Courtesy: www.MondayNightMayhem.com
TNA’s Eric Bischoff was the featured guest on this week’s live edition (11/01/10) of the award-winning Monday Night Mayhem. You can feel the “MNM Fall Tour ’10” every Monday evening (at 7PM ET/6PM CT), exclusively on The Monday Night Mayhem Radio Network (www.MondayNightMayhem.com, www.AudioWrestling.com, www.Hybrident.tv, www.iTunes.com, www.Facebook.com/MondayNightMayhem, www.Twitter.com/FeelTheMayhem, & www.MySpace.com/MondayNightMayhem).
Eric joined The Big Mosh & “The Chairman of the Board” Todd Vincent for his return to “Your Home of Wrestling Radio” & for another installment of his exclusive monthly interactive segment on Monday Night Mayhem, “The Hot Seat With Eric Bischoff” (flavored by Sizzlin Sauces), which is now available in Windows Streaming Media or via the official MNM Podcast on iTunes:
The return of “The Hot Seat With Eric Bischoff” (flavored by Sizzlin Sauces) (MNM Streaming Audio): www.mondaynightmayhemarchives.com/waxfiles/110110.wax
The return of “The Hot Seat With Eric Bischoff” (flavored by Sizzlin Sauces) (MNM Podcast on iTunes): www.mondaynightmayhemarchives.com/nov10/110110.mp3
Questions were taken via Eric’s official Facebook page (located at www.Facebook.com/TheEricBischoff), along with The Mayhem Line (877.666.2110). Interview highlights courtesy of The Mayhem’s official correspondent, Paterson from New Jersey:
The revelation of “They” at Bound For Glory, the comparisons of Immortal with the nWo, & why he believes fans should not think TNA is going backwards with what has unfolded since 10.10.10: “I think the parallels to the NWO is obvious to everybody, and to some people, they’re frustrated and are thinking we’re going backwards. The truth is people enjoy watching a power struggle: whether it’s politics, a war, American Idol, or whatever it is, people like to watch it, and they identify with it. What are seeing right now is really the best of a formula that we know works, along with a new edge to it. It’s going to be different from the NWO, but there I think the basic story elements are there, and it’s a story people can relate to.”
His opinion on the likelihood of Matt Hardy joining TNA, what he could add to the company/bring to the locker room, along with his thoughts on Matt’s visible online presence: “I don’t follow Matt Hardy on YouTube or anywhere else. I really don’t know Matt Hardy that well. I interacted with him for a little while in WWE. He’s a great talent. He’s achieved a lot of success. In terms of how or if he’s gonna end up in TNA, that remains to be seen. I think it’s a wait & see kind of proposition. There’s nobody’s sitting back with a blueprint of how Matt Hardy can possibly fit into TNA, and what we’re going to do, and how we do it. Let’s wait & see…one step at a time. We don’t even know if he’s coming to TNA. If he does, I think we would have to sit down, talk to him, see where his head is at, see what his point of view is, see what his goals are, see what his perspective is, and kind of take it from there. It’s very premature to talk about Matt Hardy’s impact in TNA at this point.”
The future of TNA ReAction on Spike TV: “We did get picked up for another ten episodes, and we’re very, very excited about that. We think it’s a great storytelling device, and it gives us a whole new way to present characters, present storylines, let the audience get to know characters in a much different way, I feel in a more intimate way. It gives the characters a different perspective, so all in all, everybody is happy with it. We are going to try some new things. Jason (Hervey) & I have been talking, along with Kevin Sullivan, who is instrumental in the success of the show. We have been talking about different ways to incorporate some new ideas into ReAction, because ReAction it’s the type of show that allows us to experiment, and we could try things that we might not be comfortable trying in other formats. Some of it’ll work, some of it won’t. Keep watching, because we’ll be trying new things. That’s one of the things the wrestling business needs right now is a freshness, a new approach, & a willingness to experiment, and that’s what we’re gonna do.”
J-Woww’s impact thus far in TNA since her debut & what celebrities, and despite what people may believe, why Eric is against “bringing in celebrities for the sake of bringing in celebrities”: “She brought awareness. It’s obvious. CNN, TMZ, & everybody else was talking about TNA. One of the bigger challenges for TNA is awareness, so I think the people & principles that were involved in bringing J-Woww to TNA did a phenomenal job of achieving what is probably one of the most critical things in TNA, which is awareness. I’m a guy that’s brought a lot of celebrities into the wrestling business. Bringing in celebrities just for the sake of bringing in celebrities: I’m against it, despite what a lot of people think. It’s gotta be the right celebrity for the right reasons at the right time. Not that I’ve been right on the money with these decisions, but I’ve been right more often than I’ve been wrong. I think it’s great if a celebrity happens to be at the right point (in terms of pop culture awareness), happens to fit into a good TNA storyline, and happens to be available: Let’s go, let’s do it. I don’t think there’s a strong mandate to go out and try to find celebrities to populate TNA just to hopefully get awareness.”
Where we will see Jeff Hardy go as the new TNA World Heavyweight Champion & the leader of Immortal: “It’s uncharted territory in many respects. I know this is going to sound unconventional, but there is no plan with Jeff. Jeff is a free spirit. Jeff is a very unique guy. He’s a unique human being. He’s a unique character. He’s a professional. I think we’re just going to let it flow and see where it goes. I think if Eric Bischoff sat down with a piece of paper & a pen and tried to write that story, we’d probably get it wrong, because we’re not in Jeff Hardy’s head the way Jeff Hardy is. I think what want to do is provide him with Jeff Hardy a platform, and a direction, & an inspiration and see where Jeff Hardy can take it.”
