Eric Bischoff Shares Thoughts On WWE Without Vince McMahon At The Helm

As 2022 comes to an end, the year has been one of the most eventful in recent memory for high-level professional wrestling. While AEW has had its fair share of both controversy and triumphs, it's hard to argue anything regarding the Tony Khan-led company was quite as newsworthy as Vince McMahon retiring from his role as both Chairman and CEO of WWE.

Recently, Eric Bischoff commented on McMahon's retirement on the Christmas episode of AFTER 83 Weeks. Though brief, Bischoff was confident that Vince leaving his position atop WWE has been the biggest surprise of the year. "I didn't think I'd actually see it in my lifetime," Bischoff says of the leadership change that took place this past summer. The former WCW executive went on to talk about just how immortal Vince McMahon feels at times, saying, "I'm 10 years younger than Vince, but I'm still convinced he's gonna outlive me by 30 or 40 years... I never thought I'd see the day that he resigns."

Bischoff continued, noting another thing regarding McMahon's retirement that shocked him. "A more interesting story, I think, is how well the stock price has done since he left," Bischoff said.

The former "WWE RAW" General Manager elaborated on this perceived connection between Vince and the WWE's stock prices. "Prior to Vince resigning, for a long time it was 'Yeah, we love that WWE stock, but what's gonna happen when Vince retires?'" Bischoff explained, "The unknown usually makes people nervous." 

Not only did WWE's stock prices not suffer when McMahon retired, but the company thrived following his departure and only took a hit when speculation of a Vince return began to circulate. These rumors, while not pointed out specifically, seemingly make Bischoff question whether or not Vince's retirement is a "finished story" yet. "I don't know, it's too weird, but the wrestling business is weird," Bischoff concluded.