Eric Bischoff On Monday Night Mayhem

[Joe's Gonna Kill You]

Eric Bischoff returned to the Monday Night Mayhem radio show last night Here are some of the Highlights of his interview:

-They talked about Destination X and what stands out between TNA and the WWE and why it hasn't happened sooner. Eric said the X Division frustrated him when he got to the company. When he asked the definition of the X Division, he never got a straight answer. The Cruiserweights were a weight division with their own style of wrestling. The X Division was a theoretical style of wrestling. Bischoff said the style works well, but its up to producers to define in a way that fans can understand it, and stick with it. He says the mistake he made was not keeping the cruiserweights within the cruiserweight division. He said when you take the guys outside the division, it loses its meaning.

-Someone took umbrage to Eric Bischoff's comments about the IWC. Bischoff says he doesn't have issues with the Internet Wrestling Community but with the 10 Percenters (a small part of the IWC). They think their views are consistent with the mainstream, which isn't true. He loves the fact that the internet is so curious about his business and that there is a high level of communication within the community.

-The biggest positives he took from Destination X? He said some believe if you have an X style match, it doesn't tell a story, which he disagrees with. He thinks you can have a high action, fast paced match while telling a story. He put over the Contract Match as a perfect example.

-Eric Bischoff talks about winning and losing in competition and drama. He refers to the ladies soccer game yesterday. Great television he says!

-Eric Bischoff puts over Philadelphia for its great wrestling fans. He said its a perfect place for Bound For Glory. He said they are really starting to see the storylines leading up to Bound For Glory. He expects Bound For Glory to be one of the best PPVs this company has ever done.

-Bischoff said he didn't see the CM Punk title win because he was doing something else. He is a fan of the CM Punk character, it sounds like an intriguing storyline as well. Hat's off to the WWE and the talent involved.

-Bischoff doesn't have an opinion of All Wheels Wrestling because he isn't involved in it and hasn't seen it. He can't really comment on it.

-He thinks there is a pretty good market for Hogan vs Sting from a nostalgic point of view. There will be some who don't want to see that match. It all depends on how the storyline builds to it.

-Its difficult to rebrand a wrestling company. Its not just changing the look but also what the brand represents, which takes time. This is something they will continue to do over a long period of time. More and more changes will be coming over the summer. You will see more action, better storylines, taking the show on the road and more. All of those things will change how they view TNA.

-Bischoff said the Fall Road Tapings are a mix of an experiment and a long term investment. He wants to prove it has long term viability. His hope is that the company decides it the best strategy for the brand as its the one thing that will change the trajectory of the brand.

-The recent rumored backstage rumored talent meeting. He has read the rumors and while some may have been disgruntled it was probably mischaracterized. It was a positive pat on the back for what did happen as opposed to what didn't happen. There was alot of praise in that meeting. If you just show you athleticism, you prove that you are athletic but not that you can create emotion. It is no longer emphasized! On the indies, its a spotfest environment. There aren't territories where the wrestlers would learn how to tell a story. There aren't those opportunities to learn how to tell a story or manipulate an audience. It is a lost art.

-Eric doesn't know when/if Jeff Hardy will be back. He isn't involved in those discussions at all so he doesn't have a clue.

-He would really love to see TNA become a powerhouse with weekly live television and the company has more options than it currently does. This is really his last real goal in wrestling. He wants to provide more television opportunities for them. Competition is good for the business and its imperative for there to be more than one place to work.

Thoughts on anything Bischoff had to say in this interview?

 

[yoshi_doce2006]

Bischoff always has well thought out, strait to the point answers and if he doesn't know he will, unlike a lot of people, tell you he doesn't know. I heard the interview and he put a lot of things into prospective.

I love the fact that he is saying that they are basically trying to give the X-Division a definition, something that has not really been done. I also like how he pointed out that Re-Branding doesn't happen overnight like a lot of haters would like you to think.

Another great interview on the Hot Seat.

 

[Fenris]

Thoughts on anything Bischoff had to say in this interview?

I certainly do. First let me say I enjoyed that interview and Eric Bischoff showed me he is still the same creative genius that revolutionized the business. I tried finding fault in that interview but I pretty much couldn't, like it or not everything he said was true. I'm sure the smarks will disagree though.

-They talked about Destination X and what stands out between TNA and the WWE and why it hasn't happened sooner. Eric said the X Division frustrated him when he got to the company. When he asked the definition of the X Division, he never got a straight answer. The Cruiserweights were a weight division with their own style of wrestling. The X Division was a theoretical style of wrestling. Bischoff said the style works well, but its up to producers to define in a way that fans can understand it, and stick with it. He says the mistake he made was not keeping the cruiserweights within the cruiserweight division. He said when you take the guys outside the division, it loses its meaning.

Yep, they'll be all over this one even though he is correct. It CAN work but yes, you need to define what it is exactly. You CAN market an X-Division and have success but you first need to know WTF it is then be able to easily articulate to the average fan what it is. It's kind of hard to market it as TNA attempted earlier. "Here we have the X-Division." Average person: "Whats an X-Division?" TNA: "We dunno, but we have one." Doesn't work.

Also agree on the Cruiserweights and the mistake he unlike a few other IWC favorites owned up to. The cruisers were an INCREDIBLE success early on when they had their own world title they were chasing and WAS its own division. There was a clear cut difference between the Cruiserweight brand and the Heavyweight brand and it worked, and people actually LOOKED at the CW World title as this important belt. If he could bring THAT to the X-D the X-D could blow up pretty big.

-Bischoff said he didn't see the CM Punk title win because he was doing something else. He is a fan of the CM Punk character, it sounds like an intriguing storyline as well. Hat's off to the WWE and the talent involved.

What an asshole, putting over the WWE. Que the WWE fanboys and their "blah blah Bischoff wishes he still worked for Vince blah blah."

-Bischoff doesn't have an opinion of All Wheels Wrestling because he isn't involved in it and hasn't seen it. He can't really comment on it.

But but I thought it was another "stupid Bischoff idea"? All the smarks told me so.

-Its difficult to rebrand a wrestling company. Its not just changing the look but also what the brand represents, which takes time. This is something they will continue to do over a long period of time. More and more changes will be coming over the summer. You will see more action, better storylines, taking the show on the road and more. All of those things will change how they view TNA.

True enough, could not agree more. As someone who was actually watching at the time it took him three years to fully rebrand WCW from the steaming pile of dog shit Ole Anderson, Bill Watts and Jim Ross turned it into. He started the rebrand in 1993 and it took until 1996 for it to fully take change. Likewise it took the WWF two years to rebrand from the PG "New Generation" era to the Attitude Era and several years to rebrand from the Attitude Era back to PG.

I dunno why people think it should be instant. Well actually I do, so they can bitch that everything looks different, every storyline, angle and gimmick were dropped and use the loss of casual fan who left because of radical change as "proof" they know more than those who have been successful in the business for decades. Doesn't work that way and if people would just STFU, enjoy the show and give it time before they know it they'll be going "whoa, TNA has just done a 180 from where it was 3 years ago!"

There's already been a ton of changes for the better, I can't wait to see what the future holds.

-Bischoff said the Fall Road Tapings are a mix of an experiment and a long term investment. He wants to prove it has long term viability. His hope is that the company decides it the best strategy for the brand as its the one thing that will change the trajectory of the brand.

Great news with that and again he's spot on. Doing the TV show on the road is moving forward and changes the whole perspective.

-The recent rumored backstage rumored talent meeting. He has read the rumors and while some may have been disgruntled it was probably mischaracterized. It was a positive pat on the back for what did happen as opposed to what didn't happen. There was alot of praise in that meeting. If you just show you athleticism, you prove that you are athletic but not that you can create emotion. It is no longer emphasized! On the indies, its a spotfest environment. There aren't territories where the wrestlers would learn how to tell a story. There aren't those opportunities to learn how to tell a story or manipulate an audience. It is a lost art.

In other words WWE fanboy Jason Powell was talking out of his ass yet again. Nah, i'm sure there are a few crybabies and I can guess who they are but wont speculate. You can kinda tell though with 3/4 of the roster stepping up their game and showing their hungry which ones are sitting around pouting and it is a minority of wrestlers.

Anyways again, excellent interview. I enjoyed it and I thank you for posting a transcript. For those who are about to rush in dogging it? This is why Eric Bischoff has worked for four big promotions(AWA, WCW, WWF, TNA) and you're sitting behind your keyboard working for none of them. He knows his shit and knows what he's talking about.

 

[blkshp]

@Fenris, I don't think Bischoff was putting WWE over when he said he liked the Punk character and what they did with it, he was more like giving credit where credit was due, the Punk angle and the whole PPV was by far the best thing WWE has done in years. I think Bischoff is past the point of constantly taking cheap shots at the monster up north, he's focused on TNA, which is what he should be.

 

[blockanWo]

@Fenris, I don't think Bischoff was putting WWE over when he said he liked the Punk character and what they did with it, he was more like giving credit where credit was due, the Punk angle and the whole PPV was by far the best thing WWE has done in years. I think Bischoff is past the point of constantly taking cheap shots at the monster up north, he's focused on TNA, which is what he should be.

Fenris was being sarcastic.

But yeah, good interview.

 

[New Hot Fed]

He says the mistake he made was not keeping the cruiserweights within the cruiserweight division. He said when you take the guys outside the division, it loses its meaning.

So if he had his way, Malenko would have never joined the Horsemen. No World title for AJ.

Anyway he sounds like a guy pretty clueless about things. He doesn't know what the X Division is about. Gawd! Let him watch the first few X matchs in 2002.

 

[yoshi_doce2006]

So if he had his way, Malenko would have never joined the Horsemen. No World title for AJ.

Anyway he sounds like a guy pretty clueless about things. He doesn't know what the X Division is about. Gawd! Let him watch the first few X matchs in 2002.

He didn't say wrestlers couldn't evolve their characters and escape one division to the next. He knows what he is talking about, you just aren't listening. Bischoff wont give exceptions unless asked, if you had ever listened to an interview you would know this. If someone asks him in two weeks to clarify if an individual could transition from one division to another I'm sure he would say they could.

Bischoff I believe was referring to Ray Jr vs Kevin Nash, Billy Kidman and The Giant, and other extreme mismatches we saw in WCW that came up, Ray/Kidman NEVER should have been in those matches, it took them out of the division and they had no place to go in the higher weight class. Later on Kidman had evolved a good bit in his style and feuded with Sting but that was three years after getting destroyed by The Giant.

You have to look at the situation, who is talking, and who they are talking about. What purpose would it serve to have Amazing Red face Sting? None, Red isn't going to be competing for a heavyweight belt, keep him in his division.

Bischoff has said before in interviews that it is up to the individual to work on his craft and define who he is and what he can do, that means if the individual wants to switch divisions he has to step up, otherwise he will stay in class. He wants to be World Champ he has to step up his game. Guys like AJ did that, most will not.

 

[blockanWo]

So if he had his way, Malenko would have never joined the Horsemen. No World title for AJ.

Anyway he sounds like a guy pretty clueless about things. He doesn't know what the X Division is about. Gawd! Let him watch the first few X matchs in 2002.

"Its not about weight limits, its about no limits"

Thats the tagline for the X Division no?

What the hell does that mean? That can include everyone on the roster.

Hes looking for an easy way to indentify what an X Division wrestler is to the masses. You cant have the commentators say "Its about being a spotfest".

 

[ABMorales787]

Hulk Hogan should take notice. Eric really knows how to keep the crowd satisfied without obvious ass-kissing. Some of the thing's he said are a bit questionable, but as always, he knows what to say and how to say it. He's definably showing he's a merit to TNA just from a public relations point of view.

 

[George Steele's Barber]

Bischoff comes off pretty politically correct in this one.

However, if I am TNA I am pissed that he could not promote my pet AWW project just a little bit. Lie just a little bit whether you know nothing or not.

"Defining" the X-Division is such a cop out/lie. He sounds smart by putting it this way but it is really just a lame excuse. The quality of answers can be manipulated by the substance of a question. If you asked people to define the NFL you would get countless number of answers. Him and Hogan wanted to take TNA away from the X-Division when they first started at TNA and now they realize it has it's place in a two-hour weekly broadcast. Plain and simple.

I worry about TNA's long term commitment to doing shows on the road when he uses words like "experiment". It makes me think he is already starting to cover his ass if it does not work.

Otherwise he was on point and said the right things.

 

[Bigrog25]

What proof do you have that he and hogan wanted to do away with the x div? Please refrain from acting as if you know their agenda, you don't work for IW you have no idea what they want and don't want. Furthermore Bischoff has always spoken very highly of the cruiserweight division so why would he want to get rid of IW version of said division. He simply stated you have to define to the casual fan what the x division stands for. He is correct, as already stated on this topic, "the x division isn't about weight limits, it's about no limits" is the slogan for the x division, you have to define it more than that, that makes no sense to the casual fan just tuning in, when you have people wrestling in the x div one week and for the heavyweight belt the next week, there is no clear def as to what the x div is. Second, you want him to lie and comment on a project he's not working on? Really? If he has no knowledge to what they're doing with AWW than why would he try to comment on it without knowing the facts? Bischoff is a very intelligent man and isn't going to speak on subjects he doesn't know much about. Had he lied about AWW you'd be sitting here bitching that he's speaking on subjects he knows nothing about and should just keep quiet... Some of you people are impossible to please on these boards, you simply look for shit to complain about...Especially if it's Hogan/Bischoff. But that's what Haters do is hate on those that have succeeded, so I guess I shouldn't be surprised.

 

[abraxasdeux]

-Bischoff doesn't have an opinion of All Wheels Wrestling because he isn't involved in it

Best news I've heard all day, which leads me to believe that it might actually be good

 

[George Steele's Barber]

I apologize if I did not pick my words correctly but between January 2010 up until recently the X-Division has not had much of a place on their programming compared to prior to 2010. This is the same time period when Bischoff and Hogan showed up. As you have stated before, a lot of the decisions that are being made at the company are heavily influenced by Bischoff and Hogan. I am putting 2 and 2 together and stating that it was their influence that led to the decreased exposure to the X-Division during this time.

They probably felt that with all of their changes and new editions it would benefit the company more to focus on new things and put the X-Division on the backburner. I am a casual fan and I quickly did not need anyone to "define" the X-Division for me. It is clearly something different. That being said I have no proof that Bischoff really cared about "defining" the division or went around asking people to define the division. It just sounds like a lame excuse or cop out that he came up with since they are now beginning to feature it again. As a Hater, I really Like an X-Division match here and there and was really disappointed that it was not getting much attention in 2010.

As far as lying goes, if I were high up in TNA and one of my most visible guys were being interviewed I would not expect him to make a bunch of shit up but I would hope he could say something like, "I'm not involved in AWW but I think anyone that is not giving it a chance is making a big mistake" or "I am not involved in AWW but they have some talented people involved and I am curious to see what they can produce." It was a chance to help a sister promotion for the company that pays him get more people to watch and he did not do that. Oh well.

Why do you defend Hogan and Bischoff so much? Have you enjoyed TNA's programming more since they took over? What in 2010 were some of your favorite programs and changes? Has anything been a disappointment to you?

 

[Kenny Powers]

Bischoff knows exactly what to say. There isn't much to disagree with him with. The only thing is can TNA/Impact Wrestling continue to make changes for the better. It seems they are on the right track as far as cosmetic and name changes go. Also, they starting to take Impact on the road. I don't know how receptive fans will be about seeing a Sting vs. Hogan match in 2011 though. Philadelphia could be a great crowd for Bound For Glory, or an intense spiteful crowd that boos at anything.

It seems Impact Wrestling has more going for it as far as the X division, Bound For Glory series, and wrestling matches in general. I'm not too crazy about the whole Immortal/Sting situation, but at least the matches are better then what we are used to getting. We will have to wait and see if TNA will continue to change for the good or if this is another way to blow smoke.

 

[Bigrog25]

Yes I do like IW morenow, they are clearly a growing company and headed in the right direction. You are not what I mean by casual fan, a casual fan is someone who hardly ever watches wrestling and damn sure doesn't sit on wrestling forums, hell most casual fans don't even know the WWE isn't still the WWF. You are more than a casual fan my friend, you know exactly when hogan/bisch got there, what's been goin on since and before, that makes you a wrestling fan not a casual fan.

 

[George Steele's Barber]

Classify my fandom anyway you want you don't need to "define" the X-Division. X-Division is eye catching to channel flippers. Channel flippers who are not going to say, "I can't watch this due to it's lack of definition."

It is not going to bring in fans the way a name like Angle, Hogan or Hardy but it has it's place and should have never been buried as long as it was "defined" or not.

 

[New Hot Fed]

"Its not about weight limits, its about no limits"

Thats the tagline for the X Division no?

What the hell does that mean? That can include everyone on the roster.

Hes looking for an easy way to indentify what an X Division wrestler is to the masses. You cant have the commentators say "Its about being a spotfest".

No weight limit is just a catchphrase. In reality the X division is the repackaged Cruiserweight Division: high flying wrestling with tons of spots.

 

[Zeven_Zion]

The problem with the X-Division was that it was never a DIVISION. It never divided the XD guys from the rest of the roster.

At first glance, the XD was about small dudes who could do flips. Then you have Samoa Joe. Now it's not about small dudes who can do flips, it's about anyone. Joe is a heavyweight. Sure, he could do a suicide dive and a few kicks, but that doesn't change the fact that he's double the size of most XD wrestlers. So what's the point of it?

That eradicates the term "division". It's not longer an X-DIVISION, it's just the low card of the show filled with people who are too small or too bad overall to move up the card, which TNA named so it doesn't seem like complete filler.

I agree with Bischoff. If we're going to have a Division, let's have a Division. Have a weight limit, have some rules. Don't let anyone from the roster IN or OUT. The X-Division should be its own entity, almost entirely distanced from what's going on the rest of the show, regardless of how huge. The X-Division title should be contested for like the TNA World Title. Think of it as a company inside the company in a way.

The X-Division will NEVER draw if its wrestlers move up the card after they get really good. I hate this idea that the only person on the card who draws or should draw is the World Champion. It's been a thing in wrestling for years and it is tied with the belts not meaning squat issue. AJ, Daniels and Joe moving on from it (while a great move for TNA in the long run), killed a lot of its momentum. It became an incubator.

Don't have stupid fucking spotfests anymore. Have your flips, that's your thing and it's hella fun, but add some story, add some WRESTLING. Have some guys who can talk and can carry storylines.

The old XD was close to being that, but never got there. You didn't know what it truly was, you knew what the people in it did. Flips. It was wrestling porno for the smarks. It's pretty much gone in TNA right now, but ROH's the substitute for those lonely lonely nights.

It's funny how when the X-Division was around the IWC said how it's just a mindless spot fest filled with meaningless, gimmick matches. The six sided ring was a cheap looking toy.

Now, fast forward to 2011, eeeeeveryone wants the X-Division back, and some even want the six sides back. "It's something different! And fresh! Bischoff and Hogan killed it because they can't deal with something revolutionary!!!1!". Shut your mouths you absolute hypocrites. Yeah, Bischoff and Hogan shy away from something that could make them money. Genius logic.

Well, by the looks of it, you're about to get it. Hopefully, we'll get a REAL X-Division, a revamped one. An X-Division that will have ... I don't know ... a direction? I'd much rather leave it in the hands of a person who actually had a real cruiserweight division than anyone else.

 

[JJYanks121]

The problem with the X-Division was that it was never a DIVISION. It never divided the XD guys from the rest of the roster.

At first glance, the XD was about small dudes who could do flips. Then you have Samoa Joe. Now it's not about small dudes who can do flips, it's about anyone. Joe is a heavyweight. Sure, he could do a suicide dive and a few kicks, but that doesn't change the fact that he's double the size of most XD wrestlers. So what's the point of it?

That eradicates the term "division". It's not longer an X-DIVISION, it's just the low card of the show filled with people who are too small or too bad overall to move up the card, which TNA named so it doesn't seem like complete filler.

I agree with Bischoff. If we're going to have a Division, let's have a Division. Have a weight limit, have some rules. Don't let anyone from the roster IN or OUT. The X-Division should be its own entity, almost entirely distanced from what's going on the rest of the show, regardless of how huge. The X-Division title should be contested for like the TNA World Title. Think of it as a company inside the company in a way.

The X-Division will NEVER draw if its wrestlers move up the card after they get really good. I hate this idea that the only person on the card who draws or should draw is the World Champion. It's been a thing in wrestling for years and it is tied with the belts not meaning squat issue. AJ, Daniels and Joe moving on from it (while a great move for TNA in the long run), killed a lot of its momentum. It became an incubator.

Don't have stupid fucking spotfests anymore. Have your flips, that's your thing and it's hella fun, but add some story, add some WRESTLING. Have some guys who can talk and can carry storylines.

The old XD was close to being that, but never got there. You didn't know what it truly was, you knew what the people in it did. Flips. It was wrestling porno for the smarks. It's pretty much gone in TNA right now, but ROH's the substitute for those lonely lonely nights.

It's funny how when the X-Division was around the IWC said how it's just a mindless spot fest filled with meaningless, gimmick matches. The six sided ring was a cheap looking toy.

Now, fast forward to 2011, eeeeeveryone wants the X-Division back, and some even want the six sides back. "It's something different! And fresh! Bischoff and Hogan killed it because they can't deal with something revolutionary!!!1!". Shut your mouths you absolute hypocrites. Yeah, Bischoff and Hogan shy away from something that could make them money. Genius logic.

Well, by the looks of it, you're about to get it. Hopefully, we'll get a REAL X-Division, a revamped one. An X-Division that will have ... I don't know ... a direction? I'd much rather leave it in the hands of a person who actually had a real cruiserweight division than anyone else.

See, there's a HUGE problem with that. A very big one that was made by WCW years ago.

The heavyweight belt is THE belt you gun for and thus, the people that draw the most money should be the ones going for it. Weight classes don't work for wrestling because we suspend our disbelief anyway. We believe that AJ Styles can beat Matt Morgan 1 on 1 despite AJ giving up over a foot and over a hundred pounds to the guy. Once the illusion of size is gone, you can't have divisions.

Having a weight division of small guys will always be down the card and some of those guys won't deserve that after a while. That's the problem WCW ran into. Guys like Mysterio, Jericho, Benoit, Guerrero, etc. had outgrown the division. By 1998, they were the next wave of superstars and rather than try pushing them, they stayed in the division or got to do TV title stuff at best (except Benoit who got a little better treatment but not much until late 1999). People wanted to see them and Jericho even built a program on his own against Goldberg and it was shot down before it got started. By 1998, the Cruiserweight division was sort of getting boring because it was the same guys that had been there for almost 3 years. As much fun as flying around is, people figure it out and seeing the same guys do it all the time isn't so exciting. We complain about guys hogging main event spots right? Same thing.

I'm not a believer AT ALL in weight divisions in wrestling. You should have a midcard title for guys that aren't main eventers and that gives them something to shoot for BEFORE they reach the top, but a weight division? Very finite idea that really has no staying power.

As for the rest of the interview, it's fine. Typical Bischoff stuff. He's like a politician really. He knows how to say the right things and that's a nice skill, but it's about backing up what you say. That said, I don't want to see him "back up" the X-Division stuff because if it turns into a place where talented guys less than 6 feet tall go to die, I won't be happy. To tell me that Austin Aries and Alex Shelley are only good for that division and couldn't potentially draw more at the top than say Crimson or Gunner? Well, did Psycho Sid draw more than Chris Jericho? Weight limits are a concept that don't work in wrestling. Do not attempt, just move away from it.

 

[mlp420]

It's funny how when the X-Division was around the IWC said how it's just a mindless spot fest filled with meaningless, gimmick matches. The six sided ring was a cheap looking toy.

Now, fast forward to 2011, eeeeeveryone wants the X-Division back, and some even want the six sides back. "It's something different! And fresh! Bischoff and Hogan killed it because they can't deal with something revolutionary!!!1!". Shut your mouths you absolute hypocrites.

So I'm not the only one who remembers that huh? I remember being on these boards defending the X-Division back in 06. That's why I don't respect most of these guys' opinions.