This WrestleZone Radio exclusive features Nick Hausman interviewing former WCW President Eric Bischoff.
You can find more info about the interview as well as some transcribed quotes from it below.
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On whether or not WWE feels like it has entered in to a “New Era”:
EB: I don’t think so. I think we may have talked about this once before. In the some odd years that I have been associated with the business professionally I’ve watched the almost predictable, cyclical nature of, “We need new blood!” “We need the veterans!” “We need new blood!” “We need the veterans!” “We need names that everyone understands!” “No! We need new people!” The answer lies in the balance. The answer is both. The idea of a “New Era” where a bunch of young… and when I say young, I am talking about young professionals. Guys and gals that have been in the business for less than ten years, in my opinion, are young. It takes that long for this audience to accept talent. It just does. It takes that long for talent to really find themselves and perfect their craft. When you hear someone say, “Oh, it’s a new era! We’re going to bring in all these new, young guys! That’s the future of the business!” That’s true to a degree. Unless you have established stars, big names stars, established stars that can headline four or five pay-per-views a year. That is what a star is in my opinion. Somebody that can play at that level and move up and down that card in the top three and be able to carry three, four or five pay-per-views a year… that’s a star. Not just somebody that shows up and gets a gig on television. That’s a star in the making, in my opinion. I think unless you have the right balance of just well branded stars. With a strong, loyal following that you can use to help establish your young stars. Your “new blood” so to speak. Unless you have that right balance, I’ve seen it so many times, I’ve been through this cycle I bet at least a dozen times or more in thirty years. Everyone jumps on the veteran band wagon and it usually happens when things start to go on the downside of where you want to be. When ratings start to slip and buy rates start to slip and merchandise isn’t moving and ticket sales are going down. When all these revenue streams start to take an adverse trend that’s when the people in charge start going, “Alright, let’s bring back this guy! Let’s bring back that guy!” Even if it’s just temporarily they know they need that charge. It’s predictable. It’s dependable. You know you are going to get the right reaction. The mistake, quite frankly that I have made in the past, and others have made before and after me. Is that you let that pendulum swing too far in one direction or too far in the other. If you let it swing too far to the brand, establishment, veteran talent Superstars then the perception and reality is that a lot of the younger talent suffers. They are giving up valuable real estate. They have to. The solution is in the balance where you have young talent that you really believe in but you can find ways to integrate them with talent that the audience is in love with. Otherwise your television show is a three hour audition tape and that’s just a tough way to go.
Some of the topics of discussion include:
- Damien Sandow being released by WWE
- The similarities between Sandow leaving WWE and Chris Jericho leaving WCW
- The balance Eric found in WCW between Cruiserweights and Heavyweights
- WWE’s decision to choose the Superstars they want to get over as opposed to pushing the Superstars that the fans seem to be most vocal for
- The mixed signal it sends to the casual fan when they see the most popular WWE Superstars getting booed
- AJ Styles’ push so far in WWE and whether WWE should be doing more for him
- If the WWE Women’s Championship could be defended in a WWE PPV Main Event in the next year
- Shane & Stephanie co-running Monday Night RAW together
- The possibility of Donald Trump making an appearance on WWE TV now that he seems to have clinched the Republican nomination
- The rumors that are swirling about the current state of TNA and what he thinks of the reports
- TNA talent that has gotten a second life in NXT
- Whether AJ Styles has a shot at beating Roman Reigns at Extreme Rules
- How Hulk Hogan is doing right now while he awaits to go back to trial with Gawker
- What to expect from his upcoming WWE DVD
- More…
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