Eric Bischoff Thinks Aleister Black Needs To Broaden His Character

On the latest episode of 83 Weeks, Eric Bischoff talked about Aleister Black’s release from WWE. Black was cut from the company last week, and Bischoff recalled being in the company in 2019 and seeing Paul Heyman being a believer in Black . You can check out some highlights below:

On Heyman Being a Big Fan of Black:

“I crossed paths with [Black], is the best way to say it, back in 2019 in WWE when he first came in. Paul Heyman was huge on him. Paul was like, ready to put blood on the table commitment to him. He really, really saw something.

On His Own Reaction To Black:

“I was intrigued because Paul’s got a pretty good track record, right? When he gets excited about something, whether you like it or not, you’ve got to pay attention. Because it’s probably going to do somthing. So I started paying attention to him [Black]. I talked to him a few times, tried to get a feel for where his head was at, what his vibe was like. Learn a bit about what he saw as his character. And he’s a very easy guy to talk to. Talked to him maybe two, three times total. And [I was] impressed with him.”

On His Take On Black’s Issues:

“Here’s my take. My take is that Aleister has a very narrow perspective of who he is, and what he is as a character. And I don’t mean that in any kind of — not in terms of stature. But I think the way Aleister sees his character in his head is so narrow? Or in another way of saying that, is he’s so focused. One wat is a bad way, one way is kind of a good way, right? But they’re both kind of the same thing. And — because he’s been in and out. It’s not like people don’t see the potential, starting with Paul Heyman, you know? And Vince hung in there with him for quite a while, and then he went over to AEW. And now he’s back, you know, in the market again. So it’s not like that no one believes in him or believes he has the potential.”

“But I think what people are finding out is he doesn’t have the ability or the willingness, or the comfort level, whatever you want to call it, to broaden that character. Because the one he has in mind isn’t working. If it was working, he wouldn’t have got cut. If it was working, he’d still be in AEW. It’s not working, and it hasn’t worked.

On Black Not Being Willing To Change the Character:

“So what do you do? Do you keep doing it? Or you go, ‘Maybe if I tilt it 20 degrees this way? And how do I do that? Oh, I gotta do this. Oh, I gotta start doing this. I gotta start doing — well, that’s way different than what I’ve been doing.’ Well, that’s kind of the point.

So I don’t know, man. I think he has all the potential. And I’m hoping he lands on his feet and finds that groove in a version of the character that he’s clearly kind of focused on. Because I do believe he’s got a lot of talent and he’s got something special about him. It’s a little hard to define. But you know, you feel it when you get within about four feet of them. It’s just an energy, and it’s not bad, it’s not good, it’s there’s. Charisma, aura, whatever you want to call it. So he’s got that. He just hasn’t been able to package it in a way and execute it that works for the audience.”

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit 83 Weeks with an h/t to 411mania.com for the transcription.