Eric Bischoff does not believe Vince McMahon can simply return to the position he held before he left WWE.
The subject came up on the latest episode of 83 Weeks following news that the civil lawsuit brought against McMahon and WWE by Janel Grant is moving out of federal court and into private arbitration. Bischoff pushed back on the framing that the matter clears a path back.
“You make it sound like you just took a shower. All cleaned up now, all good to go. I’m gonna go right back to the way things used to be. People are gonna react to me the same way they used to. They’re gonna return phone calls to me the same way they used to return phone calls to me. I’m gonna have the influence because I used to have the power, but I’ll still project the power.”
“Is the civil suit over and the headline potential over and all the gritty details over? Yes, but the damage has been done. The damage to Vince’s reputation, irregardless of whether he wrote a check voluntarily through the process of arbitration, or whether he wrote a check because a judge said so, or jury, the damage has already been done. So I think it’s naive of anybody to think that Vince is going to be able to just, okay, now that’s over with, check all those boxes, here we go.”
On the suggestion that a board seat could give TKO stock a lift, Bischoff said he expects the reverse.
“I am not a Wall Street guy. What little understanding I do have is that that would likely have the opposite effect on Wall Street.”
He drew a distinction between two audiences.
“You’ll get a lot of online support from the internet wrestling community. All of a sudden now, Vince won’t be the bad guy so much anymore, right? If there’s a chance that he’s going to make ticket prices cheaper for us, it’ll be better for the product. So if we assume that institutional investors and hedge fund managers and the people that really matter are all like internet wrestling fans, yeah, they’ll have that positive reaction. But I think institutional investors, the people that really matter, will s*** all over it. If I had to make that bet, I would bet against him being any part of the board.”
Bischoff also does not see McMahon stepping into Nick Khan’s role.
“Nick Khan has the mightiest touch because of his relationships in Hollywood at every level you could conceivably want a relationship. You think Vince McMahon’s going to take on that role?”
“Nick spends a lot of time in Los Angeles. How tough do you think it’s going to be for Vince to get a meeting with some of the people that control the real dollars and are going to be affected by the press that will come with him if you do business with him?”
He was blunt about the reception McMahon would get in that market.
“Even if somebody goes, this deal is too good, I gotta do it, I’ll take the risk. What are you really risking? You’re risking for yourself, at least, if not your company, the slings and arrows of the people that are just so anti Vince McMahon because of the damage that has been done.”
Bischoff ruled out a move to another promotion for different reasons.
“The TNA thing I don’t see happening. Beyond that, even bigger than that, is I don’t see that being very motivating. Vince will need something much bigger and grandiose, even in terms of its potential. That option just isn’t available with TNA. So I think he’s looking for something bigger.”
What Bischoff does expect is McMahon telling his own version of events, and he thinks it is already well underway.
“I think Vince telling his story his way with 100% creative control and edit, or as close to it as he’s possibly able to get, which is probably 100. I would bet on that today. I’d place a big bet on that today. If he’s not already working on it, that’ll be the first thing. Just because that’s Vince, that’s his personality. He’s been sitting here taking this heat now a long time.”
“He is a fighter at heart, and I don’t necessarily mean he’s an a** kicker. I mean his first reaction is fight. He doesn’t even consider flight.”
Pressed on it, Bischoff went further.
“I think this thing is in production. I think it’s been in production for about two years.”
“I’m not going to spend a lot of time telling you why because these are all little tiny dots, and some of them seemingly so insignificant. Trust me when I say I just completed a picture in my head, and I think it’s been going on for at least two years, if not more. I think there are elements of it that are already being produced.”
“I’m even more convinced. I’ve got even a larger sum of money now that that will be the next thing we see, and it’ll come surprisingly fast.”
He left room to be wrong.
“I could be embarrassed that I’m even having this conversation with you six months from now. So who knows? It’s Vince. He’s an enigma. You just don’t know for sure with him.”
Grant filed suit in January 2024 in U.S. District Court in Connecticut, alleging sex trafficking and sexual abuse against McMahon, WWE and former executive John Laurinaitis, who was later removed as a defendant. McMahon has denied the allegations throughout and called the complaint false. McMahon resigned as TKO executive chairman a day after the suit was filed.
This month, the parties jointly told the court they had agreed to arbitrate, with the federal action to be dismissed with prejudice while both sides retain the ability to pursue their claims and defenses in arbitration. The claims have not been ruled on by a judge or a jury.
