Eric Bischoff Said His Working Relationship With Kevin Dunn Was Limited

In the latest episode of his 83 Weeks podcast (via Wrestling Inc), Eric Bischoff said that he had a limited working relationship with WWE producer Kevin Dunn during his time in the company. Here are highlights:

On Kevin Dunn: “Kevin was very short on personality and charisma and very long on talent. I didn’t have to interact with Kevin Dunn all of that much. Occasionally, something that I was doing was complex enough and where Kevin Dunn was directing the show and wanted to be part of the process, laying things out and things like that but my working relationship with Kevin was very limited.”

On how the Monday Night Wars may have caused that: “There was some backstage people who were part of the war watching back and forth between Raw and Nitro and were anxious to get to know me, but it was generally very positive. Kevin Dunn was the exception to that. He wasn’t negative, don’t get me wrong. He didn’t give me a stiff arm or anything like that but he was very indifferent, that is the best way to say it. I had noticed it right away, so I thought, wow, this guy has clearly got something still stuck up his a**, but after I got to know him and being there a couple of years he had treated everybody that way. I mean, that is just Kevin Dunn. He didn’t treat me any different than most people. I am sure there were some; Hunter now, maybe even back then. Undertaker, The Rock, I am sure there was a select few who he was warmer too than someone else, but he was very aloof and a different cat. I took it at face value; I didn’t take it personally or anything like that.”

On Dunn’s personality: “After about a year or so it was no different than in WCW; you get done doing your show, you get to the hotel, you then get to the hotel bar where it’s about 11:30pm; bar is open until 2am. Everybody has a few cocktails together because everybody is living off of the energy and the adrenaline of a live show. I used to hang out quite a bit with Jonathan Coachman. He and I always found ourselves together at the bar for a cocktail or two after the shows, and then I started to have a drink with Kevin Dunn. I noticed that Kevin was much different away from location rather than on location. On location he was all business; no jokes, no smiles, didn’t really say anything that wasn’t necessary to say to you. He may walk by you and nod, which is what you would get out of him most of the day unless he was doing something that you were a part of that day, but outside of the arena he was a lot more relaxed and way more personable. Oftentimes Mean Gene was there so it made it really easy because Gene is pretty jovial; its pretty hard not to get along with Gene. It’s hard to not be laughing your a** off when you find yourself in a group of people with Gene in the middle.”