Eric Bischoff Doubts Vince McMahon Ever Returns To WWE

On the latest episode of 83 Weeks, Eric Bischoff was asked whether Vince McMahon — now that his civil suit has been dismissed and sent to arbitration — could return to a meaningful role at WWE or TKO, including a board seat that might please Wall Street. Bischoff was skeptical, arguing the reputational damage can’t be undone. You can check out his comments below:

On the Reality Of McMahon’s Situation:

“You make it sound like he just took a shower — ‘All cleaned up now, all good to go, I’m gonna go right back to the way things used to be, people are gonna react to me the same way, they’re gonna return my phone calls the same way.’ Is the civil suit over, and the headline potential over, and all the gritty details over? Yes. But the damage has been done. The damage to Vince’s reputation — regardless of whether he wrote a check voluntarily through arbitration or because a judge said so — the damage has already been done. So I think it’s naive of anybody to think that Vince is going to be able to just check all those boxes and say, ‘Okay, here we go, what do I want to do?’ I don’t see it.”

On If McMahon’s Return Would Boost TKO’s Stock Price:

“I am not a Wall Street guy, but the little understanding I have is that it would likely have the opposite effect. Wrestling fans will go, ‘Oh, things were better then, at least he’ll price the show for the family.’ So you’ll get a lot of online support from the internet wrestling community. If we assume that institutional investors, hedge fund managers and the people that really matter are all like internet wrestling fans, yeah they’ll have that positive reaction. But I think the people that really matter will s**t all over it.”

On Nick Khan’s Hollywood Relationships Factoring In:

“Nick Khan has the Midas touch because of his relationships in Hollywood at every level. Nick spends a lot of time in Los Angeles. You think Hulk Hogan got booed in Los Angeles? How tough do you think it’s going to be for Vince to get a meeting with some of the people that control the real dollars? Vince got #MeToo’d out of that role 20 minutes after the headline broke, and you just can’t erase it. Those same people aren’t thinking, ‘Yeah, but he did go into arbitration, he paid the price.’ That’s true, by the way, but it won’t be enough for them to get over the fear of association.”

On Being Realistic:

“So what are we left with? Creative consultant, work with the team? I don’t know what the personal dynamics are. I can only imagine it’s a minefield that would never work. But guess what — I could be embarrassed that I’m even having this conversation with you six months from now. It’s Vince. He’s an enigma. You just don’t know for sure with him.”

On Believing a new Vince McMahon Documenmtary Is Coming:

“I do think Vince telling his story his way, with 100% creative control and edit — or as close to it as he can get — I would place a big bet on that today, and on it being the first thing. I think this thing is in production, and has been for about two years. I think there are elements of it already being produced. The ESPN reaction to Hulk’s funeral — that was produced. I’m even more convinced now, and I think it’ll come surprisingly fast.”

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