Eric Bischoff Hopes Eddie Kingston – CM Punk Feud Lasts Beyond AEW Full Gear
On the latest episode of the 83 Weeks Podcast, Eric Bischoff commented on the current Eddie Kingston/CM Punk feud that is transpiring in AEW and culminating at AEW Full Gear. The former WCW Executive was very critical of the start of their feud a few weeks ago on AEW Rampage, stating that casual fans had no idea what the backstory was revolving around their feud. However, Eric Bischoff stated that he loved Punk and Kingston's verbal exchange on this past week's AEW Rampage and revealed the original issues he had with their feud.
"Absolutely loved it," Bischoff said about the Punk and Kingston segment. "It was fun watching Dynamite with [Conrad] in Huntsville because first of all, all the things that are going on and the narrative that's been going back and forth on social media because of the comments that Tony made and I responded too and it heated everything up. Again, I want to reiterate to all the people that are out there, I'm not sh**ing on AEW. I reacted to something that I found offensive and uninformed and as I do, it's just a part of my nature. If somebody says something that I find unflattering or critical but it's uninformed I will react on my platform, that's just how it goes. I'm very supportive of AEW, when we watched that scene as it was launched between Eddie and Punk and [Conrad] told me the backstory, if they tell that story and that's the beginning of act one and we're building upon that backstory this could be a phenomenal storyline. And, they did, I watched it. I watched that clip between Eddie and Punk and I thought it was just magnificent. I am a huge Eddie Kingston fan as a result of seeing that promo.
"That promo was real, it defined Eddie's position clearly, now I understand the motivation. You often hear me talk about story, story, story, structure, but when you look at a story, there's a beginning and the beginning has to serve a couple different purposes. You have to familiarize your audience with the characters in that story, in this case the audience is already familiar with the characters in that story but you have to understand the motivation. What caused this story to begin, where is that and where's the drama and what is it that's causing this conflict to begin. I didn't see that in the first promo, it was just Eddie Kingston interrupting CM Punk. The promo, the quality of the promo was pretty good and there's nothing wrong with it except for it didn't make any sense for anybody that knew the backstory. My comment to [Conrad] was that's fantastic but unless the rest of the world begins to understand it and relate to it, that won't matter."
Bischoff continued to heap high praise for Kingston, mentioning that the promo he cut was something not even The Rock could've delivered. The former WCW boss said nobody in the business today could've created the true emotion and intensity that Kingston did during his promo with CM Punk.
"On Wednesday it didn't happen but [on Rampage] it did and I don't think they could've done a better job. I don't think it's possible to do a better job, humanly possible for any talent in any organization to do a better job than Eddie Kingston did in that promo because it was real. It came from his heart, he probably didn't even need to write it down. I'm sure he didn't need some writer, I'm not knocking writers but unless that writer is really inside your soul or head, no writer can write for you when you feel as passionate as Eddie did in that promo. You can't artificially create that level of true emotion and intensity, it has to be real and I don't think anybody could deliver it better. I don't think The Rock would have delivered it better. I don't think anybody in the industry right now could've done a better job of that promo than Eddie Kingston."
Bischoff continued to note his one issue with the Kingston and Punk feud, stating he wishes it would last longer. The WWE Hall of Famer said he hopes their match at AEW Full Gear isn't the end of their feud and believes more can come of this rivalry given Kingston's abilities on the mic.
"I'm sure someone is going to take this as a negative comment and it's not, I only wish Eddie and Punk had more time to build that story because I think the potential is there for that to be a huge story," Bischoff said. "It's a good story and it could've been a better story had it had more time to build.
"Now, I say that knowing full well that just because they're having a match at the pay per view doesn't mean it's the end of the story. It could very well be, typically pay per view matches tend to be the end of a story but there's no rule book that says it can't be a step in a longer arc. I just think the raw ingredients are there to build something really cool. I hope it goes beyond the pay per view, I'm definitely going to watch the pay per view because of it truly. I want to see, I'm going to watch the story, I'm going to watch the Punk – Kingston story from beginning to end and for my own purposes. Not to publicize it, not to talk about it unless I see something that I really think is notable. I want to see the structure of that story and see where they knock it out of the park or where they left money on the table and could've done better. All the raw ingredients are there man, just couldn't be happier for Eddie Kingston. Not taking anything away from Punk, he's an important part of this story obviously but that promo, the power of that whole scene was Eddie Kingston."
If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit 83 Weeks with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.