Part 2 of Jim Ross’ interview with Eric Bischoff is up on The Ross Report podcast.
Bischoff gives his thoughts on the brand split and how he thinks things will work out. Bischoff said that in order for the brand split to really work, they need to make both brands completely different and WWE needs to have the discipline to stick with long-term plans. Bischoff said that it’s not always as easy as it sounds because sometimes things can be dictated by the network but if USA is willing to lose viewers in the short-term then that’s a good thing for WWE because it can benefit both parties long-term. A great example would be WWE’s creative direction in 1997. It took them over a year to see real gains with the viewership even though the feeling was that WWE was putting on a great product for most of that year.
Bischoff was asked his thoughts on Goldberg possibly wrestling one more match. He said that his take on that is that fans have a memory of Goldberg from his prime in WCW and he believes that Goldberg would probably be better off building on that legacy and leaving fans with the memory that they currently have of him. Goldberg is in tremendous shape but the big question is whether he can live up (in the ring) to the expectations that fans have.
Ross asked Bischoff if he would be open to a return to WWE. Bischoff said that he is open to doing things in wrestling again and he would go back to WWE if he got the call. He said that it’s not about the money and he has projects that he’s working on through his company at Bischoff-Hervey Entertainment. He loves the wrestling business but he doesn’t miss the grind of being on the road 5 days a week but he would definitely consider returning if he got the call.
Bischoff also noted that Hulk Hogan is in a great place these days and he’s happy for him. He talked with Hogan just a few hours before his interview with Ross.
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