Eric Bischoff is not backing away from his criticism of Roman Reigns, but says his opinion of the WWE character should not be confused with a lack of respect for Reigns personally.
Bischoff provided a more detailed explanation of his position on Episode 439 of 83 Weeks. The discussion is also available as a video excerpt through the show’s official YouTube channel.
WrestlingHeadlines previously examined the debate that followed Conrad Thompson calling Reigns overrated. Bischoff used the follow-up discussion to separate his respect for the person from his assessment of the current presentation.
“I respect the hell out of Roman. I’m sure you do, too. It has nothing to do with respect.”
Bischoff said he admires the way Reigns has handled his family responsibilities, health challenges and professional success, despite barely knowing him personally.
“I look up to him in a lot of ways, you know, as a human being. Look what he’s overcome. Look at his priorities. I don’t know Roman. I’ve maybe said four words to Roman in my life.”
“I know what a priority his family is. I know what he’s gone through. How many of us have faced the types of things and fear that Roman has and then not only overcome it but reach the level of success that he has?”
Bischoff then drew a clear boundary between those personal qualities and his opinion of Reigns’ recent performances.
“My opinion of his performances as of this moment have nothing to do with the respect I have for the man even though I don’t really know him personally.”
His criticism centers on the lack of visible development in the character.
“I’m bored with him. I don’t see anything new from him. I don’t see a character evolving.”
Bischoff argued that evolution is an important part of sustaining audience interest in any long-running fictional character.
“When you look at a character, any character that is playing a role over an extended period of time or even if it’s in a 90-minute movie, part of what makes watching a story and a character really compelling and interesting is the evolution of that character.”
He believes WWE is preserving a proven Reigns formula rather than taking the character into a new phase.
“We’re not seeing any evolution. We’re seeing maintenance and it’s good.”
Bischoff acknowledged that the approach continues to succeed commercially and may not require any immediate change from WWE’s perspective.
“It’s definitely working from a financial perspective. So, there’s nothing wrong with it.”
“There’s just nothing compelling about it. And there’s no evolution to the character.”
Bischoff compared the situation with Ric Flair, whose recognizable character and in-ring formula remained effective for years without requiring a major reinvention. He also acknowledged that Reigns may not intend to continue wrestling long enough to need another substantial character transformation.
“Maybe it never will because maybe it never has to, by the way. So let’s point that out. Why does he have to change? Does he want to wrestle another 15 years? Something tells me no.”
Bischoff nevertheless said he will need to see a different presentation, new stakes or some other meaningful development before becoming interested again.
“Until and unless there’s an evolution in his character, in the way he’s being presented and the stakes or the opportunity, I’m just not interested anymore because I’ve seen it all. There’s just nothing different.”
WrestlingHeadlines previously covered Bischoff praising Reigns and arguing that limiting his exposure helped preserve his value. Bischoff’s current position is that Reigns remains valuable and successful, even if the presentation no longer interests him personally.
If you use any portion of the quotes from this article, please credit 83 Weeks, with a h/t to Wrestling Headlines for the transcription.
