"I wouldn’t have given him the time of day"- Eric Bischoff explains how his opinion of a current WWE Superstar changed over time
Eric Bischoff recently revealed how his opinion of WWE Superstar Jeff Hardy has changed over time. Bischoff and Jeff Hardy worked together during their time with IMPACT Wrestling, then called TNA, but their professional relationship once faced a major test.
At TNA Victory Road 2011, the main event featured a match between Sting and the aforementioned Jeff Hardy. The match is a huge blemish on IMPACT Wrestling's history because Hardy was intoxicated when he came to the ring. Hardy's condition forced Eric Bischoff to call an audible and have Sting beat him in a squash match.
In a recent episode of the 83 Weeks Podcast, Eric Bischoff looked back on the unforgettable pay-per-view. Jeff Hardy left the company for a while after the show, but he later returned with the support of Dixie Carter. Bischoff recalled the advice he gave Carter before TNA brought The Charismatic Enigma back.
"My advice to her was if you’re going to bring him back, you at least need to hold him accountable by making him apologize to every single guy on the roster. That was my idea. Not because I needed to hear it, I didn’t give a f***, I was done with Jeff Hardy at the time. I wouldn’t have given him the time of day at that point because I was so angry with him for being as unprofessional as he was."
Of course, Eric Bischoff's opinion of Hardy changed once the former WWE Champion took responsibility for his actions.
"Jeff did come in and he manned up. My opinion of Jeff actually changed after that, but that day it was like why even spend five minutes getting talent together in a room to listen to his bullsh**. I wouldn’t have taken somebody away from bad catering to listen to Jeff Hardy apologize if it was my choice, but it wasn’t."
TNA Victory Road 2011 remains one of the most controversial pay-per-views in the company's history. Even after Eric Bischoff and Jeff Hardy left the company, it took TNA, and later IMPACT Wrestling, several years to restore its reputation after this incident.
Eric Bischoff said his respect for Jeff Hardy grew after he learned more about addiction
Eric Bischoff also discussed how difficult it was for him to work around former addicts like Scott Hall. In fact, it was only after learning more about addiction that Bischoff's gained more respect for superstars like Hall and Jeff Hardy.
"I never really liked being around Scott. Not only did I not like working around Scott, I would work to avoid being around Scott when I worked with him. I look at what Scotts gone through in his life much like what Jeff has gone through with his addiction challenges and to get up every morning and fight your way out of that, because its the fight of a life time. It’s not as easy as people like me used to think. I have more respect for Jeff Hardy than I ever had."
Various wrestlers have battled addiction in public ways, but Jeff Hardy is a leading example. WWE actually used his personal struggles in a storyline last year, hoping to demostrate that Hardy had conquered his demons.