Eric Bischoff On Vince McMahon Stepping Down As WWE CEO & Chairman, Reaction To Vince’s SmackDown Promo

In a recent edition of 83 Weeks, Eric Bischoff discussed Vince McMahon stepping down as WWE Chairman and CEO, his reaction to Vince’s SmackDown promo, and much more. You can read Eric Bischoff’s comments below.

Eric Bischoff on Vince McMahon stepping down as WWE Chairman and CEO: “I was dumbfounded. Shocked. I don’t know any other way – I can’t imagine anybody felt any differently. It’s a day I never thought of, even though it appears to be temporary and isn’t a permanent situation – at least that’s not the way it’s been presented or the way I read it. But nonetheless, it’s a big damn deal, and it did shock me. I feel bad for a lot of people. I still have a lot of friends in WWE that I do care about a lot. Regardless of how this ends up, it’s going to adversely affect a lot of people. How do you feel anything other than bad for people you have affection for that are having to go through this. I feel bad for Bruce [Prichard], and I sent Bruce a text on Friday night during the show going, ‘Brother, what a hell of a ride.’ To be sitting in that seat, to be there in the eye of that fucking hurricane, I feel for a lot of people.”

On his reaction to Vince’s SmackDown promo: “You hit it on the head [Bully Ray] when you said it’s either the middle finger or [Vince] saying goodbye. I thought the exact same thing. When I watched it, I watched it a couple of times because I wanted to try to get a feel for Vince. I don’t want to try to pretend like I know Vince because I don’t. I’m not sure how many people really do, to be honest. But I was trying to read him, and as you know Vince is really hard to read. After I watched it a couple of times, I thought, ‘Maybe he is taking this one last opportunity just in case if he’s not really sure how this is gonna end up.’ If this is his goodbye, that was a good one.”

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