- TNA's Eric Bischoff was the featured guest on this week's live edition (01/03/11) of the award-winning Monday Night Mayhem.
Eric Bischoff Discusses The Build-Up To Matt Morgan & Mr. Anderson's #1 Contender's Match At Genesis, If There Is Concern In TNA About The Current World Title Picture With Jeff Hardy's Legal Situation, Why He Is Not Satisfied With The Immortal Storyline To This Point Thus Far/How Hulk Hogan's Return From His Back Surgery Could Possibly Change That, Sting's & Kurt Angle's TNA Futures In 2011, Whether Or Not It's Difficult For TNA To Run On The Same Network As The UFC, The Chances Of Seeing Him On TNA House Shows Stateside & Internationally This Year, What He Misses The Most About WCW, & If The Wrestling Pay-Per-View Industry As We Know It Needs To Change.
You can listen to an MP3 of the interview at by clicking here (MP3).
Here are some highlights from the interview, transcribed by Patterson from New Jersey:
His most realistic goal that he would like to achieve personally with TNA in the new year:
"On a personal level, I would love to be part of TNA's strategic growth. I think that's one of the biggest challenges right now that TNA has. I would love to see more programming out of TNA across different channels, as well as potentially on Spike TV. Different types of programming. I think all of those things, just like we're seeing in WWE (the fact they're bringing back Tough Enough), that is an perfect example, I think, of what TNA needs to do to grow their brand. You can't keep preaching to the same choir over and over and over again and expect to grow the congregation, so to speak."
His thoughts about the main event #1 Contender's Match at Genesis Pay-Per-View between "The Blueprint" Matt Morgan and Mr. Anderson & TNA giving a "strong build" through the past several weeks on iMPACT & ReAction to their main event this Sunday night:
"I think we had a great build to the # 1 contenders match in the three-way at Bound for Glory. In this particular case, I think we have a good slow & strong build. I think what makes the story resonate with people probably is there's enough reality in the story that it's plausible, and it's believable. The more reality in a story, the more I think I people gravitates towards it."
Why he is not satisfied with the Immortal storyline to this point thus far, the impact that Hulk Hogan's back injury had in the changing of TNA's initial plans for it, & why he is excited to see where things go in the very near future on TNA programming (with a "much more effervescent Hulk Hogan"):
"No I'm not. Clearly there was a pretty big setback with Hulk Hogan, which forced us to kind of shift on the fly, in terms of that storyline. At this point, the story is not where we wanted it to, be but as frustrated or disappointed I may be about that, it's part of life. But I'm equally as excited about where it's going to go in the very near future. I talk to Hulk almost every other day, if not every day, and he's getting better. I think the prognosis for him & his ability to become active and a part of the story in a much better way: You're going to see a much more effervescent Hulk Hogan than we've probably seen in a couple years, and I think the story's going to evolve very nicely."
Whether Sting will be returning to TNA in 2011 or if we will see him sign with the WWE, especially with the speculation of a WCW-themed Hall of Fame class as part of WrestleMania XXVII weekend in Atlanta:
"If I had to guess, and if he is going to sign another agreement, which I'm not sure he is going to do at this stage of his career, my bet would be that he is going to sign with TNA. I'm not sure what Sting's motivations are at this point. I know physically he's told me on more than one occasion that it's getting harder & harder to deliver the type of performances that he wants to deliver in the ring for his fans. That's got to be a big part of his consideration. I think realistically, if he would go to the WWE, there would be some additional pressure, much more than in TNA, to perform in the ring, and that would be a hard thing for him to do at this point in his career."
