Eric Bischoff Examines Why Mr. Perfect Vs. Hulk Hogan Couldn’t Sell Out Madison Square Garden

Mr. Perfect was fun to watch, but Eric Bischoff questions whether people saw him as a credible threat to Hulk Hogan.

On the latest episode of his 83 Weeks podcast (via AdFreeShows), the soon-to-be WWE Hall of Famer was asked why Hulk Hogan versus Mr. Perfect (Curt Hennig) wasn’t a box office draw. WWE’s Executive Director of Raw and SmackDown, Bruce Prichard, once told host Conrad Thompson that the company tried to pair the two Legends, but they weren’t able to sell out Madison Square Garden. This puzzled those at WWE, as anything Hogan-related was normally a smash hit. Bischoff offered the following analysis:

“Without having the benefit of looking at the storyline going into that or any of the promotion going into it, I would say that I don’t believe Curt was a believable threat to Hulk Hogan at the time. Curt was a cocky, entertain-y heel, and I don’t think a cocky, entertain-y heel provided a believable enough threat to Hulk Hogan.”

The conversation continued on, with the consensus being that Hogan needed to be pitted against a bigger, more lumbering wrestler rather than an athletic marvel. Bischoff argued that perhaps Mr. Perfect was a bit too far ahead of his time as a character. He said the following:

“Curt was a big dude, by the way. But he didn’t have that larger-than-life persona that Hogan did. Like I said, I think because of the time, that funny, cocky heel was a relatively new thing. You hadn’t seen a lot of that before. You’d see different kinds of heels, but not the funny kind, and not the really cool kind. I think he was just a little too cool for his time and ahead of his time as a character.”

Mr. Perfect was a 2-time WWF Intercontinental Champion and was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2007. Bischoff and Hennig would work together in WCW from 1997-2000.

WWE recently announced that Hulk Hogan and Titus O’Neil will be the hosts of WrestleMania 37. 

If you use any of the quotes above, please credit 83 Weeks with a h/t and link back to Fightful for the transcription.