Eric Bischoff has offered an honest, if skeptical, assessment of Sami Zayn’s WWE Championship win, admitting he doesn’t quite see it, at least not yet. Speaking on 83 Weeks, Bischoff made clear his hesitation isn’t personal.
“I like Sami a lot. I got to know him just a little bit,” Bischoff said, praising Zayn’s talent and discipline. “A lot of things to respect, but in that role, frankly, I didn’t see it. Still don’t.”
That said, Bischoff was quick to acknowledge that he could be proven wrong, citing his own misfire in judging the WWE breakout of Danhausen. He also stressed that WWE operates with information that outside observers simply don’t have.
“WWE has access to data that probably we don’t even understand,” Bischoff said. “Does that data tell them something that we don’t see as fans?”
Bischoff framed the decision as a reminder of a lesson he learned under Ted Turner, that creative choices should serve the broad audience rather than the tastes of the person making them.
“Don’t program for yourself, dummy, because there’s only one of you, and you’re programming for the masses,” he said, recalling Turner’s philosophy. For now, though, Bischoff remains unconvinced. “On the surface, it’s a question mark for me.”
