Eric Bischoff Says Wrestling Hasn’t Had a Legitimate Star Since 2002

On the latest edition of 83 Weeks, Eric Bischoff discussed how wrestling has not had a legitimate star since John Cena in 2002. His comments are below.

On how wrestling today doesn’t have any legitimately over talent: “There hasn’t been a character pop, pop big time for a long time, since John Cena in 2002. When was the last time anybody got over, and when I say get over, I don’t mean get a friggin’ pop and having people chant your name, and having 20 or 30 people waiting for you outside where they know your car is parked so they can get your picture taken and post it on social media, that’s not over, that’s fun. There is a difference between being over and having fun. Having people recognize you at the arena and want your autograph and all of that, that’s fun, doesn’t necessarily mean you’re over.”

On what he means by “star”: “When you’re over, it’s when you move the friggin’ needle. When you’re over, it’s when your t-shirts, your merchandise, starts selling at the events far and above anybody else’s. When you’re over and you happen to be on television, it’s when your segments, or the times you are on television, consistently outperform most of the other talent on the card. That’s when you’re getting over. When you’re over and you can headline a PPV four or five times a year, six times a year, for the course of four, five, six, seven years, that’s when you’re over. And we have not seen that since 2002. It’s been 18 friggin’ years, folks, since we had anybody that was a legitimate star.”

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