2. Eric Bischoff Says He Would Have Booked AJ Styles vs. John Cena As The Main Event For SummerSlam 2016
During a recent edition of Eric Bischoff’s podcast, Eric gave his thoughts on the Brock Lesnar – Randy Orton finish at SummerSlam 2016 and how he would have booked it. Below are the highlights:
If he would have booked the same finish to Lesnar-Orton during his time in WCW:
“I might have. It’s hard to say. I never like to answer a hypothetical like that. You have to know all of the situation and be aware of all of the variables. I clearly don’t. I don’t know if I would have done it or not. I kind of liked it in a couple of different respects. It was unpredictable. Anyone who listens to me on this podcast or has read my book or watched my DVD knows that I am a big fan of doing what’s not predictable. What feels spontaneous? By virtue of the fact it’s surprising it will get people’s attention. I liked the uniqueness of the finish. What I didn’t really think made any sense is to send people home with a bad taste in their mouth. A finish like that, inevitably, is going to leave people confused. I don’t necessarily mean in a bad way but they aren’t going to know how to feel because it’s so different. It will take awhile for that to set in and to resonate with some people. It’s not a predictable finish so people that wanted to cheer Randy Orton didn’t get a chance to really. The people that really dig Brock Lesnar may not have liked the way that finish played out. Maybe some of them did. The end result was it left people kind of stunned. When you leave people stunned or surprised, like that, at the end of a PPV they tend to go home unhappy.”
On how differently he would have booked the ending to SummerSlam 2016:
“If it would have been me and I had perfect 20/20 hindsight and I was sitting in my armchair, quarterback chair… which is pure luxury… I think if they would have put AJ Styles vs John Cena last people would have appreciated the Lesnar vs Orton finish more. If that makes sense.”
