During a recent airing of his “83 Weeks” podcast, Eric Bischoff gave his critique on Netflix’s docuseries about Mr. McMahon, with a focus on how WCW catalyzed essential changes in WWE. He remarked,
“Nobody [in the docuseries] referenced the fact that the reason that (WWE) went after that 18-49-year-old audience is because they had to, they were forced to. WCW Nitro, yours truly, forced them to do what they did. It was a reaction. It wasn’t any kind of a spontaneous inspiration, it was a realization that, ‘Damn, we gotta do what they’re doing,’ and especially after hearing Vince talk so far, he was just going to do it bigger and better. I don’t know that ‘better’ is the right word, definitely bigger, and definitely more controversial than anything we were doing.”
Continuing his discourse on the podcast, Bischoff stated his belief that the current standing of WWE would have been jeopardized if it hadn’t recognized the threat posed by WCW. He further explained,
“Had WWE not made this pivot, you can have whatever opinion you want about the quality of it or whether they should or shouldn’t have or whether they went too far, had it not been for the transition from teen and pre-teen target to 18-49 (years-old) target, 18-34 really, I don’t think WWE would be the WWE we know today. In fact, I’m 100% convinced of it, particularly after seeing this doc.”
In what is known as the Monday Night War, Bischoff and McMahon stood on opposing sides, a rivalry that inspired the name of Bischoff’s podcast, reflective of the 83-week streak where Nitro surpassed RAW.
The six-segment docuseries has elicited a diverse range of reviews. It has been commended for offering McMahon an outlet to address previous controversies. However, there has been criticism due to the belief that the series does not delve deeply enough into wrestling controversies, offering no new insights to wrestling fans.