Eric Bischoff Names Which WWE Release Was The Most Surprising

On the latest episode of the 83 Weeks Podcast, Eric Bischoff spoke about the latest crop of WWE releases that were announced this past week. The former WCW Executive Vice President revealed which of the 18 wrestlers stood out most to him, naming Ember Moon.

"I was really disappointed," Bischoff said. "A couple of them stuck out to me, in particular, Ember Moon was a surprise to me. Only because I worked with Ember for a very brief time back in WWE for an even briefer time. Really really professional, talented, committed individual. I really liked her and was hoping to work more with her because there's just something about her that made me want to try to come up with something that would help her get to the next level.

"I know that in the office, there were a lot of people that really really supported Ember when she got injured while I was there. It was a devastating injury and most people thought that she was probably not coming back. I know there was a lot of support for her in the office and everybody was of the mindset that everybody was going to give her as much time as they needed because they really appreciated her as a performer and a professional. That's why that one really jumped out to me."

Bischoff also spoke about the behind-the-scenes aspect of why there have been so many releases by WWE. The WWE Hall of Famer also spoke about Harry Smith being let go by the company as another person he was shocked to see released.

"As is always the case, there are other things going on that none of us are aware of," Bischoff said. "From a strategic point of view, from a budgetary point of view, not knowing what the future is over the next year, three-year, five-year plan. There are always things that we don't know about but that one stuck out to me. Harry Smith [getting released] I was disappointed in.

"I got to know Harry a little bit and talked to him several times away from the business. Just a nice, intelligent, charismatic individual. He just seemed to have all of the ingredients so I was very disappointed for him because I know how committed he is to this industry. That one kind of surprised me and disappointed me."

Some of the surprising releases included Karrion Kross and Keith Lee. Booker T spoke about the latest WWE releases on a recent episode of his podcast and why Kross' name was one of the standouts. Bischoff spoke about Kross being let go by the company and also talked about the idea of the independent scene getting revived due to the current influx of talent that will be available.

"A lot of the others are people I've never really crossed paths with so I don't have any kind of personal knowledge of them or their abilities and talents," Bischoff said. "Karrion Kross, to get that close and then have the rug pulled out from underneath you is emotionally devastating because of the time and commitment that goes into trying to make it to the big leagues. Once they get out of the funk, the disappointment of being let go, it's just nothing but opportunity man. It's hard to look at it that way when you've just been kicked in the teeth and your dreams have all been shattered and taken away from you but that's just a moment in time. They've got the talent or they wouldn't have been there in the first place and now it's just a matter of improving on that talent.

"There is a flood of talent, from Ring of Honor shutting down and the massive amount of talent that's been released from WWE over the last year, while a lot of them have found a spot in AEW, there's still a lot of great talent floating around there. I think and hope, I will pray, what's going to happen is the independent scene is going to fill up with a lot of great talent. I think as we're coming out of transitioning out of this COVID era where there are no live events, we're starting to see more and more of them in certain parts of the country. These are people that are going to be able to take their talents to the next step, next level by taking it out and getting into the independent scene."

Finally, Bischoff put a bow on talking about the 18 WWE superstars released by providing some advice for the talent. The former WCW Executive said he would advise the talent to work with an improv coach on their mic skills and make that their goal should WWE come calling again down the road.

"Figure out what you're best at if you've been cut," Bischoff said. "You're disappointed, you haven't shook it off, give yourself a couple days and just do a personal inventory. Be honest with yourself and look at what your strengths are and identify those strengths and put them off to the side and determine how can I become better at the things I'm already good at. What can I do to challenge myself to be better at the things I'm already good at and then be honest with yourself and make a list of things you're not good at or need a lot of work and focus on those things.

"Find an improv acting coach and learn how to be the best you can possibly be on the microphone because you clearly already had the mechanical skills and talents to be in the business or you wouldn't have been in the position to get cut in the first palace so pat yourself on the back. Now's your opportunity to build upon it. I'll say this till I can no longer do a podcast: if you have powerful narrative mic skills and if you're really really good at that, you will come out of this and you will ascend to heights higher than you probably hoped for. If you don't have an improv or acting coach where you live, go f***ing find one. Sell some shit, go dig some ditches, go work part-time somewhere and go find a really good coach that can teach you how to become the best character you can be on the mic. You'll be shocked how fast you can leapfrog over people that may even have better technical skills than you do or may even have a better look than you do. If you can own that mic and rock that mic, you'll rock the business and you'll make a lot of money. So go do that, instead of being pissed off."

Bischoff also gave his thoughts on the idea of a potential new wrestling company forming due to the influx of talent available.

"Is the opportunity there? Sure because there is a lot of talent there," Bischoff said. "Arguably wrestling from a television perspective there's more of an appetite for it today than there ever has been largely because of the success of it but also because in terms of programming it's still relatively inexpensive programming in comparison to scripted or sports which prices people out of the business. Wrestling as a television property comparatively is a pretty inexpensive effort. If you're looking to get an audience, they will find you, they're loyal but you're looking at $400,000-$500,000 an hour and I know people at home are thinking oh my god but compare that to a well-produced reality show, unscripted show, you're looking at a million-plus an episode."

The former WCW Executive also teased on the podcast his inclusion in a Netflix film or television show coming soon. Although he wouldn't reveal what it was about, Bischoff said the film crew came to his house to do an interview this past week.

"Got a Netflix film crew coming out to my house here shortly and going to spend the day with them," Bischoff said. "Secret project. Not my project so that's why it has to remain secret. I'm just a part of it, I'm not behind the scenes at all so it's not my toy to play with. I'm excited, I'm very excited about 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.