Eric Bischoff Thinks John Cena Should’ve Changed His Look for Heel Turn

On the latest episode of 83 Weeks, Eric Bischoff talked about his belief that John Cena should’ve changed his look for the heel turn and more. You can check out some highlights below:

Eric Bischoff on how WWE is still selling John Cena merchandise now that he’s a heel: “Yeah, there again the business would rule the decision, I get it, but you know, I’m a little disappointed that they didn’t have Cena come out in some kind of new characterization. He’s got a different attitude, yes. He’s got a different perspective, of course. But he looks the same. And to me, it’s just a little bit harder to really connect to the heel character when he looks exactly like he did 15 years ago when he was the ultimate babyface.

“And I think conversely, yeah, I think having some fresh heel merchandise to go along with this new character I’m sure would have done really, really well. But again, I’m going to go back to the collectible thing. This is John Cena’s last run. Maybe there’s some business logic in not doing what is probably the most obvious, which is to come up with whole new merchandise, and have Cena heel merchandise. I like it artistically, creatively, I should say. But I think financially, they probably made the right decision. It’s horrible when a company is supposed to make money. Like, when your choices come down to what is, what makes us the most money? Money usually wins.”

On whether The Rock will be involved at WrestleMania: “There’s a little bit of an investment involved here. And yeah, you would — and I believe they do. I’m wondering if some of the ambiguity surrounding Rock’s involvement might be by design. You keep people guessing, keep people speculating, keep old guys with podcasts talking about it. I don’t know, it’s not working against them. And it leaves the door open for something that feels kind of like a surprise.

“So maybe it’s intentional, maybe it’s not. Maybe Rock has got enough plates spinning that it’s too hard for him to fully commit. Keep in mind, he’s in the movie business. I don’t know what his movie schedule looks like. But if — let’s just say he’s booked to do a movie starting in what is this April? Let’s say July. If he’s already signed, everybody’s committed, money is committed. There’s a limit to what Rock can do. And he’s going to have to be insured. I mean, there’s a lot that goes into this. And perhaps that’s an issue? That’s understandable given The Rock situation, or like I say, maybe it’s intentional. But third on the list is, ‘I don’t know. I’ll tell you what I want to do when I feel like it or when I feel it.’ I don’t think that’s it.”

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