Eric Bischoff reveals WWE's biggest challenge
Eric Bischoff sat down with WCW alumni and former members of The Filthy Animals stable, Disco Inferno and Konnan on the Keepin' it 100 podcast to discuss his recent departure from WWE.
Konnan asked whether Vince McMahon was part of the reason why WWE's in-ring product is stale or whether the whole organization has become too big. Bischoff said that's it's the latter and that while Vince may not have his finger on pop culture, a lot of people in WWE at the moment do. He explained further saying:
"He (Vince McMahon) listens to them. He allows them to pick up the slack. I think, the overall situation with WWE is because they have gotten so big; and television is such a central part of their business model and that television has changed."
"You can't do the types of things we did in WCW in 95 and 96, 97, 98 and even 99. You can't do that anymore. Television has changed. Culture has changed and I think if you're going to cater to the television industry, which they have to do, because of the way their business is structured and television is going to be reactive to the culture in general."
Bischoff also said that the violence in the 90s can't be portrayed today, and that tends to sterilize the presentation quite a bit.
"One of the reasons we're not seeing a completely different presentation is not because Vince doesn't have his finger on the pulse, it's because the industry won't tolerate it.
Bischoff's astute analysis of the issues surrounding WWE's in-ring product makes sense. While some fans may want to go back in time to the 1990s, the cultural landscape won't allow WWE to do that.