Eric Bischoff Reacts To Vince McMahon's Stunner Bump At WrestleMania 38
As bad as Vince McMahon's Stone Cold Stunner bump was at WrestleMania 38, Eric Bischoff loved every bit of the presentation. On the newest episode of "Strictly Business" on AdFreeShows.com, Bischoff spoke about the utilization of part-time stars in wrestling. A long-retired talent like Steve Austin showing up for a fight/match against Kevin Owens at the "Granddaddy Of Them All" made sense to the 2021 WWE Hall of Famer.
"If you're really thinking about it from a business perspective, Steve Austin isn't taking a spot that you could possibly fill because Steve Austin is providing a level of entertainment that very few people can provide," Bischoff said. "It's a look back, it's reliving an experience. So many of the people that were watching WrestleMania were huge fans of 'Stone Cold' Steve Austin, and to see him go out there, and have some fun, and give Vince McMahon what is arguably the worst bump in the history of professional wrestling, as corny as it all was, I loved every second of it and so did a lot of other people."
Austin showed up to take on Kevin Owens on night one of WrestleMania 38 and what started off as "The Kevin Owens Show" swiftly turned into a fight, complete with a referee and ultimately, a pinfall. Austin would show up once again on night two to help restore a babyface balance between the impromptu match between McMahon and Pat McAfee. McAfee just defeated Theory in singles action before McMahon disrobed to reveal he was ready for a match, which turned into a handicap beatdown of McAfee with McMahon getting the pinfall. Austin came out to deliver Stunners to all parties involved, including the one McMahon is now infamous for. All that action provided more for Bischoff to speak upon.
"Nobody that's been in the business for five, six, or seven, or eight, or ten years is going to be able to fill that spot," he said. "There's nothing wrong with giving a spot like that, a moment like that, using a character like Steve Austin, or John Cena, or Rock, or Hulk Hogan when he could do it, or Undertaker when he was doing it, or 'insert anybody's name here' that's done it in the past. There's nothing wrong with giving that to the fans, and it's not taking anything away from anybody on the roster. It really isn't, it's just how you look at it."
If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit "Strictly Business" and provide a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription