Eric Bischoff: “Any show shot inside of a soundstage is destined to die”
Former WCW President and TNA on-screen character Eric Bischoff recently discussed why he feels a wrestling company has to be a touring enterprise. Speaking on his 83 Weeks podcast, Bischoff would mention how TNA regularly recording in the IMPACT Zone (which it was when he first started working for the company) was “never” going to work.
“Any show, a wrestling show [that is] live action, shot inside of a soundstage is destined to die. I believed it then, I believe it now. You can’t produce any kind of a sports entertainment show, regardless of the talent if you don’t have a credible audience, people that actually bought a ticket and are actually emotionally invested.
“That’s the only way you’re going to build a wrestling company for television. Now, if you want to just run a small little local independent, yeah, you can do all kinds of things and be profitable and make money. But if you want to be in the television business in prime time, you have got to be credible.“
Eric Bischoff on TNA
Bischoff would add that when he made his way to the company in the late 2000s, he advocated for moving the product out on the road in a big way, saying that the owners needed to invest in the company:
“You can’t build this brand, this company (TNA) inside of a soundstage. You can…if you don’t want to grow any further, then you can do it, you can maintain that. But, if you want to generate the kind of revenue that everybody wanted to generate in TNA, then you’ve got to make a commitment to do it. You can’t do it on a budget. Obviously, you have to have a budget, but you have to be able to invest in the product.“
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Jake is the Head of Audience at F4WOnline, having previously worked as a Combat Sports, Gaming and Pro Wrestling writer, successful Editor in Chief and Sports Coordinator. He has more than ten years of experience covering mixed martial arts, pro wrestling, football and gaming across a number of publications, starting at SEScoops in 2012.
He previously also worked for PROGRESS Wrestling as Head of Media as well as working on the social channels of the company.