Eric Bischoff On Why Bret Hart's Career-Ending Match Against Goldberg Sucked

During the 83 Weeks Podcast, Eric Bischoff talked about Starrcade 1999 which was run by Vince Russo after Bischoff left the company in early '99. The main event of the show saw Bret Hart beating Goldberg in a "Montreal Screwjob" type finish, and featured a memorable Goldberg kick to the head of Hart that according to him, gave Hart a severe concussion. During the match, Hart also nailed his head on the outside to the concrete. Bischoff talked about Hart suffering a severe concussion during the match and whether or not the sidekick was the one that ended Hart's career.

"If Bret Hart says it was a sidekick, I'm going with that," Bischoff said. "Either bouncing your head off the concrete or getting kicked in the head by a 240 pound guy while you're moving into that kick, either one of them could be the one that did the damage. Only Bret Hart and his doctors know.

"I can't go there. Only Bret knows. I am not qualified to have an opinion on the subject."

Bischoff also talked about the negativity he's received over the years from Hart's time spent in WCW. He said the blame for the way this match finished should fall on Hart because he was clearly the one who set the match up.

"This match didn't suck because Bret Hart suffered a concussion," Bischoff said. "This match sucked because of the finish. Who's fault is that? Bret? Who are you going to blame on that? For such a long time, I've listened to Bret and his fans about how he was mistreated [in WCW], and not used him correctly. Who is to blame for Bret Hart not saying, 'no, I don't want to do this.'"

"How many talents in WWE and in WCW have said 'No, that's wrong,' because it's wrong. That's part of the responsibility of the talent. It isn't to just take what the booker gives you, especially when you're as experienced as Bret Hart. And then to get a f**ked up finish? This is the best match I've seen Goldberg have. This match was so good because of Bret Hart. I know that Hart laid out this match. What did he say? Let's just forget about the finish?"

Bischoff continued on to talk about changing creative ideas based on talents coming to him and asking. He said he would listen to everybody, not just those making multi-millions of dollars.

"I would listen to everybody," Bischoff said. "I wouldn't necessarily agree with them or do what they wanted to do, but if it was somebody who was making 7 figures or 5 figures, I would listen to them. If they had a better idea, I would go with it. If they didn't have a better idea in my opinion, I wouldn't go with it. To try to suggest I only listened to one person or 2 or 3 people is really not accurate or fair, and anybody who's worked for me knows better than that."

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit 83 Weeks with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.