On a recent edition of his “83 Weeks” podcast, WWE Hall of Famer Eric Bischoff discussed the WWE Women’s World Championship match between Rhea Ripley and Becky Lynch at WrestleMania 40 as well as the WWE World Heavyweight Championship match between Seth Rollins and Drew McIntyre.
You can check out some highlights from the podcast below:
On Rhea Ripley vs. Becky Lynch: “I’m looking forward to it, because I’m a Becky Lynch fan. I have been ever since, you know, probably about a year before I went back to WWE in 2019. Because I talked about this before, but I just love the way she was shaping her character on social media. Not a lot of wrestling talent really use social media as effectively as Becky was doing. And she doesn’t do it as much anymore, which surprises me. But for a while there — in fact, I didn’t even know who Becky Lynch was. You know, I wasn’t watching WWE very often. Occasionally, I’d drop in once in a while. But on social media, I kept seeing the things that she was posting. And they intrigued me, because they were character-defining and interesting. And so I started following her, and the more I followed her the more impressed I was by the way she was marketing herself on social media. So then I sought her out on television. I made an appointment with myself, to make sure I checked her out to see what it was all about, and became a big fan of hers then.
“But Rhea as well, oh my gosh. She is getting so over. What an in — I’m gonna be honest with you, Conrad. When I first was introduced to Rhea, and it was a while ago now. Just I — you know, I said that I said to myself, ‘I don’t think this woman’s ever going to be a star.’ But I didn’t think she would be either. You know, I was kind of neutral about it, I just didn’t see the itch. I didn’t see the character. And to see where she had come from and how she’s so — she’s so subtley powerful. And I’m not talking about our physique and what she does in the ring, because that speaks for itself. But her character, she just sneaks up on you. She’s got such depth in her character. And every time there’s a shot of her, it kind of makes me think, ‘What’s going on in her mind?’ You know, ‘What’s going on?’ You can see her wheels turning, and she’s just such a great talent and getting better every time she gets out. And it was so fun, too. I think part of the reason I enjoyed watching her so much… is, I was trying to live vicariously through her. You know, you have a young woman who decides she wants to break into the professional wrestling business. Leaves Australia, comes into the United States. That’s in and of itself a life-changing big move, that not many people would have the confidence and the determination to do. Especially to break into the wrestling business. But she did. And she’s been grinding at it. You know, she didn’t just show up yesterday, this is not an overnight success story. But to see her get the kind of reaction that she got in Australia. And I was talking to one of our AdFree Show members on Strictly Business, Barack. He covers cricket over in Australia. He lives in Adelaide, and he was talking about just how crazy Australia is over Rhea. And to see her be able to come back home on such a magnificent stage in front of her family, and I’m sure people that you grew up with. I mean, how do you not just feel that? I felt really good for her. Like I said, I was trying to live vicariously through her, because what a magic moment she had there.”
On being excited for Rollins vs. Drew McIntyre at WrestleMania 40: “I am, and I’ve gained a lot more respect for Seth over the last year or so. Not like — his character is just a little over the top for me. You know, I like things that are a little more believable, for me personally. I get it that this is entertainment, and we’re selling merchandise and larger-than-life characters, I get all that. But Seth’s got some range. I mean, he’s got range as a character. He can be serious, and then just be f**king ridiculous with those sunglasses he was wearing. I mean, and his gimmick, his attire, the stuff he wears to the ring is goofy as hell. But then he could be deadly serious and very effective. I love his Curb Stomp, it’s really visually, it’s very cool to watch. It was fun to see it in this match. But I’m with you, man. I am excited for Drew. I was excited for him when he won it during COVID. But it’s not the same thing at all, not even close. So I’m happy if he gets that opportunity. And he’s earned it, man. He’s worked hard for it. I love the little — at the end of Elimination Chamber, they had that profile piece on Drew. I thought that was really, really well done. A way to get to know the character and all that a little differently.”
