83 Weeks with Eric Bischoff - Episode 369: The Trouble With Shoot Promos

Episode Date: April 12, 2025

On this episode of 83 Weeks, Eric and Conrad tackle the discussion of shoot promos. Eric shares his thoughts on the controversial Charlotte Flair, Tiffany Stratton Smackdown promo and what it revealed about both of them. All that plus the latest happenings in professional wrestling on this edition of 83Weeks.  MANDO - Control Body Odor ANYWHERE with @shop.mando and get $5 off your Starter Pack (that’s over 40% off) with promo code 83WEEKS at https://shopmando.com/  #mandopod FACTOR - Eat smart with Factor. Get started at FACTORMEALS.com/83weeks50off and use code 83weeks50off to get 50% off your first box plus free shipping. TECOVAS - Get 10% off at tecovas.com/83WEEKS when you sign up for email and texts. BLUECHEW - Visit https://bluechew.com  and try your first month of BlueChew FREE when you use promo code 83WEEKS -- just pay $5 shipping. PAINT YOUR LIFE - Text WEEKS to 87204 to get 20% off and FREE Shipping. Paint Your Life: Celebrate the moments that matter most. ROCKET MONEY - Cancel your unwanted subscriptions – and manage your money the easy way – by going to RocketMoney.com/83WEEKS SAVE WITH ERIC - Stop throwing your money on rent! Get into a house with NO MONEY DOWN and roughly the same monthly payment at https://nationsgo.com/conrad/ ADVERTISE WITH ERIC - If your business targets 25-54 year old men, there's no better place to advertise than right here with us on 83 WEEKS You've heard us do ads for some of the same companies for years...why? Because it works! And with our super targeted audience, there's very little waste. Go to https://www.podcastheat.com/advertise now and find out more about advertising with 83 Weeks. On AdFreeShows.com, you get early, ad-free access to more than a dozen of your favorite wrestling podcasts, starting at just $9! And now, you can enjoy the first week...completely FREE! Sign up for a free trial - and get a taste of what Ad Free Shows is all about. Start your free trial today at https://adfreeshows.supercast.com/

Jacob Simmel, I'm from Bulls Gap, Tennessee. I was looking for a house, and Jason, when I talked to him, it seemed like he knew a lot about what he was talking about, and he was a big help with anything I ever needed. It's my first time buying a house. I didn't know what I was getting into. It was a good experience. I closed actually a week earlier than planned. Anytime I needed help with anything or had any questions, you'd answer right away,

and help me learn a lot, too. I would gladly recommend anybody. Y'all are a big help, and if I ever go to buy a house again, I'd go with y'all again. My name is Jacob Simmel, and I got into my first time with the team at save atconrad.com. In a lesson number 2129-equal housing lender, savewithconrad.com. Hey, hey, it's Garnrad Thompson, and we are live. at 83 weeks.com and of course we couldn't do it without the Hall of of Famer himself, the only man to put Vince McMahon down for the count, not for a

week, not for a month, not for a quarter, but for 83 weeks, ladies and gentlemen, the one and only Mr. Eric Bischoff. Eric, how are you, man? I'm just been a great day. I got up 430 this morning and every hour seems to be getting just a little bit better than the one that preceded it. So, Yeah. By the way, 75 degrees it's sunny with no wind here in Wyoming today. So that in of itself is cause for celebration. We are going to have a lot of fun today. Of course, we are live at 83 weeks.com. That is our free YouTube. If you haven't already, I want to encourage you, go hit the subscribe button and turn on your notifications bell. We'll never miss us the next time

we're live, days like today. By the way, since we are live, if you're with us, you can ask Eric, almost anything you want. Eric, there's lots of rumor and innuendo out there. There's lots of stuff I want to jump into. Of course, we do have a topic today, but I think the man behind the curtain, our producer, is Dave Silva. Dave, can you turn your audio on so we can hear you? Is that okay?

Yes, sir. So Dave, last week when we went live here, we were supposed to be talking about thunder and somehow, some way, Eric Bischoff managed to answer all the live questions and we never even got to Thunder.

And I felt like that was his strategy. So I just knew today we would be talking about Thunder, but I see in my notes that in fact we're talking about WCW video games and licensing. Can you explain

to me, Silva, how we went from talking about Thunder to WCW video games? Well, I think my love for video games, I don't play factors. Wait, so Eric had nothing to do with this. This is all you. Well, I know Eric likes to talk about the business of the wrestling business. That's why it's WCW video games and licensing. So Eric is talking about business. Listen, that sounds like, I mean, it really does sound like a good idea, but we have our notes in our show prep for Thunder. Are you sure that he didn't maybe drop a check in the mail or something?

I really wanted to cover Thunder. Well, um, I just, I just was reminded, um, that there was a name under 83 weeks. There's a name on the show and it is in fact not mine. Okay. Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to 83 weeks. We're excited to be talking about video games today. I'm going to be taking your questions. If you've got a question for Eric, keep them coming. Eric, we're going to have a lot of fun today, but right at the top of the show, I want to mention that, uh, WWE has announced their Hall of Fame legacy inductees this week. And it's got people talking a little bit.

You're familiar with some of these folks. Ivan Koloff, Dory Funk, senior, and Kamala will all join the WWE Hall of Fame this year. And I know that these are no doubt about it, bona fide megastars in the wrestling business. but I am curious, you know, did you have any stories about any of these fellows? I know you didn't meet Dory Funk Senior. Did you ever meet Ivan Kolaw? I believe I did just as I was breaking into the business. I think he came through AWA or perhaps he was in AWA,

he worked in AWA, and I went as a fan to see him before I ever went to work for Burn. It was a minute ago. So I'm not sure which of those is, but I'm not sure which of those is. I feel like I briefly met him. Yeah, that would be interesting to think about because, I mean, what a career he had. If you're not familiar with the career he had, you know, just what he was able to do with the WWWF. I mean, some really historic spots and as if that's not enough, of course, if you grew up

like I did, watching some Jim Crockett promotions in WCW, he was such a big part. But Kamala, now that's someone you definitely worked with in WCW. right here yeah i don't remember much you know i didn't really work directly with him um you know i didn't negotiate his deal and and and all that so there was not a lot of uh interaction between myself and kamala uh but yeah definitely it's just so cool i love the fact that i love that w e is doing this i'm going to be at the hall of fame and i've been saying for years at this time of year right before muslimania that But to me, personally,

WrestleMania is the highlight of WrestleMania Weeker, especially if you get an opportunity to be there alive. And I know that's a real, that's a tough, tough ticket to get. But man, it's so, it's just so cool because the emotions are, are high. Everybody's kind of in the right frame of mind and excited. And looking forward to do, to guys just getting their nod. It's a really important thing to them, many of them. And just to be in that room surrounded by all those people that are

vibing all the same way is a fun experience. I'm really looking forward to next Friday night in Las Vegas. Lori and I are both going to be there and can't wait. By the way, we will be live next Sunday night immediately following night two of WrestleMania, make plans to join us here at 83 weeks.com. when the final curtain falls on WrestleMania. Will Cody Rhodes still be our world champion? Will John Sina have broken Rick Claire's record?

Will he be a new 17-time world champion? We'll talk about it all, soup to nuts next Sunday, right here at 83 weeks.com. So hit the subscribe button, turn on your notifications bell. You know, a quick little search, Eric, I did find that it looks like Mr. Koloff only worked one show at the AWA in 1990, but you probably would have been there for that one i would have been here i worked there then so that would have been it and it turns out that i can't believe this is real but sometimes uh it's interesting to take a look with the benefit of hindsight 30 years ago the dungeon of doom which at the time was a tag team comprised here

on worldwide of kamala and zodiac so brutus the freaking barber beefcake was tag teaming with Kamala on worldwide in October of 95 against an enhancement talent named Terry Morgan and somehow, some way, I believe this was Kamala's last match in WCW. Scott DeMore was an opponent working out of talent. You know, who booked that? Hey, Kevin, what the hell we used to? I love that. We, uh, of course, we're all talking about WrestleMania.

It feels like the entire world is talking about. really specifically there's been a lot of heat poured on a promo that we heard last week on Smackdown with Charlotte Flair and Tiffany Stratton there's been major buzz around that segment lots of conspiracy theorists lots of rumor and innuendo lots of people saying this was scripted and that was a shoot and what was supposed to happen and is there real heat a lot of people are confused that Tiffany who I believe is the baby face got in a kind of a heelish line but then threw the microphone down and then ran away and I just thought that's weird like we know that in the whole scene a Cody rock thing

Cody was the baby face so he said hey rock go eff yourself and sort of puffed his chest out and he was ready for what came to have the baby face I think it's the baby face get a line in like this and then scurry away felt weird and maybe that's where some of the speculation came from Eric, what'd you make of this segment? I don't think too deep beyond what I see and feel. In other words, I'm not interested in the conspiracy theories and all the internet chatter from people that have no idea what they're talking about. But they project in whatever they want to project in in order to get a reaction

social media because that validates them and it makes them feel important. I just thought it was awkward. I know I'm often criticized for just putting WWE over at every opportunity. And truthfully, I do because there's not a lot to criticize. This interview may be the exception. It just for whatever reason, and it could be something just as innocuous as the fact that they just don't really have any chemistry. They haven't worked together longer. Perhaps they didn't get time to really work through this the way you would like to.

Or perhaps, and more likely, Tiffany's Green. Regardless of the content of that interview, she was really forced and it felt very awkward. And she felt to me, this is from a producer's perspective. You kind of read in body language. You're listening to the pace of the delivery, right? if it's very mechanical, almost like an AI voice, that's nerves. It's just somebody that's trying so hard not to forget what to say that whatever they do say comes out very choppy and just unnatural.

That's what I took from Tiffany. I think that things started falling apart and for whatever reason. me be the first to tell you you've heard about ring rust you all kind of know what that is because it's relatable to any other sport right if you haven't swung a golf club in two years you'd go out to play you know 18 holes competitively you're going to know it or any other sport wrestling obviously the same when it comes to the physical part we can all relate to that here's the part that you can't relate to unless you've been in in the spot and that's out there live in front of people, remembering what is often or having etcher control,

so to speak, what is often a fairly heavy dose of narrative, right, for live. Most of the time, they all handle it well. It's time they didn't for whatever reason. And my first thought before I even heard, you know, I don't know what the drama is, backstage, I just don't care. it's not interesting to me it's just not where my head goes right but again producer eric says she's not ready for that kind of pressure Charlotte's been off for a while and she's got her own version of ring rust not physically but until you've been in that spot and stood there in a

on a top of a little box like a top of a wedding cake surrounded by oh i don't know 10 15 20 000 and people, um, you, you, you might not know how that feels. I do there's, I, when I was in NXT, am I talking too much? Should I show? No, no, not at all. But I was, when I did my little, uh, appearance in NXT in December, I was out there in the middle of the ring with, uh, Ridge Holland and I can't remember the name of his opponent at that time.

And, you know, my, my promo was. pretty easy. There was nothing complicated about it. In fact, it looked so easy on paper that I went, okay, that this, not quite like that, but I probably spent a half hour or so looking at it off and on because it wasn't that much. And number two, when I was doing it every week, I could look at a promo like that, a five-minute promo, and that's, you know, tennis match, right, going back and forth. Five-minute promo, I could look at it for about three minutes and have it word for word if I needed to.

So I spent about a half hour. I realized, well, I haven't done this as well, let's make sure. You don't want to go out there and screw it up. Boom, I had it. I rehearsed it in front of people. I rehearsed it in front of Sean Michaels. He wanted to hear it. And I wanted to, you know, I wanted to do that.

I want to challenge myself a little bit instead of me just talking to myself in my room. I felt like I had it. If you go back and watch it, you'll see it. I'm about halfway through, and I could not for the life for me remember my line. And Ridge couldn't react to me until I delivered it. Keep in mind, he's in developmental. So, huh? And what probably was a couple seconds, which I tried to camouflage,

flash by pretending I was working the crowd well I was going to learn a hell am I rich to his credit saw what was going on and he jumped in and improvised and got us through the rest of the promo and we didn't miss a beat and it ended exactly the way it was supposed to end save my ass so and gee I've only been doing this at a pretty high level for over 30 years and I froze up like it was the first or second time I ever did it that's I only say that because I do think Charlotte struggled we know she can cut a promo so it's not like gee is she forgotten how happened happened she hasn't done it in a while I don't know Tiffany's green and it just it unravel that's my take

I've seen some comments saying that in the in our live chat here at 83 weeks dot com hey Charlotte was shook I think that's the first time she's been in the ring where they piped in boots. I mean, granted, she's got plenty of heat, but she did get the Dom Mysterio treatment where every time the mic came up, she booed. I guess the other big thing that a lot of people are discussing is they're saying, well, Charlotte went off script first. And I think that's interesting because it feels like a lot of the internet believes that.

But the segment they're referencing was two weeks prior and it was a pre-taped promo. Eric, if someone went off script in a pre-tape, would that make air? no not if it's detrimental to the promo right if it added to the promo they would keep it they would go oh good pick right because that happens sometimes too where you'll look at a script and you'll tweak it up just a little bit you run up by the producer they'll run tape and if they go huh i like that better and got to be careful with that's why i say i mean look it it's kind of entertaining i guess if you've got a lot of time on your hands just to read some of the stuff in fabrication and the delusion that sometimes it's just flat out funny

but it's getting to the point where it's more sad than funny so I don't look at it as much anymore but yes I stay away from that just look at what's what's most likely to be true you've got a green piece of talent and you've got one that hasn't been in the ring with a mic in a long time there you go you could actually bet on that like If there were odds, if you knew a promo and you know who was in it, you had, you know, you had some background information. You could sit back and go, huh, Charlotte Flair hasn't had a microphone in her hand. Oh, six months.

He hasn't been involved in a program. Wow. And then girls she's in there with having a rap battle, she's greener and goose shit. He doesn't have a lot of experience. I'm going to bet on, eh, that'd be an easy bet. I do want to ask you a little bit about going off script, but before we do, I want to go on script about Mando because I'm such a big believer in this product and I know you are too, Eric, Mando is whole body deodorant that's safe to use anywhere on your body. And when we say anywhere, we mean it.

Yeah, even your undercarriage, all of it. You know what we're talking about. Even your feet. You see, Mando was created by a doctor who I know actually went to the same school as Eric Bischoff. And there's a rumor out there that I read in the observer that Dave Meltzer has it on good authority that Eric Scratch stanked so bad in high school that it became legendary up and down the halls of the high school. And this doctor said, I'm going to get to the root of it. She understood it and made it her life's mission. I mean, she has dedicated her entire career to figuring out how B.O. was being misdiagnosed and mistreated. and now she's come up with a plan designed, according to the legend, specifically for Eric Bischoff to block odor all day long and control it for up to 72 hours.

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Go, Skippers! So maybe that story you just told us true. I don't know. I don't think your legendary nut stank really inspired bando but it'd be a good story if it did we also be a good argument for a piece of the action hey shannon look at you always thinking hey so listen we are going to talk about our topic today which is wcw video games and licensing but we're talking a little bit about going off script and i think that's one of the things that has made some legendary promos through the years because we as fans what we really want

we're in on the joke we're in on the gag we get what wrestling is but we like to point to things eric and we like to say hey i know what wrestling is but that ooh that was real so there's a lot of people who've decided hey this is all the work and this was an elaborate plan and all of that as a way to sort of get some interest in this match because i think everyone agrees on paper maybe a couple of years ago it did feel like a rasselmanian dream match maybe one day but an execution the bill maybe has been eh but everyone was at least talking about it over the last week is there a line in going off script i've seen some people online who were who were jumping up and down saying oh charlotte deserved it blah blah blah

i feel like that's interesting because some of those same people are the ones who are saying yay wrestling's for everyone mental health except for charlotte f her i don't know how to reconcile all that. But I do think there is a line, and I'm wondering, is the line if it's about real life stuff and not your character stuff, or is everything open game? Where do you land on that? It's very individual to me. And I've done it really, really well, and I've done it really, really poorly. I've had great results, and I've had disasters. And enough in between that I feel like nobody's an expert on anything really. They just think they are. I have a pretty good handle on this one because I've run the damage. It all depends on the people involved.

And here's where that, it sounds easy, right? Oh, it's up to them. They feel good about it. Do it. It'll be great. It's real life. It's a shoot. The problem is when you've got talent, they want to do the best job they can do. They don't want to disappoint the producer or the who's ever asking them in authority. They don't want to say, oh, I'd really, really rather not go there because what kind of a team player are you in a very, very competitive environment where whether it's fair or not or outward or not. bias exists and if you come off as someone that's kind of a prima donna when it comes to trying to bring a reality to the table you probably won't get a lot of opportunities to do that in the future that's just a reality that's human nature unfortunately so what do people

do even though they don't feel comfortable deep down inside they don't really want to do it But they don't want to say no, and they do. And it's harder for them than they think. Or it hurts more than they think, or embarrasses them more than they think. Or it affects family members more than they considered. They hadn't played it out. And then there's backlash at home. That messes everything up.

Because now you've got at least one of your two parties who really, really don't want to do this. So guess how well they're going to do it? They're stuck now. He said yes. Now what? And it usually goes downhill. The other side of that coin is, depending on what the issue is that's being exposed, you've got two people that are eager to do it.

and you can feel it they're not just trying to sell you have to believe them knowing that they're going to try to sell you because they want a favor they want an opportunity they want to disappoint so yeah you got just you got to you got to feel it if you got two people that are chomping at the bit to do it bet all your money on it but if you're not sure they're really into it stay away from it come up with something better that's kind of what I thought I mean it feels like again do I know. I'm not a wrestler, but I've always been led to believe that the in-ring stuff, hey, that whole thing is built on trust. I'm trusting you with my body to not dump me on my head and get me hurt and all that sort of thing. Well, it feels like we've got to have some

trust about things we won't talk about. I mean, even when we've done roast before Eric, we would ask the talent, hey, is there anything that's sort of off limits? And that's not uncommon. And there are certain things that have happened in major stars lives, whether we're saying the biggest of the stars like Hulk Hogan or Steve Austin on down the line, but there has been a sensitivity that maybe we don't go there. Maybe we don't talk about it. Maybe they're not comfortable with that. And if someone goes over that line, it feels like,

well, that trust has been breached. And I think sometimes we as fans, we kind of want to believe that sort of thing. So whether it was a work or it was a shoot, no matter what it was, I think people are more excited to see the match now, as a result and people are going to want to see it when it happens like hey is that a live round like when we heard about matt hardy and edge when we heard about jeff gerrit and

curt angle or whatever people are going to be looking like oh there was the real punch i mean that's what people are ready for now right eric so i mean you hit on something really really important and it's easy to gloss over it and just move on but let's just fantasy boom i'm right even going to say the word let's just play out another scenario that's a better way in a scenario where your producer whoever he's ever calling a shot say it's probably not unless you say it is or maybe it's out who knows whoever it is sees these two people and knows they have it in them you don't just all of a sudden develop the ability of a Mick Foley or Steve Austin or Rick Flair he it's it doesn't

doesn't work that way, you've got to get there over time. So if you never get the opportunity to do it, how are you ever going to get there over time? If no one gives you that first shot and the second, a third, to fourth, and a fifth, because some of them are going to suck. But if you don't get some reps in with this style of a promo, how are you ever going to get good at it? There's a huge argument back in the 80s and the 90s, and maybe even today, I don't them about how the territories used to really be a developmental territory eventually for WWE in the sense that these guys learned how to go out and cut promos. They had to make money doing it and they got good at it. So when they finally made it to WWF at the time,

you know, a lot of them came through all the different territories, but those guys learned how to do it in front of people and live and be able to improv. like really improv, like I'll let me shuffle improv in the 15th round. And then they brought that skill to television. Well, that doesn't really exist anymore. There's opportunities to get those reps with a mic in your hand in front of a crowd live where you learn to improv. They're gone. So where are you going to get a chance to develop it?

Now, go back to Bruce Pitchard. You can see he looks over and see Charlotte. Oh, I know she's got it in her. He believes that Tiffany does too. She may be green, but if he sees potential in her, guess what he's going to do? He's going to give him a shot. Now, I'm not saying that happened. It probably unlikely nothing remotely close to that happened.

But keep in mind when you see something that feels awkward and then guess what? Everybody's reading into it. Everybody's talking about it. Conrad, that's your point. All of a sudden, this awkward interview that maybe it was a shoot. Or maybe it wasn't. Who's a third man? Same thing.

You're getting people talking. Guess what talking creates interest. So you never really know. I'd go back to my first thesis, that being, she's been off, she's, the other one's green, it fumbled in the middle somewhere, neither one of them knew how to pick it up and take control of it. It went immediately tit for tat.

And it just was what it was. whatever we're all going to watch we're all interested and a friend of mine once said controversy creates cash let's talk about another wrestling man match and then we are going to be moving into our topic i want to talk a little bit about gunther and j uso this is another match that people have been and everybody acknowledged this last year or so j uso has been on a tear i saw more little kids dressed up like j uso this year than any other wrestler. He's over like Rover. You can just see the reactions and know that. But it's weird sometimes this WWE fan base. We want it. We want it. We want it. No,

never mind. We changed our mind. And it feels like that's what's happening with Jay Uso. And even guys like Kevin Nash have been critical of Jay. So it feels like a lot of people were like, hey, uh, we hear you. He's over, but we didn't really want this. But now they've turned the heat up on it. I mean, we saw blood involved in this angle and now there's some more story telling. But recently, the world champion Gunther was on the Ariel Hawanee show, and he shared his thoughts about Triple H

being in charge, and of course he's here to plug WrestleMania, but this one bit I'd like for you to take a listen to here, Eric. Sure. So how would you describe working for Paul? How would you describe working for him as the leader, his vision,

the way he does things differently than the previous regime? well I would say to a degree and obviously he's my boss and I'm in a very good position at a company right now but I think to a certain degree

that he saved professional wrestling to a big degree I think wow because yeah when I remember when I started 2005 I started and all the Europeans kind of like tried to get into WV

was such a a mystery about it like who to talk to and what what to do it seemed so far away such an unrealistic point to achieve and yeah Hannah was the one that pushed for opening

that world to the movie and created so many jobs and opportunities back then for so many of the guys like for us all the European guys but then in general it was the yeah he opened the floodgates for the wrestling world outside of WV and I think that's a very

since then the change has been very positive and I think there was a big achievement to be honest because the business changed since then and it changed to the better. I think it's the whole list that it is right now and that all started back then when he started NXT and

started working more with guys that worked on the Indies before and stuff like that. What do you think Eric did did Triple H save wrestling? From Guth's his point of view he did I think Gunther made some really, really good points. If opening up the floodgates as Gunther put it,

meaning more people working, better opportunities, more independent promotions around the world, if that's what Gunther's referring to from his perspective, then who's going to argue with that? That's how the business grows. That's called evolution. You're either growing or you're dying.

That's growing. And I get, you know, when I first heard that, headlines like what he saved wrestling i mean it's a bit of a stretch but if you put yourself in gutter's shoes and you see the world from his perspective he's right i think triple h is responsible for a tremendous amount of growth in in w w and i think nxte has been a big part of that and i think it's just seeing the tip of the iceberg in terms of what that show will yield in terms of benefits to WWE, roundbreaker, and a whole bunch more ready to come, come out to play.

So, yeah, I think from his perspective is right. I think that's a pretty broad, you know, overall was if Paul would have got snatched up by aliens and taken off to another planet to start a wrestling company on Jupiter, I think WWE would still be here. So, and wrestling would still be here. But I also got what he meant. And by the way, what a class act. been as a class hug well let's let's talk about WrestleMania together we're going to be

doing it live right here at 83 weeks.com immediately following night two of WrestleMania so go ahead and turn on your notifications bell so you won't miss us on the final curtain falls on WrestleMania if you're curious Jeff Jarrett and I will be live on night one so immediately following night one will be with double j over at my of worldpod.com, but of course, the main event, I got Cody Rhodes and John Sina, but everyone's going to be talking about with the water cooler on Monday and Eric Bischoff and I are going to be live chatting with you.

We're also taking your live questions, but of course last week we had some live questions we didn't get to. Eric, I'm going to try to get through as many of these as we can before we jump into our topic today, which is WCW video games and licensing. Ask a bum wants to know. Has anyone ever legit mistaken you for your character? Have you ever ran into someone in real life who didn't get the memo, Eric, and they thought that you really were that guy?

Oh, yeah. Now, you know, it didn't react to me the same way that they would react to me in a, you know, live wrestling experience or environment. But yeah, I mean, a lot of the people that worked at Turner Broadcasting who were scared to death that the president of the company. was the character and vice versa. I mean, it was an issue. It was a big issue.

And even out socially or in public, you know, you know what I notice is the most is if I'm at a convention or signing of some sort or just I'm out somewhere, going through an airport and somebody recognizes me and you can always tell the eye contact's a little different, the energy, the vibe is a little different

when somebody sees you and they really want to come over and say hi or ask for an autograph, but they don't want to, they're awkward, right? They don't know how to do. I can spot it from 100 feet away, usually. And then, you know, I kind of, I'll make eye contact with them and maybe smile or whatever, just to let them know it's okay. And all you have to say is, hey, please to meet you.

I'm on my way to him playing, but sure, I'll take a selfie, boom, take a selfie, and off I go. And you can just feel him go, oh, man, he's not that asshole I thought he was. Or maybe they're just nervous that I'm interpreting it incorrectly. But yeah, it's definitely happened on an intense level professionally when people who had never met me before, but how could someone like that run the company? It's funny. We've got another live question here.

This one is from Dan. He says, I have a weird question for you as far as video. Why on some old school footage I watch there are black bars on each side of the screen. and some old footage doesn't have the black bars on each side. Of course, he's talking about the four three aspect ratio, I believe here. Do you have a reason on that? Why is some video stretched and others or not? I don't know the technical reason.

Do you, Eric? I don't know for certain, um, at all. Here's my wild ass guess. Probably the format that it's on. There's a one inch tape, three quarter inch tape, digital, maybe that might be an answer. Because when I first started learning how to edit, Byrne was using one-inch machines, which probably should have been sold and replaced in the late 60s or early 70s.

That's what he had. That could be it. But I'm not technically experienced enough to be able to answer that question. But I bet you we're going to get an answer before the show is over. Somebody out there, give us an answer. Come on. has said he's here live with us and he says Eric nailed it that is correct so how about that you live to enlighten I do indeed Travis says Eric I agree with wanting heroes to get their

rewards subsequently the heel doesn't but seen as heel turn is a bit half baked it's theatrical not emotional we're almost willing his heel turn for fun what do you think of that that this maybe isn't as emotional as the Hulk Hogan heel turn. With the benefit of hindsight, that's hard to argue with, isn't it? Not for me. It's obvious. I mean, look, it's interesting. It's fun.

It's compelling. We want to see because it there's more, the personal issue part is kind of, eh, on a scale of one to 10, the personal issue in other words do I really feel like these guys really really do feel the way they're being presented they feel about each other can I believe it eh not quite yet to be honest but what's interesting maybe for me at least now more interesting than missing that and I got to see

what happens when these two step in the rate. Because I think that's lacking. That super compelling, like you're scratching the days off a calendar kind of thing. It's not there for most people. But what happens next is actually more compelling. Where is it going to go after WrestleMania? Because of the nature of the people involved and how, you know, who they are. Cody Rhodes, Sina, who else is going to?

to get involved in this mystery if it is indeed it ends up being a mystery or whatever it ends up being i don't know man i'm more interested in seeing where it goes than what it does oh did i just say that but it's true gareth jones is with us and he has a question he says how does eric view the current product and how much do we appreciate triple h and also if eric has any input into it You know, it's something that, you know, I know that you could go on and on about this question, but I have seen some criticism saying, hey, WrestleMania is not sold out. They needed 60,000 seats each night to sell out. They're not going to be close to that.

And it feels like, you know, I've seen a lot of other criticism saying there's meaningless singles matches. There's no step matches. There's no special guest WrestleMania hosts. This is a flop. And I'm just like, wow. I can't imagine when we know going in, we're going to break every revenue record and blah, blah, blah.

And I know some fans say they don't care about that, but I sometimes hear the criticism when it's like, hey, you announced a WrestleMania host, but no one cares. Like, who is honestly ever cared who was the WrestleMania? I never cared. What, what do you think? Is Stripleh doing a good job or has this year's

WrestleMania build not met the mark? People are pointing to things like the fact that the ticket aren't sold out they're doing that's dumb that's just flat out stupid okay let's hear about it a statement like that is a reflection and I'm using this term I just use the term stupid which is I'm sorry I didn't mean to call everybody stupid not everybody but the people that thought that because the tickets are down triple H is doing a bad job it's so internet it's funny it's Las Vegas on East I don't care what anybody says, I've been to Las Vegas on Easter Sunday.

I intentionally took my family to Las Vegas on Easter Sunday because I knew it would be vacant and everything would be open. And it's amazing what Sunday morning looks like or Easter weekend looks like in Las Vegas. It was, you know, 15 years ago or more, so maybe it's changed. I don't know. I've done it again. But it's not the hottest weekend for WrestleMania, not the best weekend. Anybody that says that's not at least a part of it is just trying to be an internet wrestling community king.

I can't wait to see what people think on the other side of WrestleMania. And I can't wait to hear what you think about Factor. Make this your best season yet with the nutritious two-minute meals from Factor. You know, eating well has never been this easy. Just heat up and enjoy. We're going to give you more time to do what you want. So go outside instead of prepping and cooking indoors. You see, Factor meals arrive fresh and ready to eat.

And it's perfect for any active lifestyle. With 45 weekly menu options, you can pick your gourmet meals that fit your goals. You can choose from calorie smart, protein plus, keto, and more. factor powers your day with satisfying breakfast on the go lunches premium dinners and of course guilt-free snacks and desserts it's easy to savor more this spring and factor meals pack in the flavor with none of the fuss it really doesn't get any easier than this if you're watching with us over at 83 weeks.com you see these little boxes that

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when I had my parents bunking with me while they were doing some remodeling projects at their house, I plated it on our regular plates, Eric, nobody was any of the wiser. Factor tastes like the real deal. You're going to love it. You're not only going to love the taste. You're going to love the way you feel. Go right now and get started at

factor meals.com slash 83 weeks 50 off and use our code 83 weeks 5.0 off. You'll get 50% off plus free shipping on your first box. That's code 83 weeks 50 off at factor meals.com slash 83 weeks 50 off for 50% off plus free shipping. So Eric, we got a few more questions before we get to our topic. Let's jump right into it. Swerve Daddy wants to know. Hey, Eric, do you think that Paul stays with Roman? but do you think we see a swerve and he goes with punk or even more of a swerve with Rollins this is the the night one intrigue the main event what does Paul Heyman do see what I mean yes I mean this is art it's happening right in front of us

and it's underappreciated until until it's over which is fine sometimes this is I am so envious isn't the right word because I wouldn't want to trade places with anybody right now, but what a cool position to be in. Whether you're a writer, whether you're Paul and you're looking for the best options or the talent, you've got three good choices. It's not a question of choosing one that is either going to work or not work. It's which one of these three is going to work best?

Which one of these three has the longest lifespan? in terms of creating an arc, which one of these three could potentially be a 12-month story or a bloodline type story. It's just so fun when you look at it from that perspective as opposed to, I didn't sell enough tickets in Vegas on Easter. It's just so much fun if you look at it a little differently, I want to say critical thinking, but kind of a creative critical thinking and look at it from that perspective, this is awesome.

I don't know which way he's going to go. I don't know which of those have the longest tail. I always like the one that you least suspect. So Seth would, basically the way you frame that would make a lot of sense to me. But I think there's some real runway with him and punk because of the backstory. Act one has already been told. Right.

They can pick it up in act two. That's kind of cool. I love that. Lots of people. people are asking this question, Eric. I want your feedback on this. Papa Wheely says, would you consider punk versus Rollins versus Reigns a main event without a title? A friends and I are fighting about it. I say no. I know you're big on steaks and I don't mean ribies and fillets. I mean, hey, we want something on the line. I saw someone, I think it was

Kevin Owens doing an interview recently. And he said something like, you know, when I main evented night one of WrestleMania with Sammy Zane against the Usos or against Steve Austin, everyone said it wasn't the main event, but now that CN Punk is back and he's been so public about his goal in life to be main eventing a WrestleMania, well, now that he's main eventing night one, well, it turns out the night one main event is indeed a WrestleMania main event. Now, of course, going on last, I think is what everyone knows has always been the barometer, but what do you think? Is there enough meat on the bone without a title for this to be a main event?

I mean, the old school thinking is, hey, what goes on last should be for the title. There's not even a tag belt here on the line. It's just a three way dance for the main event. Is there enough meat on the bone for a main event there, Eric? Not for me, but it's an attraction and therein lies your choices. Sometimes, you know, attractions work at everything has to be story driven. If you have enough story and the rest of your product, real story, it's working, you can afford to have an attraction match if you have an attraction.

Those three guys are an attraction. So I would prefer that the winner has something to gain. That's always a driver. No matter what it is, it doesn't always have to be a big thing. but there should be an outcome that is recognized as a huge benefit to somebody to maximize engagement. It doesn't mean you have to have it, but if you want to maximize engagement, you really do. But if you don't, if you don't have those stakes, that reason that why, that's what it comes

down to, why, one word, why, why are they doing it? Why are these three guys wrestling? like if the answer is because of three huge names of people want to see it fair enough just it would be better if there were stakes so David Shaker is with us here live and he wants to know have either of you watched the WrestleMania 9 documentary that just came out this did just come out today I believe I've seen a lot of people talking about it on social media I've been in meetings all day and literally just now poking my head up I haven't had a chance to see this. I am going to watch it this weekend.

Eric, what do you think about WWE releasing some of these behind the scenes series like this? I mean, this idea is we're going to learn based on what I've seen online that Nick Kahn was actually an usher at this show, WrestleMania and you see all of the great behind the scenes footage of Gorilla Monsoon and Bruce Pritchard. I love that stuff. I can't wait to see it. Have you had a chance to check it out? And if not, will you?

I have not, brother, I've been so underwater for the last two weeks that I haven't had a chance to look at much of anything. But I absolutely will and I think it's fantastic. The more people can connect with your brand on different levels. Obviously, television is the driver. That's the heartbeat financially of the company, of the industry. TV licensing is the lifeblood of professional wrestling right now. And they're doing a great job at that, but that's only part of it. And this type of content where the audience feels like they're getting to know something,

they're learning, they're experiencing something. In many cases, they didn't even know how to happen. They never really appreciated WrestleMania 9 because, their parents were barely born by that. You know what I mean? That's an exaggeration. But there's so much depth there. It's a little bit like, you know, the NFL, you know, spends a lot of time reminding

people of the history of the NFL, the legacy of some of the major players, all that brings the fan base closer to the product as this type of endeavor. we're live here at 83 weeks.com and we greatly appreciate john sawyer for signing up and joining us and being a new member here at 83 weeks.com thank you for that john welcome to the club micmac says leave silver alone he is the face that runs this place i don't know how many times his face has been on the show but yes uh we've learned our lesson from messing with dave silver the on-pocket variety show says as the professor of controversy creating cash.

Here's a deep cut here, Eric. Would you punish slash berate Tiffany for what she said? Do you fear her getting too comfortable moving forward? Now, we're way down the weeds on this whole Tiffany Charlotte thing, but I did see something from Dave Meltzer that I

think is interesting. He said, you know, if this would have happened in AEW, the heat would be on Tony Con and the promotion for not getting to the bottom of it. And he cited specifically the CM Punk Hangman Adam Page promo that went too far that eventually led to brawl out when these guys were doing these sort of shoot comment promos and the company didn't sort of intervene.

It is interesting that that's what was said about AEW, but now that it's happening in WWE, there's no heat on the company and seemingly no heat on Tiffany. In fact, somehow the heat is on the person that the shoot comment was about. It's really fascinating to think how there is a bit of a double standard. I see the point that Dave Meltzer is making, but the question from the out-of-pocket variety show is, would you punish Tiffany, Eric? So, Conrad, those two situations are decidedly different. If you, if someone listening to this or watching us doesn't agree with that, that's cool,

then I would suggest to think about what is the outcome? You have two situations. One of them was however long ago in AEW. What was the outcome of that? Bites, punk leaving, fines, six months worth of PR and chatter, videotape coming out to try to expose punk after he left the, I mean, AEW made that news because of the way it ended. This is comparatively a popcorn fart.

Who cares other than the Internet wrestling community? Because it's something to talk about it. It's a conspiracy theory. So the outcomes and the impact of those two situations are night and day. So Dave, of course, doing what Dave does is trying to, you know, tit for tat this. And well, they're, oh, come everybody got down to Tony, but they're not saying anything about WWE. It's tribalism that he himself is creating.

There are two different situations. You can't compare them in that regard. Now, if Tiffany and Charlotte ended up in a brawl backstage, or one of them would have gotten fired from the company, or Triple H would have been in fear for his life, yeah, then we'll talk about comparing them, but this is just another, you know, inverse reality analysis from Dave Meltzer, who spends most of his time upside down. So would you punish Tiffany or no? No.

She punished herself. She dropped the ball. That's as much of a lesson now. Assuming she has any degree of self-awareness, which I'm sure she does or she wouldn't be in a position she's in. But she's going to look back at this and it's going to haunt her. because it sucked and it didn't work. She's going to learn from it.

That's about as much punishment as she needs, I guess. For me, that's how I would do. I put aside. Okay, let's sit down and watch this together. How'd you feel about that? But before I hit place, Jeff, how'd you feel about that? Did you do a good job with that? Did you do anything any differently?

Really? All right, let's watch it back and see how you feel when it's over. Because when you see yourself back, it's completely different than the way you felt in the moment. You don't see yourself the way the audience sees yourself, sees you. You don't even hear yourself the way the audience hears you. I'm talking about the live audience and the audience at home. And then when you look it back and you see it, you go, ugh, that right there, that is the most important lesson of that whole mess. is just realizing that kind of crap doesn't work.

If she did it again, that would be a challenge. That conversation would get decidedly different. But I think it was just a learning experience. Do you think if someone went off script and mentioned something that Hogan or Austin or John Cena or somebody like that was, you know, it was a sensitive sore spot if they got out of line, but what would have happened back in the day do you think it's a it's a fair question and and i really really try to be as honest subjective as i can on these things how would i do with it today

i can tell you how i would do with it today how would i have dealt with it in 1997 it would probably be different so i guess in 1997 i'd let her i let it roll off my back i would have had a conversation We would have discussed it, and I would have forgotten about it 45 seconds after I got done talking about it. And assumed it would never happen again. It would have been anything more than that. Anybody that's ever worked for me knows that because it happens a lot.

It happened a lot. What purpose does it serve to take a pro? Who knows their entire. career is at will. They screw up, they drop the ball. This might be the only shot they ever get meaningful shot. That's a lot of pressure. It should be. What do you get out of taking money from them? You think it's going to make a bigger impression on them because it costs them 10 grand, or you make an example out of them and embarrass them in front of their peers? that's just not my kind of motivation.

So that's how I would have handled it now. It's been a conversation. But 1997, I would have just, yeah, it would have been another conversation, but have been short, sweet,

don't ever do that again and move on. Well said. Shout out to Stone King, who was looking for a shout out. Mick, Mac says, Eric, it looks like they're blurring the lines to me.

I think we all agree that this is, no matter how we got here, more people are talking about the match and not enough people are talking about hillbilly jim eric asobam wants to know what's your opinion on hillbilly jim does you ever spend any time with hillbilly jim about 20 minutes outside it must have been of a hotel or at an event somewhere and we were sharing a ride and we were waiting for that ride and he was the nicest guy. It was just, it was just a down home, just down to earth person. And I didn't get to talk to him long, but I just remember going to wow, I wish I would have met that guy

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Eric, how do you like your Tocobos? I love them. Here's how I know I love them. When I travel, like if I'm flying all the, because you have, if I fly anywhere, it's all day coming out of Cody, Wyoming. And walking through airports, I could put on a lot of miles going through airports. Let's put it that way. And I do it in my boots because they're the most comfortable shoes I have.

It's unbelievable. There's, and right out of the box, usually with cowboy, boots a month or two and they start feeling pretty good about two or three months and they're a sweet spot right right where you want them to be to go is i took mine out of the box i put them on i went these are nice and wore them all day every day ever since don't wear them to the gym doesn't work so good at the gym it looks a little goofy too like if you're wearing shorts you have cowboy boots on Dusty Rhodes used to do it all the time. I'd go over his house.

He'd be out there and big brightly colored shirts. He'd have his cowboy boots on. He could pull it off. I can't. I just can't. But yeah, they're really cool boots, man.

I love them. Check them out. Coveus, you're going to love him. Mick Max says he wants to see you and Mr. Briscoe in a shoot match at Starcast. Is there any chance we're going to put you in a shoot fight with, there's no chance.

Like, I got criticized for Rick Flair's last. match. Lining anybody up to fight Gerald Briscoe is a death wish for them, not Mr. Briscoe, right? It would be so embarrassing. I would never do that to myself. I do have some dignity left. After 30 years in professional wrestling business and everything that I put myself through on TV, I still have just a little bit of dignity and I would not sacrifice it to Mr. for anybody's entertainment, especially his. He's a sadistic man.

Of course, we're running a poll here live at 83 weeks.com and we asked what's the real main event of WrestleMania on Saturday and punk Roman and Rollins got 27% of the vote. Gunther and Uso got 10% of the vote, but the overwhelming majority 61% say Cody and Sina is the real main event. No surprise there for me. Hey, I don't know that you saw this, Eric, but well, I can't imagine you're thrilled about it.

I don't know how they're going to market this, but AEW Dynamite is about to pass a bit of a milestone. This Wednesday in Boston, AEW Dynamite will become the longest running primetime weekly wrestling show in T&T history. Like this is a that feels like a direct shot at wcw but i've always thought that was interesting it's on t-n-t

it's a challenger brand for the wb there was a name called nitro now it's a name called dynamite it feels parallel do you are is this irksome to you or is it flattering eric i want to congratulate tony con and his entire staff obviously means a lot to them. And congratulations. It does say a lot about Tony's commitment. Don't he put his own money into this. You can judge the product. I can judge a product. I often have. I just don't watch it anymore. But truth is, his vision, his dream, his money, his commitment. So congratulations. Because what he did isn't easy. No matter what you've how anybody feels about the product it wasn't easy and it still isn't so congratulations

for your effort and no it doesn't bother me a bit it just doesn't mean anything to me while it does to to tony and company and i understand why spend a lot of put a lot of time and work and money as i've just discussed so good for them but no it doesn't bother me at all we got a question here from jeff who wants to know eric are you excited for the new n w o book it's called say hello to the bad guys it's available now i got an advanced copy from our buddy mark he hooked me up i'm absolutely loving it and if you're not familiar say hello to the bad guys is available now on amazon you'll see holt kogan scott hall and kevin nash there this is a story about how professional wrestling's new world order changed america i know you had a chance to be involved with this a little bit eric what do you think of this book are you excited about this book being released i really am now i got my copy the other day and i've started reading

it um yesterday morning actually and mark remandie uh he's a sports writer for ESPN wrote the book and what I've read so far it's going to be hard to put it down once I get into it and I cheated you know because I have to because I don't have ADD or anything like that I'm just not a very patient person simple as that it's got nothing to do with any limitations or whatever but I typically I'll get a book and I'll open it up somewhere in the first third of the book I'll read a couple pages and I'll do the same thing in the middle and I'll do the same thing towards the end to try to get a feel for the book and I did that immediately as soon as I opened it up out of the package I read this one oh I better move on to take a look here because once I start reading this I won't

put it down it was that good can't wait to read it I'll probably get through it over the weekend and that's not me anybody you ask my wife she'll give me a book this for me 200 pages and say here you need to read this six months later I'll get the book done I just don't have the patience to sit and read like recreationally just not my I think. But definitely going to make an exception in this case because it's what I've seen so far is really, really good. And Mark has taken, look, NWO has been covered. WCW has been covered. It's kind of fascinating in a way. It's interesting coming off though. You know, AEW has been around as long as night show, good for them. I wonder if anybody will be writing

books several of them about AEW 25 or 30 years from now. I kind of doubt it. And the fact is this book is out now. Guy Evans has what I'll refer to as a sequel to Nitro called Beyond Nitro that is coming out in a matter of weeks. I've looked at excerpts of that book and it is going to fry some circuits. We go back to Mark's book. There's two books coming out. W.CWNWO. Mark's book is looking at the NWO from a purely a pop culture perspective in a way that has not been covered before not been done before so yeah that's the NWO and there's another book about the NWO this was from an entirely different perspective and it's fascinating so far we we should cover some other late breaking news again we don't know all the details this has come out since we've

been recording Eric but I do want to share it and get your natural reaction we've got some news on Kevin Owens this is coming to us to be a fightful and I guess it's not an official report but this is more of the general feeling within the company according to Sean Ross sap that Kevin Owens isn't expected back in 2025 and it's quite possible he may miss WrestleMania next year so this was the biggest fear when we learned last Friday that Kevin Owens was not going to be appearing at WrestleMania because he had some sort of a spine or neck or back injury that he may have to have the quote of a quote, bad neck surgery, the one where you're gone for like a better part of a year.

That looks like what we're looking at. And of course, we're all hopeful that Kevin Owens can even return to in ring action. But I know you have a soft spot for Kevin Owens and to have the, the rug pulled out from under you in the middle of a great run and a great career, just a less than two weeks away from WrestleMania. This is just disaster for him personally, I'm sure. what do you make of this report Eric I feel I feel horrible for Kevin I don't want to give the impression that we're real close friends we stay in touch a couple times a year

via text but I feel like I kind of know him a little bit because of the conversations he and I had I got that fairly close to him in WWE during his program with Shane McMahon I was kind of in the middle of that And at that point in time, Vince was being a really hard on Kevin. I mean, really hard. And Kevin was doing his absolute best to make it work. And I saw it. I saw what he was, I saw what he was going through.

And I saw the way Vince treated him. So I, I did, I helped as much as I could. And I don't think I helped all that much to be honest. with you, but I tried, right? And in the, in the process of that, I got to feel for him. He's got a great family. He's close to his family and his kids. His head is so squarely on his shoulders.

As horrible as this is, and as bad as I feel for Kevin, I also know Kevin's going to be just fine because his head is on straight. And ready for the guy. He'll quick, get back in the ring. And if anybody can do it, Kevin can because he's a pretty strong-minded individual. I saw a lot of that. That's the part that I think it's the way Kevin handled the pressure he was under from Vince. I think Vince was trying to get, by the way, it wasn't just Vince being mean.

It was Vince's way of coaching Kevin up. It was kind of, I don't want to say brutal, but it was, it was tough. Tough to watch. Tough to listen to. Kevin handled it. When I saw him handling it, I went, wow, this guy, this guy's special. There's a lot of people couldn't have. So yeah, not surprised, brother.

You'll be fine. A great family guy. He's going to have a long future in wrestling no matter what the future looks like, just a brilliant wrestling mind. And you would look long and hard before you found anyone inside the wrestling business who wasn't a fan of Kevin Owens he's almost universally loved within the confines of the business so we're all pulling for Kevin Owens I can't imagine how down he is or devastated he has I don't encourage you if you were ever a Kevin Owens fan tweet him and be the bright spot

there's so much negativity and toxicity in Twitter if you enjoyed Kevin Owen's in ring work a promo a match a moment tweet him and let him know about it it would be a bright spot for him to log in and see people loving on him a little bit. I, uh, I hope he feels good on the other side of all this. Uh, we are live here with Eric Bischoff and we're taking your questions eventually. We're going to in theory, talk about WCW video games. We have a repeat in next week. We got a silly.

Before we get to the next question, did I tell you I've got a new show coming out next week? What? No, I got to hear all about this. Tell me about it. I'm so bad at this kind of stuff. Yeah. Starting next, WrestleMania Week.

Why not? If you're going to launch a new show, launch at WrestleMania Week, right? Oh, yeah. From Las Vegas, from the entertainment capital of the world, we're going to launch this new show. It's called Stumps and Bumps. Oh, that's tough. Stumps and Bumps, you say? What the hell is that?

Stumps is a reference to the world of cricket. And my partner in this endeavor has been Brat Sandracian, Brat's from India, currently living in Australia, one of the most well-known cricket journalists on the planet. There's been a documentary. It just came out on him in Australia recently. He's just a great guy. He really knows the world of cricket. And I know everybody's saying, why cricket?

Listen, Rod, I met him because he's a member of the Edfrey Show's family. And connected in Australia, we hit it off. He actually came out to the house last summer and spent the 4th of July, him and his buddy, up here in Wyoming with us super guy we had a blast and it was hey hold on Nick it was sorry about that it was hold on wait was that Dave Meltzer's dog trying to interrupt you that's my dog she hears somebody outside she thinks somebody's trying to get over here so anyway we talked about launching this podcast

I'm going to talk about the world primarily of WWE right so and we're not going to do the current stuff and we're going to talk about the topics that are most discussed every week in india do you know there are 350 million wwee fans in india i did not we're going to be talking to them about wrestling and barat is going to talk to the world about cricket we're going to have betting odds and all kinds of information so if you want you want to get into playing uh gambling a little bit on cricket Rats could to smart you up. So anyway, that starts the next week.

April 18th, look for it on YouTube. It'll have its own YouTube channel. You'll see more of that stuff as we go through the week. We're all going to be tweeting about it. If you haven't already, follow us on social media at that 83 weeks. And of course, Eric Bischoff, if he hasn't already, he can't wait to make fun of you on social media. So hit him up as well.

It's at him on Twitter and at the real Eric Bischoff over on Instagram. Fansports five says Eric Conrad, do you think WW, We should have a Hall of Fame wing for podcasts. Uh, no. But if they did, first up would be Stephanie's place. Instagram, a wrestling historian has a great question. Eric, maybe you'll get the joke. I love this.

Eric, what's your Waffle House order? I don't know that I've ever been in. If I've been in a Waffle House, it was just for coffee. So I wait, wait, wait, all the times you've come to Alabama and I did not take you to a Waffle House. no man I've I've that's not my thing wait it's eggs and bacon that's carnivore yeah that's true but I just never have

I guess if I'm going to go to the waffle house I'm going to eat a freaking waffle oh no why would you go to the waffle house a good bacon and eggs no you can't not like that well listen it's a whole cultural experience next time you're down here I'm taking you to waffle house and maybe it'll be because you and Mrs. B were up all night. Thanks to Blue Chew. Have some better sex with Blue Chew, what don't you?

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Make your life easier by getting harder and discover your options at bluechew.com. We've got a special deal for our listeners. Try your first month of Blue Chew free when you use the promo code 83 weeks. Just pay the $5 shipping. That's promo code 803. three weeks visit bluechew.com for more details and important safety information and we thank blue chew for sponsoring today's podcast well that was close usually when you do those reads it's my opportunity to get up to take a leak oh man that was close you were almost flying solo there

for a minute come walking to the frame of my belt hanging off whatever but here i am i made it well hey listen if your belt's undone do you want to show everybody how well blue chew works we're live pal no but i heard i heard that read from in the in the restroom i'm thinking a minute, that's a new product. I may have to check that out. Yeah, I think you need that for Vegas. But what happens in Vegas may not stay in Vegas if Mrs. B needs a donut for the ride home. I digress. Michael DeVarie says, Eric Bischoff will always be one of the great wrestling minds as far as I'm concerned. Thank you for the years of great entertainment. Oh, my gosh, we found an Eric Bischoff fan on an Eric Bischoff podcast. Roll Tide. Can you read that again?

No, I'm just kidding. Thank you. Eric Bischoff will always be one of the great wrestling minds as far as I'm concerned. Thank you for years of great entertainment. Oh, music to my ears. Thank you very much, Michael. Seriously, I appreciate that. We agree, Michael. I've never thought Eric got his proper flowers,

but I want to give some flowers here to Chris, who just gifted an 83 weeks.com membership. We greatly appreciate that. Anthony, I want a question here, Eric. I'm graduating from college in about a month. Is there any advice you would give? give to a soon-to-be college grad. Eric, you've had two young kids that you've launched successfully into the world of

business and careers and families. What is some advice you would drop on a new college grad? Challenge yourself. Take a job that'll help you grow, even if it's not necessarily the best financial opportunity immediately. Um, Yeah, just get your hands dirty. Do some shit you've never done before.

Put yourself in an uncomfortable position. Comfort is a thief. And a college degree is nothing more or nothing less than proof to the world that you have the discipline to at least get through a four-year degree. And in some cases, perhaps excel in something that could lead to a great career in the future. But in the meantime, until you get to that great career in a future, try different stuff, man. challenge yourself, do things you never thought you would imagine yourself doing because you'll learn something along the way that may be really, really valuable down the road that you would have never learned in college.

Luis Martinez says, hey, Eric, I'm from the Bronx and people out here don't take Easter that seriously or even go to church that day. Is it different in Vegas? I mean, there was a comment I saw earlier, Eric, that made me laugh out loud that said, if Jesus of Nazareth was to wrestle Beaselbub the devil in Las Vegas on Easter, it wouldn't sell out. That made me laugh, of course,

uh, I mean, just the, the uphill battle, from what I understand, WWE got maybe their biggest site fee ever for this year's WrestleMania because Vegas is always down on Easter, they needed something to bring that weekend up.

So if we're going into it knowing, hey, nobody comes here for Easter. This is a really tough sell for Easter to come to Sin City on a religious holiday. So we need to offset that. Hey, we'll throw you some cash to bring it here. To your point earlier, any sort of chatter about, oh, they didn't sell it out. They're more than making it up with the rights feed or bring it there.

But what do you think is it different in Vegas? Like, you know, I laugh at this that, hey, Easter's not big in the Bronx. It's big with religious people, Louise. um but yeah let's say you wear it so here's my take i don't know that i'm right this is kind of like my gut telling me i don't know how many people i don't know what's the venue in Vegas that they're in i don't remember uh where the uh where the writers play whatever that is whatever that capacity is i would venture to say only a small percentage of it less than half of the people that would normally fill that stadium are even from los

Vegas. The other half happened to be there or planned on being there or came in from Europe to be there for WrestleMania. They're not selling to the local market. So to the extent that the local market is affected by the religious holiday, I don't know what percentage, you know, actively observe Easter, spending it with family, traditional dinners, church, that type to think. I have no idea. But I think it's a pretty safe bet that that is a small percentage of the potential audience for WrestleMania. The rest of it is from people that come in from out of town. Now, people observe Easter different ways. Some really don't observe it at all. Others, it's as an important day as Christmas. We're very religious, look at Easter much

differently than people were not, right? Some of those people are going to choose not to travel that weekend because they have family commitments just like they would at Christmas. So, yeah, I mean, look, you pointed out the money shot is from a financial perspective, they didn't need to sell out. They're going to do just fine. And they may indeed eventually sell out. Who knows? I don't know. I don't think they will. I think that 65,000 capacity for football. I think they're trying to set up wrestling for 60,000. They'd need to move like 11,000 more tickets on Saturday night. I don't think that's tough. I don't think that's tough for Russellmania.

Okay. So we'll see. Eric thinks 11,000 walk up over the next week. Well, not walk up necessarily, but I think those like the discount tickets, they'll run promotions. They'll do. Oh, it'll look full. Come on now. But I mean, those tickets, the revenue will be attached. yes revenue will be attached it may not be face value revenue but they will be sold and there will be bodies and seats and it it will be real revenue it's not like bringing in people off the street and hands on them on a taco and say sit here for five hours and pretend you're happy it won't be that uh chris says uh blue mani for president shout out

to manny uh steve combs has a great what if eric i know you hate fantasy booking but this is a fun one we've all heard the story that once upon a time And perhaps someone in WCW presented the idea of making Steve Austin maybe a relative of Hulk Hogan because he had the similar hair and all that sort of deal. Well, Steve Combs says, what if Austin had been under the hood and Halloween Havocke and Halloween Havocke, what if it wasn't Ed Leslie, the famous best friend of Hulk Hogan, the former British, the barber beef cake, and instead it was Steve Austin. if that would have happened in that alternate universe scenario it's unlikely that

maybe the next year he would have been released from wcw if austin would have been under the hood what does that change eric if anything first of all it changes a lot of the heat that i had to endure for probably 10 years or more for being the guy that fired stone cold sea of austin so that's first and foremost on my list And secondly, it would have, yeah, I mean, if he would have stuck around, if I would, if I would have kept him in WCW and, and we would have booked him in that way, and it would have gotten over because it would have gotten over, there'd be no Stone Cold Steve Austin, which means you might not be looking at the WWE that you're looking at today.

Because in many respects, Stonecold Steve Austin during that era really was the, the driver that led to WWF coming out of the hole that I put him in and burying WCW in the same hole. So much of that was because of Steve in the story and Mr. McMahon and Mike Tyson all that, but the attitude era was born on the back of Stone Cold Steve Austin. A lot of other support. Don't give me wrong.

He didn't do it single-handedly, but he was the focus. And that wouldn't have happened. If that wouldn't have happened, it's not a hard, not a hard picture to see in your mind if the attitude era hadn't taken off the way it did largely because of Steve Austin and the Mr. Rickman angle Tyson all that that flashpoint turned that company around had that not happen I don't know that WWE would have been able to turn the company around I don't know that they would have been able to go public and were able to go public because of the success of the battle between WCW

in WWE and turning their company around that allowed that success allowed them to go public and going public is what created the opportunity that we're looking at right now so a lot would have changed just one decision one choice the whole world would have changed the rest of them uh bush and ryeucat says eric i consider myself a mark as much as any fan but I dropped at E.W in a flash when the Bucks interfered with a Moxley swerve match. I love pro wrestling, but thanks to choices, I don't have to settle. So this is in reference to the pay-per-view this past weekend. EW Dynasty went down from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

It was a long show, and what went on last is Swerve Strickland, challenging John Moxley for the belt. Almost everyone I talked to in advance of the show felt like, well, this is the end of Moxley's reign and Swirf Strickland. Ricklin is going to become the champion for the second time. There were even articles published on wrestling websites that were pre-written because everyone kind of assumed that that was going to be the case. But it wasn't the case.

The young bucks came out after more than six months away and took down swerve. And so now there was a little bit of intrigue as to where is this going? We saw this past Wednesday. The bucks came out again and in an effort to try to talk to John Moxley and invite him back out. Here comes Kenny Omega. Here comes Okada. So the bucks are back. But some people are disappointed that this death writer's angle hasn't come to an end. But I think that's interesting because the way we view wrestling is different than we used to. I mean, how many wrestling fans were frustrated that Hulk Hogan wasn't losing the title when he was

running the NWO? Like, he had a ton of heat on him. Is there such a thing as bad heat, Eric? Or is the idea that you've pissed off the fans. That's kind of the idea with some of these, right? You want it to get heat, but it feels like in the question here, he said, oh, that's enough. I didn't get what I wanted. I'm done with AEW. How do you respond to that area?

First of all, comparing John Moxling, the death writers to Hulk Hogan and the NWO in any context is an automatic non-starter for me. Again, apples, not even apples and oranges, apples and bricks. This is no comparison. And the same is true with heat. We use, people use the word heat in such a broad and general way. But when you're talking about a heel and heat within a story, that heat has to create connection. It has to be compelling. It has to be the fuel that grows, interest in your product vis-a-be-sa-be-sed story. That's heat in that context.

There's nothing about the death writer's story that has that kind of heat. It has a different kind of heat, which is just another word for reaction. And that reaction is largely, I can't think of a better word than, repulsive, meaning it just people are turning away from it. It's not making them sad, you're not throwing up on their shoes. I don't mean that. I mean it derisively. He's can think of a better word. People are turning away from it. If you want to call that heat, that's heat. But it has nothing to do with the kind of heat that Hulk Hogan had in the NWO. I wasn't suggesting that they were comparable. I was

suggesting that sometimes when you're booking for wrestling, you don't always feel the need to send them home happy and a lot of people feel like they're not going to do that in the main event of russomania that john sena may get his hand race so we're not necessarily sending them home happy i don't when i say you kind of i don't mean you personally i mean the yeah so i apologize if that wasn't clear but i don't think that that true the the the idea of sending them home happy every time i I don't subscribe to that theory at all. Yeah, particularly at house shows, of course you want to send them home happy.

It's a little different. It's a lot different on television. I usually ended my shows with heat or letting the heels get over. It's different. Now, especially with just the amount of television, if you got into the pattern of sending people home happy at the end of every television show at whatever house shows they still do and all of your paper views, that's not good either. You've got to mix it up once in a while.

If the story dictates it and you know where you're going with it, take the heat. It's an investment in your future. Use it. Do exactly the opposite of what people expect to do or what you usually do in your a typical pattern of sending people home happy, whether it be for the event itself live or whether it's for the paper TV show. Break that up a little bit to intensify that heat slash interests and then use it to go forward. So I don't know if that answers your question, but that's how I feel about heat. It's funny, you know, we're talking about heat and we are live.

It's 637 Central, 737 Eastern on Friday night, just moments before WWE starts Friday Night Smackdown live. And we've got a report, Eric. Let's take a look at what was just posted on social media. Charlotte Flair is attacking Tiffany Stratton out in the parking lot. There's actually a video out there. And they've turned this into a brawl. And of course, it's being posted by fans who are seeing them unloading. And they did this earlier, I think it was last year with Kevin Owens and Cody Rhodes.

So all of this talk about is it a work, is it a shoot? Boy, they're just getting exactly what we won't, aren't they, Eric? Didn't we just talk about this? Yes. Did we just talk about the possibility that this is kind of what they want it? Because it feels different and it gets people talking. Oh my gosh. Sometimes I feel like no-sra-freikin Damas.

It's just funny. it's not that hard i mean it's childish really but it's funny makes me laugh well something that uh is going to make everybody smile this holiday season i want you to start thinking about is um what are you going to get mom for mother's day what are you going to get dad for father's day do you even remember what you got them last year maybe even worse do they remember well let's give a gift they'll never forget with paint your life dot com I'm a big believer in this product. You've heard me brag about it for years.

I can even tell you that my cousin Derek, he had both of his parents pass away before his son was born. And so he doesn't listen to the program. He's more of a WWF guy. I will forgive him. But I'm going to give my cousin Derek a portrait of his son meeting his parents for the very first time. And I was able to snag the photo off of,

his windshield like right near his his gauge cluster he's got an old polaroid of his mom and dad with him as a baby i was able to snag that take a photo i uploaded it directly to paint your life.com and then i uploaded another photo of his son paint your life.com is going to put them all together do you think when i hand that to my cousin for father's day we're going to get some waterworks that once upon a time didn't even feel like it was possible i mean even who even has access to hand paint and portraits of your family it feels make believe but it's reality with paint your life.com it'll be the most meaningful and personal gift he gets this entire year and he'll never forget who gave it to him he'll

hang it with pride in his house and when people come over he's going to say hey my cousin conrad got that for me for father's day isn't that awesome where you can upload images or even combine images of a special place a loved one, people who never met, like I mentioned with Eric and his son. You can even choose the artist, the medium, like, do you want it an oil or acrylic or watercolor or even charcoal? Hey, they'll even frame it. Not only that, you communicate directly with the artist to ensure that your portrait is painted

just like you dreamed of. You can even get it in as little as two weeks. This is the absolute best gift to give, this Mother's Day and this Father's Day. and Paint Your Life transforms your photos into one-of-a-kind, beautiful hand-painted portraits done by professional artists, and you can give the most meaningful gift you've ever given at Paint Your Life. There's no risk. If you don't love the final painting, your money's refunded, guarantee. And right now is a limited time offer. Get 20% off your painting. That's right, 20% off and free shipping. Now, to get this special offer, just text the word weeks to

87204. That's Weeks to 87204. Text weeks to eight seven two zero four paint your life celebrate the moments that matter most message and data rates may apply see terms for details i absolutely love paint your life dot com uh and eric by the way in his other studio he's got a paint your life dot com portrait back there i'm looking at it right now it's that famous scene in the middle of the ring and it's a huge portrait it's beautiful and we are going to auction it off at the right time for the right cause because it's just too cool to be out here in my office all by itself. I'm only out here once a week doing this show with you.

The rest of the time I work upstairs. But it's very, very cool. And I get to, you know, I'm looking right across it. It's that scene in the middle of the ring right after Hogan dropped the leg. He's standing there with mid-Gene. The ring is filled with trash. Kevin Nass is there with his hands on his hips, kind of scowling. Scott Hall looks like a million bucks, loving life.

but jean oak holl cogan yeah someday we'll lock you this thing off for the right time the right cause at the right time we're seeing a lot of uh chatter in the live chat about russomania nick from boston has a fun question everybody wants to know what randy orton's doing for russomania i've seen some speculation that it could be nick aldus and i've even seen some chatter online saying that he's the betting favorite that since randy orton gave the RKO to Nick Aldus when it was announced that Kevin Owens was out of WrestleMania. People think Nick Aldous might get his

WrestleMania moment. I for one, am all for that. There's been other speculation that well, guys like Rusef or perhaps even Alistar Black, who we've heard are coming back to WWE might take that spot. If you were booking Eric, would you give this WrestleMania opportunity against Randy Orton to Rusef,

Malachi Black? Or to Nick Aldous. Nick, because there's a story. You've got an inciting incident, which is the first thing you do in an act one. You take your character in this case, Nick Aldous, he's the GM of WWE. His world is being the GM of WWE. And then something happens. That's why it's called an inciting incident.

Like lighting a match to a fuse of stick of dynamite. Something happens to take him out of that world and thrust him in the same thing. to one that's completely different. And then the journey begins. I think it's great. Here's another reason why I think it's great. I think Nick Aldous is a super guy, super guy, class act. And I've stayed in touch with Nick.

We've stayed for instance since my time in TNA, to be honest. And there's been different times throughout his career before he ended up as the GM. where we bounced ideas back and forth and talked about different options that he had and what might be the best option for him, just his friends. I know, based on those conversations, that it was a real struggle for Nick

because he never, his opportunity at WWE came late. And he's so grateful for the role he's in. I know he is. but this situation where all of a sudden he goes from being the guy that's looking in his rearview mirror and going, you know, I never really had the shot. I really wished I could have had in the ring as a wrestler. Oh, and now he's going to be in WrestleMania, potentially.

What a, what a great way, what just a great thing to happen to anybody, especially to a decent guy like Nick. I for one, hope it's Nick Aldous too. it's crazy to think he's been at that company now more than 18 months and what a build it would wind up being if he's been an on-screen character for 18 months but you can just take a look and know that he's kept himself in phenomenal shape and a lot of wrestling fans a lot of wwee fans are going to really see if this happens and this is real nick all this in action for the very first time and what a debut at wrestlemania good so it's good to be through i mean you

never want to, you know, get an opportunity because of somebody else's injury, particularly in the case of the cabin, which is a serious one, career-threatening, at least. But, man, it happened. And what a story that would be for, for Nick, what a story that would be. That would be documentary worthy, actually. You give me one hour or somebody's air time, and I could tell you one hell of a story with that situation let that be a lesson to young wrestlers too right he he in theory if this proves out to be true he I mean I don't know I'm just guessing but I would imagine that Nick when he

came on board with WWE he still wanted to wrestle but they weren't looking for a wrestler they were looking for a GM so he took the job that maybe wasn't his dream job but it got him a jersey it got him in the game and in theory he's done everything that was asked of him. He's been a loyal and faithful and true soldier for WWE, but he's also kept himself in great shape. If this winds up happening, and he gets called off of the off the bench, if you will, and now he's in the confines of the ring at WrestleMania against Randy Orton. And that's the

stuff that dreams are made of. And it's a story of perseverance that I hope a lot of young wrestlers or just young entrepreneurs or young business people. Or if you're in a, if you're in a sports situation as a young person listening to this and QB1 goes down if you're not ready to step into that spot you'll never get that spot it's not like hey make me the manager and i'll start showing up on time you got to be ready and if this happens man what a story that is for nick aldous i'm with you eric it's it's like a little miniature movie it's a little documentary in and of itself yeah it sure is let's hope for the best and yeah i won't say anymore let's just

hope for the best. And just me personally, what if Mickey James was there doing her best scary sherry for Nick? That's so cool, dude. I would love that. I hope that happens. You too. Uh, Revin says on Dave's podcast, he said he wasn't surprised that Gunther renewed with WWW because they're in a war. While I agree, they're paying more because there's another place. I'm not sure that means war. I'm not surprised that talent, I mean, that these companies are trying to lock down talent long term like you know it does feel like you know the revenues and the stakes are higher than ever and if you're trying to forecast and you're trying to you know report your numbers to the street like you are with wwee you you don't want any of your wild

horses getting out and escaping you got to lock those folks down going to the resigning with wwee just makes sense to me wouldn't you agree that's so obvious and again it's the perception that Dave is trying to create and trying to manipulate into people thinking that there's a war and that there's actually any real impact of anything that AEW does on WWE. Here's what I think. And this is his business. WWE is in the, and this is, I hate to even say this because this was Vince McMahon's thing all along.

And I used to just, er, whatever, I'd hear him say it. it's the company is an intellectual property company and with the things that are going on now in wwe they're probably looking at licensing deals that have a three-year runway before they hit the before they hit the market and you look at the types of video games are doing and the types of things they're doing these are deals that take time to develop you do the deal and then you have to develop the content over time. It could be a year. It could be a year and a half, two years, depending on what you're developing.

If it's something that's, you know, if it's a video game, it takes for a long time to develop those. So if you've got a piece of talent that you feel is valuable to you, based on the forecast you can see in front of you with deals that he would be involved in or she, you want to sign them up long term. You don't want to run up against, you know, the end of, their contract before you start negotiating, you're looking far into the future if you're actually operating a business. And clearly, WWE is operating an intellectual property business. That has a

lot more to do with it than anything that Tony Kahn does or doesn't, or even the perception of any one talent leaving the company to go anywhere, to go become a monk, whatever. There's no single piece of talent right now that could leave WWE that would have a significant immediate impact on the future of the company. I'm excited to see what's going to happen tonight on SmackDown, but before we do, I want to remind everybody that, hey, Rocket Money is a personal finance app. It's going to help you find and cancel your unwanted subscriptions, help you monitor your spending, even help you lower your bills so you can grow your savings.

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So go cancel your unwanted subscriptions and reach your financial goals faster with Rocket Money. Go right now to RocketMoney.com slash 83 weeks today. That's RocketMoney.com slash 83 weeks. weeks, rocketmoney.com slash 83 weeks. I know I'm driving Dave Silver crazy because every time I get up to use the restroom, he tells you in our private chat, Eric's gone, Eric's back, Eric's gone, Eric's back. I'm cutting them close today, brother. We've got a question here from chat who wants to know.

Eric, if you had the pencil, who's going to win the match, Cody or John? Of course, he's talking about night two, the main event of WrestleMania. if you were booking, would you book for heat? Does John Cena leave the 17-time world champion? Or does Cody get his hand raised? John, I always bet on heat. In situations, it's funny, I sent you a text today, two things that I go by.

Bet on greed and bet on heat. I'd go heat. well the entire wrestling world is going to be talking about WrestleMania over the next week we're going to be coming to you next next week here on 83 weeks during your regularly scheduled podcast you can check us out every each and every Friday at 83 weeks.com or anywhere you enjoy podcast but next Sunday when the final curtain falls on Cody and Sina immediately jump on and join us here at 83 weeks.com

matter of fact right now while you're thinking about it go hit the subscribe button turn on your notification bell and you'll know immediately when we start right after night two of russomania it's going to be late at night it's going to be a sunday night but it's the biggest night of the year and eric and i aren't there going to miss it make plans to join us we've got lots of other offers of support here askabum is saying ko is the top ten goat period there is some speculation from jim do you think it'll be rusef for mero facing randy orton at russlemania you answered that one and said hey we're We think it's going to be Nick Aldous. I hope so. Ask a bum says, maybe you should just invite Kevin Owens out for some of that famous fish off barbecue. He'll be healed immediately. He's got a standing invitation.

We've talked about it. So it could happen. Trigger Cheese wants to know. What are your two favorite storylines outside of your own? Eric, when you take a look back through the biggest stories in wrestling, ones that you didn't have a hand in, what stories would you say are two of your fairy?

favorite storylines um i think the mega powers randy and hulk yep that's the good one that that's for me that was it's probably number one just as a fan because it was before i got involved in the business um as a business person as a producer um clearly the bloodline story is probably the most it's the best story that's been told maybe ever in wrestling at least yeah i'm going to go with that and just i don't know what kind of you know it's a subjective thing right but if you look at dollars if you look at ratings viewership if you look at tickets sold over the course of that storyline i don't think that there's anything you can analyze that would suggest that it's not the best story ever told i didn't say the greatest the best story that's ever been told

um so i i would say i'd sit down and think long and hard about those two for sure i want to give a little love to effron he uh joined us live here and just wanted to throw into the calls want to give him a shout out the game event coming to a hey effron effort i'm sorry conrad i don't mean don't over talk over you effort if you're listening i know you are if you have a sizzling reel or casting tape send it to me ASAP okay Eric I know you've been working on some other stuff you closed a mega deal earlier this week do you want to give everybody some late breaking news or do they have to wait and hear about that no no I can't I can't but hang on

now I was I was under the impression that we were clear to announce that next week the week of WrestleMania stops and bumps are coming you know what Oh, I'm sorry. I thought you were talking about something else. I can't talk about it quite yet. Absolutely. Stubbs and butts. Me and Baz.

Barat refers to himself as Baz, and is convinced that we have adopted him into the Bischoff family. So he goes by Baz Bischoff. Believe it or not, that was his idea, not mine. I can't wait to do this. It's going to be way different. I've been texting Barat, who's over in LA, I believe, Australia,

or Brisbane, I can't remember anymore. But he's over in Australia, And we're texting back and forth and we're approving logos and talking about doing a dry run in a pilot episode this weekend. So yeah, it's happening, man. It's going to be fun. Cricket in wrestling. Who would ever thunk it? You know, who knows?

It could be, it could be cool as hell. We're going to do it. We're going to have fun doing it. Can you give us any kind of tease about the other thing I was teasing about anything at all? No. Do you think we'll learn about it in May? will we learned about it in June before before the end of April okay stay tuned boys and girls Eric Bischoff's got something up his sleeve that you don't see coming and it's

going to be fun we're going to have some fun next week right here eventually by God we're talking about thunder no we're not no we're not no we're not Silva I'll give you a call right after the show oh god everybody enjoys Smackdown we'll see you next week it's a double dose of 83 weeks weeks, your regularly scheduled programming and a WrestleMania extravaganza. Stay tuned to 83 weeks.com. Hey, hey, it's Conrad Thompson, here to tell you a little more about what ad-free shows.com is all about. Get early, ad-free access to more than a dozen of your favorite wrestling

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