Eric Bischoff Doesn't Get Brock Lesnar's WWE Title Reign, Says There's No Focus On Him Or The Title
July 25 marks two years since WWE presented the Universal Championship following splitting Raw and SmackDown into separate brands again. Since its initial presentation, names such as Finn Balor, Kevin Owens, and Goldberg have all laid claim to the championship.
At WrestleMania 33 on April 2, 2017, Brock Lesnar defeated Goldberg to commence his first reign as Universal Champion, and has yet to be dethroned since. Currently, Lesnar is just shy of two months from approaching 500 days as champion. The last person to hold a WWE world championship for over 500 days was Hulk Hogan, as he was champion for nearly 1,500 days before losing it to Andre the Giant in February of 1988.
Although Lesnar is accomplishing something that has not been done in over 30 years, he receives much criticism of his very infrequent WWE appearances. In fact, it has been approaching three months since Lesnar has defended his Universal Championship, as well as appeared on WWE TV to participate in a storyline. Since he is not on the card for Extreme Rules, it could be potentially a four-month gap between defending the title, and his appearance for SummerSlam is still not certain.
Former Raw GM and WCW President Eric Bischoff was asked about Lesnar's current title run on Sky Sports' Lock Up podcast, and shared his thoughts on the subject.
"I'm ambivalent about it," said Bischoff. "I don't understand it. And I like Brock Lesnar. I think he's an amazing performer, he's an amazing character. As an athlete, I don't think there's anybody, other than perhaps Kurt Angle, that's anywhere near his stratosphere. So there's a lot of things I like about Brock Lesnar, but his presence in WWE to me is almost a non-issue. I hate to say irrelevant, but the title doesn't really mean all that much.
"Brock's character, the way it is being positioned, doesn't really mean anything to me as a fan or a viewer. I don't feel like there's any real focus on him or his title. So, it seems to be a convenient afterthought more than anything else."
Bischoff added that Hulk Hogan had a similar deal with WCW, as he was originally contracted for four pay-per-views a year. He understands the logic that Lesnar is being used more as a special attraction in the WWE than a regular character, but Lesnar is "neither here nor there" from a storyline perspective.
If any portion of these thoughts are used, please be sure to credit the Lock Up podcast with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.
Source: Lock Up Podcast