1 week Ago By Andrew Ravens
On the latest episode of 83 Weeks, Eric Bischoff talked about the fallout from The Rock’s comments on the Pat McAfee Show regarding why he wasn’t at WWE WrestleMania 41 and more. You can check out some highlights below: On the fallout from The Rock’s comments: “I don’t even know how to frame it. It’s unusual, to say the least.
And if — look, if you take your emotion out of it and just a step back without any bias ask yourself, ‘Does that sound plausible? Could that have actually happened that way?’ And I think the answer to that is ‘Yes.’ We weren’t in the room, we weren’t a part of those discussions. Is it a possibility that the way Rock laid it out was the way he really saw it? Absolutely.
Does it have some holes in terms of logic? Sure does. And unless you’re in that room, in a part of those conversations, I don’t think we’ll ever know. It sounds to me like this is Rock’s explanation for why he did what he did.
“On paper I get it. But still, there’s the issue that we talked about immediately following the second night is, ‘You started a story and walked away from it.’ And look, if Rock wasn’t The Rock, if Rock would have been any other top performer in WWE? Might not have had as much impact or residual effect, backlash.
But the fact is it was The Rock, and that immediately raised the expectations. And I don’t think you can look backwards in the beginning of a story and say, ‘Well, I know that’s how we started it but I think I’m going to step away.’ You can do that, and obviously they did it, but not without a cost.
I think the controversy that we’re hearing right now is the cost. I didn’t get a chance to see Monday night [Raw]. It sounds to me based on what I’ve read that Monday night, they kind of reset the story and found a solid path forward.
But yeah, this whole thing is just kind of a cluster, if you will.” On whether what The Rock said is true: “Two things can be true at the same time in this case. And I have been a part of a lot of writers rooms to a certain extent in WWE, a much lesser extent in WWE obviously.
But look, that’s what makes wrestling so unique is that you can have a solid plan. You could have planned weeks or months in advance, have absolutely the best creative you can imagine laid out well in advance, in detail. It doesn’t mean it’s not going to change.
And it can change for any number of reasons. We’ve talked about a million times. Injuries are the most obvious ones.
Contractual disputes is another one. These are situations I personally have experienced. Family emergencies that take somebody out.
Personal issues that oftentimes, back in the ’90s and early 2000s, took talent out. Or if you’re really lucky, somebody comes up with a better idea. “And look, I’m giving everybody the benefit of the doubt, because although I don’t know Rock personally.
We’ve worked together a little bit, very little bit, and had a few conversations that were very brief. So I don’t know him. I know him, but I also don’t know John Cena on a real personal level.
I’ve certainly worked with him a lot more, and I have a good sense of what he’s all about, as well as Cody. So there’s nothing but respect for everybody involved, but that’s one of the things that makes wrestling unique. Is that you can have plans and for any number of reasons, including a better idea that everybody goes, ‘Wow.
I really like that.’ Sometimes you’re faced with a choice: do we go with an idea that everybody feels is a better idea, or do we stick with what we’ve got because, ‘Well that’s what we have planned.’ And there’s value in that, don’t get me wrong.
Pre-production is the key to good production in every way. But sometimes an idea just hits you, even though you’ve done all the work and you adjust on the fly.” If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit 83 Weeks with an h/t to 411mania.
com for the transcription..
