Pro Wrestling

Eric Bischoff says WWE is bad at basic storytelling

‘they’re not good at basic fundamental storytelling.’

August 26, 2020

Eric Bischoff is teeing off on WWE yet again. The former Executive Director of WWE SmackDown and special guest debate moderator on AEW Dynamite recently shared his feelings on WWE storytelling when he was a guest on Sportskeeda’s UnSKripted.

Spoiler alert! This may shock you, but Bischoff doesn’t have a very good opinion on WWE creative and the company’s ability to tell a cohesive story.

Read the WCW legend’s statement below:

Storylines suck right now. They suck. Storylines are getting worse and worse. This the one thing that I feel adamant about. You look at what WWE did at SmackDown (at) ThunderDome over the weekend. Such a phenomenal job from a production point of view.

I knew that WWE would knock the ThunderDome concept out of the park. Better than anybody, including the NBA. I knew they would, because they’re so good at that. What they’re not good at is basic fundamental storytelling. They’re just not. I love them and I have many friends there, who I love dearly. It doesn’t change the fact that their storyline, the architecture, their approach to stories, their discipline with stories, sucks. Until somebody comes along and takes an honest look at storytelling and the structure of storytelling and the formulas that are used, it’s going to be hit or miss forever.

WWE ratings have been in a downward spiral for the last several years, with 2020 delivering the worst ever ratings for Raw and SmackDown, the company’s two flagship shows. Viewership is down by nearly 2 millions on average across the board in less than a five year period.

Recently, WWE implented a new segment, Raw Underground, and a new mysterious faction, Retribution, in an attempt to boost interest in the product. The results appear to have backfired as fans and critics alike have panned Raw Underground as largely pointless, and Retribution as a poor man’s Nexus.

Eric Bischoff’s last role with WWE as Executive Director of SmackDown Live lasted less than six months when he was let go by WWE in October after he reportedly didn’t know the names of talent on the roster and had other leadership issues. Longtime WWE employee Bruce Prichard replaced Bischoff as head of SmackDown Live.