WWE Hall of Famer Eric Bischoff recently discussed The McMahon Family on an episode of his 83 Weeks podcast. After years of working closely with the majority of the family, Bischoff shared the following thoughts:
“It’s us versus the bottom line, that’s what it is. And I think if anybody’s proven, publicly that’s his method of operation, it’s Vince McMahon. He brought me back for crying out loud. He brought me in, forget about bringing me back, he brought me in the first time. Not because he liked me, not because of any other reason other than he thought and it was bet for business. It worked creatively, that’s all that mattered. He probably hated my guts. He probably really wanted to Curb Stomp me, it’s probably how he really felt about me, personally, but it’s what was best for business at that moment. Look at Ultimate Warrior. Look at Jeff Jarrett, brought Jeff Jarrett back. Jeff Jarrett held him up for millions or whatever the story was, I didn’t pay attention to the story. He held him up for a significant amount of money, brought him back. So, I think Vince has demonstrated that what’s best for business is more important than how he feels about somebody personally.
“I don’t know Linda at all. I know Shane a little bit, you know, I mean, we’re friendly. I like Shane a lot. I had fun with Shane. I got to know Shane a lot better than I got to know Vince. I produced Shane, you know, when he and Kevin Owens were having their storyline and believe me, that was a fun project to work on because Vince had a certain opinion about Kevin Owens at the time and Shane was Shane, and I say that in a positive way. But he could be a handful. Bruce will tell you better than I can because Bruce has worked with him more. I enjoyed working with Shane, but he was a handful that I enjoyed working with. But again, you get to know somebody in your own little trench, it’s not a deep trench, it’s not a war, but you’re in a trench trying to make things work and you get to see how people react to situations they’re not comfortable in. And you see how they react to that, and that reaction indicates to you, to me at least what kind of person someone is. And I got to know both Kevin Owens and Shane pretty well during that very brief period of time or at least I feel like I did. And I think, you know, Shane, in my opinion, limited basis that I know him is more like Linda McMahon and Stephanie is more a lot like Vince McMahon. My son Garrett is much more like, in many respects, not in all respects, he’s still got a little bit of me in him, sometimes more than others. But for the most part, my son’s personality is very much like Lori’s. Everybody likes being around them, they’re fun, they’re easy going, they’re just different people than I am. And my daughter is much more like me, a lot more like me, in some respects when it comes to business and things like that, only she’s smarter, by the way. So, I think in this same sense, Shane is very much like Linda. And that’s probably why neither one of them have been working with Vince closely for the last few years.
“It’s just a clash of personality. It’s just different. Doesn’t mean there’s not love there. Doesn’t mean there’s not respect there. But on a day-to-day basis, probably not the best working chemistry. And I saw that with Shane, I did and I would presume Linda probably saw it and felt it, too. I think they’re probably really happy where they’re at. You know, Shane’s in a good spot, it’s not like he needs money. I don’t think she’s even probably sitting back like, oh gosh, I wish I would have held on to that stock because I’d be worth 10 more billion dollars. Shane’s fine financially, he’s way more than fine and he’s got things that he’s passionate about in his life. I think that’s one of the reasons why he’s not in WWE because it wasn’t going to consume his life 24 hours a day, which is what’s necessary. Look at the tail number on the plane, dude, it’s WWE 24/7. And I don’t think Shane was a 24/7 guy, he’s a more well-rounded, he’s a more normal person. It’s a healthy way to be and I think he’s probably, I’m assuming again, I don’t talk to Shane very often or we don’t stay in touch, but he’s got a pretty good life, man and I think he’s pretty happy.”
The full episode from Bischoff can be found below:
(H/T to Joshie Lopez of WrestlingHeadlines.com for the transcription.)
