WWE Hall Of Famer Eric Bischoff Doesn't Mince Words On Vince McMahon Lawsuit
The wrestling world was rocked last week when the news of a civil lawsuit filed by former WWE employee Janel Grant against Vince McMahon broke, accusing the former chairman of sex trafficking. The following day after major sponsor Slim Jim had paused their relationship with the company ahead of the Royal Rumble, McMahon resigned from WWE and TKO Group Holdings.
Eric Bischoff did not hold back when talking about the lawsuit on a recent episode of his "83 Weeks" podcast. He said the very core of the story is "evil," and that the word doesn't do it justice. He said he will be praying for Grant and that he hopes she finds the "right spiritual and mental health guidance" that she needs.
"I can't imagine that. I can't even try to imagine it because self-preservation kicks in and I force myself to stop thinking about it," Bischoff said. "And I feel so bad for the people that are innocent, because this is just such a dark cloud over everything that's WWE right now. I do believe that that's going to change, not sooner rather than later, it's going to change, but it's going to take time."
Bischoff said wrestling fans are going to get through this, though he does recognize that many will be questioning their fandom and reconciling how they feel about it. He said WWE is big enough and strong enough to survive this, though not easily, especially if the lawsuit is not the end of the allegations.
"This story will continue to evolve. We don't know how much, we don't know if there will be other people coming out of the woodwork because of this," he said.
Accusations Impacting Others
Eric Bischoff said there are so many innocent people affected by the lawsuit, including close friends and family members of the victim, as well as Vince McMahon's family, including his son Shane, daughter Stephanie, and wife Linda. He said it also includes those who work in the company that had nothing to do with the allegations. He even said he had a fleeting moment wondering if it was time for him to walk away from the wrestling business.
"These are people that I've met and have worked with and I'm seeing how they've treated others and they're having to bear this as well. And the people that work there, there are so many people ... that are there, that are working hard every day and are good family people, honest people that contribute to society and help others. I mean really good people that I know there personally and they're affected by this."
Bischoff and host Conrad Thompson discussed the idea of the "McMahon" name being washed from WWE history, as well as McMahon's grandchildren having to go to school and deal with the fallout of the lawsuit. Bischoff mentioned that Shane McMahon's son, Declan, is a freshman in college. He said he would have to show up to school knowing many of his classmates had read the gruesome details of the lawsuit.
"How do you react to that? How does a young man react to that?" he said. "And the granddaughters, it's like, the name 'McMahon,' he's going to be right there with Chris Benoit in the minds of a lot of people. It'll be a name not to be mentioned, the way things look at this point."