Roman Reigns vs. Jey Uso was a "lazy effort" match, says WWE legend criticizing the Tribal Combat at SummerSlam
Roman Reigns put his Undisputed WWE Universal Championship and Tribal Chiefdom on the line against Jey Uso at SummerSlam 2023. Eric Bischoff criticized the booking while discussing the match on the latest edition of 83 Weeks.
Jey Uso betrayed Roman Reigns for his brother, Jimmy Uso, and the duo left The Bloodline. Jey challenged Reigns for the title and leader's position in the heel faction. He came close to beating his former stablemate in the Tribal Combat, but Jimmy's shocking betrayal allowed the champion to retain.
Eric Bischoff said he would not have booked the bout as a "Hardcore Match." He admitted to possibly being wrong but insisted that such decisions are often made when the creative needs an easy way out. Bischoff declared the bout was not well-constructed and well-conceived.
"I would not have made it basically a Hardcore match. I've said this before, and I know people are going to disagree with me, I am sure some of the people that are actually in the industry and not as*holes like me and you who are sitting on the outside talking about it. But that was an easy way out of the match. That match was an afterthought, That match was not a well-constructed, well-thought-out, well-conceived match." [2:50 - 3:18]
Bischoff further explained that WWE needs to rely on external weapons and gimmicks only when there is a lack of a good creative idea for the match. He asserted that it is a way of banking all expectations on fans enjoying spots that involve ladders, tables, or chairs.
"Anytime you go to gimmicks and hardcore shit, like tables and chairs and lions and elephants and whatever other gimmick you can possibly come up with. Basically, what you are saying is that you don't have any good ideas. So we are going to do this instead because hopefully people will just like ladders and tables and chairs. That's my opinion, folks. I am welcome to it. But to me, it was a lazy effort, in my opinion." [3:20 - 3:49]
You can watch the full video below:
Eric Bischoff reveals the only condition for Roman Reigns to compete in a huge six-man tag team match
The WWE Hall of Famer discussed Roman Reigns potentially competing in a massive six-man tag team match against three of his former challengers. Bischoff was asked if Reigns should team up with Jimmy Uso and Solo Sikoa to take on Kevin Owens, Sami Zayn, and Jey Uso.
Bischoff said that while Sami Zayn's return will bring back life to The Bloodline story, WWE should not book Roman Reigns in the aforementioned six-man tag team match unless their storyline sets it up. Bischoff stated that Zayn could be used to fire up Jey Uso, recalling their dynamic from when they worked together as part of The Bloodline.
If you use any quotes from the article's first half, please credit the 83 Weeks podcast and add a H/T to Sportskeeda for the transcription.