WWE Hall of Famer and former WCW President Eric Bischoff took to an episode of his 83 Weeks podcast, where he talked about a number of topics including how he didn’t want a Goldberg vs. Chris Jericho matchup to happen in WCW because it would have been a train wreck.
Bischoff said, “No [doesn’t wish the feud happened], because it would have been a train wreck, to be honest. I like Bill. He was a pain in the ass to work with back then. And part of that is not because he’s a d**k, not because he’s just got a bad personality, not because he’s selfish but because he didn’t have the tools to get into the ring and have a match with Chris Jericho. He was insecure in his own abilities. Now, he might not even admit that to himself, but I think one of the reasons he resisted is because he knew if he got in there with Chris, he’d have to really step up his game. And Bill was still relatively new to the business at that point in time. He didn’t have all the experience that Chris had. He didn’t have one. The tools in his toolbox to be able to go out there and have a 12 or 15 or 18-minute match with a guy like Chris Jericho and look good doing it. Bill was only capable of looking like Bill Goldberg within a limited framework of offense, right? He just didn’t have it. And I think that’s what bothered him more than anything. And I think you’re absolutely right, by the way. Chris probably was that. This situation made Chris realize that there was nowhere for him to go. I don’t blame him for feeling that way. By the way, he was right at that point in time. He was absolutely right, and he should have gone to WWE. And he did, and he was justified in doing it. But I think. It’s unfortunate because had Bill had a couple more years of experience under his belt and would have been able to go out there and have some great matches with Chris, it could have been a phenomenal story to tell. A little bit of David and Goliath. Chris is a fighter by nature. His instinct, it’s just who he really is. And I think he would have played well into that character and would have forced a kind of serious side out of Chris Jericho up until that point because Chris was having fun. Chris was doing crazy over-the-top s**t, you know, and this would have forced Chris to take a more serious approach to that match, and that could have been outstanding, but it just wasn’t in the cards. And forcing a guy like Bill Goldberg to do something that he’s. Unwilling or doesn’t want to do it. It’s only going to be bad. Yeah, you might have. I might have been able to force the issue contractually. It would have been f***ing horrible.”
You can check out the complete podcast in the video below.
