'It was Vince's decision' - Details of a WWE veteran getting fired from SmackDown revealed
Eric Bischoff sat down for an interview with Lucha Libre Online's Michael Morales, and the former WCW head spoke about his brief return to WWE and why he was released from the company.
Eric Bischoff was announced as SmackDown's Executive Director in 2019, but his stint didn't last long as he was replaced by Bruce Prichard a few months later.
Eric Bischoff revealed that Vince McMahon decided to release him, and Bischoff added that he agreed with the WWE Boss' call. Eric Bischoff realized quite early into the job that there was a lack of creative chemistry between him and WWE.
Bischoff explained that a healthy, creative environment is where people get along with each other and collaborate seamlessly. The wrestling veteran said WWE is a fast-moving train, and he found it hard to keep up with the pace of the proceedings.
"It was Vince's decision. But again, it was one that I agreed with. It became apparent to me early on that the chemistry, the creative chemistry in WWE was not, in my opinion, it wasn't a healthy creative environment for me. It worked very well for WWE, I guess. But for me creative is as much about the energy, how well people get along, how well people can collaborate, and because WWE is such a fast-moving train, it was really hard to get on board and to get up to speed with their pace in the way they did things."
Eric Bischoff said that he is still friends with Vince McMahon and many others in WWE, including Bruce Prichard.
"So it wasn't a matter of... I mean, Vince and I are still friends. I'm still friends with a lot of people, including Bruce Prichard. He's one of my closest friends. Still friends with a lot of people in WWE, but the chemistry just wasn't right."
Once we started working together, we both realized that it really wasn't working: Eric Bischoff's analogy about his latest WWE run
Eric Bischoff compared his WWE situation to meeting someone on an online dating application. Bischoff explained that there is a lot of excitement initially when you exchange texts. However, you realize during the first dinner date that the chemistry is non-existent.
Eric Bischoff was also excited about his new WWE role, but it all came crashing down once he started working, and Vince McMahon eventually made the decision to release the former WCW booker.
I've been married for 38 years, so I've never experienced online dating. I can only imagine. My experience with WWE was a little bit like if you find a beautiful woman that you meet in an online dating app. You get along, and you sending each other texts, and you're very excited. When you finally meet for your first dinner date, and you realize before the appetizers even come that the chemistry just isn't really that good. She's a beautiful one; you got along great on the dating app, but when you're finally face-to-face... Meh! And it was kind of like what it was like for me and WWE. I was excited about it for a lot of reasons and a lot of good reasons. I think Vince was excited about it for a lot of reasons. But once we started working together, we both realized that it really wasn't working. And Vince ultimately was the one that made the call".
Eric Bischoff shared his thoughts on various other topics during the exclusive Lucha Libre Online interview.