Justncredible818 sent along the following:
Eric Bischoff joined The Monday Night Mayhem Radio Network for his first public comments since last night’s historic three-hour edition of TNA iMPACT, the company’s first head-to-head battle against WWE Monday Night RAW in the company’s history. Just one week ago on iMPACT, Bischoff joined Hulk Hogan in the six-sided ring & became one of the focal points of the show, having a huge role during the entire program. Mosh asked Eric for his expectations & thoughts about the night that will truly live in infamy in TNA history (January 4, 2010) & what it was like for him being in the same locker room as "The Nature Boy" Ric Flair & Vince Russo? "Last Monday was easy. I’ve kept a low profile for obvious reason, but I have been working with he folks over at TNA since October getting ready for this & working with their creative team. For me, it didn’t have quite the same newness as it did to the viewers. It was the result of two months of hard & fun work, but the feeling backstage was fun, high-energy, and in terms of the personalities backstage, potential conflicts, & egos, it was very amicable. It was positive, and everyone was happy to be there. It was nothing but an great time, and it was a rewarding experience."
Bischoff was the brains behind the deal to bring Hulk Hogan to TNA & get the official contract signed, so The Mayhem Crew asked Eric about how the partnership came about & if he saw this happening so smoothly when first discussing the deal. "If you’d asked me early in negotiations which started in late May to early June, I’d probably would have said ‘no,’ because we had so much ground to cover, and there was so much distance between the visions of everyone involved but that dissipated quickly. From Hulk’s & my perspective, we had to make sure that the business side made sense for us. Our hearts were in it, but we had to make sure the business was right. And on the TNA side, they had to be sure it was right for them. This was a big, big, big challenge from a business standpoint, but it became apparent right on that everyone was committed, that everyone was serious. It took a while but once we finished it up, the first question was, ‘Great, where do we have our press conference?’ And it was actually Hulk’s idea, he said what better place to make the announcement then in Vince’s backyard, let’s do it in Madison Square Garden. The Garden thought they were doing the start of Hulk’s book tour, and we surprised everybody when we used that press conference for the book & to announce the TNA deal."
With this new leadership coming in, many rumors have the long tenured TNA superstars somewhat paranoid about their spots with the company. On last week’s iMPACT, names such as Jeff Hardy, Ric Flair, Scott Hall, Sean Waltman, Shannon Moore, & many others debuted, which may have kicked up some more paranoia. Eric was asked about the rumor, how true was his & Hulk’s statements about "everyone fighting for their jobs," & how it was meeting the TNA wrestlers for the first time. "Dixie Carter said it weeks ago, and we reiterated it…and it’s true. It’s no different in professional wrestling, professional baseball. You could only so many people on your team and you need to have the best of the best. You can’t 250 people on the baseball team; you can’t have 250 people on your payroll as a wrestling company. The cream will rise to the top, and that does breed paranoia & insecurity but it is what it is. It’s the entertainment business, and everyone is concerned about their spot, no matter what it is. At the end of the day, those who can will do, and those who can’t won’t, and a lot of that is up to the talent."
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