Eric Bischoff is a man who knows the wrestling business through and through. From his time in charge of WCW to his years in WWE. He has close associations with AEW and remains a vocal point for the wrestling community.
Talking recently on his 83 Weeks Podcast (a name that points to WCW’s Monday night winning streak) he discussed WWE and criticised their storytelling capabilities. Furthermore, he addressed what he feels is a complete lack of long-term story vision in the wrestling world at large.
“As recently as 24 months ago I was in the thick of it in WWE. There were no three- and six-months storylines locked in, I can assure you of that. Maybe that’s changed, hopefully, it has and I think you need to have a good plan, a three-month plan, a six-month plan, if you can have a year great.” Eric Bischoff said, his comments were initially directed at WWE however soon broadened to the grander scale of the entire wrestling business.
Eric Bischoff feels people nowadays rely too heavily on the statistics that get thrown up week to week. He likened this to living in the past. Instead, he recommends reading the crowd. Arguing this gives you knowledge of what they want to see in the future.
Eric Bischoff Advises Promotions to Start Listening to their Crowds
His comments were once again addressed to the industry at large. However, there can be no denying the intended direction of Eric Bischoff’s words.
“But you also have to be flexible enough and spend enough time reading the audience, not the ratings, not the quarter hours. That doesn’t tell you sh**. That tells you what history is, that doesn’t tell you what the audience is thinking or feeling. There’s only one way to know that and that is to be out there with the audience. I hope that there are three and six-month plans out there and if there are, hopefully, people are paying attention to the crowd reaction as well.”
Much has been said about WWE’s storytelling and creative juices in recent months. Almost every wrestler released has listed the stifling atmosphere in the creative rooms that left them frustrated and restless. Eric Bischoff is a man who is no stranger to making mistakes in wrestling. He has tasted success and failure in equal measure. This gives him a wide-angled lens through which he can give his commentary. This surely gives makes him a well-rounded authoritative voice.