Eric Bischoff Talks 'Strange' Transition From Vince McMahon To Triple H
WWE Hall of Famer Eric Bischoff believes that although the transition from Vince McMahon to Triple H – as the new overseer of WWE Creative – will be a "strange" one, the new WWE regime will churn out "a better product" eventually.
"It's going to be strange for people like us," Bischoff told NBC Sports Boston in a recent interview. "All of us who have been fans. Those of us who have been in the business and have worked with Vince, and in my case, competed against him and also worked for him – it's just weird because he's been there forever, right? And he's like the only head coach the team's ever had since the team was born – for most of us."
"So, it's going to be weird, but I think it's going to be better," Bischoff continued. "Vince did amazing things, anybody that doesn't give him credit – not only credit but respect for what he's accomplished business-wise; let's separate his personal proclivities to business, and what he built. Anybody that doesn't respect what he built is just juvenile, childlike. But, I think with new management [the WWE product will be better]."
While citing his personal experience of working as Executive Director of "SmackDown" from July to October 2019, Bischoff detailed why Triple H taking over WWE Creative will bode well for the company's team of writers.
"When I worked there in 2019, I worked side-by-side with Vince McMahon on a pretty regular basis," Bischoff recalled. "I sat in way too many meetings with Vince McMahon that I don't even want to think about [because] I'd get PTSD-like symptoms when I do. But as amazing as what Vince built is, his personal way of going about WWE Creative is his system – his creative system and approach. [That] doesn't work for anybody but him. It just doesn't. It's well-documented that he works 20 hours a day, and calls meetings at 2 in the morning – which I can all confirm are true.
"That [Vince McMahon approach] doesn't work well for a team that you're relying on, and I think with Triple H in there now – because Triple H has been in that spot before, he knows how difficult it is to work within Vince's system. And because he knows, I think we're going to see a new creative system in place over the next few months. I think the new system is going to allow for extremely talented writers to be able to emerge in this new environment, and I think you're going to see a lot better products as a result."
Bischoff would also give his endorsement to Stephanie McMahon and Nick Khan to excel in their roles as Co-CEOs of WWE.
"The rest of the company – one of the things that if one has to acknowledge and respect about Vince is that he built a blue-chip public company," Bischoff admitted. "There are seasoned executives who are highly credentialed – their bio, history, success, and résumés are off the charts good. In every major part of the company, whether it's the CFOs, Nick Khan or Stephanie McMahon – there could not be a better person for that position she is in. It's a very solid company that will survive the former CEO.
"And not only survive, I believe it will surpass," Bischoff added. "The stock market reflected that. It was up 10% [post Vince McMahon's retirement].