Eric Bischoff Shares Why He Thinks Buff Bagwell Didn’t Work Out In WWE

On the latest episode of 83 Weeks, Eric Bischoff talked about why Buff Bagwell didn’t work out in WWE after his infamous WWE Raw match with Booker T in July 2001 and more. You can check out some highlights below:

On why Buff Bagwell didn’t work out in WWE: “Timing, man. You know, I’m gonna be really honest about this. And Buff is a friend, and I have more respect for him now than I ever have. But there was a point in time — Buff, as you pointed out [was] very, very young at this time. ANd very young when he went to WWE. Buff had a hard time occasionally, more often than not, reading the room. And knowing when to tone it down, when not to tone down. It wasn’t his strong suit. Some of it had to do with Buff’s attitude. Some of it had to do with the attitude from others who had a preconceived notion of what Buff was and who he was. I think if Buff would have been able to survive another couple of months and actually get front of Vince (McMahon), and give Vince and company a chance to see past the kind of overly confident, sometimes overly aggressive personality that he just had. He just believed in himself. So much so that it just came out so strong, that it would rub you the wrong way.

“And if Buff maybe would have had a couple more years under his belt and had a little more seasoning in terms of how to conduct themselves backstage and offstage, and how to deal with people? The outcome could have been different. But he just wasn’t there long enough for anybody to really get to know him. I mean, he was talent. And talents are quirky. Everybody that we’ve been watching on the show so far, to one degree or another, is a quirky personality. And you’ve got to get to know the individual behind the character to really get an assessment of what they’re like or whether you want to work with them. And I don’t think Buff really got that opportunity. And part of it is own fault. Part of it is because again, his perception of him. At the core of it, it was just bad timing.”

On whether WCW ever considered making David and Ric Flair a tag team: “I don’t know if it was considered or not, to be fair. Keep in mind, Kevin Sullivan and Ric Flair were working very closely together. So they may have talked about it. I wouldn’t necessarily have been a part of that conversation if it was a general kind of creative conversation.

“I will say that it probably would have been a great idea. It would have been a better idea than what we did. Because it not only camouflages a younger talent’s lack of experience; it’s also a great learning opportunity. I mean, it’s the difference between learning how to fly a plane by reading a book or watching a video, and getting up into the plane with an instructor and actually being in the environment, and having your hands on the yoke and learning how to fly with the help of experienced copilot. Big, big difference in it would have served David much much better. I think Ric would have ultimately had more fun.”

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