On a recent episode of his podcast, “Something To Wrestle”, Bruce Prichard revisited the known backstage altercation involving Eddie Guerrero and Kurt Angle during their time in WWE.
Here are a few standout points from the podcast:
When asked to comment on the backstage dispute between Eddie Guerrero and Kurt Angle, Prichard said, “This is not a ballet. Accidents do occasionally occur in the ring. Some remarks are made backstage when tempers flare. When it came to the Eddie Guerrero and Kurt Angle incident, Eddie attempted to double leg Kurt Angle. It was an irrational move, trying to double leg an Olympic gold medalist. Eddie later acknowledged his mistake, stating ‘I know, I’m stupid!’. But what needs to be understood is that it wasn’t malice, it was sheer frustration. Eddie was simply frustrated and this translated to the physicality in the ring, which is the very nature of our business.”
He also elaborated on certain concepts that he didn’t find viable but were vehemently supported by Vince McMahon: “There have been several such instances. A notable scenario involves Hakushi [Jinsei Shinzaki] and Bret Hart. I firmly believed that Hakushi had the potential to be a frontrunner. But, his character needed to be built up initially. Instead, he was pitted against Bret, defeated and then dismissed. Initially, I saw potential in Hakushi, envisioning him in a main event level match at WrestleMania, taking on Undertaker or even Bret for the Championship. His character had a promising future.”
Prichard further commented, “You can consider the instance when Hulk Hogan and Ric Flair had their stint in WWE. They did live events that didn’t perform well. I believe, no matter the differences in opinions, there were different perspectives. That entire scenario needed to be cultivated in a particular place and manner. Similarly, several instances were either pushed too hastily or prematurely terminated. Take for instance, the Beefcake and Hogan team to battle Savage and Zeus. It was abruptly introduced because Beefcake happened to be Hulk’s friend.”
A recent episode of “Something To Wrestle with Bruce Prichard” discusses these topics in detail. [Embedded Podcast Content]