Eric Bischoff Says Paul Heyman Shouldn’t Have Explained Roman Reigns’ Character

On the latest episode of 83 Weeks, Eric Bischoff responded to Paul Heyman revealing on Six Feet Under that he coached Roman Reigns into living the Tribal Chief character full-time. Bischof praised the method while questioning whether it should have been made public while Reigns is still on top. You can check out his comments below:

On What Paul Heyman Did With Reigns:

“It’s fascinating, isn’t it? Living the gimmick is method acting. In sports entertainment it’s living your gimmick 24/7, brother. Hulk Hogan, Ric Flair, Stone Cold Steve Austin. I throw Steve Austin in that category much like Ric Flair, because there’s very little difference between their real personalities and their TV characters, except on TV they turn up the volume a little bit. Ric Flair is Ric Flair in the ring, he’s Ric Flair out of the ring, 24/7. I’m not sure he knows who Richard Fliehr even was at this point. That’s how deep Ric Flair is into being Ric Flair, and I say that with respect. That’s not a flaw.”

On Watching Hogan Do It:

“Hulk Hogan was the same way. He and I would be sitting in his house having a beer, working out, sitting on a deck watching boats go by, and we’d decide to go into town and grab some sushi. And he’s Hulk, he’s Terry Bollea. We’re just shooting the breeze; he’s a different guy. We get into the car, and by the time we get to wherever we’re going and the public is there — he’s Hulk Hogan. That’s the commitment. It became who Hulk was, like it has become who Ric Flair is.”

On the Double Standard:

“It’s interesting how the world of entertainment refers to and respects method acting, but in wrestling it’s ‘Living your gimmick, brother. You’re a mark for yourself.’ You hear that a lot. So I respect people that live the gimmick, because what they’re really doing is committing to the character.”

On what Heyman Achieved With Reigns:

“What Paul did was really introduce Joe to an indirect way of becoming a method actor. Teaching him, helping him learn how to become a character in a next-level kind of way. To 90% of the talent out there, your character is what you wear to the ring, or your music, or your ring entrance. Once you get into the ring there’s not a lot that distinguishes you from anybody else. But when you take that to the next level and you become your character, that’s when the success gets real, because you’ve transcended what everybody else does — which is going out and portraying what you think a wrestler should be. That’s 95% of the people who do it for a living.”

On Why He Wouldn’t Have Said It Out Loud:

“I think it is to their detriment. There was a clip on social media, I think I saw it about 4:30 this morning when I first woke up [of] Bobby Heenan talking about this very thing in an interview. By peeling the curtain back to the extent that we’re now talking about method acting and performers like The Undertaker, I think in the long run when you take the mystery away, when you take the aura away. Because the aura is now really just a manifestation of a process; you lose some of it.”

On What the Business Needs:

“There’s got to be a mystique, and in order for a mystique there’s got to be a little mystery. When you take all of the mystery out of it, you’re killing curiosity. I don’t think it’s a good idea in the long run. I disagree with it. It’s not that you can’t do it occasionally, but with a high-profile character like Undertaker, and somebody with the platform of Paul Heyman and the credibility to peel the curtain back at that level — short term, maybe there’s a reason. Long term, it’s one more mystery gone, one more aspect of the business that makes it work.”

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