• Eric Bischoff Explains Why Pro-Wrestling Should Not Have An Off-Season
On a recent episode of his weekly ’83 Weeks’ podcast, former WCW President Eric Bischoff revealed that he does not like the idea of professional wrestling having an off-season, like in Baseball, Hockey, Basketball or Football.
Here’s what the 2021 WWE Hall of Famer said:
“First of all, I wouldn’t vote for an offseason. One of the reasons that wrestling works as consistently as it has since the beginning of television time is because it’s 52 weeks a year and it tours. If you take 52 weeks out of the equation and now you take touring out of the equation, you’re going to lose 60% of your audience over the course of 5 or 6 years.
Yeah, but you lose your connection to the audience. Wrestling, and here’s the mistake that a lot of television executives make, is they don’t understand the audience. The wrestling audience becomes so familiar with these characters. They identify with them. They live vicariously through them. They’re kind of, in their own entertainment way, addicted to them.
If you take them off the air for 3, 4 or 5 months, they find other sh*t to do and other things to be interested in. The secret sauce to professional wrestling is that it’s 52 weeks a year. If you go down to 26 and you have to start your season over again and you’ve lost that daily, weekly connection to your audience, and 6 months later you’re going to come back with a new season, good freaking luck.”
No major wrestling federation in the United States ever had a regular annual off-season, like you see in other sports.
After the downfall of Ted Turner’s World Championship Wrestling, Bischoff worked for the WWE as RAW General Manager from 2002 till 2005.
Also Read: Eric Bischoff On Why He Did Not Sign Jake Roberts During The Monday Night Wars
WATCH: Eric Bischoff Forcefully Kisses Stephanie McMahon:
• ON THIS DAY IN WWF HISTORY (July 6, 2000) – WWF SmackDown!
On this day in 2000, the World Wrestling Federation aired an episode of their weekly TV show ‘WWF SmackDown!’.
It was pre-taped at the National Car Rental Center in Fort Lauderdale, Florida and featured pre-taped matches & storyline segments on the road to the ‘WWF Fully Loaded 2000’ PPV.
Here’s the match-card:
1. Kurt Angle vs. Chris Jericho
2. The Dudley Boyz vs. D’Lo Brown & Chaz
3. Jacqueline & Ivory vs. Dean Malenko
4. Intercontinental Title: Val Venis vs. Rikishi
5. Steve Blackman vs. Big Boss Man
6. The Undertaker & Kane vs. T & A
7. Elimination Match: Triple H vs. Kaientai & The Brooklyn Brawler
8. Chyna, Eddie Guerrero & The Rock vs. Edge, Christian & Chris Benoit
