Eric Bischoff thinks fans have to stop acting like WWE is falling apart simply because the corporate isn’t matching the fever pitch it reached around WrestleMania season last yr.
Speaking on a recent edition of his “83 Weeks” podcast, the previous WCW executive agreed that WWE was operating at an incredible level heading into WrestleMania, with several major stories helping drive interest. He said,
“Do I agree with you that we type of peaked out when it comes to enthusiasm, excitement, engagement — all things measurable — for last yr’s WrestleMania? Absolutely. And also you have a look at all of the things leading as much as it over the couple of years leading as much as that, right? Including the controversy in WWE and the Janel Grant stuff and the TKO stuff and the merger and the acquisition — I mean, there’s been quite a lot of drama and controversy that has created quite a lot of money and enthusiasm leading as much as last yr’s WrestleMania.”
“And what has happened since then? Well, things have type of settled down. I mean, from an issue side of the equation, okay, Vince and Janel have agreed to fight their shit out privately in arbitration, in order that’ll be out of the headlines. There’s not going to be quite a lot of energy talking about that. Creatively, did we hit an apex for a time frame? Probably.”
“Guys, you possibly can’t stay at a ten fifty-two weeks a yr. In case you think you possibly can, you’re delusional. You don’t know. You don’t understand. You’re certainly one of those folks that live in a room, in a bubble, that don’t really understand anything outside that bubble. Nothing works that way.”
“The music business doesn’t work that way. The movie business doesn’t work that way. There’s no type of entertainment that works that way. Sports doesn’t work that way. So why do we expect wrestling goes to achieve an apex and maintain that apex indefinitely? And in the event that they don’t, WWE goes into the sh** — ’Oh my gosh, the business is collapsing. This is frightening.’ No, it’s not. It’s fu***** Darwin’s theory of evolution for television.”
“And I believe we are inclined to overanalyze and overreact to it because we would like engagement. And I’m throwing myself into this bucket — we’re doing it right away. And hopefully persons are finding what you and I are talking about as an interesting perspective on a difficulty that everyone else is talking about.”
Throughout the same podcast, Bischoff revealed that he once received a proposal to buy the UFC for around $2.5 million. He said,
“You return to the very starting of the UFC because I remember it distinctly. I remember getting a phone call one Friday night after I was out having a beer with my wife and the guy that owned or was in top management, I can’t remember his name right away, called me and said, ‘Hey, do you do you’ll you wish to buy the UFC for two.5 million?’”
“Now, at the moment, UFC was they couldn’t get into venues. There was states attempting to outlaw them. John McCain was, , pressuring, , attempting to keep the milk, whatever. It was a giant mess. And the business side of it was a multitude. So, I had no I mean, I used to be eager about the brand, but not eager about the acquisition because I didn’t feel like there was anything that I could contribute to show anything around. It just was what it was. So, anyway, passed on that.”
“But should you have a look at what Dana White did, the Fertittas coming in, they lost over $350 million on UFC before they made their first nickel. That’s a commitment, a giant commitment.”
“And to see what Dana primarily with quite a lot of help has been capable of construct is just mind-boggling to me. Again, controversy aside, and I believe those two promoters, should you have a look at Dana White, and that’s what they’re businessmen. Calling them promoters is unfair. And to see what Dana’s done, what Vince has done and constructing, , these televised sports like properties within the case of WWE, I’m I’m floored by it, particularly with Dana. It’s amazing what they’ve done.”
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