'They had one of the best shows in a very long time' - Eric Bischoff comments on WWE RAW Legends Night (Exclusive)
WWE witnessed an unprecedented dip in TV ratings and viewership in 2020. As expected, the company kicked off 2021 with a Legends Night episode of WWE RAW, which saw several veterans and Superstars from the past in attendance.
While WWE attracted a lot of criticism for the episode, the show managed to breach the 2 million viewership mark while also scoring a solid rating in the 18-49 demo.
Eric Bischoff was asked about the oft-repeated strategy of getting the legends back whenever the TV ratings fall. During an interview with Riju Dasgupta of SK Wrestling, Eric Bischoff explained that there will always be a place for the legends in wrestling and WWE.
Bischoff, who has his 83 Weeks podcast on AdFreeShows.com, has had the same discussion for almost 30 years, and he has seen young wrestlers and fans complain about older talent getting more TV time and recognition.
"You know, this has been a discussion that I've been hearing or have taken part in for the last 30 years. When I first got into professional wrestling, a lot of the younger talent and some of the wrestling fans would always complain about the older established talent given too much TV time and too much recognition and that it was time for them to retire. To let new, young talent rise to the top, and every time that was ever attempted, it generally failed because wrestling fans love the legends. People grow up watching wrestling, and they stick with the product."
It's a generational type of programming: Eric Bischoff on the viewing patterns of WWE and wrestling
However, the former SmackDown Executive noted that many people, who grow up watching wrestling, go away from the product only to return to it much later in their lives. Bischoff said that as wrestling is all about generational programming, the legends will always have a place.
"They are watching it as kids. They are watching it into their early teens and even into their late teens and early twenties and are going to college and developing relationships and have other interests. You tend to go away from wrestling; they stop watching for a while, but then they kind of come back in their mid to late twenties and early thirties. And when they got kids, they watch wrestling with their kids. It's a generational type of programming. Like, probably like nothing else other than sports. And because it's generational, and because people have been watching most of their lives, there will always be a place, in my opinion, for legends and older stars."
Bischoff highlighted that the Legends Night episode of WWE RAW was one of the best shows for the WWE in terms of viewership and ratings in a long time. He stated that the 18-49 demo fans want to see the Superstars they grew up watching, which leads to a boost in ratings.
"There will always be a place, in my opinion, for older talent. And if you look at the 18-49 demo, much recently on Monday Night RAW, last week, they had one of the best shows ever, not ever, but in a very long time, in that 18-49 demo because that demo wants to go back and see the talent, they grew up with or watched when they were in their twenties or thirties. Again, it's all about balance."
Do you agree with Eric Bischoff's thoughts about the utilization of legends and older Superstars on TV?
If any quotes are used from this article, please add a H/T to SK Wrestling.