Following his run at the head of WCW and a lengthy stint in WWE, Eric Bischoff joined TNA in 2010 alongside Hulk Hogan, adopting on-camera and backstage roles with the company. Looking back on his time with the promotion during a recent "83 Weeks," Bischoff identified one aspect of TNA that he desperately wanted to change.
"I've been criticized a lot because I really wanted TNA to take their show on the road," Bischoff said. "I wanted them to be in bigger buildings [because of the] perception, not only amongst the advertising world, not only among program directors or network heads or studio heads, but for the audience. Perception is so important."
From 2003 to 2017, TNA taped many of its television shows at Universal Studios in Florida, often resulting in an audience that was either unfamiliar with or unenthusiastic about the promotion. If Bischoff had more control when he arrived in TNA, he would've expanded the schedule, and he believes Dixie Carter would've backed him up. However, Bischoff stated that Dixie's mother Janice Carter was the one in charge at the time.
"Dixie really wanted to grow TNA," Bischoff continued. "Dixie understood, eventually, the need to do exactly what WWF did back in the day, [which] is to play larger buildings, because it changes the perception not only of the networks you're working with but of the audience at home."
Bischoff left TNA when his contract expired in 2014, and he later filed a lawsuit against the promotion, alleging that he was not paid everything he was owed. The exact outcome of the lawsuit was not publicly reported, but it was likely one of many issues that contributed to the company being bought out by Anthem Sports & Entertainment in 2017.
If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit "83 Weeks" with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.
