Eric Bichoff On Dean Ambrose Leaving WWE: "I Don't Think It Matters At All."
Earlier this week on the after show for his 83 weeks podcast, After 83 Weeks with Christy Olson, Eric Bischoff touched on a few of the pressing topics coming out of the pro wrestling world this week. Bischoff would address the announcement that Dean Ambrose is departing from WWE, stating, "I don't think it matters at all." He also discussed how Vince McMahon has learned to structure his company so that it's easier to rebuild when they lose their top stars.
Bischoff went into detail about his thoughts on one of WWE's newest signings, Jeff Jarrett. Bischoff claims that from a talent standpoint, Jarrett was never a top guy or main event star, but he does commend Jarrett for his ability to convey a creative idea to the performers and writers. Bischoff thinks Jarrett is one of best in terms of producing content for wrestling promotions.
"I've worked with Jeff in a number of different capacities," Bischoff said. "As a talent, whatever. He's achieved whatever he's achieved. He was never that top guy, main event, big star. But he was a solid mid-card, upper mid-card performer throughout his career, which is, by the way, a hell of a lot. That shouldn't sound as uncomplimentary as it's intended to be.... But when it comes to communicating a creative vision from a room full of writers and communicating that to talent in a way that the talent can understand, that's the key to a good producer. Jeff is phenomenal at that. One of the best I've ever worked with. So I think he's in a perfect role for what truly is his real skill set."
Bischoff's take on the Ambrose situation is that he's just another interchangeable star, and WWE will continue rolling along without him. Bischoff pointed out how WWE will always shift storylines on the fly regardless of the situation, for example, Roman Reigns' unexpected departure last year.
"No disrespect at all to Dean Ambrose...I don't think it matters at all," Bischoff stated. "That's not because of Dean's abilities or lack thereof. But in WWE right now WWE is the star. Everybody else on that roster is a costar, to one degree or another. Stars are now interchangeable. The roster is deep enough, and the pool of talent is deep enough that whether it's a situation like Roman Reigns, as devastating as that was, WWE shifted on the fly. They didn't even have to hit the clutch. They just kept going, right? I think that that's intentional."
Bischoff expound on that idea further, reminding listeners that Ambrose and Reigns aren't the first superstars that WWE has had to alter plans around. Bischoff believes that McMahon has tried to work around his talent unexpectedly leaving by creating a foundation where WWE is the star of the show.
"People's situations change. If you've invested all of your resources, not just financial but all of your television time and all that real estate into building up a character, and through some scenario that you couldn't anticipate that character is no longer there, you're in a rebuild situation. That can be devastating. WWE has gone through that before. They learned that lesson. Vince McMahon learned what happened when competition comes along and takes your talent, and I think he endeavored to build a company that was for the most part impervious to that. He did it by making WWE the star, and the talent less significant than the show that they're on."
You can watch the full interview above. If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit After 83 Weeks with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.