve Austin walk out over creative differences. It certainly happened in WCW, I had my own issues with that.”

AEW Backstage

The physical confrontation after AEW All Out that led to the suspensions of CM Punk, The Young Bucks and Kenny Omega, has upstaged the in-ring product in recent weeks. It brings into question, what’s going on management wise behind the scenes in AEW?

AEW owner and president Tony Khan wears many, if not all the hats in the company. He books the shows on top of making the major executive decisions. Something that former WWE CEO Vince McMahon was often criticized for.

Trying to police a locker room that seemingly has unrest is becoming a larger issue for Khan. When Bischoff was asked if he had any advice for Khan, he said the following.

“Tony has really dug himself in as the end all, be all (of AEW). He’s the CEO, head of creative, whatever six titles he has. I don’t think he has delegated well. I think it would have served Tony much better early on, to set the stage and create the culture.”

“If Tony not only would have surrounded himself but delegated and trusted some of the more senior people around him early on, I think he would’ve quite possibly avoided some of this drama.”

More from Eric Bischoff:

Eric Bischoff was part of some of wrestling’s biggest ever moments, but the work in the ring isn’t too important compared to the characters and storylines.

In WCW, Bischoff was one of the architects of the New World Order, ushering in the era of ‘cool heels’ and would be part of the company until their demise in 2001.

After joining the WWE the following year, Bischoff would be General Manager of Raw until 2005, and was the person who introduced the Elimination Chamber.

Not a Fan

Bischoff may have spent over three decades in the wrestling industry, but he considers the industry entertainment first, sports second.

Speaking on his 83 Weeks Podcast, Bischoff admitted that to him, the storylines and the production of shows are far more important and interesting to him than the in-ring action.

“I’m going to get burned. I’m going to get crucified for what I’m about to say. But guess what? I don’t care. I’m just not that big of a fan of wrestling matches. I’m a big fan of the story and the way the show is architected. Built. Formatted. Created. I’m a big fan of new ideas. Sometimes they work sometimes they don’t.”

“I’m just not that big of a fan of wrestling matches. I’m a big fan of the story.”

Eric Bischoff.

The question of which is more important has long been debated, with WWE using the term ‘Sports Entertainment’ instead of pro-wrestling.

Watching the Competition

Before joining WWE in 2002, Bischoff spent years trying to put Vince McMahon out of business during the Monday Night Wars.

Bischoff would ultimately fail in that endeavor, and explained that he watched little to none of the competition at the time.

“No [I didn’t watch WWF content.] I was aware. If I heard of something that was coming up that was significant, that people were excited about or interested in and I got word of that, I’d check it out. But I didn’t study it. I didn’t keep track of it. I didn’t really think about it all that much.

“To the extent that there were things about the WWF that were really noticeable I watched WWF at that time, and when I would drop in, more often than not, I was dropping in to see how they produced their show. I wasn’t tuning in to watch a wrestling match.”

Human Nature

WCW may be finished, but many of the ideas of the brand live on.

In 2002, the WWF tried their hand at their own New World Order, which was done mere months later.

Speaking about the wrestling industry repeating ideas, Bischoff isn’t too shocked at the notion.

“I think it’s human nature. Of course, it’s human nature. Especially when you’re in the entertainment business. You’re going to lean on past successes and past experiences. Good and bad.”

Even in WCW, several repeats of the NWO, including NWO Wolfpac, NWO 2000, and the LWO were made.

Tony Khan is the proud owner of an “insignificant, off-the-radar, unknown” brand, according to Eric Bischoff.

In March, Khan made a rare appearance on AEW Dynamite to announce his purchase of Ring of Honor, the second wrestling promotion in Khan’s collection.

Since then, ROH has had two events, Supercard of Honor XV and Death Before Dishonor, and their titles regularly appear on AEW programming.

Insignificant

Eric Bischoff has been highly critical of Khan’s work, despite previously appearing on AEW programming.

On his ‘Strictly Business’ podcast, Bischoff said that Khan made a mistake in his purchase of Ring of Honor (via 411Mania.)

“How many YouTube viewers did Ring of Honor get before they were purchased? You’re talking about tens of thousands, maybe? It was an insignificant, off-the-radar, unknown brand, with the exception of the most active of the internet wrestling community who sought it out.

“an insignificant, off-the-radar, unknown brand.”

Eric Bischoff’s scathing review of Ring of Honor.

“The library was worth almost nothing. A lot of that library is so poorly produced it doesn’t lend itself to a premium streaming platform.”

TV Deal

While Ring of Honor talent appear on AEW programming, ROH is yet to have a TV deal of his own.

In the past, Khan has said he is working hard on securing a deal for Ring of Honor, but there’s no word on when a deal will be reached.

There is a belief among some that Chris Jericho’s recent ROH World Title win is part of trying to reach a deal, after Jericho spoke recently about his star-power helping AEW’s TV efforts in 2019.

Eric Bischoff was the head of one of the biggest wrestling companies during one of the wildest times in wrestling history. He had to deal with talents going into business for themselves every now and then. Though it was never really a big issue according to the former WCW President himself.

The wrestling veteran was asked if he ever had to deal with talents going off script during a recent 83 Weeks Q&A. Answering it, Bischoff mentioned that the WCW programming was very loosely scripted compared to WWE:

“We were very loosely scripted. It wasn’t like WWE where you get your dialogue, get your promo whatever it is and somebody is sitting in the gorilla and making sure you say every word the way it was written. It wasn’t like that. It was ‘Here’s the three or four bullet points we need. Here’s where we’re going. You need to end it with some heat, whatever. Go do it.’ It was very loosely scripted.”

‘Some Of The Best Stuff We’ve Ever Done’: Eric Bischoff

Eric Bischoff then explained that there were times when people would go into business for themselves. Per the former wrestling executive, he dealt with each case individually depending on the severity:

“There were times when guys didn’t deliver what we were hoping they were gonna deliver. There were times when occasionally guys would go into business a little bit for themselves. Not completely. Not change the direction of the story or anything like that. Sometimes [they would] take liberties. That happened occasionally.

But you treated each one of them individually depending on the severity or whatever. Sometimes they made it better by the way, by going off script. Some of the best stuff we’ve ever done was probably off-script to a degree. It was never a big issue. Of course it happened, because of the nature of the way we produced.”

You can check out the full Q&A with Eric Bischoff below:

More Originals From SEScoops:

• Sheamus Reveals Storyline That Helped Reignite His Passion For Wrestling
• Kevin Owens Names NXT Stars He Would Call If He Needs Backup
• Sheamus On How Many Years Are Left In His Wrestling Career
• Kevin Owens Opens Up About ‘Wrestler’ Promo With Drew McIntyre
• Chris Jericho Reveals What He Didn’t Like About Working For WWE

If you use any quotes from the article, please credit SEScoops with an H/t for transcription

World Championship Wrestling would be thriving to this day if not for the actions of Eric Bischoff, according to the man himself.

Bischoff joined WCW in 1991, initially as an announcer, but worked his way up the company, both on and off-screen.

In 1997, the man known as ‘Easy-E’ had the official role of President of World Championship Wrestling and would remain with the company until its end in March 2001.

Taking the Blame

A large part of Bischoff’s WCW was to attack WWE, infamously spoiling results of Monday Night Raw, which was pre-taped, during live episodes of Monday Nitro.

During the January 4, 1999 episode, announcer Tony Schiavone revealed that Mick Foley was set to become WWF Champion, causing hundreds of thousands of viewers to switch from Nitro to Raw.

Speaking on his 83 Weeks Podcast, Bischoff reflected on the criticism that his focus on WWE led to WCW’s demise.

“I went after WWE because I was focused on WCW. It’s part of the underlying narrative, if Eric would have been more focused on WCW instead of trying to take out WWE, WCW would still be around. I’ve heard that kind of thing for 20 years now.

“What people fail to recognize is that I made WCW number one, by focusing on WWE and by focusing on outperforming WWE… That’s why I brought in the Luchadores, created a cruiserweight division. All of those things were because I was focused on going after WWE.”

AEW

Nearly two decades after WCW left Turner Network television, AEW is hoping to also stick it to WWE.

The Tony Khan-led promotion has been popular so far, winning the Wednesday Night Wars, but has yet to match the ratings of WWE’s flagship shows: Raw and SmackDown.

On the podcast, Bischoff refuted the idea that Tony Khan poses any threat to WWE Chairwoman Stephanie McMahon.

“They’re delusional. They want you to be delusional because it’s like if you keep saying it, eventually people will believe it. Right? Just keep repeating the same nonsense over and over and over again. And people will eventually believe it.”

Bischoff has appeared for both AEW and WWE in recent years, though given his consistent criticism of Khan and his company, is unlikely to make more AEW appearances.

From his decades in wrestling, working in WCW, WWE and TNA/Impact Wrestling, Eric Bischoff knows about coming up with creative ideas.

It was Bischoff who played a pivotal role in the forming of the New World Order in WCW, the effects of the group still being felt to this day.

Years later, Bischoff would be credited as the mind behind the Elimination Chamber: a cross of several stipulation matches including Hell in a Cell and War Games.

Ending the Viper

Bischoff isn’t tied to any one promotion at the moment but is ready to return to WWE if he gets the call.

During an episode of his 83 Weeks podcast, Bischoff was asked about which Superstar he’d like to write for and didn’t hesitate in choosing Randy Orton (via Sportskeeda.)

“I would like to be on the team to write Randy Orton’s retirement story, like there’s going to be a point in time when Randy’s ready to cash it in.

“I’d love to be on the team to write that one Randy Orton you know we haven’t seen a lot of them lately, you know he kind of comes in and comes out.”

Orton has been out since May recovering from an injury, and is expected to be out for the rest of the year.

The End of Orton’s Career

Earlier this year, Randy Orton reached 20 years since his main roster debut on the April 25, 2002 SmackDown.

In that time, Orton has become a multi-time World Champion, Grand Slam winner, two-time Royal Rumble winner, and Money in the Bank winner.

Orton has said he hopes to wrestle for another ten years before retiring from the ring for good.

Former WCW president Eric Bischoff believes CM Punk disrespected All Elite Wrestling (AEW) president Tony Khan with his recent media scrum comments.

Recently, CM Punk reportedly got into a physical altercation with The Young Bucks backstage at All Out. The backstage drama that has been going on within AEW has caused quite a stir within the professional wrestling community.

Shortly after the All Out pay-per-view (PPV), where Punk recaptured the AEW World Title, Punk made some harsh comments towards AEW EVPs Kenny Omega and The Young Bucks, firing back at what he feels has been disrespectful rhetoric towards him as of late.

These comments seemingly fueled The Elite to confront Punk in his locker room afterwards, sparking the altercation.

Speaking on a bonus clip from Ad Free Shows recently, Eric Bischoff offered his take on the entire situation.

Bischoff believes Punk was very disrespectful to Tony Khan, who was seated next to the AEW World Champion the entire time, with his media scrum rant.

“He’s paying that cat lots of money,” Bischoff said. “He’s paying CM Punk a fortune and CM Punk is cutting his balls off, not only in front of everybody else in the roster, the executive team, the production team, oh, by the way, his business partners, you know, like Warner Discovery, potential advertisers, potential sponsors, maybe even if need be, a potential network to sell their show to should something go wrong with the Warner Discovery merger. For what reason?”

The former WCW president did admit that, if this was all a part of an elaborate storyline, he’d be fully behind the idea. However, if this is truly Punk airing out dirty laundry publicly, he feels bad for Khan.

“If there was money in it, if it was part of a story, and everybody I just mentioned including TV partners are on board and understand what you’re doing, have had it man. It could work. I’ll be your biggest fan.

“I’ll support taking a risk like that because you have to take big risks to gain big rewards. You just do.

“Not all of them work out, but you gotta try, and if that’s what they’re doing, hats off if everybody’s on board, but if Punk is just venting his spleen, spreading the heat around the entire roster, instead of focusing on his opponent which is business, man, I feel bad for Tony.”

Quotes via WrestlingNewsCo

Kevin Nash reveals what WWE legend he wanted to jump ship to WCW, and join the now deceased company’s top faction, the New World Order (nWo).

The Hall of Famer was a guest on his old boss Eric Bischoff’s 83 Weeks podcast to discuss all things WCW, which is where the former world champion revealed how he had talks with the Undertaker about changing sides during the height of the Monday Night Wars.

Nash states that his pitch to Taker was that he had no bargaining power in WWE as long as he remained under the Deadman gimmick.

“The Undertaker was the one that I was trying to get. That was the one and I’m not saying – I just told him ‘You gotta switch up your gimmick man.’ I said ‘You’ve got no bargaining power whatsoever as long as you stay in that Undertaker gimmick.”

After a temporary hiatus Undertaker would return to WWE as the iconic American Badass character, a completely different tase from the Phenom. Nash says he doesn’t credit himself for Taker’s gimmick change, but does acknowledge that the character was more likely to succeed outside of WWE.

“I’m not saying that made him turn into the American Badass, I’m just saying that American Badass you can take pretty much wherever you wanna go. They had to pay those guys money, if they wanted to keep them they had to pay them.”

On the same episode Bischoff revealed his fantasy booking plans for Undertaker had he joined WCW, which would have seen him oppose the nWo rather than join it. You can read about that here.

Nash also discussed this topic on the latest edition of his Kliq This podcast. The big man was asked about Shawn Michaels potentially being the third-man, an idea that Nash couldn’t even really wrap his head around due to Shawn being the world champion in WWE at the time.

“Shawn just got the world title in the WWE so he’s not coming f***ing anywhere. Two years in after he had dropped it I made a push to get him in but by then they were giving guaranteed money. I thought Taker was a great one. I tried to get Mark to come over.”

He then explained how Bischoff wanted it to look like WWE was invading WCW, so Hulk Hogan being the third-man was the perfect option.

“The thing with Hulk was that Eric’s idea was that he wanted it to look like the WWE was invading Turner. We’re going back and forth with the skits and all this other sh*t…there was nobody that was more branded as WWF (WWE) than the yellow and red Hulk Hogan. “

You can check out Nash’s full quotes below.

(Please credit Sescoops if any quotes are used)

Eric Bischoff is not a fan of how Tony Khan is booking All Elite Wrestling (AEW).

It’s no secret that the former WCW president has been critical of the Khan-led promotion in recent months. Both he and Khan have exchanged harsh words through the media as of late, mainly due to Bischoff’s criticisms of AEW.

In a recent interview with SHAK Wrestling, Bischoff was asked for his thoughts on the booking in AEW at the moment. Bischoff doesn’t seem to be a fan of Khan’s creative mind or storytelling ability.

Instead, he feels like Khan is booking the promotion as a 14-year-old with too many toys to play with.

“If Tony Khan is smart, and I know he’s very, very smart, a lot smarter than me in a lot of ways. I don’t exactly think he’s got a creative instinct in his body.

“I think what he’s doing is reliving a childhood memory, you know of ECW and the indie scene, and super matches. He’s booking, in my opinion, like a 14-year-old would – who would have a lot of toys and things he can play with.

“But I’m not seeing story – we’ve seen the wrestling audience or AEW audience call it a story but it’s not. It’s an excuse for having a super match or dream match.”

At one point Bischoff made a few appearances for AEW in 2020. However, that all stopped after he became more vocal about his issues with the product. That doesn’t mean fans should expect Bischoff to show up in WWE anytime soon.

Bischoff noted that WWE doesn’t need him back, and any changes he would make seem to already be in the works in the post-Vince McMahon era.

Quotes via Wrestling Inc.

As the title of his book ‘Controversy Creates Cash’ implies, Eric Bischoff knows all about being controversial in wrestling.

Bischoff was a huge driving force behind the NWO in WCW, and would later make his presence felt in WWE as the Raw General Manager.

In August 2020, Bischoff made his first TNT appearance in two decades by appearing on AEW Dynamite, officiating a debate between Orange Cassidy and Chris Jericho.

Throwing in the Towel.

Bischoff’s August 2020 appearance for AEW would be the first of a handful from the WWE Hall of Famer.

Over the past year, however, Bischoff has been very critical of AEW and Tony Khan, recently calling the promotion a ‘Mom & Pop Burger Stand‘ compared to WWE.

Speaking with Shakiel Mahjouri for SHAK Wrestling, Bischoff said he has effectively given up expecting to see improvements in AEW (via eWrestlingNews.)

“I had a little bit of hope with AEW. I had some hope there. I thought, ‘Oh, man,’ I mean, up until probably six months ago, or eight months ago, I kind of threw in the towel because I started seeing the same pattern of whatever over and over again. I’d go, ‘Okay, something different, something different.’ But there’s been nothing different.”

” I kind of threw in the towel because I started seeing the same pattern.”

Eric Bischoff on giving up on AEW.

Bischoff and WWE

Eric Bischoff has thrown in the towel with AEW, but that doesn’t mean fans will see him on Raw or SmackDown anytime soon.

In the same interview, the WWE Hall of Famer addressed a possible WWE return, saying that the company doesn’t need him to come back.

He added that any changes he would look to implement are already being made as part of the post-Vince McMahon era of WWE.

In 1995, after three years with the WWF, Lex Luger returned to WCW, appearing on the debut episode of WCW Monday Nitro.

On the show’s 100th episode, Luger would capture the WCW World Championship, dethroning ‘Hollywood’ Hulk Hogan.

As a huge star, Luger worked with several people in WCW but did not impress Eric Bischoff.

Bischoff Comments

When Luger returned to WCW, Bischoff was running the show and continues to have a negative opinion about the former World Champion.

During the Busted Open podcast, Bischoff said that Luger didn’t treat those around him with respect and focused solely on himself (via Sportskeeda):

“I watched how he carried himself, number one, and how he treated other people, and that’s what turned me off because he was just so focused on himself. That was my perception because I didn’t know Lex.

“I just thought, man, this cat’s a jack*ss!”

Eric Bischoff on working with Lex Luger in WCW

“So you only know what you see, which is, you know, something I’m working on every single day, not to judge people by my first impressions. But I didn’t have that frame of mind at the time, so I just thought, man, this cat’s a jack*ss!”

Bischoff added that he doesn’t ever want to do anything again with Luger, but admitted that ‘The Narcissist’ was “never unprofessional.

Luger stayed with WCW until the company folded in 2001 and the WWF chose not to sign him.

Wrestling podcaster and author Eric Bischoff spoke with SEScoops correspondent Steve Fall this week for NBC Sports Boston.

During their discussion, Bischoff spoke about some of the financial ups and downs he’s experienced over the years. After filing Chapter 11 bankruptcy just a few years ago, he’s proud to say he’s currently worth “seven figures” once again.

Here’s video of the 40+ minute interview, with highlights below:

From Chapter 11 Bankruptcy to Millionaire

“I filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, which is a corporate bankruptcy, not a personal one, because I invested a massive amount of my own money into a new venture that we had every right to believe was going to be a successful one, we had high quality people involved, did the work, blah blah blah. But the market changed and I lost a fortune.

And it was like, ok, because I’m a risk taker, I’m an entrepreneur, that’s what we do, we lose 7 or 8 times out of 10, but those 2 or 3 times we win, we win big. That’s just the nature of the game, it’s like being a professional gambler in a way. I took the risk, I knew it was a risk going in, I knew I was too old to be taking that risk, by taking all of the money and all of the assets I had and putting it up against this idea, but I believed in it, so I did and it didn’t work.

So, I’m filing Chapter 11. I’m 60 years old and I’m filing for Chapter 11. I didn’t want to talk about that. But, I now have a net worth in the 7 figures, I’m all good, I paid off every one of my debts 100%, that is in my rear view mirror. I reinvented myself at 60 years old and in really less than 3 years, I’ve paid off all of my debts and like I said, have a net worth in the 7 figures.”

• Eric Bischoff on Vince McMahon Retiring, WWE’s Future

It’s all about Gratitude

Bischoff’s upcoming autobiography is titled Grateful, so it should come as no surprise that he speaks passionately about the importance of practicing gratitude each day.

“Learn, discipline yourself, learn to start your day recognizing what you have to be grateful for. It wasn’t easy for me, you know, when I filed for Chapter 11, it was a bad time for me. But, fortunately, I’ve got a great wife, and she reminded me every day.

I’ve got it tattooed on my wrist – it says, ‘Grateful.’ We all.. whether its your health, whether its the fact that you get to see another sunrise, because a lot of people don’t, a lot of people I know don’t, a lot of people I’ve been close to for years, can’t anymore. We all have something to be grateful for, but once you start recognizing, as insignificant as it may feel in the moment, but then you look at it differently, all of a sudden, you’ll start realizing all of the other things you have to be grateful for, and the more grateful you are, the more positive you are. The more positive you are, the more likely it is you’re going to come out of your crap. That’s what worked for me.”

“It sounds so simple, we’ve all read those books, we’ve all seen those bumper stickers, we’ve all heard those conversations, and it seems so simple, but man, when you’re down, things are going against you, you’re emotionally getting your butt kicked, it’s not as easy as it sounds. But once you master that art, and you start off every day that way.. again, I’ll speak for myself, I’m not trying to tell other people what to do. What I learned, and what you’ll read about in the book, is just waking up every day being grateful changes everything.”

Grateful byEric Bischoff is due out November 11th. You can pre-order it now.

• Eric Bischoff: “Stephanie McMahon Would Kill Tony Khan” in a Fight

Eric Bischoff spoke with SEScoops correspondent Steve Fall this week for NBC Sports Boston. Bischoff was there to promote his second autobiography Grateful, which is due out November 11 (Pre-order here).

Speaking about Eric Bischoff calling out Vince McMahon to fight him on Monday Nitro, Steve said it would have been one of the craziest things in the history of wrestling. That would be like Stephanie McMahon and Tony Khan fighting today.

Stephanie McMahon vs. Tony Khan?

“Stephanie McMahon would kill Tony Khan,” said Bischoff. “Have you stood next to Tony Khan? She’s stronger, bigger. Listen, I’ve been slapped by Stephanie McMahon on television, which was supposed to be what they call a ‘working’ slap. She don’t know how to work, at least not a slap. I mean, that girl could hurt you. She would kill Tony Khan. Kill him. Yeah, set that up. Somebody book that. That would be fun.”

Elsewhere in the interview, Bischoff took another dig at Tony Khan and his penchant for offering big-money contracts to talent. “Tony Khan now has the ATM Eric title – that man is spending more money than Ted Turner would have ever allowed me to spend.”

You can watch the full interview here:

Eric Bischoff spoke with SEScoops correspondent Steve Fall this week for NBC Sports Boston. Bischoff was there to promote his second autobiography Grateful, which is due out November 11 (Pre-order here).

During their discussion, Bischoff spoke at-length about Vince McMahon retiring from WWE, what it was like working directly under Vince McMahon and his personal outlook for WWE’s future with Triple H leading creative and Stephanie McMahon and Nick Khan serving as Co-CEO’s.

You can watch the full interview here, with highlights below:

Eric Bischoff on Vince McMahon Retiring

“It’s funny, I just got done talking with Hulk Hogan, we were talking about this. It’s going to be strange for people like us, all of us who have been fans, all of us who have been in the business and have worked with fans, in my case, competed against him, worked for him, covered the gamut,” said Bischoff. “It’s just weird, he’s been there forever, he’s the only head coach the team has ever had since the team was born, for most of us.

It’s going to be weird, but I think it’s going to be better. Look, Vince did amazing things. Anybody that doesn’t give him credit, a lot of it, and respect, not only credit, but respect for what he’s accomplished business wise, let’s separate his personal proclivities from business and what he built.. Anybody that doesn’t respect what he built is just juvenile, child-like. But, I think with new management..

Bischoff on Working Under Vince McMahon

“I’ll talk about this briefly, when I was there in 2019, I worked side by side with Vince McMahon. On a pretty regular basis. I was in way too many meetings with Vince McMahon than I even want to think about, I get PTSD-like symptoms when I do. As amazing as what Vince built is, and how he went about it, his personal way of going about creative, his system, his creative system and approach, doesn’t work for anybody but him. It just doesn’t. It’s well documented, working 20 hours a day, 2 o’clock in the morning meetings, by the way, true, been there, had to do it. It doesn’t work well for a team that you’re relying on.

“I think with Triple H in there now, because Triple H has been in that spot before, he knows how tough it is to work with Vince, because of Vince’s system, and because he knows, I think we’re going to see a new creative system in place in the next few months, I think that new system is going to allow some extremely talented writers that I know are still there, that I had the chance to meet and work with for a few months, incredibly talented people, guys like Ed Koske who’s been there 20-something years, incredible talent. A lot of great talent there on the writing team that will be able to emerge in this new environment, and I think you’re going to see a much better product as a result.”

WWE’s Bright Future

“The rest of the company, you know, one of the old things that I think anybody that is honest about Vince, has to acknowledge and respect, is that he built the public company that is now WWE, is a blue-chip public company. There are seasoned executives that are highly credentialed, their bios, their history, their success, their resumes are off-the-charts good, in every part of the company, whether it’s the CFO’s, Nick Khan, Stephanie could not be a better person to be in the position she’s in, it’s a very solid company that will survive the former CEO. Not only survive it, but surpass it.”

“The stock market reflected that. The stock is up 10%. Everybody on Friday, the Dave Meltzers of the world, ‘Oh my god, he made the announcement after the market closed because he knows the market is going to crash’ – not only is this piece of garbage trying to pretend to know what’s going on in the wrestling business and the television business, now he’s a stock market analyst, and what did the stock market do? It went up. Vince is gone, ‘Ok, I’m in!’”

Pre-Order Eric Bischoff’s second autobiography, Grateteful, now at GuyEvansBooks.com.

If you use any of the quotes above, please credit the original source with a h/t and link back to SEScoops for the transcription.

We have seen many veteran wrestlers complaining about the changes in wrestling in recent times. People like The Undertaker have been criticized for not liking the friendly environment in the locker room. Eric Bischoff has the perfect advice for such legends.

The former WCW president recently appeared on Ryan Satin’s Out of Character podcast. Speaking about the people from his era that always talk about the negative, Eric suggested that they should be thankful for the run they had:

“When I hear my peers, people my age or [people from] that era. That are bitter and angry and always talking about all the negative things that happens.” said Eric Bischoff, “[I go] ‘Man, Don’t you know? Don’t you know how much fun you really had? Don’t you know how lucky you really were? Don’t you know that you’ve seen things, been places, and you’ve had opportunities that [only] 1% of the people in the world ever get to experience? Come on.'”

‘It Goes By Fast’: Eric Bischoff

Eric Bischoff also offered some advice to younger talents currently in their prime. He told them to take some time to appreciate what they have, because it goes by fast:

“Then I see younger guys and gals in the ring. I want to reach out to every one of them and say ‘stop right now.’ However wrapped up you are in whether or not you’re going to get to wrestle in main event of the next pay per view or whatever your thing is. Cause it is. I’m not making fun of them.

It is a competitive business. Being an actor or an actress, musician, whatever. if it’s talent, it’s competitive. So I get that part too. But take time to go ‘wow, look where I am. Look what I get to do. This is pretty awesome.’ Just appreciate it. Because it goes by you fast. Then It’s gone. Take the time to dig it. Because you should.”

More Originals From SEScoops:

• Eric Bischoff Believes AEW Is ‘Mom And Pop Hamburger Stand’ Compared To WWE
• Chris Jericho Reveals Similarity Between Wrestling And Star Wars Fandom
• Bryan Danielson On What Vince McMahon Thinks About His Vegan Lifestyle
• Big E Reveals How He Feels About Ridge Holland After His Neck Injury
• Big E Reveals Immediate Reaction To His Neck Injury

If you use any quotes from the article, please credit SEScoops with an H/t for transcription

All wrestling fans agree that the sport is not as popular as it used to be two decades ago. There are some who believe that shifts in the media world and the changes in people’s consuming habits are big reasons behind it. Eric Bischoff, however, thinks that the blame lies solely with the product.

The wrestling veteran spoke to Ryan Satin for his Out of Character podcast. Satin discussed how wrestling is not a mainstream programm anymore and mentioned the changes in media. Bischoff called it a ‘pissant’ excuse. He explained that the real reason behind it is that wrestling has failed to evolve:

“The product is boring. It’s just nothing new has happened. Nothing has changed. Nothing has emerged. Nothing has evolved. It’s the same formula. Up until recently the same process, we’re talking about WWE which is by far the dominant [company].

There is no competition. AEW is not competition, no matter how much Tony Khan wants to believe it is. It’s not. We’re in the same business, Tony. That’s not the same thing as being in competition. [You’re] not taking market share, Tony. You’re just in the same business. It’s kind of like having a little mom-and-pop hamburger stand on the corner and saying that you’re in competition with Arby’s. You’re not.”

Nothing Has Changed: Eric Bischoff

Eric Bischoff explained that wrestling was a teen product before the 90s. The rise of WCW forced Vince McMahon to change his formula as well. This led to massive changes and the overall growth of the industry:

“Other than the fact that a new company has emerged in this space, what’s changed? Nothing’s changed. Whereas with the Attitude Era, the reason that wrestling was a part of pop culture, is because there was a seismic shift in the presentation of the product.

It went from a teen and preteen product in the 80s and into the mid-90s, until it became an 18 to 49 year old product with actually Nitro, which led into the Attitude Era. Because Vince had to compete with that. He changed his formula, the product evolved. It became attractive to an entirely different audience. That’s called growth. What have we seen since then?”

More Originals From SEScoops:

• Chris Jericho Reveals Similarity Between Wrestling And Star Wars Fandom
• Bryan Danielson On What Vince McMahon Thinks About His Vegan Lifestyle
• Big E Reveals How He Feels About Ridge Holland After His Neck Injury
• Big E Reveals Immediate Reaction To His Neck Injury
• Becky Lynch Opens Up About Battle With Depression During Wrestling Hiatus

If you use any quotes from the article, please credit SEScoops with an H/t for transcription

Former WCW president and WWE Monday Night RAW General Manager Eric Bischoff has offered up his thoughts on the possibility of WWE reverting back to TV-14.

Recently, it was reported that WWE Monday Night RAW was slated to switch over from TV-PG to TV-14 on this week’s episode.

However, that did not end up being the case, as it was later reported that the internal memo handed out at USA Network jumped the gun on the date.

A date for a potential rating swap has not been finalized, however, the possibility still looms and the change could happen soon. Recently, Eric Bischoff took to his podcast, “Strictly Business,” to offer his thoughts on RAW possibly jumping to TV-14.

Bischoff believes this could potentially draw in fans who stopped watching around 2008 when the product went “soft,” however, it still needs to walk a fine line of being appropriate for children to keep advertisers and the network happy.

“Some of [the implications] may be real and tangible and others subtle and possibly not so significant. I think it’s going to create a lot of anticipation, right?

“I think there’s going to be a lot of people who maybe have tuned out over the years because the product has gotten soft since 2008, meaning it needs to be palatable for children to keep the advertisers and the network happy.”

A rating increase has been something many WWE fans have been calling for in recent years. The bump would allow WWE to push the envelope a bit more with their content much like the company used to in the late 90s and early 2000s.

Many are hoping for a return to the Attitude Era days, however, in this day and age the possibility that WWE would go that far seems very unlikely.

Quotes via 411Mania

Many believe that WWE’s decision to move Raw back to a TV-14 rating is a result of the rise of AEW. Though Eric Bischoff doesn’t believe it to be the case.

The former WCW president talked about this potential change on the latest episode of his Strictly Business podcast. His co-host theorized that this change is related to the popularity of AEW.

However, Bischoff opposed this sentiment, mentioning that WWE is not losing market share to their competitor. He also shared his wild opinion on AEW’s TV ratings:

“It’s not like WWE is losing audience to AEW. AEW is flatter than piss on a plate in terms of television ratings.” said Eric Bischoff, “It is what it is and WWE is not losing market share to AEW, so why would they react to something that’s not affecting them?”

The former wrestling executive also said that anyone that believes AEW to be a legitimate threat to WWE is “delusional, and has taken ‘fanboyism’ to a terminal level.”

AEW has seen growth in the year-over-year audience every year since its inception. Their flagship program Dynamite has averaged around 950,000 viewers this year compared to the average of 891,000 viewers per episode in 2021.

Though with both Raw and SmackDown regularly pulling over 1.5 million viewers, there is no doubt that Tony Khan’s promotion still has a lot of catching up to do.

Quotes via WrestlingInc

Eric Bischoff is actually in favor of WWE and their decision to book Roman Reigns vs. Brock Lesnar yet again.

WWE has received a bit of push back for again booking Roman Reigns and Brock Lesnar opposite one another for the World Title. The pairing of Reigns and Lesnar has been made several times already.

The duo have headlined numerous WrestleManias opposite one another, as well as SummerSlams. Now, they’ll rematch yet again at SummerSlam on July 30. It will be their rematch from WrestleMania 38 this past April, where they also headlined.

Recently, former WCW president Eric Bischoff took to his podcast, “83 Weeks” to offer his take on the situation. Bischoff actually supports the booking, and dove a little deeper to explain why.

“I can’t wait to see it. I know they’ve wrestled seven times or whatever it is – seven, eight, 20, whatever. It doesn’t matter. Remember when Brock came back most recently, when it was first announced that Brock was coming back?

“I think it was on 83 Weeks, I said, ‘You know what, it’s not gonna do anything for me. If he’s gonna come back as the same old Brock – the man killer, one dimensional, no promos, go out and eat people and spit them out, go home – it’s not gonna do a thing for me.’

“We’ve seen that guy. A lot of him. This is not that guy. This Brock Lesnar is a completely different Brock Lesnar in many respects. He’s a different character. He’s having more fun when he goes out there. He’s not relying on Paul [Heyman].

“He’s cutting a lot of his own promos. He’s coming to the ring looking and feeling like the Brock Lesnar that I know. I’m not suggested I know him real well, but he’s a farmer cowboy. He’s coming out there with a different vibe.

“So yes, we’ve seen the match before, but we haven’t seen this character before. So let’s just wait and see. I’m not against it. I think it’s awesome.”

Eric Bischoff has been very critical of both WWE and AEW over the years. In fact, his recent critiques of AEW have landed him in hot water with AEW president Tony Khan.

The pair have been exchanging words through the media in recent weeks, as fans have witnessed that relationship go sour in a hurry. As for Bischoff and WWE, Bischoff actually worked for WWE briefly as close back as 2019, however, that only lasted for a few months.

Now, Bischoff is a member of the “Ad Free Shows” network hosting several podcasts and analyzing the professional wrestling world as a former executive and current fan.

Quotes via 411Mania.com

Former WCW president Eric Bischoff has offered up his reaction to Vince McMahon stepping down as WWE CEO recently.

Recently, McMahon was put under investigation for sexual misconduct, forcing him to step down as CEO of WWE for the time being. In his place, Vince McMahon’s daughter, Stephanie McMahon, has stepped in to fill his role.

Bischoff recently took to his podcast, “83 Weeks,” to offer his thoughts on the situation. Simply put, Bischoff feels terribly for everyone affected by the recent moves.

“I was dumbfounded. Shocked. I can’t imagine anybody felt any differently. Even though it appears to be very temporaneous and not a permanent situation, at least that’s not the way it’s presented or the way I read it, but nonetheless, it’s a big damn deal and it did shock me,” Bischoff said.

“I feel bad for a lot of people. I still have a lot of friends in WWE that I do care about a lot. Regardless of how this ends up, it’s going to adversely affect a lot of people.

“How do you feel anything other than bad for people that you know and have affection for that are having to go through this? I feel bad for Bruce (Prichard).

“I sent Bruce a text Friday night during the show going, ‘Brother, one hell of a ride.’ To be sitting in that seat, to be there in the eye of that fu**ing hurricane, man I feel for a lot of people.”

McMahon is accused of paying $3 million in hush money to a paralegal his allegedly had an affair with. Last month, Stephanie McMahon announced she would be taking a leave of absence from WWE to spend more time with her family.

However, just a few weeks later, she finds herself returning to fill her father’s role as he steps away amidst the investigation.

The Company and the Board do not expect to have further comment until the investigation is concluded.

Quotes via WrestlingNews.co

Tony Khan has fired back at Eric Bischoff for calling CM Punk ‘the biggest financial flop in wrestling history.’

The Double or Nothing PPV saw AEW finally pulling the trigger on the Straight Edge star. He beat Hangman Page to become the new AEW world champion. After the show, Punk was asked about his very public feud with the former WCW president. Khan, however, took it upon himself to reply to Bischoff and claimed that it’s ‘f*cking bullshit’:

“That’s fucking bullshit.” said Tony Khan, “I can tell — there’s only one person who can attest to that. I don’t what other people — I can only attest to what’s happened here, and in public record, and some of these things are a matter of public record, because of things of freedom of information and stuff. We do have over the years a good amount of financial data in pro wrestling.”

No One Has Made A Bigger Difference: Tony Khan

It all started when Eric Bischoff said that AEW needs to stop catering to a specific audience. CM Punk responded by saying that fans should let “bad-take carnies” die in the dark. This is when the former wrestling promoter called out Punk and claimed that he has not been a financial success. Though according to Tony Khan, their new world champion has made a more positive impact than any other star:

“I can tell you, like no one wrestler has ever come in and made a bigger plus-delta financial difference in the history of my company going into, this is the third-year anniversary this week, going into year four no one person has ever made a more positive impact. We just did a record pay-per-view buy. Every PPV we’ve done, he’s done a four PPV cycle now, ever one of them was the record.”

Tony Khan also noted how CM Punk was the guy he put on Rampage when they clashed against SmackDown last year. He mentioned that WWE admitted to their loss in that face off and it’s a ‘matter of record in a f*cking court.’ The AEW Owner said that Punk is ‘the biggest part of financial success’ in the history of his promotion.

You can check out his response below:

WWE Hall of Famer Eric Bischoff has continued his war of words with CM Punk, calling him “the biggest financial flop in wrestling history.”

Last week, the two went to war over comments Bischoff has made about AEW, believing that the show caters to too small a market and cannot grow.

Punk responded by saying fans shouldn’t listen to “bad-take carnies” and to “let them die in the dark with their ego podcasts.”

Bischoff would fire back, using a quote in which Punk said what he, Bryan Danielson, and Adam Cole have done is bigger than Hulk Hogan, Randy Savage, Kevin Nash, and Scott Hall, and asked “How’s that working out?”

On the latest episode of his 83 Weeks Podcast, Bischoff continued their feud, saying that Punk’s claim of being bigger than the Outsiders joining WCW has “fallen flat on his face.”

“I took his quote and posted it and said how’s that working out? Which it isn’t, obviously. In terms of a return on investment, this guy has to be the biggest financial flop in the history of wrestling.”

Eric Bischoff

Bischoff said that he would be happy to be proven wrong if someone can show him that Punk is worth the investment in terms of revenue.

Without this data, Bischoff said all he can judge Punk on is the viewership which hasn’t sustained from the former WWE Champion’s debut last year.

“He came out to 1.17 million people who came out to see his debut Friday night on Rampage, it’s down to around 400-500 thousand on average. Punk’s primer on Dynamite did like 1.29 million people and they came, they saw and they left and now they’re hovering around that 900,000. Which they’ve been doing for, I don’t know, a year, year and a half. When Punk comes out and says he’s a bigger deal than Scott Hall and Kevin Nash coming to WCW, that created a paradigm shift with people watching wrestling, where Punk has created absolutely nothing.”

CM Punk will challenge ‘Hangman’ Adam Page for the AEW World Championship at Double or Nothing 2022.

• CM Punk Reveals his ‘Wrestler of the Year’ so far (May 2022)

Thanks to Wrestling Inc for the transcription.