Eric Bischoff: “Vince McMahon has been talking with BKFC”

WWE legend Eric Bischoff has revealed Vince McMahon has been talking to BKFC about investing in the business.

Bischoff has also labelled Bret Hart ‘depressing’, Logan Paul ‘a freak’, and defended Hulk Hogan against accusations of racism.

Speaking to CanadaCasino.ca, Bischoff said:

• Bret Hart is depressing – he makes you want to crawl under a rock and go to sleep
• Bret Hart’s comments give actors a bad name
• Vince McMahon took too much control over my decisions – it was never going to work
• I know for a fact Vince is exploring opportunities in combat sports
• Vince McMahon has been talking with BKFC
• Mind blowing Logan Paul is a freak – Eddie Guerrero would have called him ‘pretty badass’
• Hulk Hogan is one of my best friends – he got booed because he supported Donald Trump
• Hogan is not a racist – it is the stupidest question and reflects a level of ignorance

Eric Bischoff: Vince McMahon has been talking with BKFC, Bret Hart is depressing – I try not to listen to him, Mind blowing Logan Paul is a freak, Hulk Hogan is one of my best friends – he is not a racist

Bret Hart is depressing – he makes you want to crawl under a rock and go to sleep

“(I saw) bits and pieces of it (Bret’s recent interview).

“He’s such a depressing guy that I try not to spend too much time listening to Bret because he just makes you just wanna crawl under a rock and go to sleep. But that’s me.”

Bret Hart’s comments give actors a bad name

“Bret Hart’s comments give actors a bad name when he said there’s more actors pretending they’re wrestlers.

“There are horrible actors or people who wish they were actors, who don’t know anything at all about acting, pretending they’re wrestlers.

“But to suggest that any of these people have even a remote bit of acting chops is doing a disservice to the term actor.”

Vince McMahon took too much control over my decisions – it was never going to work

“I am grateful to Vince McMahon to this day for the opportunity. He gave me the keys to the car.

“I wasn’t sure what he wanted me to do with it, because that wasn’t clear. But that was on me. He brought me in. He gave me complete access to anyone and anything I wanted. I had certain challenges there because of the timing. This was four months before Smackdown was going to launch on Fox.

“It brought with it a lot of challenges. Fox wanted to have an exclusive roster. The U.S.A wanted to have an exclusive roster. But guess what, they wanted the same people on both rosters.

“Everybody wants top stars, so there’s that. I didn’t deal with that directly, but indirectly I had to deal with it because we were constantly juggling. So that was one challenge.

“Here’s another challenge: because of Fox and U.S.A. at that time there was a decision made to split the two writing teams, so you wouldn’t have the same writers on both shows. And that’s a good choice because you want the shows to feel different, you want them to each have their own personality, but Vince couldn’t make a decision of who he wanted on whose team.

“So Paul Heyman had a group of guys that he was hoping were going to be on his team. I had a group of people that I was hoping was going to be on my team. But they were going back and forth every week, so there was a lot of confusion for the four months that I was there leading up to Smackdown on Fox.

“There were people on my writing team, my lead writer had to take a substantial amount of time off for mental health with what appeared to be a nervous breakdown. That was a little confusing. And then Vince had the final say. I kind of understood that going in, but the level of control that Vince had throughout the entire process was for me – this is chemistry now – it was never going to work. It’s just not the way I work. 

“But here’s the thing. I didn’t try either. In retrospect, Vince and I have never talked about this, but I think Vince was hoping that I was gonna show up and kind of – I call it Bigfoot – come in like King Kong, and start just breaking things and tossing people out the door. I kind of think Vince was hoping for a little of that. He wanted to see what I had. I approached the opportunity fairly conservatively, and didn’t really feel comfortable coming out of my shell until I had a better understanding of the lay of the land.”

I know for a fact Vince is exploring opportunities in combat sports

“Do I see at least a possibility on paper that Vince could invest as an investor in another wrestling organization. Yeah.

“Here’s what I know for a fact. I know for a fact that Vince is exploring opportunities in combat sports, at least as recently as about three months ago, so that leads me to believe that there is an interest, at least in doing something in this world of combat sports/sports entertainment.

“I know this because he was dealing with someone that I was dealing with at the same time, and I heard the dialogue, or portions of it, back and forth, so I know this to be true, and it was substantiated and confirmed by another third party, so that I know it is a fact, and that tells me if that’s a fact, then sure there’s a possibility.

“Vince is 78 years old. I don’t know what kind of condition he’s in right now. I know he’s gone through some back issues and stuff like that, but he probably feels like he’s 35. The fact that he’s 78 isn’t going to slow him down. Vince will work until the day he draws his last breath. He’s passionate. He loves to be busy. He loves a challenge, and Vince loves to fight.”

Vince McMahon has been talking with BKFC

“It was the Bareknuckle Fighting Championship (that he was talking with), it’s a fascinating business. David Feldman, the guy that runs it, he’s doing a fantastic job. He built it with his own money. He’s out trying to raise money now.

“I went to a couple of their events because I was talking about doing some business with them and I wanted to learn more about the organization, and I met with David and his son a couple of times and other people that work there.Terrific, terrific group of people.

“I didn’t feel like I could really contribute enough to make a difference in what they’re doing, so I chose not to get involved, but I still want to support them. I’ll do interviews with them. I’ll promote their shows. I love what they’re doing, and respect the hell out of them.

“But my understanding is that Vince was also talking to them, and for whatever reason, they decided not to move forward. So that’s how I know that he was looking at getting involved.”

Mind blowing Logan Paul is a freak – Eddie Guerrero would have called him ‘pretty badass’

“He’s a freak. He’s a freaky superstar in the sense that he was a superstar before he came to WWE. 10 million followers, or whatever it was he had. I don’t even know what the number was.

“He already was a cultural phenomenon, at least in social media before he stepped foot in WWE. That’s pretty amazing.

“What’s even more amazing is he stepped foot in WWE and performed like he’d been doing it for a decade: his ability to perform and execute in a way that made it look like he’d been in the business for ten years. It’s mind blowing to me. That’s what kicks him into the freaky category. 

“This cat [Logan] is going out there and he’s having a match that Eddie Guerrero would have been proud of. I’m not comparing. I’m just saying that if he was there, and he saw [Logan perform] he’d go: ‘wow, that’s pretty badass’.”

Hulk Hogan is one of my best friends – he got booed because he supported Donald Trump

“Hogan is one of my best friends, so let’s start with that. I talked to him last night and we speak on a regular basis.

“Right now, he’s touring around the United States, promoting Real American Beer, which is his own beer brand, which has taken off. I’m shocked at how well that brand is doing as quickly as it’s doing it. He’s traveling around doing autograph signings for these beer products.And he sends me pictures of thousands of people standing in line wanting a picture, cheering him on.

“But yet, in a wrestling event, in Los Angeles, he got the reaction he got. And there’s a lot of debate about that. But keep in mind, Hulk Hogan came out in character to promote Donald Trump. You can’t even drive a Tesla in Los Angeles without getting attacked anymore, so is anybody that’s thinking clearly surprised that Hulk Hogan, who is front and center campaigning for Donald Trump, got booed in LA? Because if you are, you’re not a serious person. You’re not looking at reality.

“You’re not looking at people who are afraid to drive their car to work because it’s a Tesla which is owned by Elon Musk, who is supporting Donald Trump. If someone can’t see that connective tissue, then they’re too stupid for me to have a conversation, that’s a reality.”

Hogan is not a racist – it is the stupidest question and reflects a level of ignorance

“First of all, he’s not a racist. I grew up in Detroit in the sixties. Nobody’s going to teach me what racism is or isn’t, not gonna happen. No, I’m not black, but that doesn’t mean I didn’t see it and experience it in my life.

“I am abundantly clear what racism is and can define it in two words. Fear and ignorance. Actually, it’s ignorance which becomes fear. And then fear becomes bad behavior. That’s what racism is. It’s ignorance that turns to fear that manifests itself socially, culturally. I also know Hulk Hogan and I absolutely know that he’s not a racist, even though people throw that term around that. 

‘If you disagree with me, you’re a Nazi. You’re a racist. You’re a homophobe’. People don’t even know what they’re saying anymore. They don’t even know how to define the terms they’re using to attack other people anymore.

“But it doesn’t matter, because those terms stick to you like fly paper and, iif you allow it, it allows other people to define who you are, even though it’s exactly opposite than the truth, so when people talk to me about the controversy around Hulk Hogan, and whether he’s a racist, I think this is the stupidest question, and it reflects a level of ignorance.”