Former WCW promoter Eric Bischoff expressed his displeasure with Sami Zayn’s match with CM Punk on last Friday’s WWE SmackDown.
One of the most shocking moments of the year Zayn defeated CM Punk to become the Undisputed WWE Champion for the second time in three months. However, Zayn couldn’t win the title without some help. Johnny Gargano interfering and Kevin Owens indirectly hitting Punk with the belt allowed Zayn to pick up the win, which Bischoff felt was an uninspiring way to end the match.
“The finish was normal. It was mostly sound, but nothing really special. There was no real emotional flow to that ending when it was going down. It was like, ‘eh, we’re coming to the end.’ But there was no building. There was no drama involved in that ending. … It was very formulaic and that’s how it worked for me. Then again, that’s how I feel about wrestling. I don’t look at it as a fan. I look at it as a producer. I can’t help it,” she explained “83 weeks”. “We’re losing touch a little bit with what makes wrestling special and unique among other forms of television. … I wonder if this really represents a change in the business model because the business model has changed from what it was even five years ago.”
Bischoff also asked if WWE was missing one of its former producers, the late Pat Patterson, who was known for being able to come up with creative finishes. Additionally, he believes that people like Paul Heyman, Michael “P.S.” Hayes and Bruce Pritchard can still make the product special by focusing on their connection to the psychology of wrestling instead of making decisions to appeal to a mainstream audience.
If you use any of the quotes from this article, please credit “83 Weeks” with ah/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.