WWE Hall of Famer and former WCW President Eric Bischoff recently took to an episode of his 83 Weeks podcast, where he talked about a variety of topics. Bischoff commented on how more women are seen in roles that men are traditionally in and that is on the broadcasting team in ESPN and the NFL and even though there are roles for women on the broadcasting team in pro wrestling we don’t see a lot of it currently happening.
Bischoff said, “I agree with you, especially when you look at the effort that, I hate to even mention it cuz it’s gonna come with a fair amount of criticism but look at what ESPN has done over the, you know, they’ve done a, they’ve made a lot of mistakes in my opinion. They’ve done many things that have caused them to lose support, um, from a large section of their audience, if you will. But they’ve also done some things right. And if you look at whether it’s the NFL. I mean, the sports leagues are doing the same thing. You’re starting to see a lot more women in roles that were traditionally, traditionally male roles when it comes to the broadcasting part of it. Yes. And I think it’s necessary. I can’t. You brought up a really good point here, Conrad. If I’m Bruce Pritchard and I’m listening to his buddy Eric Bischoff’s podcast with his other buddy, Conrad Conrad Thompson, I’m gonna be taking a note or two and think, Hey, why aren’t we pursuing this?”
“Why aren’t, why don’t we develop this? Because right now, we see a lot of women in that backstage thing. Right? But you already know how I feel about that. I think it’s horrible. Anyway, I think it’s wasted time for television. It doesn’t do the talent any good; it’s just wasted space 80% of the time, whether it’s in WWE or AEW or anywhere else. So yeah, there are roles for women on the broadcast team, and yeah, it’s, I guess, checking kind of a diversity box. But if someone in WWE or AEW says, wow, that’s a good idea that Conrad came up with. Because if people think it’s my idea, then Especially somebody at AEW will be resistant to it. Right. But this was Conrad’s idea. So it’s open season. Go ahead. But I think if you found the right person, it’s gotta be the right person. Right? You can’t just put a hot looking, you know, very attractive telegenic, you know, woman on there and expect it to work that person. That female has to have all of the talents and ingredients that go along with being a good play-by-play person. Or better yet, a color commentator, for example. I don’t know how good any of these people would be that I’m mentioning, but as a prototype, I guess.”
“I know Trish wants Trish to get back in the ring could she be good as a play-by-play or color analyst? I think she could. I mean, certainly, she’s telegenic, so she, boom, check that box. But it is television, by the way. And yes, you do have to judge people by certain criteria. Yes. It’s still a vision. I would love to see it happen too. I don’t know where she is in her long-term plans for in-ring stuff, but somebody like Natty Neidhart could be a modern, oh, another, Another great example. Had a lot of success in the ring. Fans are familiar with her. They respect her in ring, and if she wants to transition and do something else, I thought Renee Young did a great job. I hope that becomes a thing because when I read that about Nancy Sullivan, I thought, that was a good idea. 95, and here we are in 2023, and it’s still not happening. That could be a good idea for somebody. And I hope that we see it sooner rather than later.”
You can check out Eric Bischoff’s full comments in the video below.
