Eric Bischoff Gives His Take On Why Vince McMahon Will Not Sell WWE
Eric Bischoff spoke during the latest episode of the 83 Weeks Podcast about the rumors surrounding Vince McMahon and WWE preparing for a sale after releasing over 80 superstars so far this year. The WWE Hall of Famer mentioned why he doesn't believe Vince would ever entertain selling the company and envisions him handing it off to someone within his family like his father and grandfather did with him previously.
"One of the reasons I was so steadfast in my opinion that WWE under Vince McMahon will never sell is because of the strong impression that I had over many, many years and even working with Vince very closely for a short time, it's so obvious to me that Vince holds the legacy of his father and grandfather so highly," Bischoff said. "It's evident when you walk into Vince's office, right? It's not a mystery, you can figure it out pretty quickly. I've just always believed because of that legacy and how highly apparent to me that Vince holds that legacy, and that he's got Stephanie and Shane and by virtue of marriage Triple H, and he's got grandchildren. I just would believe that, I've always believed that Vince would be far more predisposed to allowing his family to carry on that legacy that means so much to Vince."
During the podcast, Eric Bischoff also spoke about WWE's unwillingness to change over the past several years. In a previous episode, the former WCW President prided himself on being the one person to force him to change during his time going head-to-head with WWE during the Monday Night War. Bischoff mentioned that WWE has to change to continue to grow its audience for the future.
"It is undeniable that the product is formulaic, in fact so formulaic that I think cookie-cutter is another good example," Eric Bischoff said. "Unfortunately the style and the presentation of WWE, whether it's RAW or SmackDown, is so formulaic and cookie-cutter that, yes, there are different names that you're watching on screen, but everything else is exactly the same. I think that's one of the things that's hurting WWE in terms of ratings or growing [the audience]. Let's be honest, in terms of ratings, WWE is doing just fine compared to other television programs, and they're making money hand over fist in the process. Wonderful for them.
"But when you look at audience attrition and the fact that nobody's really building a new audience, yes they're satisfying a new audience but how long has it been since anybody's actually built, and embraced, and attracted people that hadn't been wrestling fans? It hasn't happened since Nitro, and nothing is happening today that leaves me to believe it's going to happen in the future. Everybody will make the existing audience happy but nobody is really growing the audience. In WWE's case, I think it's incumbent upon them to change the format and quit being so damn predictable and focus on the episodic nature of the product, and do things that make people remember or realize that, yes, this show is live and by virtue of being live, you can't afford to miss it cause anything can happen. To me, that is such a fundamental fix and way to approach the business. There's no reason not to do it, there really isn't. It drives me crazy."
If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit 83 Weeks with an h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.