Eric Bischoff Says NXT Should Expand To Two Hours If The Talent Is There
On the latest After 83 Weeks with Christy Olson Eric Bischoff reveals he hasn’t spoken to 83 weeks co-host Conrad Thompson since recording their latest episode, which ended with an intense argument. The former WCW executive producer also answers to speculation that a botched Starrcade 1997 championship match was the beginning of the end for WCW, and weighs in on whether NXT TV should expand to two hours.
Eric on the latest 83 Weeks ending with Conrad Thompson screaming at him: This was a hot one. Conrad and I, when we first started we had a lot of issues between us, and there was a lot of that explosive kind of bombastic back and forth. Then we settled into a little bit different groove, and it got somewhat civilized, until this episode…He was out of the country, and I was busy traveling, so no we haven’t spoken really since we did this show.
About Sting’s personal issues: In ’97 Sting kind of went dark in more ways than one, not only as a character. His personal life was an issue. He kind of isolated himself from a lot of people, not just me. So we didn’t really talk. It wasn’t obvious what was going on. He hid it very, very well.
If NXT TV should expand to two hours: I think a lot of that depends on how much of a talent base they have. Keep in mind NXT serves two purposes. It’s a real life, real time, as close as you can get to primetime training opportunity, and the next step. It’s kind of like AAA baseball or AA baseball. It’s that next step right before you get to primetime. So it has two purposes obviously you want it to be as successful as a television property as it can be. But I think the real purpose of that show is really more to groom people, to get them ready for the next step, than anything else. And I think if they’ve got a deep enough roster, and if there’s enough people there that need that exposure and two hours can accommodate that, then bam! Do it! Why would you even wait? But if the roster’s thin and you find yourself really tapping into that same roster of talent on a weekly basis, you may run the risk of overexposing at least some of them.
Mike Tyson in WWE being the beginning of the end for WCW: I mean that was a big damn deal…I heard about that long before it happened. I got a phone call from Zane Bresloff. I was down in Kissimmee, Florida taking flying lessons, and I got this urgent phone call from Zane. He told me, you’re never going to believe what they’re doing now. They have Mike Tyson. And I went, aaaagh, that’s going to leave a mark. And it did. So I think it was the seismic shift from pre-Nitro WWF to post-Nitro/NWO WWF and wanting to see, what’s that new thing to going to look like, had a lot more to do than the finish of the [Hulk Hogan vs. Sting at Starrcade 1997] match. But it’s a convenient thing to point to.
For more with Eric, including his thoughts on Vince McMahon copying WCW, watch After 83 Weeks with Christy Olson here: https://youtu.be/W7L835LXKE4
or listen on Apple Podcasts: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/after-83-weeks-with-christy-olson-afterbuzz-tv/id1438060090?mt=2&i=1000425693158.About the show: After 83 Weeks with Christy Olson is the first ever podcast about a podcast! Christy and co-hosts Steve Kaufmann, Christian Rosenberg, and George Hermoza offer insight on the latest episode of 83 Weeks with Eric Bischoff, covering revelations, fan reactions, and more. An AfterBuzz TV Wrestling and Sports production, the show airs on Eric Bischoff’s 83 Weeks YouTube channel, and features a weekly Q&A with Eric himself.
