Eric Bischoff On His Initial Reaction To Eugene Character In WWE, Why He’s Embarrassed By It

In a recent edition of 83 Weeks, Eric Bischoff discussed working with John Morrison in WWE, his initial reaction to the Eugene character in WWE, and much more. You can read Eric Bischoff’s comments below.

Eric Bischoff on working with John Morrison in WWE: “I loved working with Johnny. He’s a guy – I don’t understand why he hasn’t progressed further. He’s had a great career, don’t get me wrong. He’s made a lot of money in this industry, he’s stayed healthy, and he’s done other things outside of wrestling as a result of his experience in wrestling. So, he’s had a successful career. He’s such a talented guy, and he’s as telegenic as you can get. His physical abilities are phenomenal. He’s in great shape and able to do things many people can’t do in the ring, and he’s an easy person to work with creatively. He gets it and understands. So, I’m not quite sure why he hasn’t made a bigger name for himself than he has. He has all the tools.”

On his initial reaction to the Eugene character in WWE and why he’s embarrassed by it: “I was underwhelmed with the idea. I wanna make it clear that I’m a little embarrassed that I wasn’t more sensitive to the issue because I just wasn’t. I should’ve been more concerned about it than I was. Not proud to say that, but it is what it is. So, putting that issue aside because it wasn’t one, the basics – it was a comedy act at its core. It was meant to be light-hearted, entertaining, non-serious, nothing dangerous about it character and angle. It’s hard for me to get excited about stories or angles or characters like that, just on a personal level. If there’s not risk for somebody getting their ass kicked seriously or a real believable, emotional story with a character, then it’s really hard for me to get excited about it. So, I just did it. I said, ‘Okay, I know how to do this, I know how to make this work.’ But I wasn’t excited about it, and as I said a few moments ago, as embarrassed as I am to say it, I wasn’t offended by it either even though I should have been. Let’s not make any mistake here. If I was in any way implying [Nick Dinsmore didn’t do a great job playing the character] otherwise, I’m sorry.”

If using any of the above quotes, please credit 83 Weeks with an h/t to 411mania.com for the transcription.