Eric Bischoff Recalls Surprise At Big 2023 WWE News Story

In a year full of significant news stories, it's understandable that some big developments flew relatively under the radar. That includes the departure of Stephanie McMahon from WWE. The former CEO initially stepped back in 2022 before returning to fill the void left by her father, Vince McMahon, in the wake of sexual misconduct allegations. With her father's return at the beginning of 2023, Stephanie left the company. Speaking on a recent episode of "83 Weeks" looking back on last year, Eric Bischoff shared his reaction to the decision.

"I really was [surprised]," Bischoff said. "I can't quite put my finger on why. It's just an overall assumption on my part that she would've never left. I know it's a publicly-held company and, especially now that they've merged, it's a different company altogether."

Bischoff said that he was also surprised that her father would step back, but there were extenuating circumstances involved in his departure. As for Stephanie, she was a benefit to the industry and perfectly suited to representing the company's brand and vision.

"The fact that a powerful, attractive, super intelligent, accomplished young woman is the head of a publicly-held sports entertainment company — I don't think you could create a better scenario than that," Bischoff continued. "To see her walk away from it, with really no explanation other than she wanted to spend more time with family, which is fine — I think that's a question, right? Is that really it?"

Bischoff's co-host Conrad Thompson then pointed out that McMahon was a prominent figure on the WWE board during the investigation into her father's alleged misconduct. While Bischoff stated that Stephanie almost certainly knew of at least some of her father's actions, he acknowledged that the process of digging through the details of allegations against their father in an official capacity would be extremely difficult for anyone, and could very well have led to her exit.

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit "83 Weeks" with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.